After years of effort to recover the humpback chub population, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that significant progress has been made, prompting a change in the fish’s classification. According to Friday’s announcement, the humpback chub has been reclassified from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. “Reclassifying this distinctive fish from endangered to threatened is the result of many years of cooperative work by conservation partners,” shares Acting Forest Service Regional Director Matt Hogan. Drought conditions in 2021 have brought to light the importance of partnership programs in managing river conditions for these species and human needs. River habitat for this unique fish runs from Wyoming and Colorado down through Utah and into Arizona through the Grand Canyon. Of that entire stretch, the region through Dinosaur National Monument is listed as the humpback chub’s critical habitat.
