DNR extends comment period for "Topeka shiner"

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is adding more time for publiccomment before it adds the “Topeka shiner” to Iowa’s list of endangeredspecies. D-N-R zoologist Daryl Howell says the three-inch minnow used tolive in 22 Iowa counties, but it’s found in just a handful now. The commentperiod, which was to end Tuesday, has been extended to July 16th. Howell saysthere will also be an aditional public hearing in Rockwell City July 14th.He says state officials will determine whether to add the fish to the listafter the comment period is over. Earlier surveys showed the Topeka shiner in the Raccoon River in Calhoun andGreene counties and in the Rock River in Osceola and Lyon counties. If theshiner is placed on Iowa’s endangered species list, it’ll be illegal tocatch it.