ST. GEORGE — Virgin River chubs are powerful swimmers and jumpers but have made some “bad decisions,” with various factors contributing to the species’s decline. Still, a local resort hopes a collaboration with state wildlife officials will give the fish some cushion should disaster strike.
On March 21, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Ivins-based Black Desert Resort partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River chubs into one of the six lakes located on the resort’s 600 acres.
Spearheading the initiative is Joseph Platt, a Utah Tech University adjunct professor and head of environmental affairs for Black Desert Resort, who has worked in ecology for over three decades, according to the news release issued by the resort.
Platt told St. George News that before he began work at Black Desert about four years ago, he spent his first few years in St. George working in the Virgin River, studying the species that call it home.
“When I came to Black Desert, we had six lakes sitting here,” he said. “I started talking to them about using this site as a refuge — a refugio — where a population could be safe.”
According to the release, Utah Tech was vital to the process, “with students from the Department of Environmental Resources conducting studies on the lake’s water quality and entomology,” which provided data regarding food availability, which will be essential to how well the fish adapt.
“I am very pleased with Black Desert’s commitment to environmental stewardship and proud to be a part of it,” Platt said in the release. “Our collaboration with the DWR and UT’s Department of Environmental Resources represents a significant step forward in both conserving endangered species and providing real-life research opportunities for students.”
The year-old fish were raised at the division’s Wahweap Fish Hatchery in Big Water near Lake Powell, said Melinda Bennion, a DWR native aquatic biologist. The fish were transported to the area via truck before being moved to large coolers filled with water and a liquid called Stress Coat, which contains aloe vera. The treatment creates a layer of slime meant to reduce the animals’ stress and promote healing.
“Fish get very stressed,” Bennion said. “Which makes sense, right? This is all very different from being out on a pond and not being touched or messed with. We also keep the cooler shut because keeping them dark will actually reduce their stress levels.”
Once the fish were placed in coolers, they were transported to the small lake, nestled in a green golf course, and surrounded by black lava rock and ongoing construction.
“This might be a disappointment,” Bennion said. “We’re not just going to dump the coolers in there. We actually are going to acclimate the fish because the water they came in is different in temperature and other kind of water chemistry, so — I won’t get all fish-nerdy on you, but like pH and how much salts and minerals are in the water that affect how the fish can acclimate.”
Water was removed from the coolers and replaced with water from the lake until the fish were given a chance to adjust to their new environment. Once this process was complete, the fish were measured, placed into buckets or nets, and released into the pond, with multiple people taking an opportunity to set them free.
The lake in which they were deposited is connected to another across the golf course via a pipeline, and Platt said the fish could travel between the two.
In case of catastrophe
Bennion said Virgin River chubs, known for their small olive and silver scales and deeply forked tails, are minnows endemic to the Virgin River. The species, listed as federally listed as endangered, has declined due to dewatering, pollution and invasive fish, like red shiners, outcompeting or preying on it.
This decline prompted the DWR to begin a captive breeding program, Bennion said. And the lake could serve as a safe haven from natural predators.
“We’re lucky enough to partner with the Black Desert Resort to provide these fish a kind of refuge on the golf course,” she said.
While the division doesn’t plan to stock other areas using fish from the pond, Bennion said should a catastrophic event occur in the Virgin River or at the hatchery, “then we need to be prepared.”
“We’re just giving them a safe place for the fish to be,” Platt added. “A lot of endangered species just make a lot of bad choices. These guys live in difficult places. They only live in the Virgin River and a little bit in the Muddy River and it’s a very challenging piece of water in the desert.
“People take too much water out of it — it’s just a hard place to be a fish, and so we’re giving them a bit of a cushion by being here. And we have another lake that isn’t finished yet, but it is probably going to be appropriate for more fish. So we can expand that. There are other species we might be able to use here — hasn’t been quite decided yet. But anyway, this is the beginning of an experiment, and I’m hopeful and very excited to have a chance to try.”
Platt said they will conclude the experiment as successful if the fish begin breeding.
“If they’re breeding, they’re happy,” he said.
‘Environmental stewardship’
The Black Desert Resort is enrolled as a platinum member of Audubon International’s Signature Sanctuary Certification program. It is seeking certification once the resort’s construction is complete, according to Audubon International, which is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society. The program was developed to promote environmental planning for golf courses, resorts and communities.
Working toward this goal, the resort is also developing projects to help protect Mojave desert tortoises and Monarch butterflies. For instance, Platt said they are planning to create pollinator gardens as habitat and food sources.
“It is part of Black Desert’s ethos that we are a pioneering model of environmental stewardship across the board — from our golf course and resort to our residential spaces and environmental practices,” Patrick Manning, managing partner of Black Desert, said in the release. “We have been working with Dr. Platt over the past four years, and there is no one better for the job. His unmatched dedication and passion for the local community drive our mission to make a meaningful difference.”
Photo Gallery
The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News Dr. Joseph Platt talks about releasing 400 Virgin River chub at the Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News A Utah Division of Wildlife Resources staff member measures a Virgin River chub before it's released at the Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Black Desert Resort and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources partnered to release 400 endangered Virgin River Chub in one of the resort's six lakes, Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologist, Melinda Bennion releases endangered Virgin River chubs in Ivins, Utah, March 21, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News
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