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ST GEORGE — To try and save two other endangered species in Utah, wildlife officials are trying to kill another species.
Work started in mid-June to poison the Red Shiner fish in the Virgin River. It's a non-native fish that has been overtaking the waterway for more than 20 years.
The Red Shiner has been killed off before, but floods in the last few years have led to it being reintroduced — it's a fish that's hard to remove.
"A single female can have up to 10,000 offspring in one year," said Steve Meismer of the Virgin River Program. "We're trying to get rid of those red shiners so these native fish — particularly our endangered Woundfin and Virgin River chub — have a better opportunity to survive and hopefully get them off the endangered species list."
All other native fish were removed from the river before the poison was put in just south of St. George.
Officials say the chemical is only toxic to fish.
