Fisheries Resources and Species Management

Resources Overview | Paiute Cutthroat: Home, Angling, History, Status

Paiute Cutthroat Trout : Restoration projects

 

The Paiute cutthroat trout remain at risk as long as rainbow hybridized trout exist below Llewellyn Falls. California Department of Fish and Game, in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Humboldt -Toiyabe National Forest, propose to restore Paiute cutthroat trout below Llewellyn Falls back to their native range. The ultimate goal is to recover the Paiute cutthroat trout to an abundance that will allow it to be delisted as a federally listed threatened species. The proposed project is to chemically treat the stream using rotenone to remove non-native trout from Silver King Creek and associated tributaries between Snodgrass Creek (Silver King Canyon) and Llewellyn Falls. Rotenone is a naturally occurring compound that is derived from the roots of a tropical plant of the bean family. Rotenone compounds have been used by people worldwide to stun and kill fish. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that rotenone use for fish control does not present a threat or risk of unreasonable adverse effects to humans or the environment. For more information on rotenone visit the American Fisheries Society website. Chemical treatment is the only feasible method for removal of non-native fish from this area.
The revised Paiute Cutthroat Trout Recovery Plan, written by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recommends restoration of Paiute cutthroat trout downstream of Llewellyn Falls to fish barriers in Silver King Canyon.The Recovery Plan is expected to be completed by July 2004. The proposed project would extend the distribution of Paiute cutthroat trout 6 miles downstream, and combined with stream habitat in tributaries would provide a total of over 9 miles of stream habitat. Restoration of Paiute cutthroat trout to their historic range would nearly double the amount of habitat and numbers of adult fish in the Silver King Creek basin, reduce the risk of extinction from catastrophic events, reduce the threat of non-native trout introductions, and enhance the long-term genetic viability of the fish.
The Paiute Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project was delayed in 2003 by a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity overNational Environmental Protection Act compliance by Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.The cancellation of the project in 2003 cost California Department of Fish and Game tens of thousands of dollars, and more importantly places the threatened species at continued risk due to hybridization that may require the species listing to be upgraded to endangered status for protection.