The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the snail darter from the Endangered Species List on Oct. 4, 2022, saying the small fish in the Tennessee River watershed is no longer in danger of ...

The fish gained fame in the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case of Tennessee Valley Authority vs. Hill. Conservationists sued to stop the Tellico Dam near Lenoir City, from being completed because it ...

Decades after the Tellico Dam battle, the fish formerly known as the snail darter is thriving. It left the endangered species list in 2020. “This is still a success story,” Mr. Simmons said.

Conservationists, farmers, the Cherokee Tribe, and others wanted protection for the little fish and the Little Tennessee River habitat during the construction of the controversial Tellico Dam.