Red Hills Desert Garden: a refuge for Virgin River Chub

The Red Hills Desert Garden is an oasis located in the red hills overlooking St. George. The garden is maintained by the Washington County Water Conservancy District, a partner agency with the Virgin River Program. Five acres of carefully curated desert-adapted plants surround an artificial stream filled with water from the Virgin River. This stream is home to a population of Virgin River Chub. This chub is endangered, so biologists use something called refuge populations—think of them as backup for species in trouble. The goal is to keep multiple populations alive, healthy and genetically diverse to help wild populations recover. Individuals are taken from the wild and kept where they are protected from threats that wild populations face. Refuge populations preserve genetic diversity to prevent inbreeding and keep the population adaptable. Offspring raised in refuge settings can be released back into the wild or into places where the species used to live but have disappeared. Two other Virgin River fish, the Speckled Dace and Desert Sucker have been introduced to the stream, with other native fish to come.

On April 27, 2026 about 1000 Virgin River Chub were transported from a hatchery near Lake Powell and were added to the population in the Red Hills Desert Garden stream. Steve Meismer, the Virgin River Program local coordinator explains:

If you want to view the fish, a fun feature of the garden are some viewing windows built into the side of a replica slot canyon that let you take a peek at the fish swimming in the stream. Since the Garden receives water from the Virgin River and the windows are not fish tanks, but windows into the stream, there may be times when you can’t see the fish.  The windows require cleaning at a minimum weekly, but the water is left in a natural state.