The Oregon chub officially became the first fish to be removed from the endangered species list this week. The small fish, which once numbered less than 1,000 now have an estimated population of more than 140,000 in 80 locations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the announcement on February 13 at the Finley National Wildlife Refuge near Corvallis, Oregon which provides a primary habitat for Oregon chub.

The 3 inch speckled mine, Oregonichthys crameri, is a ray-finned fish native to the shallow water drainage of Oregon’s Willamette river. The fish spend their lives in off-channel habitats such as beaver ponds, backwater sloughs and flooded marshes.

Historically, the animals habitat has been created and destroyed at regular intervals by flooding. The introduction of new dams, flood control measures, channels and dikes as well as competition from non-native species such as bass, bluegill and mosquitofish drove the fish to the bring of extinction before it was officially listed as endangered in 1993.

The remarkable recovery of the species has been attributed to a multi-agency campaign to revive the species by securing new habitat, transplanting the species to 20 new locations and improved flood plain management.

“The Oregon chub is the first fish in the nation to be recovered under the Endangered Species Act because of the sustained effort by many individuals and organizations. Collaborating and applying the best possible science helped recover the Oregon chub and benefited many other species as well. Our success here is a good reminder that by working together species recovery is possible,” said Curt Melcher, director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in a statement.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the participation of private land owners was critical to the success of the recovery program.

“It has been an exciting experience to know that we had a small part in helping in the recovery of this tiny fish. It is not often that one sees results from such a project with so many people, so much energy given to save a part of the environment. I am so pleased to have been a part of it and hope that other landowners in the future will join in with new or ongoing projects,” said Gail Haws, the first private landowner to sign onto a Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement after chub were discovered on her property.

The criteria for downgrading the fish was laid out in the Oregon Chub Recovery Plan.

In 2010, the species was down listed from endangered to threatened when there were found to be at least 10 stable or increasing populations of at least 500 adults. Additionally, those populations were required to be stable or increasing for at least 5 years and needed to match requirements for geographic distribution.

The requirements for down listing and complete removal from the list were similar, except that 20 populations were required and needed to be stable or increasing for 7 years.

The status of the fish was monitored during annual surveys by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife starting in 1991.

“This milestone demonstrates how the Endangered Species Act can bring people together to accomplish a shared goal. This effort succeeded because of an extraordinary partnership between federal and state agencies, landowners and other stakeholders who brought this species and ecosystem back from the brink of extinction in just over 20 years. We’re now managing the river in a smarter way, which means better opportunities for recreation, a boost for salmon recovery and improved water quality – all of which are good news for Oregon and its economy,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell.