Question: Can you save an endangered fish by introducing a predator fish?

Hello Friends of the Colorado River!

Question of the day!  Can you save an endangered fish by introducing another predator fish?  As you know, the Colorado River was named the Most Endangered River in America three weeks ago.  The news stories around this announcement covered many of the issues threatening the river.  But what got little coverage was the plight of fish in the river that are federally listed as “endangered” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

This past week, an interesting turn of events focused attention on these endangered fish and a controversial plan to help recover them.  This Denver Post article is about an attempt by the State of Colorado to protect the endangered fish by introducing another predator fish.  Colorado wants to introduce Tiger Muskies (pictured above) so that the Muskies will eat Northern Pike so that the Pike will no longer eat the endangered fish which include the Humpback Chub, Bonytail, Colorado Pikeminnow, and Razorback Sucker.  Here’s the question of the day — will it work??  We launched this question on our Facebook page and a lively discussion ensued.  Click through here to read the comments and join the discussion.

Will all of the rain and snow in Colorado help the river and the drought?  April was one of the snowiest months on record in Colorado, which will help streamflows in the Upper Colorado River basin, but in California the drought is still causing intense concern and problems.  This KBPS radio story discusses the long-term drought in California and how it continues to stretch water supplies throughout Northern and Southern California.  Of note, California will be dipping farther into its reservoirs to provide water due to the lack of rain and snow across the lower portion of the state.  Further, yesterday California Governor Jerry Brown proclaimed California Wildfire Awareness Week and in his speech he linked the frequency and intensity of wildfires to climate change and “more insane” weather.  Take a read of this article in Huffington Post here.

Publicity about the Colorado being the “Most Endangered River in America” continues to pile up, with editorials and blogs following the news stories of three weeks ago.  Here’s an editorial in the Las Vegas Review Journal titled, “To Save The Colorado River, Drastic Action Required Now.”  The bathtub ring around Lake Mead, and Las Vegas’ attempt to build a billion-dollar pipeline out into Lake Mead, provide examples of the threat to the river and the lengths to which agencies are going to get water out of it.  It’s time for the Congress to act and help protect and restore the river — you can take action here to send an email to your U.S. Senators.

Thank you for your support!