By Craig Springer/USFWS

Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Silas Goodrich had something in common with about 50 million Americans — a passion for fishing. Goodrich was a member of the Corps of Discovery, and was distinguished among Lewis and Clark’s men as an agler. Goodrich caught the westslope cutthroat trout that Lewis would describe in his journal, the first scientific description of a cutthroat trout, albeit 260 years after Francisco Coronado’s encounter with Rio Grande cutthroat trout in New Mexico. The westslope cutthroat carries the scientific name, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi in honor to the Corps of Discovery. Since Goodrich landed a half-dozen cutthroats 16 to 24 inches long in 1805, a great deal has transpired. This fish had the largest natural distribution of all the cutthroats, occurring from southern portions of British Columbia and Alberta, south through the Idaho panhandle and western Montana, and the far northwest tip of Wyoming. Isolated natural populations exist in the headwaters of the John Day River in Oregon, and the east-slope Cascade Mountain drainages in Washington.
But the westslope persists in only a fraction of its original range, from an onslaught of habitat loss and competition with non-native trout. The USFWS, Indian tribes and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are restoring habitat. Simple road culverts can block westslope cutthroat trout from reaching spawning habitats or refuge from seasonal extremes, hot and cold weather. The Fish Passage Program of the USFWS provided funds for biologists to replace culverts and the benefits to fish are immediate. Replacing road culverts or removing obsolete low-head dams immediate connects fish to necessary habitats.
Creston National Fish Hatchery in Montana contributes to restoration, and keeping this trout off the endangered species list and available for anglers. The hatchery works closely with the state of Montana and Indian tribes, raising westslope cutthroat trout for sportfishing on state and tribal waters. Creston NFH gets eggs from the Washoe Park State Fish Hatchery, and grows the trout out to stockable size. They make their way to several fisheries including Rogers Lake near Kalispell, Turtle Lake on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and Goose Lake on the Black Feet Reservation near Browning.

Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat Trout
It’s known by some as the "Jackson Hole cutthroat" given it proximity to the Wyoming town. It’s also known by the initiated as a strong fighter on par with rainbow trout. Because of that quality, it’s probably the most commonly cultured cutthroat stocked outside its native range of western Wyoming and southeastern Idaho.
Inside its native range, biologists from the Jackson National Fish Hatchery, located on the National Elk Refuge, are working to establish self-sustaining populations in the wild. Toward that end, the hatchery has turned away from traditional fish culture techniques. To help keep the ‘wild’ in wild trout, the Snake River cutthroat trout at the hatchery have minimal contact with people. Wild conditions are simulated as much as possible, and every year, wild Snake River cutts are added to the brood stock to keep it robust. The intention is to have a fish stocked in the wild better able to face the rigors of the wild.
Snake River cutthroat trout go to Palisades Reservoir on the Idaho-Wyoming state line, and into Grassy Lake between Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. The hatchery will have succeeded when self-sustaining populations establish runs in streams tributary to the lakes. An excellent fishery exist for Snake River cutthroats in a tailwater fishery on the Shoshone River near Cody. Following a severe scouring flood, one that removed spawning gravels from Cottonwood Creek in the Grand Teton National Park, Jackson NFH biologists were able to keep the Snake River cutthroat trout population going by planting eggs in hatching boxes. This subspecies has the distinction of dominating its native range, and is secure.

Greenback Cutthroat Trout
The threatened greenback cutthroat trout has faced headfirst into a hard current of extinction. Like a salmon leaps over seemingly insurmountable barriers, the greenback cutthroat trout has overcome long odds on survival. Only a few short years ago it was poised to fall into an abyss. Dedicated conservationists intervened.
Greenback cutthroat trout, native to the waters of the upper South Platte and Arkansas rivers, was hard hit by the 1880s by over-fishing from settlers in the Denver area and along the Front Range. Mining pollution also took its toll. The Colorado Museum of Natural History reported in 1939 that this colorful cutthroat was no more — extinct. But about 30 years later, Dr. Robert Behnke from Colorado State University made a discovery that set in motion a huge conservation success story. Five streams inside Rocky Mountain National Park near Boulder, still harbored pure greenback cutthroats. The trout was placed on the endangered species list in 1973 and recovery efforts set in motion. Those efforts paid dividends, and the trout was upgraded to 'threatened' status in 1978, which paved the way for limited no-kill fishing that exists today.
The greenback cutthroat trout has been restored to nearly 100 miles of stream and 450 acres of lakes. Restoration has moved forward in large part because of the hard work of many dedicated partners, such as Rocky Mountain National Park, Trout Unlimited, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Leadville National Fish Hatchery in Colorado will play a pivotal role in restoration, too, with establishment of a new greenback cutthroat brood stock. The hatchery has been renovated and will have its first greenback cutthroat trout this summer of 2007. Hatchery biologists will develop a brood stock of greenbacks from the Arkansas River headwaters. Their eggs, about 250,000 a year, will be hatched and grown out by the CDOW for eventual stocking.
More streams are planned for restoration. The next step in securing the future of the fish involves not only getting greenbacks into new streams, but also connecting existing headwater stream populations to each other — something that will help make the populations more robust and healthy, more secure.
The Rocky Mountain West holds a treasure chest. Its colorful cutthroat trout are shimmering jewels. The several subspecies are unique, scientists say, because they have been isolated from each other for so long — that the way they look is essentially an expression of the different environments they inhabit. They are swimming relicts and artifacts of the geologic past, and testaments to determination.