History

The Bonneville cutthroat trout is a subspecies native to the Bonneville basin. Click here to view the Bonneville cutthroat trout's historic range. Bonneville cutthroat trout evolved primarily as a lake-dwelling population inhabiting Lake Bonneville during the pleistocene. After the Bonneville flood, Lake Bonneville dessicated and the subspecies became restricted to stream-dwelling populations in the isolated river drainages. Because the river systems are naturally isolated, the Bonneville basin has been divided into Geographic Management Units or GMUs.

Within the Bonneville Basin, human activities have altered aquatic habitat and the physical processes that create and maintain that habitat, resulting in a significant decline in fish populations. Bonneville cutthroat trout were thought to be extinct in the early 1970's, but recent work has revealed several genetically pure populations interspersed throughout its range. In order to prevent the listing of BCT as a sensitive species by state and federal agencies, a Conservation Agreement was signed by the state and federal entities responsible for Bonneville cutthroat trout conservation.

Population Status in Utah

In 1978, only six Bonneville cutthroat trout populations were known to exist in Utah. Field investigations by many agencies and groups have increased our knowledge of Bonneville cutthroat trout occurence throughout its range. Known population numbers increased to 29 by the early 1990’s. By the year 2000, 261 populations of Bonneville cutthroat trout had been identified in Utah. Over the last 30 years, Bonneville cutthroat trout populations have been expanded in every management unit in Utah. Presently, Bonneville cutthroat trout brood populations exist in all the management areas of the state. With these brood populations, Bonneville cutthroat trout can be stocked into even more areas within their historic range to provide both sportfisheries and population expansion.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is the lead agency in developing and implementing the Range-Wide Conservation Agreement (Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Goshute Tribe, several federal agencies and nonprofit groups). UDWR sponsored a genetics conference for the Western States and developed a position paper that is recognized as a very important document regarding genetic verification protocol for all cutthroat trout in the western United States. The conservation of this subspecies has involved biologists at all levels and regions of many agencies and organizations. Funding and conservation efforts continue and have been instrumental in preventing this subspecies from being listed.

Conservation Objectives

The objectives of the conservation agreement are as follows:

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