Snail darter revisited: Famous fish that halted a dam's construction is not endangered after allhttps://phys.org/news/2025-01-snail-darter-revisited-famous-fish.htmlIn 1967, construction began on the Tellico Dam—the aim was to create a reservoir on the Little Tennessee River, approximately 20 miles southwest of Knoxville. The dam construction was led by officials with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Shortly after construction began, a zoologist with the University of Tennessee discovered a previously unknown fish living at the bottom of the river.
A quick study of the fish suggested it was unique and at risk of extinction if the dam was built. That fish, the snail darter, soon became a symbol for the use of an endangered species as a way to prevent the development of projects across the country in the ensuing years.
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In this new study, the research team took a closer look at the fish involved in the controversy. After conducting standard species identification and classification testing, they discovered that the snail darter was not a unique or endangered fish after all. Instead, it was a member of the stargazing darter species, which is present and plentiful in many places in the U.S.
The researchers conclude their paper by declaring the snail darter was a phantom all along—there never was such a fish species. They suggest the research team who initially studied the fish were more interested in stopping the construction of the dam than in saving a fish species. ...
IMO, the researches are too kind. The enviros wanting to stop the dam created a fraud to achieve that Luddite goal.
