US agencies sued over fate of rare Rio Grande minnow

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Environmentalists say the federal government isn’t doing enough to ensure the survival of the Rio Grande silvery minnow as drought tightens its grip on one of the longest rivers in the West. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the group WildEarth Guardians asked a federal judge to force U.S. water and wildlife agencies to reassess the effects of water management activities on the endangered fish. They want federal officials to develop enforceable measures to keep dams and diversions along the river’s stretch through New Mexico’s most populated area from jeopardizing the minnow. The fish was declared endangered nearly 30 years ago and its population continues to dwindle as the river sees record-low flows.