Federal money will help buy June sucker habitat

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Federal officials looking to help a rare Utah fish are providing money to buy up a chunk of land to keep it from being commercially developed.

The 2.5-acre parcel along East Hobble Creek near Utah Lake would provide habitat for spawning June suckers.

The property purchase will be funded in part by $150,000 from the U.S. Department of Interior. The money was part of nearly $66 million in grants announced Monday for habitat conservation projects across the country.

The state of Utah is also providing money for the purchase.

The June sucker appears naturally only in Utah Lake and its tributaries. It's been listed as an endangered species since 1986.

Larry Crist, who runs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Utah, hopes the land buy can happen later this year.