Eco Groups File Suit To Force
Endangered Listing For Shiner

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A federal lawsuit filed by two environmental activist groups to force the U.S. government to list a two-inch minnow as an "endangered" species has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Joe H. Galvan here.

A complaint for "declaratory and injunctive relief" by the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club claims Bruce Babbitt as Secretary of Interior has failed to take final regulatory action on the proposed rule to list the Arkansas River shiner as an endangered species and has failed to take final action regarding critical habitat for the species.

The silvery minnow, officially known as Notropis giraradi, is found in the South Canadian River that winds across eastern New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma, and in the Cimarron River in Oklahoma and Kansas. The minnow was once abundant in the Arkansas River and its tributaries, but has disappeared from 80 percent of its historic range and is now found chiefly in the Canadian and South Canadian Rivers, claim Oklahoma biologists who researched the fish for the federal government.

The shiner was originally proposed to be added to the endangered species list Aug. 3, 1994.

According to the Sierra Club and Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, that proposed listing triggered a mandatory one-year period within which Babbitt was required to take final regulatory action. The activist groups contend Babbitt should have issued a final rule determining the shiner’s status by Aug. 3, 1995, and even with a finding that "critical habitat" was not determinable, should have issued a final decision on the critical habitat designation by Aug. 3, 1996.

Instead, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of Interior, signed a memorandum of understanding with Texas and Oklahoma wildlife agencies who were to take steps to protect the fish. The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, headquartered in Austin, claims in the suit that that agreement isn't enough to ensure the minnow's protection.

As grounds to claim the legal "standing" to sue, both organizations say in the suit that many of their members have visited the habitat of the Arkansas River shiner and plan to revisit its habitat, and they are bringing this suit on behalf of their adversely affected members and staff. The Sierra Club, in the suit, claims to have 6000 members in New Mexico and 18,000 in Texas. The Southwest Center for Biological Diversity does not say how many members it has.

Some of the 400,000 residents of the area that might be affected, however, worry about possible ramifications of designating critical habitat for the shiner.

In the initial publication of the proposed listing in the Federal Register, information gathered by the government indicated that the Ogallala Aquifer, a vast underground aquifer stretching from the Texas South Plains north into Nebraska, is a source of flow for the rivers in question. More recent studies, according to fish and wildlife officials, indicate that only a portion of the aquifer might be included in critical habitat, but authorities admit that little is known about the hydrology of the aquifer.

The Ogallala provides irrigation water for Plains farmland in five states. The Canadian River feeds into a reservoir north of Amarillo, Lake Meredith, which provides drinking water for 11 Texas communities in this semi-arid region.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took additional public comments on listing the shiner late last year and earlier this year. Ken Collins with the USFWS field office in Tulsa says a decision should be made on the proposed listing by this summer.