BLM partnerships help delist the Borax Lake Chub

The Burns District BLM worked in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Nature Conservancy to reduce or eliminate threats to this highly specialized endemic fish species.

This unique species is found only in Borax Lake, a small, 10-acre shallow lake fed by geothermal springs. This lake is perched 30 feet above the Alvord Desert floor – atop large sodium-borate deposits. Spring input temperatures near the bottom of the lake range from 104-298 degrees F, with surface waters cooling to between 61-100 degrees F. To ensure the continued positive trajectory, the BLM also entered into an agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, to continue to monitor the species and protect their extremely limited habitat.

For the second year in a row, an ESA listed fish endemic to Eastern Oregon was removed from the Endangered Species List. This is only the 4th fish to ever be removed from the Endangered Species List!