Arizona state fish coming off federal endangered and threatened species list

PHOENIX – After decades of conservation efforts, the Arizona state fish is coming off the federal endangered and threatened species list, officials announced Wednesday.

The Apache trout, one of two trout species native to the Grand Canyon State, has been under the protection of the Endangered Species Act since 1973, first as endangered and then as threatened.

“This recovery is a testament to the importance of the Endangered Species Act and its tools and resources that are allowing the Interior Department and the federal government to protect vital species in every corner of America,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in press release.

Haaland joined Gov. Katie Hobbs, other officials and conservation partners in Mesa to celebrate the occasion.

Today, I was thrilled to join @USFWS, state, local and Tribal leaders in Mesa, AZ to celebrate the successful delisting of the Apache trout – Arizona’s state fish – following decades of collaborative conservation grounded in Indigenous Knowledge. https://t.co/H6P7LOsCnf

— Secretary Deb Haaland (@SecDebHaaland) September 4, 2024

“Thank you to the hard work of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, Arizona Game and Fish, the Interior Department and everyday Arizonans on the ground who all played essential roles in making today possible,” Hobbs said in a release.

Where is Arizona state fish habitat?

The Apache trout is found in freshwater streams in eastern Arizona’s White Mountains.

The Arizona state fish is the first sportfish and the first trout to be removed from the federal endangered and threatened wildlife list due to recovery, according to the Interior Department.

In 1979, when a recovery plan for the Apache trout was initiated, 14 known populations occupied 30 miles of habitat. Today, there are 30 populations occupying 175 miles.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed the delisting in August 2023.

Every now and again I get a story where I can't help myself with the puns. Check out the story below and see perhaps the best photo of my career courtesy of @GovernorHobbs. @AZMorningNews@KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/IoO9hzDVBt

— Colton Krolak (@ColtonKrolak) September 5, 2024

Not everybody is celebrating Wednesday’s news. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity believes it’s too soon to lift protections on the state fish, calling it a PR stunt.

“Delisting the Apache trout is premature and reckless,” Robin Silver, the nonprofit conservation group’s founder, said in a statement. “The species faces numerous existential threats including climate change, isolation in small and nonsustainable population clusters, habitat destruction by cows and feral horses, harm from nonnative trout and empty promises of protection by federal agencies with pitiful track records.”

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