NOTE: Locations of protected species are removed or obscured within the Fishes of Minnesota Mapper
Species whose populations are vulnerable to extinction may be given special protective status by federal or state governments. The locations of protected species are removed from or obscured within the Fishes of MN Mapper to protect them from being targeted by anglers and collectors. If you need the actual locations of protected fish species for conservation, environmental planning and/or research purposes, see instructions for requesting data from the National Heritage Information System (NHIS). See specifics below.
TYPES OF STATUS
- Federal Status
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was adopted to provide conservation for threatened and endangered species on a national level.- Note: The only Federally-listed fish species for Minnesota is the Topeka Shiner (Endangered status)
- State Status
In 1971, the Minnesota legislature formed a law to identify and protect Minnesota's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species. These are species whose populations are vulnerable to extinction due to habitat loss and fragmented populations.- See: MN Protected Species List (current as of 8/19/2013) (see list, Fish p.3)
- Conservation Status
Minnesota Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) are defined as native animals whose populations are rare, declining, or vulnerable to decline and are below levels desirable to ensure their long-term health and stability.- See: MN SGCN Species List - includes all fish species listed under Federal Status and State Status (above) plus additional vulnerable species (see list, Fishes pp.5-6)
- See also: Minnesota's State Wildlife Plan - describes criteria and management of SGCN species
How do protected species appear in the Fishes of Minnesota Mapper?
Protected species include: Federal Status - Federally Endangered (F) and State Status - Minnesota Endangered (E), Minnesota Threatened (T) and Minnesota Special Concern (S) species. See the links above for lists of specific protected species.
Protected species can be queried within the Fishes of Minnesota Mapper - Filter Tab. They will appear in the Tabular Results table and are included in any .csv files, shapefiles or species lists that are downloaded from the Tabular Results page. Records having NULL (non-existent) UTMs will not appear on the Map Display; records having "Obscured" locations will appear on the Map Display within the original HUC12 watershed but not at the exact location of occurrence. Obscured records are mapped with a special symbol.
Protected species can be queried within the Fishes of Minnesota Mapper - Filter Tab. They will appear in the Tabular Results table and are included in any .csv files, shapefiles or species lists that are downloaded from the Tabular Results page. Records having NULL (non-existent) UTMs will not appear on the Map Display; records having "Obscured" locations will appear on the Map Display within the original HUC12 watershed but not at the exact location of occurrence. Obscured records are mapped with a special symbol.
Note: As of 5/29/15, the UTMs of all protected species are NULL (which means that they aren't displayed on the map). Over time, the UTMs will be updated with non-original UTMs so that these species may be mapped at obscured (non-original) locations.