Lahontan cutthroat trout
Encyclopedia
Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) is the largest subspecies
of cutthroat trout
, and the state fish of Nevada
.
, Humboldt River
, Carson River
, Walker River
, Quinn River
and several smaller rivers in the Great Basin
of North America
. These were tributaries of ancient Lake Lahontan
during the ice age
s until the lake shrank to remnants such as Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake
about 700 years ago, although Lake Tahoe
-- from which the Truckee flows to Pyramid Lake -- is still a large mountain lake.
Lahontan cutthroats evolved into a large (up to 1 metres (39 in)) and moderately long-lived predator of chub
, suckers
, and other fish as long as 30 or 40 centimetres (16 in). The trout was able to remain a predator in the larger remnant lakes where prey fish continued to flourish, but upstream populations were forced to adapt to eating smaller fish and insects. Some experts consider O. c. henshawi in the upper Humboldt River and tributaries to be a separate subspecies (the "Humboldt cutthroat trout"), adapted to living in small streams rather than large lakes.
The record size cutthroat trout of any subspecies was a Lahontan caught in Pyramid Lake weighing 41 pounds (18.6 kg), although there is anecdotal and photographic evidence of even larger fish from this lake.
tribe. These trout as well as Cui-ui
-- a sucker found only in Pyramid Lake -- were dietary mainstays and were used by other tribes in the area. During the 19th century and early 20th centuries, Lahontan cutthroats were caught in tremendous numbers and shipped to towns and mining camps
throughout the West; estimates have ranged as high as 1000000 pounds (453,592.4 kg) annually between 1860 and 1920.
American settlement in the Great Basin nearly extirpated
these remarkable fish. A dam in Mason Valley
blocked spawning runs from Walker Lake. By 1905 Derby Dam
on the Truckee River below Reno
interfered with Pyramid Lake's spawning runs. A poorly designed fish ladder
washed away in 1907, then badly-timed water diversions
to farms in the Fallon, Nevada
area stranded spawning fish and desiccated eggs below the dam. By 1943 Pyramid Lake's population was extinct. Lake Tahoe's population was extinct by 1930 from competition and inbreeding with introduced rainbow trout
(creating cutbow
s), predation by introduced Lake trout
, and diseases introduced along with these exotic species.
Upstream populations have been isolated and decimated by poorly-managed grazing
and excessive water withdrawals for Irrigation
, as well as by hybridization and competition.
, has been the focus of several water quality investigations, the most detailed starting in the mid-1980s. Under direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
, a comprehensive dynamic hydrology transport model was developed (C.Michael Hogan et al. 1987) by Earth Metrics Inc.; the model's name was subsequently changed to DSSAM
, and it was applied to analyze impacts of a variety of land use and wastewater management decisions throughout the 3120 square miles (8,080.8 km²) Truckee River
Basin. These analyses allowed more competent decisions to be made regarding non-point runoff in the watersheds as well as management of treated effluent discharged to the Truckee River.
. Unfortunately the Summit Lake strain does not live as long or grow as large as the original strain of fish. However fish believed to have been stocked almost a century ago from the Pyramid Lake strain were discovered in a small stream along the Nevada-Utah border, and may eventually be used to restore the original strain.
They were classified as an endangered species
between 1970 and 1975, then the classification was relaxed to threatened species
.
Because it tolerates water too alkaline for other trout, Lahontan cutthroats are stocked in alkaline lakes outside its native range, including Lake Lenore
(alternately Lenore Lake) in central Washington and Lake Mann in Oregon's Alvord Desert
east of Steens Mountain
.
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of cutthroat trout
Cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...
, and the state fish of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Natural history
The Lahontan cutthroat is native to the drainages of the Truckee RiverTruckee River
The Truckee River is a stream in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river is about long. Its endorheic drainage basin is about , of which about are in Nevada. The Truckee is the sole outlet of Lake Tahoe and drains part of the high Sierra Nevada, emptying into Pyramid Lake in the Great...
, Humboldt River
Humboldt River
The Humboldt River runs through northern Nevada in the western United States. At approximately long it is the second longest river in the Great Basin, after the Bear River. It has no outlet to the ocean, but instead empties into the Humboldt Sink...
, Carson River
Carson River
The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long....
, Walker River
Walker River (Nevada)
The Walker River is a river in west central Nevada in the United States, approximately long. It drains an arid portion of the Great Basin southeast of Reno, with a watershed that extends into the Sierra Nevada mountains. It flows within an enclosed basin, providing the principal inflow of Walker...
, Quinn River
Quinn River
The Quinn River, once known as the Queen River, is an intermittent river, approximately long, in the desert of northwestern Nevada in the United States. It drains an enclosed basin inside the larger Great Basin....
and several smaller rivers in the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. These were tributaries of ancient Lake Lahontan
Lake Lahontan
Lake Lahontan was a large endorheic Pleistocene lake of modern northwestern Nevada that extended into northeastern California and southern Oregon...
during the ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s until the lake shrank to remnants such as Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake
Walker Lake (Nevada)
Walker Lake is a natural lake, 50.3 mi² in area, in the Great Basin in western Nevada in the United States. It is 18 mi long and 7 mi wide, located in northwestern Mineral County along the eastern side of the Wassuk Range, approximately 75 mi southeast of Reno...
about 700 years ago, although Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
-- from which the Truckee flows to Pyramid Lake -- is still a large mountain lake.
Lahontan cutthroats evolved into a large (up to 1 metres (39 in)) and moderately long-lived predator of chub
Tui chub
The Tui chub, Gila bicolor, is a cyprinid fish native to western North America. Widespread in many areas, it is an important food source for other fish, including the cutthroat trout.- Range :...
, suckers
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
, and other fish as long as 30 or 40 centimetres (16 in). The trout was able to remain a predator in the larger remnant lakes where prey fish continued to flourish, but upstream populations were forced to adapt to eating smaller fish and insects. Some experts consider O. c. henshawi in the upper Humboldt River and tributaries to be a separate subspecies (the "Humboldt cutthroat trout"), adapted to living in small streams rather than large lakes.
The record size cutthroat trout of any subspecies was a Lahontan caught in Pyramid Lake weighing 41 pounds (18.6 kg), although there is anecdotal and photographic evidence of even larger fish from this lake.
Human history
The Lahontan cutthroats of Pyramid and Walker Lakes were of considerable importance to the PaiutePaiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
tribe. These trout as well as Cui-ui
Cui-ui
The cui-ui, Chasmistes cujus, is a large sucker fish endemic to Pyramid Lake and, prior to its desiccation in the 20th century, Winnemucca Lake in northwestern Nevada. It feeds primarily on zooplankton and possibly on nanoplankton...
-- a sucker found only in Pyramid Lake -- were dietary mainstays and were used by other tribes in the area. During the 19th century and early 20th centuries, Lahontan cutthroats were caught in tremendous numbers and shipped to towns and mining camps
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
throughout the West; estimates have ranged as high as 1000000 pounds (453,592.4 kg) annually between 1860 and 1920.
American settlement in the Great Basin nearly extirpated
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
these remarkable fish. A dam in Mason Valley
Mason Valley
The Mason Valley is a valley in western Nevada, between the Singatse Range and the Wassuk Range.The Walker River flows through the valley from south to north. The city of Yerington is located in the center of the valley. The Pine Nut Mountains are nearby....
blocked spawning runs from Walker Lake. By 1905 Derby Dam
Derby Dam
Derby Dam is a diversion dam on the Truckee River, located between Reno and Fernley in Storey and Washoe counties in the U.S. state of Nevada. It diverts water that would otherwise feed Pyramid Lake into the Carson River watershed for irrigation use. It is operated by the Truckee-Carson...
on the Truckee River below Reno
Reno
Reno is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, US.Reno may also refer to:-Places:Italy*The Reno River, in Northern ItalyCanada*Reno No...
interfered with Pyramid Lake's spawning runs. A poorly designed fish ladder
Fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass or fish steps, is a structure on or around artificial barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on...
washed away in 1907, then badly-timed water diversions
Newlands Reclamation Act
The Reclamation Act of 1902 is a United States federal law that funded irrigation projects for the arid lands of 20 states in the American West....
to farms in the Fallon, Nevada
Fallon, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,536 people, 3,004 households, and 1,877 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,474.1 people per square mile . There were 3,336 housing units at an average density of 1,095.2 per square mile...
area stranded spawning fish and desiccated eggs below the dam. By 1943 Pyramid Lake's population was extinct. Lake Tahoe's population was extinct by 1930 from competition and inbreeding with introduced rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
(creating cutbow
Cutbow
A Cutbow is a fertile hybrid between a rainbow trout and a cutthroat trout . While cutbow hybrids may occur naturally, most native populations of rainbows and cutthroats were separated by geography or habitat...
s), predation by introduced Lake trout
Lake trout
Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...
, and diseases introduced along with these exotic species.
Upstream populations have been isolated and decimated by poorly-managed grazing
Managed intensive grazing
Management Intensive Rotational Grazing is a system of grazing in which ruminant and non-ruminant herds are regularly and systematically moved to fresh pasture with the intent to maximize the quality and quantity of forage growth. MIRG can be used with cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks...
and excessive water withdrawals for Irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, as well as by hybridization and competition.
Pyramid Lake and Truckee River water quality
Pyramid Lake, the second largest natural lake in the western U.S. prior to construction of the Derby DamDerby Dam
Derby Dam is a diversion dam on the Truckee River, located between Reno and Fernley in Storey and Washoe counties in the U.S. state of Nevada. It diverts water that would otherwise feed Pyramid Lake into the Carson River watershed for irrigation use. It is operated by the Truckee-Carson...
, has been the focus of several water quality investigations, the most detailed starting in the mid-1980s. Under direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
, a comprehensive dynamic hydrology transport model was developed (C.Michael Hogan et al. 1987) by Earth Metrics Inc.; the model's name was subsequently changed to DSSAM
DSSAM Model
The DSSAM Model is a computer simulation developed for the Truckee River to analyze water quality impacts from land use and wastewater management decisions in the Truckee River Basin. This area includes the cities of Reno and Sparks, Nevada as well as the Lake Tahoe Basin...
, and it was applied to analyze impacts of a variety of land use and wastewater management decisions throughout the 3120 square miles (8,080.8 km²) Truckee River
Truckee River
The Truckee River is a stream in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river is about long. Its endorheic drainage basin is about , of which about are in Nevada. The Truckee is the sole outlet of Lake Tahoe and drains part of the high Sierra Nevada, emptying into Pyramid Lake in the Great...
Basin. These analyses allowed more competent decisions to be made regarding non-point runoff in the watersheds as well as management of treated effluent discharged to the Truckee River.
Conservation
Pyramid and Walker Lakes have been re-stocked with fish captured in Summit Lake (Nevada) and Lake Heenan, and those populations are maintained by fish hatcheriesHatchery
A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish or poultry. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled conditions; alternatively, it may be for economic reasons A hatchery is a...
. Unfortunately the Summit Lake strain does not live as long or grow as large as the original strain of fish. However fish believed to have been stocked almost a century ago from the Pyramid Lake strain were discovered in a small stream along the Nevada-Utah border, and may eventually be used to restore the original strain.
They were classified as an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
between 1970 and 1975, then the classification was relaxed to threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
.
Because it tolerates water too alkaline for other trout, Lahontan cutthroats are stocked in alkaline lakes outside its native range, including Lake Lenore
Lake Lenore (Washington)
Lake Lenore is located in Grant County, Washington. It is a lake formed by the Missoula Floods in the lower Coulee just north of the town of Soap Lake, Washington. It is situated between Alkali Lake to the north and Soap Lake to the south. The lake is rather narrow, but long...
(alternately Lenore Lake) in central Washington and Lake Mann in Oregon's Alvord Desert
Alvord Desert
The Alvord Desert is a desert located in Harney County, in southeastern Oregon in the western United States. It is roughly southeast of Steens Mountain. The Alvord Desert is a dry lake bed and averages of rain a year. Two mountain ranges separate it from the Pacific Ocean—the Coast Range, and...
east of Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some and rises from an elevation of about above the Alvord Desert to its peak at...
.
See also
DSSAM ModelDSSAM Model
The DSSAM Model is a computer simulation developed for the Truckee River to analyze water quality impacts from land use and wastewater management decisions in the Truckee River Basin. This area includes the cities of Reno and Sparks, Nevada as well as the Lake Tahoe Basin...