COLORADO SCORES ANOTHER VICTORY IN EFFORT TO RECOVER COLORADO RIVER CUTTHROAT TROUT

Stocked fingerlings carry pre-ice age Colorado River cutthroat DNA strain.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) conservation efforts got another big boost recently with the stocking of more than 2,400 Colorado River cutthroat trout in the Battlement Reservoirs in western Colorado.
 
This stocking operation creates another core conservation population of Colorado River cutthroat trout.  A core conservation population is classified as being more than 99-percent pure.  Additionally, these particular fish have been genetically analyzed and carry the archaic form of cutthroat DNA.  That DNA strain means the fish are directly related to a wave of cutthroat trout that occupied the Colorado River basin prior to the last ice age.
 
Nearly three years ago biologists depopulated the Battlement Reservoirs (known to locals as "The Battlements") in an effort to create the perfect habitat for these recovery efforts. 
 
"It's a great feeling to plant these fish in an environment where you know they have a great chance to thrive," said CDOW Aquatic Biologist Bill Elmblad. 
 
Without fish in the reservoirs for several years, the aquatic plants have flourished, leaving the new arrivals with plenty of suitable habitat and forage.
 
The dams at Battlement Reservoirs provide a natural barrier to prevent intrusions by other fish species that might compete for food and habitat, prey on young cutthroat, or weaken the purity of the cutthroat population.  The location should also minimize chances for infection by whirling disease, which is a significant threat to trout populations.
 
Fishing will not be closed at the reservoirs, but anglers probably won't have much success there for a couple of years since the  fish were stocked at fingerling size (4" to 5").  The young fish should begin spawning in the next two or three years, with the goal of creating a healthy, self-sustaining genetically significant fish population.
 
The Colorado River cutthroat trout is the only salmonid native to the upper Colorado River basin. It is distinguished by its red/orange slash marks on both sides of the lower jaws and relatively large spots concentrated on the posterior part of the body. The Colorado River cutthroat trout currently occupy portions of the Colorado River drainage in Colorado, southern Wyoming and eastern Utah and may still occur in very limited areas of New Mexico and Arizona. 

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