Strategies for Restoring Native Trout

The Strategies for Restoring Native Trout program was initiated in 2001 to address some of the most pressing information needs in large-scale restoration of inland native trout. Similar to the Bring Back the Natives program, Strategies for Restoring Native Trout is a partnership between Trout Unlimited and federal agencies, specifically the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service and is funded through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Strategies program combines watershed restoration activities with a research and evaluation component that focus on two critical issues - techniques for reintroducing native trout and reconnecting fragmented habitats.

There is debate among biologists about the best strategy for reintroducing a population of native fish. Transplanting wild fish is advantageous because it avoids genetic and disease problems associated with captive breeding, but removal of wild fish may threaten wild populations. On the other hand, captive sources can provide large numbers of fish to establish new populations more rapidly, but hatchery fish are not adapted to local streams and generally have low survival rates. To identify which reintroduction strategies result in a population that most resembles a native remnant population Strategies projects are systematically monitoring ongoing efforts to reestablish native cutthroat trout populations in Utah.

Fragmented habitat has long been an issue for declining populations of trout and salmon. Therefore, watershed connectivity has become a major focus of stream restoration efforts and is especially important to trout populations in which individuals require different habitats at different life stages. Unfortunately, there are few empirical data to guide restoration efforts in watersheds that are fragmented by land use impacts, such as road culverts and water diversions. Therefore, Strategies projects in Nevada, Wyoming, and Idaho are monitoring the response of local trout populations to barrier removal to guide future large-scale restoration and management efforts.

Featured Projects

Thomas Fork of the Bear River, ID/WY

Maggie Creek, NV

Willow Creek, NV

Deep Creek, UT/NV

For More Information...

Dana DeGraaf
Field Coordinator
1020 W. Main St., Ste. 440
Boise, ID 83702

(208)938-1110

Contact Dana DeGraaf