Are California desert fish near Death Valley at risk of extinction?
Environmentalists are pressing forward with a fight to protect a small fish that inhabits desert springs and streams in California’s Death Valley region. The Center for Biological Diversity on Friday announced it has filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to seek Endangered Species Act protection for three populations of speckled dace, a minnow-like species that evolved to live in dry areas. The fish is threatened by excessive groundwater pumping for farms and residential development and geothermal energy development, they say.