11-13-2010, 07:23 PM
It isn't the number of fish in a hatchery that will keep the cutts from being listed. It is how many populations in the drainages are self-sustaining.
The cutthroats at the Grace Hatchery are a fairly new expansion, that was started a few years ago. They have taken them from a small stream that had a remnant population, and now have enough breeders to begin putting them back in the the local streams. Before they can do that they have to fix the streams and reconnect them to the river.
Some have to have non-native species removed or reduced. Some have to have culverts fixed in order for the fish to spawn on their own again. But by far the largest number of problems comes from unscreened irrigation, irrigation dewatering, grazing damage, and atv damage. It will take a lot of cooperation with many people involved.
They have successfully fixed Fish Haven Creek at Bear Lake. They and the irrigators association have fixed most of the problems with the Thomas Fork tributaries. They have fixed some of the main problems with Georgetown Creek. They have fixed some of the spawn tributaries of Henry's Lake, and the list goes on.
The point I am trying to make is that as the spawning areas are fixed and reconnected to the Bear River and other areas, then hopefully the large cutts will return to the Bear River. I think they will be a predator that will start to make a dent in the carp population, but it may take some thinning of the old large carp first, and raising some of the cutts to a large size before putting them in.
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The cutthroats at the Grace Hatchery are a fairly new expansion, that was started a few years ago. They have taken them from a small stream that had a remnant population, and now have enough breeders to begin putting them back in the the local streams. Before they can do that they have to fix the streams and reconnect them to the river.
Some have to have non-native species removed or reduced. Some have to have culverts fixed in order for the fish to spawn on their own again. But by far the largest number of problems comes from unscreened irrigation, irrigation dewatering, grazing damage, and atv damage. It will take a lot of cooperation with many people involved.
They have successfully fixed Fish Haven Creek at Bear Lake. They and the irrigators association have fixed most of the problems with the Thomas Fork tributaries. They have fixed some of the main problems with Georgetown Creek. They have fixed some of the spawn tributaries of Henry's Lake, and the list goes on.
The point I am trying to make is that as the spawning areas are fixed and reconnected to the Bear River and other areas, then hopefully the large cutts will return to the Bear River. I think they will be a predator that will start to make a dent in the carp population, but it may take some thinning of the old large carp first, and raising some of the cutts to a large size before putting them in.
[signature]