42°F
weather icon Clear

Pahrump poolfish rescued from invaders

A rare desert fish once saved from extinction by a biologist with a bucket is in need of rescue once again, this time from non-native predators dumped into its home by people.

Biologists began trapping and removing Pahrump poolfish from a pond at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park in the last several weeks in a last-ditch effort to save a population that topped 10,000 in 2015 before crayfish and mosquito fish invaded their refuge.

During this year’s count, conducted in September, wildlife officials found just 362 of the endangered fish in the pond known as Lake Harriet, prompting the emergency relocation effort.

Brandon Senger, the supervisory fisheries biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, called it a salvage operation.

If they’d waited just a few months more, he said, “this population easily could have blinked out of existence.”

The 155 poolfish rescued so far are now being kept in a 700-gallon tank at the state-run Lake Mead Fish Hatchery.

Senger said they could be stuck there for a year or more, as wildlife officials drain Lake Harriet dry and leave it that way for several months at least to kill off the predators. Poolfish embed.

Crayfish can be particularly hard to get rid of. “The damn things can live underground for a long time,” he said.

The crayfish feed on the adult poolfish and their eggs while the mosquito fish eat the newly hatched larvae. “It’s kind of a double whammy,” Senger said.

Wildlife officials believe the invaders were most likely introduced to the pond by someone who was cleaning out an aquarium or backyard water feature. Though the practice is illegal, the dumping of aquarium fish and other non-native creatures is “one of the biggest problems we have with a lot of our spring systems,” Senger said.

Lake Harriet is no exception. “We also found koi and a couple of turtles in there,” he said.

Once the pond is pest free, it will be refilled and restocked with poolfish.

No cost estimate for the work was immediately available, but department spokesman Doug Nielsen said it will likely be minimal.

For decades, the spring-fed pond 25 miles west of Las Vegas has served as one of only three safe havens left for the federally protected poolfish, which saw its native habitat wiped out in the 1970s when Manse Spring in Pahrump was pumped dry.

The fish joined the endangered species list in 1967. Four years later, the late UNLV biologist and desert fish expert Jim Deacon reportedly carried the last native members of the species out of Pahrump in a bucket to keep them from disappearing forever.

Senger said a few thousand Pahrump poolfish can still be found in Corn Creek at Desert National Wildlife Refuge, 30 miles northwest of Las Vegas, and in the Shoshone Ponds near Ely in White Pine County, about 250 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District also is working with state and federal wildlife officials to establish a new poolfish refuge at the Springs Preserve, the district-owned attraction at U.S. Highway 95 and Valley View Boulevard.

Senger said it’s difficult to know how the species might be impacted by its recent brush with oblivion at Lake Harriet, but he likes its chances for recovery.

“The poolfish have had some bad luck, but they’re still around,” he said. “It kind of speaks to the resilience of these fish.”

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Man tried to carjack driver with knife: NCSO

A Pahrump man was arrested Sunday morning after he allegedly tried to stab a motorist with a knife on Highway 160 near McDonald’s, according to reports from the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.

VEA and CoBank donate $20k to these nonprofits

In the true giving spirit of the holidays, Valley Electric Association and CoBank are spreading the love this season with $20,000 in donations making their way into the coffers of three area nonprofits, bolstering each of the organization’s community-oriented efforts.

Want to see the Silver Tappers Christmas show? There’s a waitlist

The Nevada Silver Tappers and Ms. Senior Golden Years will host their 32nd Annual Christmas Benefit Show and members are excited to report that tickets are in such high demand, “There’s actually a waiting list!”

Holiday fundraiser will help kids get a good night’s sleep

The holiday season is officially underway so it’s a great time for residents to think about how they can help make a difference in the lives of others. One simple way to do just that is attending the 2nd Annual Nye County Sleep in Heavenly Peace Holiday Fundraiser, proceeds from which will go directly to providing beds to children in need.

Former Hollywood Madam’s exotic birds shot — again

So-called former “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss, who owns and operates a tropical bird sanctuary in Pahrump, says two of her prized pet macaws were wounded by BB pellets — again.