SO LONG, WE HARDLY KNEW YOU
.. The courts have spoken and the Fluvial Grayling in Montana will not be listed. According to an article in the Montana Standard:"The federal government announced Tuesday that it will not protect fluvial arctic grayling by putting the dwindling species of fish on the Endangered Species List.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the fish, one of Montana’s rarest that are found in the upper Big Hole River, is not genetically different enough from the more abundant lake dwelling grayling.
The decision not only prevents them from endangered listing now, but takes them off the candidate list, meaning they’ll likely never be considered for protection."
This is a blow to those of us who appreciate this fish and it's indicator status.
It's well worth the time to read the two recent articles published by the Standard:
1] - Arctic grayling kept off endangered list,
2] - Feds decide against protections for arctic grayling.
.. This decision, along with the recent one about the Cutthroats is indicative of a growing trend to pretend that all fish are alike. A sad commentary on both our Courts and the USFWS.
.. The commentary, may be even worse about those fisher folks that refused to submit comments. We suspect that this trend will continue and that everyone reading this will be affected within 5 years.
.. The Big Hole Watershed Committee is affected in this situation because of the withdrawal of federal funds for stream projects. Visit their page about Grayling Recovery for additional information.
The key to this sad situation is the phrase
". . . not genetically different enough . . ."
Such tripe!!