The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to remove the Gila chub from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) list.
The agency said the fish is not a valid taxonomic entity and does not meet the definition of a species under the ESA. USFWS cited a joint report by the American Fisheries Society and American Society of Ichthyology and Herpetology Joint Committee on the Names of Fishes, which did not support species-level status for the Gila and headwater chubs.
USFWS will accept public comments on the proposed rule until Aug. 18. Comments may be submitted at regulations.gov by searching for docket ID FWS-R2-ES-2022-0001.
