[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Fw: Re: NFC: Still looking for pupfish....
Hi all here is a note from our resident Desert Fishes expert. A progress
report of sorts on conservation. We will continue to attempt to aquire
and establish breeding colonies in the Breeders program as a last ditch
effort to preserve these species.
Robert Rice
It's official all Native Fish are now Y2K compliant check it out at
http://www.nativefish.org
Hi Robert,
I have, as you know, *Cyprinodon nevadensis mionectes* and just picked up
a
trio of *Cypr. nev. amargosae* Tecopa Bore last weekend. Still working on
getting some *C. n. pectoralis* School Spring.
My problem on eggs is that they really have slowed down for winter,
apparently, so I need to change things around and convince them spring is
on
the way to get enough eggs to provide my needed replacements and *then*
send
any out. You are first on the list for that.
AFAIK, *diabolis* and *radiosus* are not in the hobby, and not very
likely
to end up there any time soon.
In addition to Devil's Hole, where the population is stable and maybe
growing, *diabolis* is just in three refuges -- two at Ash Meadows and
one
near Boulder Dam.
A disaster just hit one refuge at Ash, when a mixing valve got stuck,
killing the algae and virtually all the young breeding males. :-(
The situation is far worse for *radiosus*. 20 years of squabbling between
UC, F&WL, CA DF&G, BLM, USFS (?), Mono & Inyo County, and the City of LA
(on
whose land the few survivors exist) has prevented any agreement on or
implementation of a recovery plan.
Meanwhile BLM has leased the original habitat (Fish Slough, Mono County)
for
cattle grazing and has forbidden any fishing for the carp and bass. The
original pupfish population there has been so decimated by habitat
destruction, damnbusia and bass that I doubt if any can be found. This
spring, bass were up in the headspring, for the first time in my memory
(which goes back to '45, there), and they owned BLM Spring which was
supposed to have been a refuge! I think, for the second time in 20 years,
we
can consider *radiosus* extinct in the last of its original habitat.
Two other refuges, one at Warm Springs and another down south toward Lone
Pine have probably all the remaining fish. They were up and some actually
breeding in the Warm Spring refuge, when I visited Memorial Day. UC's
White
Mt. Research Station has done some very good physical maintenance, but
AFAIK
no significant removal of exotics. Hence the place is loaded with
crawdads,
damnbusia and bullfrog tadpoles -- all voracious pupfish-egg eaters. The
UCWMRS fish expert quit and went to the deep south to work on gambusia -
his
first love - a year or so ago. AFAIK the "snail expert" is doing his job,
now.
90% of breeding and the entire population move onto City of LA land for
most
of the year. No protection is possible from the cattle that are
destroying
habitat. The CA DF&G has proven impossible to work with as far as
volunteers
doing any exotic removal or habitat maintenance, so far. We are working
on
that, but don't hold your breath until we succeed.
Work at either Fish Slough or Warm Springs is made very tough by the huge
tick population the cattle bring in. The area hosts both Rocky Mt.
Spotted
Fever, and a worse one known as Relapsing Fever.
Unless something turns this situation around I think we can get ready to
kiss *radiosus* goodbye. Local attitudes are really bad, as all those
govt.
agencies seem to have gone way out of their way to deeply offend anyone
who
could help. I expect to see "Kill the Pupfish" bumper stickers there,
like
there were at Ash in the 70s, any day now.
Wright
PS. Please feel free to share any of this, much of which is just my
personal
opinion, wherever you think it might be useful.
PPS. I'm merging my *mionectes* Big Spring and Jackrabbit populations as
I
found they have *not* been isolated for 20 years as I was originally
informed. Their outflow streams have a connecting ditch part way down to
Crystal Reservoir.
PPPS. The "delisting" of *mionectes* was put on hold, until they drain
Crystal Reservoir and get rid of 100% of the bass.
robert a rice wrote:
>
> Hi Guys,
>
> Looking for legal young or eggs of the the Pupfish group for sale or
> trade....Please no variegatus. Would LOVE the following....
>
> C. Diabolis
> C. Macularius
> C. Nevadensis and all its subspecies
> C. radiousus
> C. tularosa
> C. Bovinus
>
> Thanks in Advance. All fish will be put in a organized breeding program
> to maintain species integrity.
>
> Robert Rice
> It's official all Native Fish are now Y2K compliant check it out at
> http://www.nativefish.org
--
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntleyone at home dot com
"DEMOCRACY" is two wolves and a lamb voting on lunch.
"LIBERTY" is a well-armed lamb denying enforcement of the vote.
*** http://www.self-gov.org/index.html ***
Follow-Ups: