The Westslope Cutthroat Trout Recovery Project is helping to restore this species of concern by hatching and rearing genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout. It is a model of collaboration between nonprofit organizations, private businesses, and government agencies.
The westslope cutthroat trout, noted by the Lewis and Clark expedition, has been in decline almost since those travelers passed through Montana. This native species is highly adapted to specific regions and even specific drainages, making it particularly vulnerable to changes in its habitat. The species' historical range includes parts of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.
Habitat degradation caused by development, pollution, stream diversion, and poor livestock management have made the westslope cutthroat vulnerable to over-fishing pressures. Nonnative fish introduced in the trout's range have placed it in a very precarious position. Many native westslope cutthroat populations have been hybridized with rainbow trout, while other introduced fish, such as brown trout, prey on westslopes or out-compete them in feeding. Outbreaks of bacterial kidney disease and whirling disease have left the species in a precarious position.
Currently the westslope cutthroat trout is listed as a species of concern by Montana and Federal agencies. Conservationists are working diligently to keep the fish off the Federal Endangered Species list.
Since 2001, the Sun Ranch Westslope Cutthroat Trout Recovery Project has worked to return the westslope cutthroat to its rightful place in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The public-private partnership based on the Sun Ranch manages the only facility in southwest Montana that incubates and rears genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout.
Drawing eggs from the Sun Ranch brood pond and the few regional streams where pure westslope cutthroat trout live, the fish hatchery rears thousands of eggs each summer. A portion of those fish each year are moved to the Sun Ranch brood pond, which is building a broodstock that ultimately will populate streams where the fish have been extirpated. Many of the eggs and fry that are reared in the hatchery are transported back to the streams that contributed the eggs, thereby making those populations more robust. Additionally, some of the fish to emerge from the Sun Ranch hatchery repopulate streams where the fish have been eliminated.
SRI brings strategic guidance, financial support, and community education and outreach to the Westslope Cutthroat Trout Recovery Project.
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