Reversing Extinction of the Alligator Gar

What is it?
Alligator Gar is a predator fish which used to be abundant in rivers and streams in the mid-west and southern states of the United States.
Why is it important?
This species of gar was the top predator in its native streams; serving an invaluable role of preventing ecosystem saturation by eliminating species which would otherwise surpass their carrying capacity causing a reduction of local biodiversity and ecosystem balance. Additionally biologists believe they could be a critical factor in eradicating invasive species of carp which have been eliminating native species in mid-west streams. (asian carp would be great). They began to see steep population declines in the early 1900s and have since become endangered in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and were declared extinct in Illinois in 1994.

Was their extinction anthropogenic?
 Fossil records for alligator gar in North America carbon date back more than 3.5 million years ago with very little evolutionary change. (Other species of gar date more than 135 million years old.) This indicates that the predator species has thrived since dinosaurs and thus exemplifies its extreme adaptive capacity and competitive nature. In the 20th century  fisheries had announced they wanted to eliminate alligator gar by encouraging people to shoot, dynamite, or net the gar by the thousands. The gar were thought of as a pirate fish which took away important fish sought after by fisheries and sport fishermen. Due to the size of some long living alligator gar (can be over 10 ft), many even believed they were a man-eating fish. As it turns our the gar were not only protecting the ecological balance by preventing overpopulation of "trash" fish, but the myth about them being a freshwater man-eater have also been debunked by biologists and the television series River Monster.
What's being done?
They have reintroduced the species in many places such as Spunky Bottoms a lake in Illinois, where the populations have expanded enough that they are no longer considered endangered in Illinois. This is a major accomplishment as there are not many species which we have been able to bring back from extinction. Additionally they have been reintroduced in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky in hopes of bringing back this much needed predator.
What can you do?

While there aren't non-profits who are targeting the conservation of the alligator gar, there are still many ways you can have influence on critical species of gar in the future. Clearly you can support practices which do not harm their river and stream habitats such as only supporting foods grown with organic fertilizers, but if you are into fishing you can also opt out of targeting gar and spread awareness of their critical significance to ecosystem balance and fish stocks.



Citations
http://blog.nature.org/science/2013/03/04/big-fish-return-of-the-alligator-gar/

http://www.fws.gov/warmsprings/FishHatchery/species/alligatorgar.html