You may download the complete report by clicking the links below: Final Olympic Mudminnow Status Report Oct/99 - PDF Format (3.2MB) SEPA Checklist/Declaration of Non-Significance Nov/99 - PDF Format (209K) Draft Olympic Mudminnow Status Report Jun/99 - PDF Format (707K) The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife maintains lists of species that are endangered, threatened, or sensitive in the state. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has adopted listing procedures developed in 1990 by a group of citizens, interest groups, and state and federal agencies (WAC 232-12-297). The procedures describe the process for listing species, criteria for listing and delisting, public review, and recovery and management. The first step in listing or delisting species is writing a status report that reviews a species’ status and addresses factors affecting its continued existence. Factors include, but are not limited to, historic, current, and expected population trends; natural history, including ecological relationships; historic and current habitat trends; population demographics and their relationship to long-term sustainability; and past and present management activities. Each status report undergoes a 90-day public review, during which the Department holds public meetings to receive comments and new information. Following the review period, the Department completes a final status report and listing recommendation. These undergo an additional 30-day review prior to being presented to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. State Environmental Policy Act documents are issued concurrently with final status reports and undergo a 14-day public review. The Commission makes a decision to list or delist species solely on biological status of a species. This is a Final Status Report for the Olympic Mudminnow. Submit written comments on this report by November 30, 1999 to: Endangered Species Program Manager, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia WA 98501-1091 or e-mail your comments to wildthing@dfw.wa.gov. The Department will present the results of this status review to the Fish and Wildlife Commission for action at its December 10-11, 1999 meeting.

Olympic Mudminnow Status Report: Executive Summary The Olympic mudminnow is one of five species worldwide in the family Umbridae and is the only member of the genus Novumbra. Three other species are found in North America and one in eastern Europe. Olympic mudminnows are found only in Washington State. No other members of the family Umbridae are found in Washington. The current distribution of the Olympic mudminnow includes the southern and western lowlands of the Olympic Peninsula, the Chehalis and lower Deschutes River drainages, and south Puget Sound, west of the Nisqually River. They are usually found in slow-moving streams, wetlands and ponds. Within these habitats, mudminnows require a muddy bottom, little or no water flow and abundant aquatic vegetation. Spawning occurs over an extended period from late November to the following June. Mature mudminnows are about 50 mm (2 in) to 75 mm (3 in) long. Males become brightly colored and aggressive during spawning. Females deposit eggs in vegetation and they hatch in approximately ten days. Little is known about mudminnow mortality. However, they are less abundant when associated with both native and exotic species of fish. It is not known whether this is a result of competition or predation, but some combination is likely. Mudminnows are carnivorous and they eat a various assortment of invertebrates. Wetland loss in Washington since settlement is estimated to range from 20 to 50 percent. In one part of the mudminnow's range an estimated 55 percent of wetlands have been destroyed. There were likely many more mudminnow populations before settlement of Washington because much more wetland habitat was available. There are now a myriad of federal, state, county and city wetland regulations. The rate of loss has been reduced, but despite the regulations there are still losses of 280 to 800 ha (700 to 2000 ac) each year. Nearly 90 percent of the mudminnow populations monitored in this study seem to be stable. However, mudminnows are completely dependent on healthy wetland habitat for their survival. Because of this, and the Olympic mudminnow's very restricted range and the continuing loss of wetlands, we believe they are vulnerable and likely to become threatened or endangered in a significant portion of its range without cooperative management. The Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends that the Olympic mudminnow be designated as a sensitive species in Washington. For more information on wildlife management issues, please contact WDFW Wildlife Management Program. Phone: 360-902-2515 E-mail: wildthing@dfw.wa.gov Files formatted in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print. You can download the free reader directly from Adobe. Windows versions are approximately 4MB in size.

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