Native cutthroat trout will soon be restored to the Shingle Creek drainage.

One of Utah's native fish, the Bonneville cutthroat trout, will soon be returned to the Shingle Creek drainage. Shingle Creek is one of the primary tributaries of Clear Creek, located on the north end of the Tushar Mountains in Piute and Sevier counties. The stream originates near the Piute-Beaver county line and flows north for approximately nine miles to where it meets the much smaller Clear Creek. The entire length of Shingle Creek lies within the boundaries of the Fishlake National Forest.

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The drainage above the Shingle-Clear Creek confluence will be chemically treated with rotenone on Aug.23, 2011 to remove non-native fish. This area includes: approximately eight miles of Shingle Creek, beginning 1.2 miles upstream (south) of the end of Forest Road 114 and extending to the confluence with Clear Creek; Snow Canyon, a small tributary, from its confluence with Shingle Creek upstream approximately 2.5 miles; and Clear Creek, from its confluence with Shingle Creek upstream approximately 1.5 miles. In addition, two ponds on the Nowell property in Long Valley will be treated. In order to ensure that non-native fish are completely removed from target waters, a second rotenone treatment may be conducted in 2012.

General plans to conduct native trout restoration projects are outlined in the Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki utah) in the state of Utah. Specific details of the Shingle Creek project are described in the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Native Trout Restoration and Enhancement Projects in Southwestern Utah.

Liquid rotenone, Prentox Prenfish toxicant, will be used in the treatment. The five percent active-ingredient liquid rotenone will be applied at a concentration of 1.5 parts per million in the target reach using drip stations and backpack sprayers. Application will begin on the morning of the August 23 and run through the afternoon. Warning placards will be posted at access points to the target area during the treatment. Although rotenone is relatively benign to humans, fish treated with the chemical have not been cleared for human consumption by the FDA. Consequently, the salvage of fish during the project will not be permitted. Wading will not be permitted in the target reach during the treatment.

Potassium permanganate, an oxidizing agent, will be applied to treated waters below the Shingle-Clear Creek confluence to deactivate the rotenone downstream of the target area.

Bonneville cutthroat trout may be stocked in the treated section as early as fall 2012. Similar restoration projects involving Utah's native trout are underway throughout the state as part of conservation strategies designed to prevent their listing under the Endangered Species Act.