FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An endangered fish that makes its home in the Colorado River basin no longer is at the brink of extinction.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday it will consider reclassifying the humpback chub as threatened within the next year.

The fish that can navigate turbulent waters and have a fleshy bump behind their heads first were considered endangered in the late 1960s. As dams were built to control water in the river and its tributaries, turning the once warm and muddy waters cold and clear, the fish struggled to survive. Invasive species also preyed on them.

The number of adult humpback chub in the Grand Canyon went from nearly 11,000 in 1989 to less than half that number a decade later before stabilizing around 2008. Now, the Grand Canyon has the largest population of about 12,000 adults.

Four smaller, wild populations are found upstream of Lake Powell in Utah and Colorado canyons.

“It took a long period of time for us to understand how a species like this behaves in the system,” said Tom Chart, director of the Fish and Wildlife’s Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program.

He said those working on recovery of the species had to learn how the populations fluctuate over time, how to mimic the natural conditions of the river that the fish need to reproduce, and to control non-native fish like rainbow and brown trout, green sunfish and smallmouth bass to give the humpback chub a better at survival.

“It’s kind of putting these puzzle pieces together to understand it,” he said.

Federal officials say the conditions in the upper and lower basins of the Colorado River differ because of the temperature of the water and availability of food. Releasing water from dams upstream of Lake Powell is based on snowpack, while releases from Glen Canyon Dam rely on the amount of sediment available to create spawning areas for humpback chub.

Full recovery of the species will take more work.

“There has been diligent work by many state and federal agencies to protect this species,” said Kevin Dahl of the National Parks Conservation Association. “It’s not out of the woods yet, and the efforts to monitor and try to create model conditions for this fish continue.”

The last set of recovery goals, developed in 2002, called for two core populations of at least 2,100 adult humpback chub to consider listing it as threatened. The Grand Canyon population is well above that number, but the second population in canyons near the Colorado-Utah border only recently surpassed it, Chart said.

Completely delisting the humpback chub would mean establishing a third population of about the same number, but Chart said the Fish and Wildlife Service will re-evaluate the goal as part of the process of reclassifying the species’ status.

The fish once had a broader range, but the construction of the Flaming Gorge Dam in Wyoming and Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border led to two other populations becoming extinct. An eighth documented population in Dinosaur National Monument also is considered gone.

The National Park Service is floating a steep increase to entrance fees at 17 of its most popular sites next year.

Visitors to the Grand Canyon and other parks would be charged $70 per vehicle, up from the current $30 fee. At others, the hike is $25 to $70.

A 30-day public comment period opened Tuesday.

The proposal comes less than two years after many of the parks that charge entrance fees became more costly. The rationale is the same this time around — to address a maintenance backlog and infrastructure projects.

The Park Service says it expects to raise $70 million a year with the latest proposal for parks mostly in the West.

The higher fees would apply during the five busiest, contiguous months. For most, that means May through September.

The National Park Service is floating a steep increase to entrance fees at 17 of its most popular sites next year.

Visitors to the Grand Canyon and other parks would be charged $70 per vehicle, up from the current $30 fee. At others, the hike is $25 to $70.

A 30-day public comment period opened Tuesday.

The proposal comes less than two years after many of the parks that charge entrance fees became more costly. The rationale is the same this time around — to address a maintenance backlog and infrastructure projects.

The Park Service says it expects to raise $70 million a year with the latest proposal for parks mostly in the West.

The higher fees would apply during the five busiest, contiguous months. For most, that means May through September.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A survey of National Park Service employees found widespread complaints of harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and top officials vowed to address it through training and enforcement.

Reports of misconduct have tarnished the image of the Park Service and its parent agency, the U.S. Interior Department. A sexual harassment scandal forced the retirement of a Grand Canyon National Park superintendent in May 2016 and led the park to abolish its river district. Investigators also have uncovered problems at many of the nation’s premier parks, including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Canaveral National Seashore and Florida’s De Soto National Memorial.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told employees during a visit to the Grand Canyon on Friday that he would hold people accountable for behavior that has killed morale within the Park Service. He urged employees to report misconduct and keep going up the chain of command if their complaints go unanswered.

“A culture that tolerates harassment and discrimination is simply unacceptable to this administration, and we’re going to take action,” he said.

According to department, nearly two of five Park Service employees surveyed this year had experienced some sort of harassment or discrimination over a 12-month period. More than 10 percent of employees were sexually harassed. The survey also looked at discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity religion and disability. About 19 percent of employees reported gender harassment. Less than 1 percent reported sexual assault.

Acting Park Service Director Mike Reynolds apologized Friday to employees who had been victims of misconduct, saying the agency will do more to support them. His and Zinke’s remarks were broadcast to Park Service employees across the country.

Reynolds outlined a series of reforms, including standardizing and strengthening sexual harassment policies, hiring more people to investigate complaints, expanding training and empowering employees through resource groups. The Park Service also created an ombudsman office to hear employee complaints.

“The survey makes it clear that NPS has a significant problem with harassment,” he said. “A culture that enables harassment and hostile workplace behavior that’s infiltrated the organization needs to stop, and it needs to stop now,” he said.

The Park Service has grappled with sexual harassment since at least 1999, when then-Director Robert Stanton appointed a task force focused on problems faced by women in law enforcement. The task force surveyed female employees and found 52 percent of them had experienced sexual harassment while working for the Park Service.

The issue was thrust into the spotlight again when 13 people who have worked at Grand Canyon National Park wrote to then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in 2014 saying male employees who conducted trips on the Colorado River preyed on female colleagues, demanded sex and retaliated against women who refused. The group said its efforts to get the Grand Canyon’s chain of command to respond went nowhere.

Grand Canyon Superintendent Chris Lehnertz said the Park Service has learned that the trauma is real and must be addressed to heal.

“The trauma changed lives, it changed families, it changed careers,” she said.

About half of the Park Service permanent employees participated in the latest survey. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they did not file a report or complaint over misconduct. Of those who did, about 46 percent thought it would go nowhere, and a third of them reported mistrust in the process.

A separate survey was conducted for seasonal Park Service workers.

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona (AP) — A survey of National Park Service employees found widespread complaints of harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and top officials vowed to address it through training and enforcement.

Reports of misconduct have tarnished the image of the Park Service and its parent agency, the U.S. Interior Department. A sexual harassment scandal forced the retirement of a Grand Canyon National Park superintendent in May 2016 and led the park to abolish its river district. Investigators also have uncovered problems at many of the nation’s premier parks, including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Canaveral National Seashore and Florida’s De Soto National Memorial.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told employees during a visit to the Grand Canyon on Friday that he would hold people accountable for behavior that has killed morale within the Park Service. He urged employees to report misconduct and keep going up the chain of command if their complaints go unanswered.

“A culture that tolerates harassment and discrimination is simply unacceptable to this administration, and we’re going to take action,” he said.

According to the department, nearly two of five Park Service employees surveyed this year had experienced some sort of harassment or discrimination over a 12-month period. More than 10 percent of employees were sexually harassed. The survey also looked at discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity religion and disability. About 19 percent of employees reported gender harassment. Less than 1 percent reported sexual assault.

Acting Park Service Director Mike Reynolds apologized Friday to employees who had been victims of misconduct, saying the agency will do more to support them. His and Zinke’s remarks were broadcast to Park Service employees across the country.

Reynolds outlined a series of reforms, including standardizing and strengthening sexual harassment policies, hiring more people to investigate complaints, expanding training and empowering employees through resource groups. The Park Service also created an ombudsman office to hear employee complaints.

“The survey makes it clear that NPS has a significant problem with harassment,” he said. “A culture that enables harassment and hostile workplace behavior that’s infiltrated the organization needs to stop, and it needs to stop now,” he said.

The Park Service has grappled with sexual harassment since at least 1999, when then-Director Robert Stanton appointed a task force focused on problems faced by women in law enforcement. The task force surveyed female employees and found 52 percent of them had experienced sexual harassment while working for the Park Service.

The issue was thrust into the spotlight again when 13 people who have worked at Grand Canyon National Park wrote to then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in 2014 saying male employees who conducted trips on the Colorado River preyed on female colleagues, demanded sex and retaliated against women who refused. The group said its efforts to get the Grand Canyon’s chain of command to respond went nowhere.

Grand Canyon Superintendent Chris Lehnertz said the Park Service has learned that the trauma is real and must be addressed to heal.

“The trauma changed lives, it changed families, it changed careers,” she said.

About half of the Park Service permanent employees participated in the latest survey. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they did not file a report or complaint over misconduct. Of those who did, about 46 percent thought it would go nowhere, and a third of them reported mistrust in the process.

A separate survey was conducted for seasonal Park Service workers.