WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reclassified the Oregon chub from "endangered" to "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
The chub was listed as endangered in 1993 due to a massive decline in statewide populations caused by the loss of their marsh habitats, which were drained by flood control and irrigation systems.
The Oregon Chub Recovery Plan adopted at the time of the "endangered" listing, determined that the chub would be sufficiently recovered to move to "threatened" status when 10 populations of at least five hundred chub had been established and had shown stable or increasing population trends for five years.
The agency determined that the recovery standards had been met in May of last year, and that last year's designation of critical habitat for the chub should assist the fish's eventual delisting under the ESA.
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