ROANOKE, Va. – A local fish that has complicated plans for the Mountain Valley Pipeline over the years is no longer at risk of extinction.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the Roanoke Logperch has rebounded enough to be removed from the endangered species list.
However, some conservation biologists said they’re not sure that’s the right move.
“It’s so close to being a true success story,” Tierra Curry with the Center for Biological Diversity said. “But, it’s just too much to take it from endangered to not protected, especially with the growing threat of climate change, urbanization.”
Curry said the fish is still threatened by water pollution from the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The Roanoke Logperch can grow up to six inches long and is known as the king of the darters because of its size.