Meet Alabama’s trispot darter – the small fish that loves small streams
The trispot darter is getting by with a little help from some friends.
In 2020, Alabama Power and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stepped in to build a bridge and reconnect the trispot darter with its critical breeding grounds off Little Canoe Creek in Springville to support populations of the tiny fish. The trispot darter, which is federally protected, lives only in the Coosa River and its tributaries and uses small, seasonally wet streams to spawn. Before the new bridge was constructed, occasional high water flow had eroded the culverts underneath the roadway, making it difficult for the darters to swim upstream to their natural breeding habitat.
One of the Yellowhammer State’s smallest and most elusive fish, the trispot darter inhabits small, shallow streams, hovering slightly above the creek bed. The 2-inch fish is also found in Georgia and Tennessee.
“The trispot darter is important to the environment because, the more diversity we have in our streams, the better,” explained Dylan Shaw, Environmental Affairs Specialist at Alabama Power. “We have these little fish, a species that many people have never heard of, that are actually filling important roles in the local ecosystem.”
“Alabama Power and its parent company, Southern Company, are very committed to the native species that exist in the waters we operate in and around. It is very important for us to make sure we’re including these species in our conservation plans as we’re going about our duties to provide power.”
