Albuquerque, N.M. — Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing a notice of the not warranted finding on the petition to list the Rio Grande cutthroat trout. After completing a thorough review and consulting with scientists, state agencies, species experts and others, the Service concluded that the Rio Grande cutthroat trout is not in danger of extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future. Therefore, it does not meet the definition of a threatened or an endangered species.
Decades of ongoing multi-partnership efforts have supported the conservation of the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and continued management will promote its long-term survival.
The Rio Grande cutthroat trout, one of 14 subspecies of cutthroat trout, lives in mostly remote, mountainous streams in New Mexico and southern Colorado. The colorful fish is red, orange and yellow, peppered with dark spots. To complete its life cycle, the freshwater salmonid needs a network of slow and fast streams with clear, cold, and highly oxygenated water and gravel substrates.
“The Rio Grande cutthroat trout has been New Mexico’s state fish since 1955,” said Amy Lueders, the Service’s Southwest Regional Director. “This fish is extremely important for recreational angling in New Mexico and Colorado and management efforts have focused on population restoration, habitat improvement and research. We are thankful to the Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout Conservation Team because their continued work, along with efforts by other partners, will support the health of both the subspecies and its habitat into the future.”
The Service evaluated the past, present and future threats to the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and the primary factor impacting the survival of the subspecies is the presence of nonnative species of trout, including rainbow trout, brook trout and brown trout. The conservation populations of Rio Grande cutthroat trout (i.e., populations with less than 10 percent genetic introgression from nonnative trout) occupy approximately 12 percent of the species’ historical range. Additional threats include habitat loss, reduced habitat connectivity and whirling disease.
The Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout Conservation Team consists of state agencies in New Mexico and Colorado, as well as Federal agencies, Tribes, and nongovernmental organizations. The Conservation Team has reduced or eliminated threats caused by nonnative species, habitat loss, disease and overharvest. In the past ten years, the Conservation Team has conducted 13 population restorations by removing nonnative trout and reintroducing Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
Although Endangered Species Act protection is not warranted for the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, the Service will continue to coordinate and support partners in their conservation and research efforts on behalf of the subspecies.
A notice of the not warranted findings on the petition to list the Rio Grande cutthroat trout and supporting information for the decision is available today for public inspection in the Reading Room and will publish tomorrow in the Federal Register, under Docket # FWS–R2–ES–2024–0193.
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