Feature Creature: Greenback Cutthroat Trout

The Greenback cutthroat trout is intensely colored with large and pronounced spots concentrated towards the rear of the caudal peduncle. Their backs are not particularly "green." Greenbacks are native to the Arkansas and South Platte River basins in Colorado's Front Range mountains and a few South Platte tributaries in extreme southeastern Wyoming. Greenback likely inhabited most cool water habitats from the foothills upstream to high altitude lakes and streams. Scientists estimate the subspecies occupied up to 3890 miles of habitat in the Arkansas River basin and 4312 miles in the Platte River basin.

Unfortunately, the greenback trout cannot always adapt to ever-growing contact with people. Logging, livestock grazing, and mining can clog streams with silt and pollution, exposing native fish to high temperatures and poor water quality. Dams and water diversions often leave little or no water for fish. Introduced non-native fish compete with native trout for food and habitat and interbreed with them, diluting their genetic fitness and ability to survive in environments as diverse as the West itself.

The Western Native Trout Initiative is committed to restoring healthy native trout populations by uniting wildlife diversity, wilderness, and fishing advocates in an action-oriented effort to comprehensively protect native western trout like the greenback and their habitats.

Despite a 25-year formal Endangered Species Act-mandated recovery program, these trout are extremely imperiled. Prior to September 2001, the Recovery Team claimed to have 17 populations that were secure, stable and genetically pure. Conservation populations with high genetic purity are estimated to occupy less than one percent of this trout's historic range. Imperiled Western Trout and the Importance of Roadless Areas, about 75 percent of the remaining populations are associated with unroaded areas. Tragically, biologists recently discovered that several of the Greenback populations were genetically contaminated by as much as 33 percent with Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Since those historic populations were used to create brood stocks for restoration populations, the entire recovery program will need to be retested for genetics. Only pure greenback cutthroat trout can be counted as recovery populations under the recovery plan.

A new approach is clearly needed to stop and reverse declines of western native trout. Experts agree that the best hope is an approach that pools the strengths of the many agencies and organizations. There are several reasons why well funded, cooperative conservation is needed: (1) declines are occurring in almost every watershed in which western trout occur; (2) the threats to this array of species are similar in nature; (3) cooperative conservation approaches are most cost effective; and (4) watersheds
occupied by western native trout often span federal, state, tribal, or other jurisdictions.

Twelve western state fisheries agencies and four federal agencies come together in 2005 and began to collectively address protecting and restoring native western trout. Working in conjunction with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, this group
formed a partnership called the Western Native Trout Initiative. This new initiative incorporates the best aspects of current joint ventures that are successfully restoring waterfowl, sage grouse, and Eastern Brook trout. The Western Native Trout Initiative is one of several pilot joint ventures (also known as “fish habitat partnerships”) under the National Fish Habitat Initiative Action Plan.

Funding through the Multistate Grant Program ($188,000) was secured to coordinate and develop the initiative; and 5 on the ground habitat management projects were started as a result of a Congressional appropriation ($1 million) for National Fish Habitat Action Plan related projects. The multistate grant funds will be used to develop the WNTI collaborative strategies to begin a wide range of conservation efforts across the west. By establishing secure populations, WNTI will also benefit the American anglers by
developing and enhancing recreational fishing opportunities for
native trout across the West.

For more information visit www.fishhabitat.org or contact:

Robin Knox, WNTI Coordinator: 3032364402
Rich Haskins, Nevada Dept. of Wildlife: 7756881530
Larry Riley, Arizona Game and Fish Dept: 6027893257
Mike Stone, Wyoming Game and Fish Dept: 3077774559
Christopher Estes, Alaska Dept. Fish and Game: 9072672142
Lisa Heki, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 7758616354
Jarrad Kosa, Bureau of Land Management: 2024527770
Leigh McDougal, U.S. Forest Service: 2022050951