The Clear Lake Hitch (Lavinia exilicaudi chi) is a large freshwater minnow found only in Northern California’s Clear Lake watershed, Blue Lakes and Thurston Lake. This silverfish is an important species to local Tribes who call it “Chi” and historically have relied on it for food. Wetland habitat loss, degradation and barriers throughout the Clear Lake watershed – all exacerbated or caused by water over-withdrawal – are the leading threats to the species. Drought, poor water quality, and invasive carp and other non-native fish also contribute to the species’ decline. In 2014, the hitch was listed as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act, and it is now being proposed for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.
It is our hope that the Clear Lake Hitch will get listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act and receive the protections it needs to survive including designated critical habitat, habitat restoration, and adequate flows.
The Clear Lake hitch faces extinction within a significant portion of its range. In addition to protecting critical habitat, the State Water Resources Control Board should continue to review excessive creek water pumping and groundwater resources in the basin, as the local Tribes have requested.
Additionally, legal and illegal water over-withdrawal should be better controlled in order to maintain adequate water flows for the hitch – particularly during spring spawning. A relative of the, the Clear Lake splittail, was driven to extinction in the 1970s due to habitat alterations and barriers that dried out their spawning grounds and blocked their spawning migrations. Extinction can become a reality for the Clear Lake hitch if we don’t act fast and give it increased protections.
The primary threat to Clear Lake hitch is a lack of water flowing in the tributaries during their spring spawning. The hitch needs emergency action to survive.
These small yet incredibly resilient fish embody the hope for a restored Clear Lake. We need the hitch to have federal Endangered Species Act protections in order to not go extinct.
Submit comments to the Federal Register here, by finding the proposed listing under Docket Number: FWS-R8-ES-2024-0161
Suggested comments to use:
Along with listing the Clear Lake hitch as threatened, please designate critical habitat for it.
Along with designating critical habitat, it is imperative to restore stream banks with Tule Brush as habitat for the Clear Lake hitch and remove barriers that may impair the hitch from making the essential migration for spawning.
Water is habitat for this species; therefore, this listing should also be paired with increased flows to the tributaries that are vital for spring spawning. Legal water withdrawals should be evaluated and minimized in order to account for the over-withdrawal of water that may happen and inevitably impact the spawning grounds for the hitch.