NFWF Announces More Than $724,000 in Grants to Conserve Lahontan Cutthroat Trout
Grants will support a basin-wide strategy to recover threatened native trout populations in California Nevada and Oregon
The grants were awarded to Trout Unlimited and the U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center through the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (LCT) program, a partnership between NFWF and Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
"Over the past eight years the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout program has made major gains in enabling trout to survive and thrive in critical streams in California, Nevada and Oregon," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. "The grants announced today will help cement NFWF's impact in the region by establishing networked stream systems to sustain Lahontan cutthroat trout strongholds and support research to inform ongoing management of protected streams long into the future."
Trout Unlimited will utilize their grant to reduce the threat of non-native fish in occupied and historic Lahontan cutthroat trout habitats, conduct genetic and population monitoring to evaluate the species' overall health, expand hatchery work and support key capacity needs of partners working throughout the Lahontan cutthroat trout range. The U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center will analyze field data to evaluate the sensitivity of Lahontan cutthroat trout to temperature and drought conditions in critical streams range-wide. Results of this work will inform future recovery strategies.
Established in 2010, the LCT program protects existing pure populations of Lahontan cutthroat trout from contact with non-native trout, sustains Lahontan cutthroat trout populations in lakes, connects isolated populations into larger more resilient populations and increases Lahontan cutthroat trout angling opportunities.
Lahontan cutthroat trout are the only native trout in the Great Basin. Following decades of decline, the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Since the LCT program began, nine populations of Lahontan cutthroat trout have been secured through a combination of reintroduction and barrier placement protecting from non-native trout invading recovery streams. To date, non-native trout have been removed from 267 miles of Lahontan cutthroat trout habitat.
A complete list of the 2018 grants made through the LCT program is available here.
About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, NFWF has funded more than 4,500 organizations and generated a conservation impact of more than $4.8 billion. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.
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