ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It was a strange sight to see the Rio Grande dry through Albuquerque. That sent crews from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service scrambling to save the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow. For years, conservationists have been working to repopulate New Mexico’s waterways with the endangered fish.
With the dry riverbed posing a risk to the fish, crews were called on to pull as many minnows out of the river as possible. “This isn’t really helping to get to recovery. It’s just kind of preventing the final extinction of the species in the wild,” said Thomas Archdeacon, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The crews released the fish in areas less likely to dry up. Since last week’s dry spell, rains have brought water levels through Albuquerque back up.
