Endangered Species Day: 3 Utah conservation success stories

Salt Lake City — Friday, May 16 is Endangered Species Day, making it a great opportunity to learn about and celebrate three Utah species listed under the Endangered Species Act that have made great strides in recovery in the last five years.

There are currently 41 fish, wildlife and plant species in Utah on the federal endangered species list. Fortunately, several of these species have made remarkable progress in recent years.

"Since 2001, our agency and other partners have helped prevent 20 wildlife species from being listed as endangered or threatened through conservation efforts guided by the Utah Wildlife Action Plan," Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Recovery Programs Director Sarah Seegert said. "The Utah Wildlife Action Plan identifies species and habitats that are in need of conservation attention, and helps prioritize funding decisions. We are currently working to update it to help guide the next 10 years of conservation efforts for Utah species."

An endangered species is any species that is at serious risk of extinction in a specific area or throughout all of its natural habitat. A threatened species is any species that is likely to become an endangered species in the foreseeable future throughout much or all of its habitat. A species is classified as a species of greatest conservation need in the Utah Wildlife Action Plan if it is a threatened or endangered species, or a species that needs some level of conservation attention.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (a federal agency) has jurisdiction over species listed as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The DWR (a state agency) works collaboratively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the conservation of federally listed species in Utah. The DWR has jurisdiction over all other wildlife in Utah, and works to maintain healthy, sustainable populations and to keep them from becoming listed under the Endangered Species Act.

June sucker

The June sucker is a native fish species only found at Utah Lake and its tributaries, and nowhere else in the world. There were multiple contributing factors that led to the decline of the June sucker, including overharvesting by early settlers, water-flow alterations and drought, habitat changes, and competition with and being preyed on by exotic fish species. At one point, the June sucker population dropped to fewer than 1,000 fish, with fewer than 300 spawning individuals, and they were placed on the endangered species list in 1986.

However, in 2021, the fish species was downlisted from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act, largely due to ongoing efforts — like the recently completed Provo River Delta Restoration Project — by various partnering agencies in the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program. Currently, there is an estimated total of 30,000 to 45,000 fish in the spawning population in Utah Lake.

Humpback chub

True to its name, the humpback chub sports a pronounced hump behind its head. It's a relatively small fish, reaching a maximum size of about 20 inches and 2.5 pounds. Humpback chub can survive more than 30 years in the wild. It was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1973 after large dams and human water use changed the river flow, which impacted its population.

Due to successful ongoing conservation efforts from the partnering agencies in the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, the humpback chub was downlisted from endangered to threatened in 2021.

Ute ladies'-tresses

This orchid plant features a long spike of small white flowers arranged in a gradual spiral. Due to habitat loss, Ute ladies'-tresses were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992. At the time, the plant was known to occur only in Utah and Colorado.

Through a combination of improved and additional surveys as well as targeted mitigation and recovery efforts — including habitat management and protection — the plant is now known to occur in eight Western states (including Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Wyoming) and southern British Columbia, Canada. The plant was proposed for delisting from the Endangered Species Act in January 2025.

"We are extremely grateful to our many partners who coordinate with us on recovery efforts for these unique, native species," Seegert said. "Helping keep these species on the landscape ensures they can be enjoyed by future generations and also improves the overall habitat and ecosystem, which benefits other species as well."