Environmental group, feds and irrigation district reach agreement in silver minnow suit

Silver minnows are placed in an oxygenated tank for upstream transport after being rescued at the San Acacia site in June 2022. Fish rescued from bodies of water have a much lower survival rate than fish caught from running water. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

A big fight over a small, endangered fish native to the Rio Grande ended when a federal judge in New Mexico approved a settlement proposed by the parties Tuesday.

New Mexico County Magistrate Judge Gregory Furat approved the agreement between WildEarth Guardians, a nonprofit environmental and conservation organization based in Santa Fe, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Central Rio Grande Irrigation District.

deal with ends 2022 lawsuit filed by WildEarth Guardians alleging that the federal government mismanaged the Rio Grande River and encouraged unsustainable water use that violated provisions of the Endangered Species Act aimed at restoring habitat for the silver minnow and two other species.

Feds and irrigation district advise staying away from silver minnow

The dual effects of climate change and the diversion of people to irrigation are causing the Rio Grande to dry up more frequently, especially in an important stretch of the river between Cochiti Dam and Elephant Butte where the silver minnow lives.

At 4 inches long, the minnow is unlike most freshwater fish. In the spring, the silver minnow spawns directly in the water, and the fertilized eggs roll downstream, which is more typical for saltwater fish. When the river flow was slower and shallower, the minnow was prolific along the Rio Grande from Hispaniola to the Gulf of Mexico. Federal and local irrigation projects straightened the river, making it deeper and faster, and built dams that prevented fish from moving freely down the river. Now the short-lived fish are limited to one reach, which dries out almost completely every year. After years of population decline, the fish was declared endangered in 1994.

The minnow plays an important role as an indicator of the health of the Rio Grande, according to Daniel Timmons, director of the wild rivers program at Wild Earth Guardians.

“There used to be 200-pound sturgeon and catfish swimming in the Rio Grande through Albuquerque. And today the river can barely support a 4-inch minnow,” he said. “If it can’t support a minnow, it can’t support the whole web of life.”

The agreement makes some immediate changes, such as setting out specific regulations for the Middle Rio Grande Water District to leave 2,500 to 3,500 acres of farmland fallow over the next four years or propose storing imported Colorado River water instream.

Other provisions, such as an agreement to begin the process of new federal conservation measures, called the Biological Opinion, would take four years to complete.

While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be “driving the bus” to prepare a new biological opinion; there will be more opportunities for public comment as part of the agreement.

That’s unusual, he said, adding that biological conclusions are often made behind closed doors.

“I hope that agencies will be more transparent throughout the process and involve the public to ensure greater participation than they have had in the past,” Timmons said.

The federal government also agreed to pay $41,000 for WildEarth Guardian’s legal fees.

For now, federal wildlife officials plan to temporarily continue to use conservation measures outlined in the 2016 Biological Opinion, said Debra Hill, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s chief biologist for the Rio Grande Basin.

One goal, she said, is to make the 87 environmental measures adopted in the 2016 opinion less vague and more targeted.

The agreement shows government agencies will have to work together to find creative solutions as the Rio Grande is expected to shrink further due to climate change, she said.

“We’re really going to have to figure out how to work with what’s limited, and so we’re going to need to work together as much as possible,” Hill said.

Hill called the minnow “the canary in the coal mine” for its life on the river.

“If we start to realize that fish don’t have what they need to survive in the Middle Rio Grande, we as a society need to realize that water is the same water that we rely on,” Hill said.

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