We see them bandied about on the top of Exxon gas stations or in Canon commercials during the Super Bowl. They’re the photogenic species; they look nice on the postcards sent from family vacations. They sell.
But what about those that don’t? What about the countless species that are just as important and equally threatened by extinction?
Just last week I learned of an endangered species that lives only a short bike ride from campus — not in Yellowstone or Denali, but in that ribbon of water bound on either side by tangled cottonwood. The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow in itself isn’t much to look at. It’s a minnow. Something one might bait the end of his or her line with to catch something more interesting. Yet here it is, an endangered species, bringing with it the full power of Federal Law working to ensure its survival.
Over the course of its range from Santa Fe to Socorro, New Mexicans are required to structure their use of the Rio Grande’s water with the little fish’s survival in mind. Fortunately, it doesn’t require much: All it really needs is water in the river. Not the puddled, polluted kind, but the free-flowing, clean kind.
It needs a working river where adults can spawn upstream, hatchlings can grow as they flow downstream and then return to their spawning grounds as adults, completing the cycle. That’s it. In return, we get a working river.
Of course stories like this aren’t new. Even if we know the requirements necessary for an endangered species’ survival, like we do for the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow, success is not guaranteed. People have to actually care, and that’s hard when all they have is a diminutive fish for a postcard. They must have tangible benefits for surrounding communities in order for people to truly care.
So if all that we have to do to ensure the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow’s survival is keep a flow in the Rio Grande, why should people care? There are three simple reasons:
1. Water in the river means a healthy Bosque, which is by far one of the best places to hike even for a hiking option-rich place like ABQ.
2. A healthy, functioning river is indicative of the health of the larger ecosystem, which is absolutely necessary if people are to continue to happily inhabit New Mexico.
3. If all these things are in order, Albuquerque is more attractive to investment which makes people want to live here, bringing with them jobs that help the economy overall.
So the next time you think of the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow or any endangered species like it, don’t just think of it, but think of the larger environment it calls home. Think of the Rio Grande, its Bosque and the people who get to enjoy a healthy river.
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Will Brewer is a member of the UNM Wilderness Alliance Club.
