Woundfin Recovery Efforts Highlight Southern Utah’s Natural Treasures

Endangered Species Day is Friday, May 15, wildlife officials are highlighting encouraging recovery efforts involving one of southern Utah’s rarest native fish species, the endangered woundfin. Found only in a short stretch of the Virgin River, the tiny silver fish has become a symbol of both the challenges and successes tied to protecting the region’s fragile desert waterways.

The woundfin, a streamlined minnow measuring only about four inches long, is specially adapted to survive the swift, muddy currents of the Virgin River. Its large fins and scaleless body allow it to navigate the silty waters that flow through Washington County and nearby areas. But despite those adaptations, the species has struggled for decades against mounting environmental pressures. Non-native fish, drought, altered river flows, warmer water temperatures and habitat loss have all contributed to severe population declines. The fish has been federally listed as endangered since 1970.

Virgin River Program Originated In 2002

Recovery efforts gained momentum in 2002 with the creation of the Virgin River Program, a partnership involving local, state, federal and private organizations. The program seeks to protect native fish and wildlife while balancing the growing water needs of communities throughout the Virgin River Basin.

In a press release, DWR Southern Region Native Aquatics Biologist Melinda Bennion explained that woundfin were first collected near St. George in the late 1980s and transferred to a federal hatchery in New Mexico to establish a captive population. Additional collections in the early 2000s helped increase breeding success, allowing hatchery-raised fish to later be returned to the Virgin River.

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The recovery effort faced a major setback during the winter of 2024-2025, when only about 200 woundfin survived at the New Mexico hatchery. However, biologists quickly responded, and successful spawning has since increased the hatchery population to roughly 800 fish. About 300 were flown to Utah’s Aquatic Animal Health and Research Center in Logan, where the fish have already produced approximately 1,000 larval fish with thousands more eggs still developing.

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The Virgin River is also home to several other sensitive native fish species, making it one of Utah’s most important waterways for endangered aquatic wildlife. Wildlife officials say continued partnerships and conservation work remain essential to ensuring these rare species survive for future generations.