Initially, greenback cutthroat trout were frequently cultured, but their use diminished by the 1900s (Wiltzius 1985), possibly because few wild fish were still extant. Excitement … A small wild trout, the Greenback Cutthroat migrated to the Colorado area during the last ice age and evolved separately from the Blueback Cutthroat, Brook Trout, and Rainbow Trout species of the Pacific Coast. Today it exists east of the Continental Divide in the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers, primarily in small, isolated headwaters. Greenback cutthroat trout exist in only one body of water, a small stream known as Bear Creek, not far outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The original Greenback Recovery Plan was written in 1978, revised in 1983 and is superseded by this Plan. Greenback Cutthroat Trout Courtesy US FWS Bruce Roselund, Photographer In 2009, officials from the US Division of Wildlife Resources who were out searching for isolated populations of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout found something better—and far more perplexing. Within a 1.2-mile stretch of Beaver Creek, which runs down the eastern flank of the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Utah, … Introduced fish were reared or produced primarily by three hatcheries: the Bellvue Fish Research Hatchery in Colorado, the Bozeman Fish Technology Center in Montana, and the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery in Wyoming [3]. Greenback cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii stomias) was once presumably distributed throughout the colder waters of the South Platte and Arkansas River basins in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. For a summary of … In 1973, the first published Endangered Species List included the Greenback Cutthroat Trout, the official Colorado State Fish. It was downlisted to threatened on April 18, 1978, as conservation efforts conducted by state and federal agencies had restored the Wickstrom: Why the greenback cutthroat trout is a legendary Colorado fish, and where you can find it The greenback cutthroat trout’s status and survival has been anything but … The National Park Service stocked non-native Yellowstone cutthroat trout as late as 1969.
The Greenback Comeback In 1973, the first published Endangered Species List included the Greenback Cutthroat Trout, the official Colorado State Fish. In 1996, it was designated as Colorado's state fish. In fact, the greenback cutthroat trout is one of the rarest trout in the world, with only 750 individual fish remaining. Like most trout species, Colorado River cutthroat require clear, cold water of streams, rivers, and small to medium sized lakes.
Catch-and-release fishing of the resident greenback cutthroat trout is permitted anywhere above The Pool along the river, which is highly recommended because the flora along the way is breathtaking in any season, with pines, willows, aspens and wildflowers (some still recovering from a wildfire in 2012) lining the route. The Greenback Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki stomias) is a species of cutthroat that once inhabited high alpine streams throughout the South Platte Basin.Due to a range of human impacts and habitat disturbances, the fish is limited to only a handful of small streams and lakes along the Front Range of Colorado. Greenback Cutthroat. Greenback cutthroat trout’s native distribution was along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming to New Mexico. The greenback cutthroat trout are found in only 4 miles of habitat within Bear Creek, which creates a very vulnerable situation for this population.