Populations of the endangered vermilion darter have been found in new areas of Turkey Creek, near Pinson, upstream of where a dam was removed four years ago in an effort to expand the fish's range.

The vermilion darter is a small, brightly colored fish, that is found only in a nine-mile stretch of Turkey Creek and its tributaries in north Jefferson County. The darter needs clear, free-flowing streams to survive and had been blocked from moving upstream by the old dam.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnered with the Freshwater Land Trust to remove the nearly 100-year-old Shadow Lake dam in 2013, and this month confirmed the darters have expanded their range upstream of the old dam site.

"This project shows what we do really well," said Libba Vaughan, executive director of Freshwater Land Trust. "Our ability to acquire land gives the fish a safe home, and our expertise in stream restoration makes that home bigger and cleaner.

"It is thrilling to see the proof that these beautiful fish are thriving and their population growing with our efforts."

Endangered species like the vermilion darter can be "the canary in the coal mine" when it comes to assessing the health of our ecosystems, said Eric Spadgenske, state coordinator with the Wildlife Service.

"The biological diversity that we enjoy in Alabama is a blessing," Spadgenske said. "It should not be taken for granted."

The Land Trust owns and manages the land where the dam sat, upstream from the popular Turkey Creek Nature Preserve.

The darter was also found on a different property in the Turkey Creek watershed. That property was purchased by Freshwater Land Trust in September, adding 80 acres of mixed hardwood forest to the existing preserved land around Turkey Creek owned by the Land Trust and Alabama's Forever Wild land conservation program.

"Together these conserved lands provide migration corridors for wildlife, including black bears, and intact forest that protects over 30,000 feet of stream full of diverse plants and animals, including the darter," said Jeffrey Drummond, stewardship director at the Freshwater Land Trust in a news release.

Charles Yeager, manager of the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve said that cooperation between the various groups involved, including the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Freshwater Land Trust, is essential to preserving Turkey Creek and the many species found there.

"If we only worked within Turkey Creek Nature Preserve itself, we would never solve the real problems that lie upstream," Yeager said in a news release. "We would be creating band-aids, not solutions.

"Our partners provide resources and unique approaches that make it possible for all of us to make a real impact."