Cause and Concern for the Colorado River Cutthroat

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to net a Colorado River cutthroat (CRCT), then hopefully you were educated enough to recognize it as one. An encounter with one of these cutthroats can be ascertained by noticing the trout’s distinct black spotting and bright red underbelly. In the more likely event you haven’t caught a CRCT, you shouldn’t feel bad—you’ve got a better chance of being struck by falling satellite parts. 

The CRCT is a descendent of the ancestral greenback and Rio Grande cutthroat, and  researchers believe these gorgeous fish once grew upwards of 13 pounds, inhabiting river sheds as far south as Arizona and as far west as Utah. Today, the once flourishing native sub-species now verges on extinction, inhabiting a few far reaches of the Colorado River system in Northwestern Colorado, Southwestern Wyoming, and Utah. These native trout populations have been decimated––CRCT now inhabits just 5% of their original habitat. 

The few locations where CRCT still thrive have given researchers good indications of how this degradation occurred. The majority of habitats generating these populations are roadless. National parks and wilderness-designated areas are unhampered by the human impacts which roadways bring; logging, mining, construction, livestock grazing and water diversions all impact nearby waterways. The problems associated with these impediments are nearly impossible to reverse. From both a biological and a cost standpoint, it is more effective to avoid damaging these habitats then attempting to restore them. 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (USFS) haven’t protected roadless areas. On USFS land alone, more than 2.8 million acres of inventoried roadless areas have been lost over the last two decades. The majority of roadless areas remaining are unprotected, exposing them to oil and gas exploration, and other forms of infringement. 

CRCT have specific needs that must be met within their ecosystem to ensure survival. Unlike brooke trout, which thrive under the previously mentioned conditions, the less hardy Colorado River cutthroat die. Without naturally fluctuating stream flows, low levels of sediment, well-distributed pools and abundant stream cover, these native trout don’t stand a chance. 

Non-native trout species also have negative effects on Colorado River cutthroat. The non-natives ability to spawn earlier than natives gives them an unfair advantage. Dilution of native genetics, disease, and the non-natives greater resilience to pollutants, can increase non-natives reproductive rates 300% above that of CRCT. Luckily, introductions of non-native salmonids into existing populations of native trout by state and federal fish and wildlife agencies have ceased. 

Times are indeed bleak for the red-jawed trout. It now seems the excitement of catching any species of cutthroat is enough to send a fisherman fumbling for his or her camera. The days of grip and grin with a ten-pound Colorado River cutthroat are now the campfire tales told by teary-eyed geezers. So what, if anything, is being done to help these dying populations?

The conservation status of the CRCT remains under the following: Colorado Division of Wildlife Species of Concern, Forest Service Sensitive Species. The CRCT was petitioned as an endangered/threatened species in 2007; however, the Fish and Wildlife Service declined the proposal.  Currently the only protection for these trout is in the form of a Conservation Agreement, created in 2006, covering Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. 

The goals of the Conservation Agreement, as outlined, are as follows: “To assure the long-term viability of CRCT throughout their historic range.  Areas that currently support CRCT will be maintained, while other areas will be managed for increased abundance.  New populations will be established where ecologically and economically feasible, while the genetic diversity of the species is maintained.  The cooperators envision a future where threats to wild CRCT are either eliminated or reduced to the greatest extent possible.” 

This ten-year plan outlines 26 specific conservation actions, with a goal of doubling the original stream miles inhabited by CRCT. Trout Unlimited has backed the agreement as a supporting organization. “The Agreement incorporates a lot of the newer science and conservation ideals relating to native trout,” said David Nickum, TU conservation director for the Southern Rockies. The agreement furthers connections between TU and state/federal agencies. 

Although the shit has hit the fan, it seems that those in charge are doing their best to clean it out. This is good news for both environmentalists and anglers. With some luck and the further support of federal and state agencies, future generations may see the Colorado River cutthroat thriving as it once did. 

Photographs courteously provided by www.bouldermountainguide.com. James Robles is a fisherman and skier, who spends his remaining free time devising ways to move further from civilization.