Cave Fish Concerns Come Up Again
The Morning News
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/ ... torial.txt
Let us preface our comments on the Ozark cave fish by noting we believe in being environmentally correct. Your paper is printed on newsprint containing recycled fibers and we use a soy-based ink.
We recycle, conserve water and believe green space is a good thing.
We want to save the whale, the rain forests and the Alaska wilderness. And we think it is just dandy that the ivory-billed woodpecker has been found in east Arkansas where they need something to think about other than mosquitos.
However, we admit our commitment to environmental responsibility gets strained when the subject of the Ozark cave fish comes up. That little devil costs taxpayers millions of dollars every time a major infrastructure project is undertaken. Cave fish forced rerouting of Interstate 540. The proposed U.S. 412 bypass around Springdale had to be planned with the cave fish in mind. And the pesky little guy reared his head when the regional airport was being developed.
For those new to the region, here's a refresher course. The Ozark cave fish is two to three inches long, blind, only lives in caves and is listed as a "threatened" species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One of its few remaining habitats is the Cave Springs Cave in the Cave Springs Recharge Area. As luck would have it, the recharge area is 16 square miles located in one of the fastest developing areas of the country.
Researchers recently counted 123 of the fish locally, down from a historic high of 160. The researchers are concerned about this decrease.
They are also concerned about high levels of red silt found in the cave. Again, they don't know the cause for the higher silt levels. They don't know if the lower number of fish and the silt levels are connected and they won't say if they think development in the area is the cause.
Here's the question we would really like answered: Does the species' dwindling numbers have less to do with encroaching urbanization and more to do with the fact these creatures are blind and live in a cave? Maybe it's not development killing them off. Maybe it's Darwin.
On some level, it's easy to wonder if saving the cave fish is worth all this trouble. But ultimately, the loss of any species diminishes the world in some way. That means that for as long as the Ozark cave fish is around, we have the responsibility to find a way to protect it.