Why The Silvery Minnow Matters

By Laura Paskus, Santa Fe Reporter. Posted November 10, 2003.

The Rio Grande silvery minnow may only be four inches long, but its role in shaping New Mexico's future could be huge.

For environmentalists, protecting this fish has become the last chance to save an endangered river. For elected officials, like US Sen. Pete Domenici, R-NM, the fish has allowed the Endangered Species Act to become a "monster." Now, Congress is expected to vote at the end of this month on a rider that Domenici added to a federal energy and water spending bill. That rider will prevent the use of San Juan-Chama water -- which both Albuquerque and Santa Fe are counting on for municipal use -- for any endangered species. Ever.

The rider also takes a controversial report by the US Fish and Wildlife Service -- which says water only needs to flow in the Rio Grande until June 15 each year -- and sets that in stone. Forever.

If it passes, the minnow could be left high and dry, despite its victories in court.

That's one reason to care about the silvery minnow. Here are some other reasons why everyone should care about the fate of this little fish.

1. This Fish Could Change the Future

The minnow first became an Endangered Species celebrity almost 10 years ago, when the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed it for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Since then, the silvery minnow has spent more time in court than it has in the Rio Grande.

Four years ago, a coalition of environmental groups sued the US Department of the Interior, saying two of its agencies -- the Bureau of Reclamation and the Fish and Wildlife Service -- had violated the ESA by not keeping enough water in the Rio Grande to allow the minnow to survive.

In June 2002, environmentalists won a big victory when Chief US District Judge James A Parker ruled in their favor. Parker said that the Bureau of Reclamation -- which doles out the Rio's water to farmers -- could leave that water in the river channel. Most significantly, Parker also ruled that the Bureau could use San Juan-Chama water for the minnow.

This is the part of the ruling politicians now hope to change: The use of San Juan-Chama water is intrinsic to the plans of numerous entities,including Santa Fe. In June, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Parker's decision.

Up until Congress got involved, the minnow case was largely a regional issue. But since Domenici and US Rep. Heather Wilson, R-NM, attached riders onto the federal water and energy bill, national environmental groups have sprung to attention, citing worries that New Mexico's congressional delegation is trying to chip away at the Endangered Species Act. Speaking on the July day that Wilson's rider passed, John Horning, executive director of Forest Guardians, said, "We've been working on this for seven years. And in five minutes, the House passed the amendment to exempt San Juan-Chama water and to allow the river to run dry for 100 miles."

By cutting a "little hole" in that law, they set a precedent, says Letty Belin, the attorney who has represented environmental groups on behalf of the minnow, "that you can carve holes in the Endangered Species Act whenever that suits you." (She also points out that by going after the Act in a rider, rather than as a bill of its own or administratively through the Interior Department, Domenici and Wilson have "bypassed public hearing and public debate.")

Although the groups are waiting to see the fate of the Domenici legislation, Belin says that they are still litigating the case. It's her hope that the appeals court will hear the case again, or that the case will go on to the Supreme Court. With a formidable and well-established ally like the Endangered Species Act, environmentalists would likely continue winning favorable decisions in court. If the Supreme Court were to rule in favor of the minnow, a national precedent of species protection would be set.

2. If the Minnow Loses, We All Lose

In the appeals court ruling, the three-judge panel concluded that the Bureau of Reclamation had a responsibility to provide water for the silvery minnow. Beyond that, however, the panel's conclusion calls the agency to a higher purpose:

"Scientific literature likens the silvery minnow to a canary in the coal mine," the judges wrote. "Like all parts of the puzzle, the silvery minnow provides a measure of the vitality of the Rio Grande ecosystem, a community that can thrive only when all of its myriad components -- living and non-living -- are in balance." In other words, this isn't just about a fish; it's about an entire ecosystem.

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