Fisheries Resources and Species Management

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

Paiute Cutthroat Trout : Current Status

 

The Paiute cutthroat trout is a federally listed Threatened Species. The only populations of Paiute trout in the Silver King Creek basin now exist upstream of their native range, isolated from non-native trout by barrier waterfalls. Chemical treatments using rotenone, conducted over the past 4 decades by the California Department of Fish and Game, have successfully restored populations of Paiute cutthroat trout to the headwaters of Silver King Creek by removing the influence of non-native trout. Paiute cutthroat trout in the Silver King basin headwater populations have recovered to the anticipated levels of abundance. However, more restoration work is needed to secure Paiute cutthroat trout populations. It is likely that the species will be uplisted from Threatened to Endangered unless management actions are taken to remove the current threat of hybridized fish from Silver King Creek below Llewellyn Falls.