Congressional Moves Push Silvery Minnow Extinction

(07/17/2003) - WASHINGTON -- A surprise amendment to the House Energy and Water Appropriation bill today by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) will likely condemn the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow to extinction, according to Defenders of Wildlife. The amendment would sanction the drying of over 100 miles of the Rio Grande that includes two national wildlife refuges and the habitat of over 95% of endangered silvery minnows that still exist in the wild.  Rep. Wilson's amendment goes beyond similar language inserted earlier this week in the Senate version of the bill by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Jeff Bingaman (D-MN).

"These riders say that extinction of an entire species is just fine. They're playing politics with the fate of a species, instead of trying to find a solution," said Kara Gillon, water counsel for Defenders of Wildlife.  "This approach looks like a death warrant for an entire species, and for the Rio Grande itself."

Senator Domenici and Bingaman's rider on the Senate bill would dictate in law a plan for the species that would remain in place for ten years, and would allow more than 100 miles of the Rio Grande to go dry.  The language would go far beyond exempting just the use of water for human consumption and irrigation, and would give a free pass to harm endangered species to a host of other activities in the watershed, including discharges from sewage treatment plants, discharges from Los Alamos National Labs, reduced water quality standards, herbicide and pesticide applications along the river, construction of dams, and ever-increasing diversions from the river. Rep. Wilson's amendment goes even further by exempting all water in the middle Rio Grande from the Endangered Species Act and  forbidding the purchase of water from willing sellers to use to keep the silvery minnow alive.

"The fact is, if we lose the silvery minnow, the Rio Grande and much of the bosque will go with it," said Gillon.  "And once the river is gone, we still will have the same problem we're facing today, of too many human demands on too little water."

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Defenders of Wildlife is one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat, and was named as one of America's Top 100 Charities by Worth magazine. With more than 430,000 members and supporters, Defenders is an effective voice for wildlife and habitat.

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Contact(s):

Brad DeVries, (202) 772-0237
Kara Gillon, (505) 248-0118