ODFW proposes to delist Borax Lake Chub
By Mindy Gould on Wednesday, January 6th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
HARNEY COUNTY – ODFW is proposing to remove the Borax Lake Chub from the State List of Threatened and Endangered species. Borax Lake chub are a unique minnow found only in Oregon’s Borax Lake and its surrounding wetlands, in the Alvord Desert of Harney County. When the species was first listed in 1980, its habitat was at risk due to diversion for irrigation, legacy effects of mining for borax, and geothermal energy exploration. Threats to their limited habitat were the primary reason for their listing under the federal ESA, which automatically put them on the state list when Oregon’s own ESA became law in 1987. Those threats have been addressed or removed thanks to natural resource agencies and their partners. The Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider the delisting at their meeting on Feb. 12.
