# 2024-31756: Government Moves to Save California's Last Lake Minnows

2024-31756, Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Clear Lake Hitch, is a Federal Register proposed rule from an unnamed agency published 2025-01-16, effective This is a proposed rule published January 16, 2025; no regulatory effective date is specified in the proposal. (as of 2026-06-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2024-31756
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2024-31756
- Title: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Clear Lake Hitch
- Type: Proposed Rule
- Agencies: unknown
- Citation: unknown
- Published: 2025-01-16
- Effective: This is a proposed rule published January 16, 2025; no regulatory effective date is specified in the proposal.
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-11

## In one line

Government Moves to Save California's Last Lake Minnows

## Summary

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to protect the Clear Lake hitch, a special fish found only in California’s Clear Lake area, by listing it as a threatened species. This means new rules will help keep the fish safe and healthy. People can share their thoughts on this plan until March 17, 2025, and the changes could affect local fishing and conservation efforts.

## Abstract

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the Clear Lake hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi), a freshwater fish subspecies in the North American minnow family that is restricted to the Clear Lake watershed in Lake County, California, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This determination also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the Clear Lake hitch. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the Clear Lake hitch is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list the Clear Lake hitch as a threatened species with protective regulations issued under section 4(d) of the Act ("4(d) rule"). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add the Clear Lake hitch to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to this subspecies.

## Effects PRIA read

- Clear Lake hitch listed as threatened: mixed, medium. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to list the Clear Lake hitch as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and to add it to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The proposal was published January 16, 2025, and the Service will accept public comments through March 1…
- Section 4(d) rule will set protections: mixed, medium. The proposal includes issuing protective regulations under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act to govern activities affecting the Clear Lake hitch. The Service specifically seeks information about how much of the section 9 prohibitions to include and whether any exceptions should apply.
- Critical habitat not determinable now: mixed, medium. The Service states that, concurrently with listing, it must designate critical habitat to the maximum extent prudent and determinable, but that critical habitat for the Clear Lake hitch is not determinable at this time. When designating critical habitat, the Secretary must consider the economic imp…

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## Sources
- [2024-31756 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/16/2024-31756/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-threatened-species-status-with-section-4d-rule-for)
- [2024-31756 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-16/pdf/2024-31756.pdf)

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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2024-31756 (as of 2026-06-11).