"After years of planning and coordination to carry this reintroduction off, there's a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and optimism for the success of our efforts," said Tony Robinson, CAP projects program manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. "It's no exaggeration to say that we're really looking at one of the last chances for these fish to exist."
All four species are imperiled throughout their native Gila River basin and are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act.
- Spikedace and loach minnow, both federally threatened species, are in serious decline, with spikedace now common only in Aravaipa Creek, Arizona, and portions of the Gila River, New Mexico. Very small spikedace populations may occur in the Verde River and Eagle Creek, Ariz.
- Gila topminnow, a federally endangered species, were abundant in the Gila River drainage and one of the most common fish of the Colorado River Basin, but the population has been reduced to only a few small and highly threatened locations.
- Desert pupfish, a federally endangered species, were once common throughout Arizona; Baja, California and Sonora, Mexico, but are now found in limited transplanted populations in the wild.
Data collection will take place over the next five years to monitor the success of the reintroduction. Program modifications and additional stockings will be used to augment native fish populations and improve the likelihood of establishing self-sustaining populations of each of the four species.
The Muleshoe Ranch CMA is a 55,000-acre mosaic of public and private land. Within its boundaries is most of the watershed area for seven permanently flowing streams, representing some of the best remaining aquatic habitat in Arizona. Some 80 percent of the region's wildlife species depend upon these streamside communities at some time in their lives.
Article courtesy of Arizona Fish and Game Department.
