U.S Fish and Wildlife Service

Lawsuit alleges federal agencies failing to protect ‘imperiled’ crayfish, darter from coal mining impacts

BY: - November 10, 2023

Two environmental advocacy groups are suing federal agencies for allegedly failing to implement conservation protections for hundreds of coal mines, including those in Eastern Kentucky, whose discharges into waterways could harm endangered and threatened aquatic life.   Appalachian Voices and the Center for Biological Diversity, in a lawsuit filed in federal district court Wednesday, alleged hundreds […]

An up-close photo of a brown-shaded relict darter.

Wildlife officials downgrade protection status of West Kentucky fish to ‘threatened’

BY: - September 26, 2023

A small fish native to a stream system in West Kentucky is having its federal protection status under the Endangered Species Act downgraded from “endangered” to “threatened” in large part due to decades of conservation efforts.  The relict darter, native to the Bayou de Chien stream system that runs through West Kentucky into the Mississippi […]