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2 DESERT FISHES COUNCIL 1979 Bonneville Basin Report Don Duff Bonneville Basin Coordinator Salt Lake City, Utah Many significant activities are taking place in the 34 million acre Bonneville Basin situated in the Great Basin, in Utah, eastern Nevada, south- eastern Idaho, and southwestern Wyoming. Each activity will be reported briefly below. Bonneville cutthroat, Salmo clarki utah This cutthroat occurs in only 5 geographic areas within the Bonneville Basin and nearby adjacent transplant areas outside the basin. State and federal agencies in Nevada and Wyoming have made progress in developing and implementing management programs for the species. In Utah, while some positive action has been taken by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) there still exists no developed inter- agency management program to protect the species and its habitat. The DWR, BLM and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) should independently and jointly develop management programs for this species on federal lands in Utah. In October 1979 the Desert Fishes Council and the Bonneville Chapter, American Fisheries Society, both wrote letters to the Office of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) requesting a status review for S.c. utah. This was precipitated by the apparent lack of state-federal concern and management for this species in Utah, and the precarious state of the species population levels and habitats now occupied by the species within the Bonneville Basin. A major habitat area for the species within Utah, the Deep Creek Moun- tains, harboring the rare Snake Valley strain of S. c. utah, is in danger of being despoiled by uranium mining activities. The BLM 1977 emergency land withdrawal of 27,000 acres is due to expire on May 3, 1980 unless BLM and the Secretary of the Interior recommend a permanent (20 year) protective land with- drawal for the area. To date the Utah BLM has not made a decision on this matter. It is swaying toward letting the current withdrawal lapse and then managing the area under interim wilderness guidelines. Wilderness guidelines will not suffice, in this case, for mineral entry will still be allowed until 1984, and it is not thought that BLM can protect the area from access road and mining damage. It is recommended the Council support a permanent with- drawal for the area as well as the development of a Utah interagency manage- ment plan for S. c. utah. Unless management agencies take more positive action for this species management, the Council should also support a nomina- tion to FWS requesting official threatened status for S. c. utah.