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Guest Commentary: April 28, 2001
Taking Water to the Minnow Failed
Now It's Time to Take the Minnow to the Water
The Honorable Pete Domenici (R-NM)
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Our current energy crisis, while critical, may soon take a back seat to the water issues facing the 21st Century. This is especially true on the Rio Grande, where we are seeing new demands on an already strained Western water supply.
The water in the Rio Grande is already appropriated for many uses, including water for the city of Albuquerque, irrigation purposes, and meeting New Mexico's compact requirements with Texas. Enter into this equation the Rio Grande silvery minnow or more technically Hybognathus amarus.
Hybognathus amarus is a stout silvery minnow with emerald reflections, a silvery white belly, and a distinct dorsal fin.
Historically an abundant inhabitant of the Rio Grande basin and Pecos River, the Rio Grande silvery minnow is now said to occupy only 5 percent of its historic range (Pflieger 1980). The Rio Grande silvery minnow no longer exists in the Pecos River and is now generally found in a stretch of the middle Rio Grande, from Cochiti Dam to the headwaters of Elephant Butte Reservoir.
On July 20, 1994 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, determined the Rio Grande silvery minnow to be a federally endangered species.
Past attempts in the past to bring water to the Rio Grande silvery minnow have kept the river wet, at the expense of one of the West's most precious commodities–water stored for use in periods of drought. Last year's release of 170,000 acre-feet of water for the minnow depleted reservoirs during an already desperately dry summer season. The depletion of this water did little for the long-term survival of the silvery minnow, and clearly showed that we can bill afford to repeat that practice. Taking the water to the silvery minnow did not work so it is time to take the fish to the water.
I am now developing legislation to statutorily recognize the Middle Rio Grande Workgroup for the purpose of establishing and administering habitats for the Rio Grande silvery minnow. The purpose of this bill will be to ensure that the needs of the water users along the river are protected, as well as developing and understanding the habitat necessary to sustain the silvery minnow in a natural setting actually located on the Rio Grande.
Such legislation would complement commendable efforts by the Silvery Minnow Rearing and Research Facility at the Albuquerque Aquarium to create a suitable habitat and breed the minnow. At the same time, it is studying what the minnow truly needs to survive.
Combined with the efforts of the Albuquerque Aquarium and the Middle Rio Grande Workgroup, I believe we can create a refuge, in tributaries off the Rio Grande, in which to relocate a portion of the silvery minnow population.
Working together we can begin to take steps to aid in the breeding, creation and relocation processes of the Rio Grande silvery minnow in a habitat where it can prosper. Accomplishing this, I believe, will allow us save the silvery minnow from extinction without draining the water away from the people who live and work on the middle Rio Grande.
Note: Sen. Domenici chaired a Senate Energy & Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to review the Bush administration's budget requests for the Bureau of Reclamation on April 24, 2001, seeking input from the Bureau on how much funding it believes Congress will need to provide for ensuring adequate water to meet the Endangered Species Act (ESA) requirements for preserving the Rio Grande silvery minnow. This commentary has been adpated from a statement the senator issued as background information.
 How to contact Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico)
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