A rare and eye catching Alabama fish is one step closer to federal protection, according to the press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The agency announced the stippled studfish may qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act after a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, according to the press release. The freshwater species is now found only in Alabama after disappearing from Georgia streams decades ago.
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“It’s great news that these dazzling, freckly fish are one step closer to being protected under the Endangered Species Act,” said Meg Townsend, a freshwater attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The fish was once common throughout the Tallapoosa River system but has been pushed to the brink by development, pollution, and worsening drought, according to the press release. Today, it survives in only a few isolated Alabama streams…