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ST. GEORGE — Virgin River chubs are powerful swimmers and jumpers but have made some "bad decisions," with various factors contributing to the species' 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 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.
