Last February, an Oregon native fish bounced back from near extinction: the Oregon chub. Before conservation groups were successful in this venture, numbers of this native species had been reduced to just 8 known populations with a total of 1,000 individuals remaining in the Willamette Valley. Listed as an endangered species in 1993, solid conservation efforts led to it being the first fish to ever be taken off the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) list of endangered species before it became extinct.
Cause of Endangerment
This 3.5-inch fish lives in silty water, still ponds, and backwaters. This fish prefers shallow areas around 6 feet deep, as well as lots of vegetation in which to hide and spawn.
Over the years, humans have worked hard to control flooding and greatly reduced freely-flowing Willamette River valley waters in the state. The problem lies in the fact that the Oregon chub needs side channels and overflow ponds off the river that flood periodically to help them move into new areas and thrive.
Typical pollution like herbicides and fertilizer runoff that can occur around rivers and side waters only made things worse for the chub. As their habitat dried out, their populations became disconnected, and sightings of the chub became fewer.
Team Effort for Recovery
How did this endangered species quietly come back? Private landowners, government agencies, and nonprofits all joined forces to improve critical habitats that still held the Oregon chub.
Groups like Oregon Fish and Wildlife, US Forest Service, US Army Corps, McKenzie River Trust, and private landowners worked together to clean up and restore wetlands and side channels of the Willamette River basin. They also worked on re-introducing the chub back into areas they were once known to live.
In just over two decades, the Oregon chub bounced back. By 2015, more than 80 populations had been recorded in the Willamette River and its tributaries, and that number continues to grow.
Featured Image from Toa Heftiba/Unsplash
