Wednesday May 21, 2025
Las Vegas Review-Journal —
A lithium mine could contribute to the extinction of a fish species in southwestern Nevada, the federal government acknowledged Tuesday in a document recommending its protection.
The Fish Lake Valley tui chub is the first species to get a positive recommendation for Endangered Species Act listing under the second Trump administration.
“Water use for lithium mining will likely exacerbate the already over-allocated Fish Lake Valley groundwater basin that supplies water for tui chub habitat,” the proposal said, pointing to geothermal energy development and farming as additional water stressors in the region.
The species is endemic to a system of springs in Esmeralda County, the least populated county in Nevada where fewer than 1,000 people live. All but one of those springs have dried up because of agricultural pumping, and environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity estimates that the remaining spring has receded by more than 50 percent.