WASHINGTON— In a legal victory for the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed today to again consider Endangered Species Act protections for the bridled darter. Bridled darters are rare fish who live in Georgia and Tennessee and are named for their markings resembling a horse’s bridle and reins.

“I’m so glad the Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to reconsider granting protections for the lovely little bridled darter,” said Meg Townsend, freshwater attorney at the Center. “We all need clean water, and protecting bridled darters will benefit people, too, by ensuring rivers are cleaner for drinking and recreation.”

Bridled darters face multiple threats to their survival, including habitat destruction and climate change. Despite these clear threats and scientific evidence that the fish are in danger, the Service denied protection in 2017. Today’s agreement is a result of the Center’s September lawsuit challenging that decision.

As part of today’s agreement, the Service has agreed to reevaluate the bridled darters’ status and make a new decision about whether they should be listed as an endangered species by Nov. 18, 2026.

Bridled darters live only in small portions of six rivers and creeks in north Georgia and south Tennessee that feed into the Coosa River, including the Conasauga and Etowah rivers.

The fish were once found throughout the upper Coosa River watershed, but urban sprawl from Chattanooga and Atlanta, combined with expanding agriculture, has shrunk their habitat. Now each bridled darter population is tiny and isolated from others, making them even more vulnerable to local threats.

The Center first petitioned for the protection of the bridled darter in 2010. Despite Service scientists predicting that at least two of the darter’s six populations will be lost in the next decade, the agency decided not to protect the fish.

After protection was denied, three populations once believed to be bridled darters have been reclassified as an entirely new species — the Etowah bridled darter. This means there are even fewer bridled darters than previously believed. Fortunately, as part of today’s agreement, the Service will review the science to determine if listing the Etowah bridled darter may also be warranted.

“I’m hopeful the Fish and Wildlife Service will do what’s right to protect the bridled darter and their unique habitat,” said Townsend. “Science, not politics, should lead the way to protecting the bridled darter and the biologically rich southeastern rivers where they live. We’re losing more freshwater species than ever to extinction, and these fish shouldn’t have been denied protection in the first place.”

Bridled darters are a unique species in the perch family who have a swim bladder, allowing them to feed within the water column and by plucking food off the streambed. Already isolated by dams, at least half the known populations are expected to disappear because of urbanization and climate change. Remaining populations will be forced into a handful of isolated streams, putting them at even greater risk of extinction.