Fish and Wildlife Service must use best available science to address Arctic grayling population, according to Butte U.S. District court decision
By Jen Clancey DIGITAL PRODUCER
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a quote from Patrick Kelly regarding his stance on the CCAA’s effectiveness.
On Aug. 6, a federal district court ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must return to the drawing board and review the best available science to inform its decision on Arctic grayling protection in Montana, and that current Arctic grayling conservation programs don’t ensure protection for the species in the near future.
Arctic grayling used to swim in lakes and rivers in Michigan and Montana. The cold temperatures of local waterways like the Gallatin River and Bozeman Creek used to host a healthy habitat for the fish. Now, Montana is the only state outside of Alaska that hosts a native population of the species. Today, native Arctic grayling solely reside in portions of the Big Hole River, Madison River, Ruby River, the Centennial Valley and mountain lakes and reservoirs in the lower 48 states. .
At the end of January 2023, the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watershed Project and Butte resident Pat Munday—represented by Earthjustice—filed a complaint against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, its director and the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The lawsuit stated that the service does not analyze the efficacy of its Arctic grayling protection programs and that the service did not use the best available science in a 2020 decision to not list the species as endangered.
A year and a half after the filed complaint, USFWS must return to its 2020 finding, which denied the Arctic grayling protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Aug. 6 court decision stated that USFWS’ determination of the Ruby River population as viable was “arbitrary and capricious.” The court also determined the CCAA, a fish protection program on the Big Hole River among private landowners with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, may not exist after its 2026 expiration date. In a year’s time the service will need to make a new finding about the Upper Missouri River Basin Arctic grayling population using up-to-date science.
In the new finding, plaintiffs hope the service will choose to grant Arctic grayling protection under the Endangered Species Act.
“The science shows us that these fish need protection,” said Emily Qiu, lead attorney with Earthjustice. Earthjustice is a nationwide nonprofit public interest environmental law organization, with over 15 offices, including one in Bozeman. “The service at times has recognized that, and more recently has not looked at the best available science.”
“That analysis should include everything that has happened in the past 40 years,” Qiu continued. Organizations fighting for the fish note factors like climate change, irrigation withdrawal, habitat loss and warmer water temps as some of the issues that have impacted the population, which is at only 4% of its historic range.
Patrick Kelly, the Montana and Washington director of the Western Watershed Project, is concerned about the population change. In a way, the Arctic grayling is like a swimming thermometer, and their population is put under immense stress in temps 70F and up.
“The water flows are so low and the water temperatures are so high,” Kelly said. “This is sounding the alarm.”
He noted that when rivers get too warm for Arctic grayling, it means other cold water fish like trout will be put under stress too.
“We have to see if [the service] is going to do the right thing this time,” Kelly said. He explained that the CCAA’s work to protect Arctic grayling is commendable but “at best”, only holding the line in maintaining a struggling Arctic grayling population.
For Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity, the situation is dire. Just a couple of bad years on the water and Arctic grayling could be extinct from Montana rivers, according to Greenwald. “Scientists from around the world are warning that we are in an extinction crisis,” Greenwald said. “The grayling is a part of that.”
The August court decision brings hope for Arctic grayling and Montana’s natural heritage.
“We hope that USFWS takes a hard look at the science and gives the grayling a fair shake,” Greenwald said.
