It took 20 years of work by a large group of federal and state agencies, private landowners, and other concerned programs, but the Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) has been removed from the endangered species list. The fish was listed in 1993 when the population was estimated to be 1,000 individuals in eight known locations. Today, there are over 80 known location and the population had increased approximately 140,000. The restoration efforts were funded 100% by USDA-ARS and the chub's habitat, slack water off-channel habitats such as beaver ponds, oxbows, side channels, backwater sloughs, low gradient tributaries, and flooded marshes, fell mostly under the Wetlands Reserve Program. The population rebounded almost entirely due to habitat improvement and introduction to new locations within its historical range. By developing cooperative partnerships with a number of different agencies, professionals, and private landowners projects like the Oregon chub recovery can succeed.
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| Beaver pond, typical habitat for Oregon chub. Image by Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org |
Source Article:
USDA Employee Named “Recovery Champion” for Oregon Chub Conservation Efforts
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office:
Species Fact Sheet Oregon chub
