Fisheries Resources and Species Management

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Paiute Cutthroat Trout : Restoration projects

The Paiute cutthroat trout remain at risk as long as non-native trout exist below Llewellyn Falls. California Department of Fish and Game, in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Humboldt -Toiyabe National Forest, and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board propose to restore Paiute cutthroat trout below Llewellyn Falls back to their native range. The ultimate goal is to recover the Paiute cutthroat trout to an abundance that will allow it to be delisted as a federally listed threatened species. The proposed project is to chemically treat the stream using rotenone to remove non-native trout from Silver King Creek and associated tributaries between Snodgrass Creek (Silver King Canyon) and Llewellyn Falls. Rotenone is a naturally occurring compound that is derived from the roots of a tropical plant of the bean family. Rotenone compounds have been used by people worldwide to stun and kill fish. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that rotenone use for fish control does not present a threat or risk of unreasonable adverse effects to humans or the environment. For more information on rotenone visit the American Fisheries Society website. Chemical treatment is one of three alternatives being examined in the forthcoming EIR/EIS that is being prepared for this proposed project.

The revised Paiute Cutthroat Trout Recovery Plan, written by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recommends restoration of Paiute cutthroat trout downstream of Llewellyn Falls to fish barriers in Silver King Canyon.The Recovery Plan was completed in 2004. The proposed project would extend the distribution of Paiute cutthroat trout 6 miles downstream, and combined with stream habitat in tributaries would provide a total of over 9 miles of stream habitat. Restoration of Paiute cutthroat trout to their historic range would nearly double the amount of habitat and numbers of adult fish in the Silver King Creek basin, reduce the risk of extinction from catastrophic events, reduce the threat of non-native trout introductions, and enhance the long-term genetic viability of the fish.