The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the Clear Lake Hitch, a fish found nowhere else in the world, as a threatened species.
The hitch, once abundant, has plummeted in recent decades due to habitat degradation, water quality issues and predation by non-native species. Listing under the Endangered Species Act would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish conservation tools to protect critical habitat and regulate actions that could result in species loss.
The proposal is the result of a 12-year campaign by environmental and tribal interests and could still be reversed or altered. The public can submit comments on the proposal for the next 60 days.
