U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Identifies Critical Habitat for Diamond Darter
The endangered diamond darter, a tiny fish that has faced serious threats to its home, depends on 123 miles of habitat for its survival, the Service today announced. Once found along the southern Appalachians from Ohio to Tennessee, this native darter has been restricted to one stream along the Elk River by years of changes from dams, water quality degradation and other threats.
Photo by Stuart Welsh; USGS
The Service has identified 28 miles of occupied habitat in Kanawha and Clay counties, West Virginia, and to ensure its recovery, the Service has deemed 95 miles of unoccupied habitat in Edmonson, Hart and Green counties, Kentucky, as essential for the darter’s conservation. Critical habitat designation is primarily for purposes of consultation with other federal agencies, which have to make special efforts to protect aspects of these areas. The designation does not set up a preserve and applies only to activities authorized, funded, or carried out by a federal agency.
- Fact Sheet: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pdf/DiamondDarter_1010.pdf
- More information is attached in the QAs. The rule designating critical habitat is available online at:https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-20449
- Please contact Meagan Racey with questions: email: meagan_racey@fws.gov phone: (413) 253-8558
