Wednesday January 15, 2025
Center for Biological Diversity —
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to designate 91,630 acres of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act for the critically imperiled San Francisco Bay population of longfin smelt. The formerly abundant native fish have seen their population plummet in recent decades.
Today’s proposal is the result of petitions first filed in 1994 and multiple lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity and San Francisco Baykeeper to compel protection of the fish.
“These habitat protections are a critical lifeline for a fish species whose decline portends the loss of our valuable salmon runs and potentially all of the Bay-Delta’s native fishes,” said Jeff Miller, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Despite our rapidly heating planet, more and more water is being diverted for unsustainable industrial agriculture, sucking the life out of Central Valley rivers and the Delta.”
Critical habitat designation is a crucial tool under the Endangered Species Act. It requires federal agencies to ensure their actions don’t destroy or damage areas essential for the survival of endangered species, whether or not that habitat is currently occupied.