Preservation and Management

Following rediscovery of the Owens pupfish in 1964, thought began to be directed toward its management. Inventories of all fish populations began to be worked into general management plans of the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), which had up to that time been so completely dedicated to gamefish management that any species not possessing adipose fins or spiny rays became an immediate candidate for eradication (Pister 1976). Suggestions for preserving such things as snails and plants met with derision. Problems of preserving all life forms at that time were more political than biological (Pister 1979).

Changes in the natural character of the Owens Valley continued through the next decade, largely manifested in the loss of spring ecosystems (and their associated flora and fauna) through increased groundwater extraction. This gradual change was accompanied during the 1960s by at least two instances during which pupfish populations in natural habitats thought to be secure were nearly lost.

So on June 26, 1967, when Carl Hubbs, Bob Miller, and Phil Pister met at Fish Slough to consider the possibility of creating refugia for the native fishes of the Owens Valley, their thinking went well beyond that. It was becoming disturbingly clear that the remaining aquatic wetland in Fish Slough was the only area in the entire Owens Valley retaining even a semblance of the magnificent ecosystem that existed before the coming of Europeans. More than fish refugia were needed. Aquifers supplying the springs had to be protected, and private inholdings had to be acquired to minimize further impact on the Fish Slough ecosystem.

The first priority was preservation of the Owens pupfish. Refugia were constructed at two locations in Fish Slough in the early 1970s. Designed to prevent the invasion of introduced predatory fishes that abound in Fish Slough, the refugia attempted to recreate the conditions under which the native Owens Valley fishes evolved (Miller and Pister 1971). The refugia have been successful in protecting the native fishes, and in 1980 the Owens Valley Native Fish Sanctuary (the first refuge constructed) was expanded to enhance Owens pupfish habitat (fig. 2). Current status and recovery efforts for the Owens pupfish are summarized by Courtois and Tippetts (1979).

Public resistance to the creation of a native fish sanctuary is not widespread, but certainly exists. Fences have been cut, signs torn down, and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides ) frequently (and illegally) planted into the refuge area. Such actions, although frustrating, only serve to strengthen our resolve to protect the entire ecosystem under a comprehensive management plan.