Conservation Status of Rare and Endangered Fish Species in the Western United States

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Conservation Status of Rare and Endangered Fish Species in the Western United States with Ralph Stearley

Conservation Status of Rare and Endangered Fish Species in the Western United States

This talk will focus on freshwater and anadromous fishes of the United States, west of the
Continental Divide. Aquatic habitats in this region range from tiny pools in desert oases to streams
or lakes in isolated endorheic basins (the largest being the Great Basin) to short high-gradient
coastal streams to major river systems like the Columbia and the Colorado. Overall the region is
species-poor relative to N. America east of the Continental Divide and the aquatic biota is much
more vulnerable. For example, Arizona, 113,000 square miles, historically hosted 36 species of
native fishes, of which 1 is now extinct and 22 are federally listed as endangered or threatened;
Georgia, area 59,000 square miles, hosted 270 species of native freshwater fishes, 1 of which is
extinct, 4 locally extirpated and 10 federally listed as endangered or threatened.

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