This just in.  A lawsuit from special interest groups has caused the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider the listing of Bonneville cutthroat trout under the Federal Endangered Species Act.  The Center for Biological Diversity, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, and Pacific Rivers Council introduced the suit, citing that the trout are headed for extinction.  This comes after a 2001 decision by the USFWS that the status of the subspecies did not warrant listing.

Bonneville cutthroat trout are native to the Bonneville Basin, which encompasses most of the state of Utah, and parts of Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada.  The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources estimates that the species has been reduced to about a third of their historic range.

State agencies have been working hard to preserve and restore cutthroats and their habitat to avoid federal listing, which would bring in added restrictions that would potentially hinder many activities in the state.

I work in the Logan River in northern Utah, which supports one of the few remaining healthy meta-populations of native Bonneville cutthroat trout.  My research is focused on brown trout, which compete with Bonneville cutthroats in parts of the Logan, and I’m interested in understanding the environmental factors that give cutthroat trout an edge over the brown trout in the river, and allow cutthroats to persist in the higer elevation areas of the Logan.  This research is funded primarily by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, which is certainly motivated to protect cutthroat trout to prevent ESA listing.  

I’m not sure exactly what the specifics of the potential listing would entail.  The real question to ask, in my opinion, is how the subspecies would benefit from federal listing.  Additional federal funds would certainly be helpful, but would the benefits of additional money be offset by the potential hindrances caused by further federal control over private property? 

Tom Remington consistently addresses such issues related to the Endangered Species Act at his Black Bear Blog. 

Whether or not listing is deemed necessary, hopefully we can continue to find solutions that benefit both trout and people in the long run, and restore the Bonneville cutthroat trout in an acceptable manner.