9595 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

CONSERVATION STRATEGY COLORADO RIVER CUTTHROAT TROUT (Oncorhynchus chwki plewiticus) INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND This Conservation Strategy has been initiated by the wildlife agencies in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming to reduce threats to the subject species, to stabilize and enhance its populations, and to maintain its ecosystems. This document's primary purpose is to conserve this species through interim conservation measures under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. This Strategy has been developed to provide a framework for the long term conservation of Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT), and to reduce or eliminate the threats that warrant its status as a sensitive species or species of special concern by federal and state resource agencies. To address these threats, there must be a strong effort towards restoration and a clear allocation of resources for that purpose. To be most effective, this Strategy must be implemented in its entirety. The Strategy is based on work plans and programs developed by state wildlife management field units and cooperating federal, state, local and nongovernmental agencies in each of the three states. Five conservation plans for CRCT in the three states (Sealing et al. 1992, Interagency Plan 1993 and 1994, Langlois et al. 1994, UDWR 1997) were being implemented independently prior to the initiation of this Strategy. In 1994, member states of the Colorado River Fish and Wildlife Council (a consortium of State Fish and Wildlife agency directors) recognized the need for state wildlife agencies to coordinate conservation actions for the Colorado River cutthroat trout and other native species, and directed Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming to develop a coordinated approach. This Strategy is the product of that decision. The first draft of the Strategy (CRCT Conservation Task Group, 1996) identified several issues and technical questions which needed resolution. In April, 1997, the Colorado River Fish and Wildlife Council (CRFWC), acting on the advice of the CRCT Conservation Task Group, established a two-level committee structure to resolve these items. A Coordination Committee was assigned to facilitate inter-agency communication and a Biology Committee was assigned to provide technical input on the identified questions. Names and affiliations of members of these committees, along with names of other reviewers and participants, are provided (see Acknowledgments). Although consensus was not reached on some questions because substantive comments were not available at the appropriate point in the consensus building process, a great deal of progress was made. Highlights of the decisions and remaining questions are outlined in a later section. STATUS AND DISTRIBUTTON OF THE SPECIES The Colorado River cutthroat trout occupied portions of the Colorado River drainage in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico historically (Behnke 1992). Its original March 1999 7