“FirstLight Power Resources Company Inc. is working with state and federal agencies to build a temporary eel ladder on the Stevenson Dam on the Monroe/Oxford [Connecticut] town line” (source). Eventually the company will build similar facilities at other dams it owns on the Housatonic in an attempt to allow eels to return as far north in the river as the Connecticut-Massachusetts border.
The American eel was considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service determined earlier this year that “protecting the eel as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act is not warranted” (source) The Service based its finding on the lack of “appreciable phylogeographic structure” within the species and its finding that its extensive geographic range should provide a considerable buffer against extinction (source).
That's why it's nice to see this effort to restore the eel to a part of its historic range. It is far easier to help a species remain relatively common than it is to prevent its extinction. This is an example where preventative action is being taken before extinction is imminent – an example that I wish would be followed more often than it is.
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