By now I’m sure you’re thinking “Why do I care? This is totally boring! I can’t believe I have to read this!” So why should you care? Because the Colorado pikeminnow is an endangered species, it used to be sought out by fishermen because of its size and served as a delicacy.
However, fishing is not the only thing causing this fish to become extinct. Human interference, such as building dams, mining, channelization, and the introduction of nonnative fish are also killing the pikeminnow to the brink of extinction. The dams and channels are reducing the number of backwaters available for the pikeminnow to breed. Nutrients that pikeminnows adapted to having available over the years are now being held in reservoirs, and the turbulent waters that they love are being held hostage by the dams put in place.