11-18-2004, 07:55 PM
Colorado River cutthroat trout reclaim Reader Creek
VERNAL — As Garn Birchell reached down and gently placed a net full of fingerlings into the water, a
spread across his face. This was the crowning moment of two years of hard work. Birchell had just released a rare, native trout.
Birchell, a biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, has devoted much of his time on this special project, restoring Colorado River cutthroat trout back into Reader Creek, a tributary of the Whiterocks River on the south slope of the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah.
"Reader Creek was chosen because we found a remnant population of Colorado River cutthroat trout in this small stream," Birchell explained. "This species is the only trout native to the Uinta Mountains. We also found an over-abundant population of brook trout, which is native to the northeastern United States."
In the early and mid-1900s, brook trout were introduced into many western lakes and streams because they were a popular sport fish capable of surviving in small, high mountain lakes and streams.
"Brook trout, which are more aggressive than the native cutthroat, had displaced them in this small stream," Birchell said. "To save the cutthroat, we first had to remove the brook trout."
Fish removal is always an interesting challenge, and the biologists wanted to know if a fish population could be removed without the use of chemicals. "We decided to run an experimental procedure," said Kirk Mullins, DWR fisheries biologist. "Could repeated electroshocking along the entire length of the stream remove the brook trout?"
This project became Birchell's. As the project leader, he supervised teams of volunteers that used backpack electroschockers to stun trout in the creek during the last two summers. The stunned fish were sorted and the brook trout removed while the Colorado River cutthroat were returned to the stream.
"It was a slow business," Birchell said. "We could only make four passes a year. But every pass produced fewer brook trout. We accomplished what we set out to do. We cleared almost all of the brook trout out so the Colorado River cutthroat trout can thrive without the competition."
The biologists also found that there were fewer cutthroat from the time they discovered them in the stream to the time Birchell started his project.
"We only found a couple of hundred cutthroat trout in the entire seven miles of stream," Birchell said. "After some discussions, we decided to help jumpstart the recovery program and stock additional Colorado River cutthroat trout into the stream. We used hatchery-raised fingerlings from eggs collected from Sheep Creek Lake fish."
A few years ago, Colorado River cutthroat trout were collected from a small stream on the south slope of the Unitas and placed into Sheep Creek Lake. The fish were marked and placed into the lake to grow. Today, the fish are used as brood stock for Colorado River cutthroat trout recovery projects.
On the south slope of the Uinta Mountains, roughly 60 lakes have been stocked with fingerlings raised from the eggs taken from this brood stock. This includes Horseshoe and Sharlee lakes found in the Reader Creek drainage, which were stocked in early October.
"Roughly 8,500 fingerlings were transported from the [DWR's] Logan hatchery to Reader Creek by truck," Birchell said. "From there we loaded them into panniers and took them upstream by horseback. We'd then net some out and place them into the stream."
When the fish were first released, they looked a bit stunned, but they soon recovered enough to swim on their own. These fish will soon spread throughout the entire upper length of the stream.
"It will take a couple of years for these fingerlings to reach catchable size," Birchell said, "but it won't be long before anglers and others will be able to see and catch the true native Uinta Mountain cutthroat in Reader Creek."
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VERNAL — As Garn Birchell reached down and gently placed a net full of fingerlings into the water, a
spread across his face. This was the crowning moment of two years of hard work. Birchell had just released a rare, native trout. Birchell, a biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, has devoted much of his time on this special project, restoring Colorado River cutthroat trout back into Reader Creek, a tributary of the Whiterocks River on the south slope of the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah.
"Reader Creek was chosen because we found a remnant population of Colorado River cutthroat trout in this small stream," Birchell explained. "This species is the only trout native to the Uinta Mountains. We also found an over-abundant population of brook trout, which is native to the northeastern United States."
In the early and mid-1900s, brook trout were introduced into many western lakes and streams because they were a popular sport fish capable of surviving in small, high mountain lakes and streams.
"Brook trout, which are more aggressive than the native cutthroat, had displaced them in this small stream," Birchell said. "To save the cutthroat, we first had to remove the brook trout."
Fish removal is always an interesting challenge, and the biologists wanted to know if a fish population could be removed without the use of chemicals. "We decided to run an experimental procedure," said Kirk Mullins, DWR fisheries biologist. "Could repeated electroshocking along the entire length of the stream remove the brook trout?"
This project became Birchell's. As the project leader, he supervised teams of volunteers that used backpack electroschockers to stun trout in the creek during the last two summers. The stunned fish were sorted and the brook trout removed while the Colorado River cutthroat were returned to the stream.
"It was a slow business," Birchell said. "We could only make four passes a year. But every pass produced fewer brook trout. We accomplished what we set out to do. We cleared almost all of the brook trout out so the Colorado River cutthroat trout can thrive without the competition."
The biologists also found that there were fewer cutthroat from the time they discovered them in the stream to the time Birchell started his project.
"We only found a couple of hundred cutthroat trout in the entire seven miles of stream," Birchell said. "After some discussions, we decided to help jumpstart the recovery program and stock additional Colorado River cutthroat trout into the stream. We used hatchery-raised fingerlings from eggs collected from Sheep Creek Lake fish."
A few years ago, Colorado River cutthroat trout were collected from a small stream on the south slope of the Unitas and placed into Sheep Creek Lake. The fish were marked and placed into the lake to grow. Today, the fish are used as brood stock for Colorado River cutthroat trout recovery projects.
On the south slope of the Uinta Mountains, roughly 60 lakes have been stocked with fingerlings raised from the eggs taken from this brood stock. This includes Horseshoe and Sharlee lakes found in the Reader Creek drainage, which were stocked in early October.
"Roughly 8,500 fingerlings were transported from the [DWR's] Logan hatchery to Reader Creek by truck," Birchell said. "From there we loaded them into panniers and took them upstream by horseback. We'd then net some out and place them into the stream."
When the fish were first released, they looked a bit stunned, but they soon recovered enough to swim on their own. These fish will soon spread throughout the entire upper length of the stream.
"It will take a couple of years for these fingerlings to reach catchable size," Birchell said, "but it won't be long before anglers and others will be able to see and catch the true native Uinta Mountain cutthroat in Reader Creek."
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