While at ASIH a few weeks back, I caught that there is enough evidence to make a split in the Arrow Darter (Etheostoma sagitta) between upper Cumberland and Collins Fork Kentucky River populations (would love to have this confirmed).

At any rate, if you don't know much about this beautiful fish (and hopefully Matt and Uland and Gang are getting pictures this weekend, since there AREN'T any that I can even find on the internet)...

Its range unfortunately coincides with a rich coal deposit, and it's in bonkers kind of trouble due to this. If in fact, the Collins Fork populations are elevated, it may stand to reason that this population should recieve a Federal Status due to it's limited distribution in a heavily mined region. Knowing how well the snail darter episode of the late 1970's went, I think we should proactively seek a PR campaign for this fish, prior to any beauracratical involvement.

I would like to propose, with as much authority as this NANFA Forum allows, that the population elevated to species. recieve the common name "Coal Miner's Darter".

I am not the progenitor of this name, it came about in a little contest we had back on the email list a year and some ago, and I hope that if this name sticks, that the appropriate person recieve credit. I also know AFS has some rules about names, but to hell with that... The alternative is another failed PR campaign, another species with toothless protection, another species on the brink of GONE.

Todd

If we and others start to use the name, that's the name, for practical purposes. I'm game for it. As just about everyone likely to read this knows, the coal operators don't give a poop about "bottom feeding fish" or anything else for that matter.

And if we do it we should be prepared to go to the wall, not just petitioning the USFWS to do the studies to list the species and to actually make the listing decision, but being prepared to bring suit in federal court to bring pressure on the USFWS if (as is likely) they balk at such studies and listing, even if a new presidential administration comes into office. Sounds heavy, but otherwise we're just playing around and posing. There are lawyers around who will do this kind of work, like Ned Mudd in Birmingham and some people with Wild South.

Todd,

My old roommate Tyler has a few arrow darter pictures. A few of his blackside dace study streams held them. I agree with the proactive PR. It seems to have worked well with the public in the case of the Chuky madtom. There is some vested interest by the general public in the area which has translated into volunteers and farmers interesetd in land incentive programs and a watershed group.

there's been some interest in formally elevating spilotum for a while. It's distinct just about every way you can think of, genetically, phylogenetically, meristics, pigmentation, etc. If the fish program at EKU wouldn't have come to a grinding halt when it did, it would already have been described...

That said, don't bother petitioning USFWS until it's formally described. They've changed their approach, so that the science needs to be completely done before they'll consider listing (search the Federal Register for "longnose sucker" if you're intrigued...)

Dave

Call me a cynic if you will, but I seriously doubt that this fish will ever get listed in today's "climate," no matter how much science is done proving the need for it. No mere fish is going to stand between a huge seam of coal and those who would pay a lot of taxes and bribes to exploit it. Even worse, I can all too easily envision a bunch of miners getting happy with a few casks of rotenone to help solve the problem before it costs them any annoyance. Tread carefully on this one, folks, lest you do more damage than you hoped to prevent.

I did, of course, spit out a very ambitious idea which I'm glad to see offered apparently easy target practice. The USFWS is of course notoriously reluctant to do anything about anything. But even if the fish is not a full elevated species one can make the (ambitious) argument that there is an evolutionarily significant unit involved. The fish isn't a salmon or trout so it would be fighting a significant amount of "so what", and various other alleged practical thoughts. As to worrying about rotenone, if a coal mine opens around a creek it's the same effect anyway so what's the big deal? Ain't nothing to lose.

At any rate, if you don't know much about this beautiful fish (and hopefully Matt and Uland and Gang are getting pictures this weekend, since there AREN'T any that I can even find on the internet)...

The photo will be up in a day or two