CDFW and partners released 313 fish on Sunday

[WB Staff]

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

A new population of pupfish is now a possibility following a recent transfer of fish into a new refuge within Bishop Paiute Indian Reservation in Inyo County.
CDFW and partners released 313 fish on Sunday, collected from four other established groups of pupfish across Owens Valley.
“This is just the second time a new population of Owens pupfish has been reestablished since 2002,” said CDFW Fisheries Supervisor Nick Buckmaster. “It’s a rare win for a species that has been teetering on the brink since the 1920s.”
The other recent successful expansion of species population happened in 2021, in Mono County.
Once widespread in a network of ponds and sloughs in the Owens River watershed in the Eastern Sierra, the fish has become extremely rare and is now listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, California Endangered Species Act and is a Fully Protected Species under Fish and Game Code.
The Bishop Paiute Tribe, CDFW, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have all dedicated staff and knowledge to the important job of helping the Owens pupfish with its recovery.
"We’re grateful for the Tribe and all their efforts on this project,” said CDFW Program Manager Russell Black. “A lot of groups worked together for many years to see this fish return to Tribal land. We’re happy to share a part in this story.”