NANFA-L-- Flame Chub Testimony On Friday

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus at hotmail.com)
Sun, 30 Oct 2005 18:36:12 -0500

I'm testifying this Friday in Montgomery, Alabama, to the Alabama
Environmental Management Commission on what I've found about the declining
range of flame chubs in the Tennessee Valley. In short, the guts of what I
found through stream surveys this past summer is that flame chubs are no
longer found in 12 of 17 previously collected sites across Limestone,
Madison and Jackson counties, Alabama. And one of the five sites where we
found flame chubs is a positive from finding only one individual in 1.5
hours of netting in a smallish spring system. My information on previously
collected sites comes from the records at the University of Alabama
Ichthyology Collection in Tuscaloosa (thanks Bernie!).

The good news is that I found a new flame chub site each in Limestone and
Marshall counties, although one of them is also based on finding a single
individual after extensive netting.

The species currently has almost no formal protection, not even Special
Concern, at either the state or federal level. The only protection in place
is you need to have a Scientific Collecting Permit to be in possession of
them in Alabama (I have a Permit...). I'd say the species needs some
recognition of its declining status, as do others such as Boschung & Mayden
in their recent Alabama book.

Just thought that everyone should know. If you're in Montgomery this Friday,
you're welcome to drop by. Contact me for directions.

--Bruce Stallsmith
there are at least some flame chubs near the Tennessee
Huntsville, AL, US of A
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