A lot of money to save one tiny fish
Moapa Dace fish swim in a tank at the Lake Mead Fish Hatchery in Las Vegas. (Brett Le Blanc/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bleblancphoto
In response to the March 15 Review-Journal story, “Moapa dace population holds steady in count”:
The article states that the fish’s “entire habitat is confined to the 116-acre Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge; some adjacent private land, including the LDS retreat; and the 1,218-acre tract the water authority bought for $69 million in 2007 and now maintains as the Warm Springs Natural Area.” Let’s see. The Southern Nevada Water Authority spent more than $56,000 per acre to protect around 1,000 finger-length fish. That comes to $69,000 per fish.
We continue to spend public dollars to protect this fish. Is this really necessary?
