Feds: Utah minnow may need protection

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Federal officials say a minnow that lives in western Utah may need federal protection to survive.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it will take a closer look at the least chub -- a minnow native to the Bonneville Basin -- and decide whether it needs to be on the endangered species list.

Two environmental groups and an American Indian tribe earlier this month said they planned to sue the federal government if it didn't act on a request to protect the fish under the Endangered Species Act.

The species used to be found in ponds and streams near Salt Lake City and the Great Salt Lake.

The fish has declined in recent years because of loss of habitat and the introduction of nonnative species.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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