Fishing News
Federal judge orders consideration of California's state fish for endangered list
By Angela Watercutter
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal judge has given the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 90 days to consider listing California's state fish -- the golden trout -- as an endangered species.
A conservation group sued last November, claiming the agency and Interior Secretary Gale Norton failed to act on its request last year to list the fish.
The judge's order, issued last Friday, gives the agency three months to decide if the request has merit. It will then have nine months to act on its decision.
Fish and Wildlife intends to announce whether it will propose the trout for listing by Sept. 16, said agency spokeswoman Patricia Foulk.
At one time, golden trout were found in 450 miles of streams across the southern Sierra Nevada. But in the past 100 years, crossbreeding and pollution have reduced their range to 84 miles.
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