Conserving the Utah Bonneville Cutthroat Trout

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Yvette Converse and Janet Mizzi

Endangered Species Bulletin September/October 1999

Bonneville Cutthroat Trout

The Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki utah), one of 14 recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States, is endemic to rivers, streams, and lakes of the Bonneville Basin of Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming. Most of its historic and current range is in Utah.

As the only native salmonid of the inland west, cutthroat trout suffered intense fishing pressure for commerce and sustenance from the 1850's through the 1920's.

Historically, Bonneville cutthroat trout were so abundant they were considered a nuisance when the fish were drawn into irrigation ditches and canals. In the late 1800's, however, water development and industry began to take a serious toll on the trout. In 1864, a commercial net in Utah Lake could haul 3,700 pounds of trout; by as early as 1872, this number dropped to 500 pounds. Although legislation to protect this fish in the Salt Lake Valley was enacted as early as 1874, Bonneville cutthroat trout populations in Utah Lake were extinct by the 1920's.

In other parts of the fish's range, commercial fishing eventually became less important, but threats from urbanization, timber harvesting, grazing, water depletions, and non-native introductions and stocking continued and even intensified. Canals, dams, and diversions altered hydrology to accommodate agricultural and urban development, while non-native salmonids were widely introduced into streams, rivers and lakes in efforts to bring a sport fishing industry to the arid frontier west. The result was habitat fragmentation and loss for Bonneville cutthroat trout, and more critically, hybridization and competition between native and non-native trout. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) quickly replaced native Bonneville cutthroat trout in many waters. These non-native species were easier to raise in hatcheries, able to adapt to altered habitats, and more familiar to settlers from the east and west. Even readily available Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri) were a popularly stocked fish due to the nearby source of fry. Heavy stocking of non-native fishes continued for over 100 years. By as early as the 1950's, some fisheries experts presumed the Bonneville cutthroat trout in its pure form to be extremely threatened if not extinct throughout its range.

In the 1960's, resource agencies learned more about the value of protecting and restoring native species of salmonids and preserving pure genetic strains. Surveys and personal accounts suggested that Bonneville cutthroat trout numbers were very low but that pure populations remained in small numbers at isolated locations. A renewed effort in the 1970's to study the status and genetic integrity of Bonneville cutthroat trout revealed several pure populations, but stocking non-native salmonids remained a common practice among State wildlife agencies.

By 1979, the American Fisheries Society considered the Bonneville cutthroat trout threatened. Subsequent letters from the Desert Fishes Council and the American Fisheries Society prompted the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to evaluate this fish in 1980 for possible listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Over the next decade, Federal, State, and private resource groups struggled with confusion about the fish's genetics and taxonomy while they evaluated its status. Heightened awareness prompted resource agencies to more aggressively promote Bonneville cutthroat trout conservation. Even century-old State stocking procedures were reconsidered to prevent further risks of hybridization. Meanwhile, additional populations continued to be found throughout the 1980's and 1990's. The Bonneville cutthroat trout is not currently considered a Federal listing candidate.

In the early 1990's, the affected States, particularly Idaho and Utah, began developing Conservation Agreements (CA) with our agency. For the States, a CA provided an avenue for funding species conservation before having to deal with ESA requirements. The FWS signed two CAs: one in 1994 with the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho and another in 1997 with seven resource agencies in Utah. In addition, a rangewide CA for the Bonneville cutthroat trout is being developed to coordinate conservation efforts across State lines.

Since inception of the CAs, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been applied to such conservation activities as status surveys, genetic research, habitat improvements, brood stock development, control of non-natives, and reintroductions. Fishing regulations also have been amended to conserve Bonneville cutthroat trout populations. Overall, State and public awareness of the Bonneville cutthroat trout's plight has been enhanced, which lends support to local changes in fishing regulations and on-the-ground restoration. One result was the recent designation of the Bonneville cutthroat trout as Utah's official State Fish.

CAs have received some criticism, mostly due to the voluntary nature of their implementation and the lack of guaranteed funding. However, the voluntary aspect of the CA is one reason for its wide acceptance. Organizations, agencies, and private individuals are often reluctant to promote endangered or threatened species because of fear of government oversight, imposed regulations, and little room for compromise. Voluntary cooperative efforts tend to promote trust, education, and public acceptance.

In 1978, experts noted only 14 "pure" populations of the Bonneville cutthroat trout. Today, more than 100 populations have been identified in Utah alone. Each State within the fish's range now has programs to promote its conservation. The progress of these conservation efforts will be evaluated in upcoming months as our agency completes a 12-month finding on the Bonneville cutthroat trout's status in response to a recent petition for our agency to list it under the ESA. Meanwhile, conservation activities guided by the CA program continue. Participants are hopeful for a Bonneville cutthroat trout conservation effort that fosters responsible stewardship by State and local communities as they work with us toward our common conservation goals.

For successful conservation, CAs should be developed and implemented early, before a species risks extinction and requires ESA listing. Although it may be possible for some CAs to succeed at a late stage, we should not ignore our mandate to provide ESA protection where significant threats suggest extinction in the foreseeable future. The purpose of CAs is to provide an early, cooperative mechanism for a species' conservation, not a means to avoid the requirements of the law.

Yvette Converse is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the FWS Salt Lake City, Utah, Ecological Services Field Office. Janet Mizzi was with the FWS Utah Office before becoming Senior Staff' Biologist for the Northern Ecosystems in the FWS Denver, Colorado, Regional Office.