The pikeminnow is one of several fish that evolved from around three to five million years ago and can’t be found anywhere else in the world! Research has proven that losing a species within an ecosystem can cause the collapse of that ecosystem, and since these fish have been around for millions of years scientists fear that the loss of any one of them would cause the ecosystem to collapse. The extinction of the pikeminnow and other fish native to the Green River and other Colorado River tributaries is feared to cause such an impact that there have been several laws put in place to protect them. The pikeminnow is on the federal endangered species list, and there have even been “catch and kill” orders put out for the northern pike and other non-native fish to help the pikeminnow and other species reclaim their numbers.