The tiny federally endangered Pahrump poolfish now flourish in eastern Nevada’s Spring Valley thanks to interagency habitat improvements for which a local biologist has received a prestigious award, according to a March 10 U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management news release.
Bristlecone Field Office Wildlife Biologist Nancy Herms is this year's recipient of the Bureau of Land Management Conservation Project Award for her work coordinating the Pahrump poolfish project, the release states. The project currently includes habitat improvement for the endangered fish in the Shoshone Ponds in Spring Valley outside Ely, Nev.
"Nancy's love of wildlife and steadfast dedication to conservation have greatly improved the overall quality of the Shoshone Ponds, enhancing its suitability as a refugium for this federally endangered species," Bristlecone Field Manager Jared Bybee said. "Her actions have improved ecological function in Spring Valley, ensured the future of the Pahrump poolfish and will benefit wildlife for years to come."
The Shoshone Ponds, about 30 miles southeast of Ely in White Pine County, is a designated an area of critical environmental concern, in part because the endangered Pahrump poolfish was relocated to the ponds during the 1970s. The exceptionally rare species of tiny desert fish are about a finger's length long and live in fresh water.
The Pahrump poolfish is the surviving subspecies of what once included two others that now are extinct, according to information on the U.S. Geological Survey's website. All three subspecies had been confined to a remote spring in the Pahrump Valley in Nye County, Nev., from which the Pahrump poolfish gets its name. The three subspecies were the spring's only native fish and the Pahrump poolfish were relocated to the Shoshone Ponds after their native habitat was lost.
Herms' team at the Bristlecone Field Office removed the fish from the Shoshone Ponds in 2020 to allow for habitat improvements. Three ponds were combined into one and the Pahrump poolfishes were returned. The fish were removed again the following year to allow further improvements and are expected to be returned to the ponds this summer.
Multiple organizations participate in the project, including the Nevada Department of Wildlife, private landowners, the BLM Ely District and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In January, the Bristlecone Field Office received round 15 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act funds to pay for habitat improvements for the Pahrump poolfish living in the Shoshone Ponds. Those funds followed a habitat makeover the Pahrump poolfish ponds received the previous five years.
