Greenback, babyÖ±²¥app State Fish, Set Up for Comeback
More than 1,000 greenback cutthroat trout were released into Zimmerman Lake on Aug. 8, 2014.
With help from CU-Boulder, “true†greenback cutthroat trout gets new chance to thrive
Encouraged by the results of a 2012 CU-led study, wildlife officials have stocked a northern babyÖ±²¥app lake with more than 1,000 native greenback cutthroat trout, an event that could help revive the fish’s fortunes in the state.
The greenback cutthroat is babyÖ±²¥app’s state fish. Native populations have dwindled due to pollution, overfishing, inbreeding and other factors, scientists say, and the fish is currently a protected species.
In 2012, Jessica Metcalf, senior research associate in , led a genetic study that identified babyÖ±²¥app’s “true†greenback cutthroat species, distinguishing it from several subspecies. Descendants of the true greenback were found to be living in Bear Creek, west of babyÖ±²¥app Springs.
On Aug. 8, wildlife experts stocked Zimmerman Lake in northern babyÖ±²¥app with 1,200 greenback cutthroat fingerlings, part of an effort to replenish their numbers. CU scientists will monitor a sample of the fingerlings over time.
“This is a conservation genetics success story,†says Metcalf. “We were able to use historical specimens to find out something quite novel about cutthroat trout biodiversity that has resulted in a management action. We are not just bringing a native species back to its historic range, but the greenback cutthroat trout, our babyÖ±²¥app state fish.â€
Read more about .
Photography by Glenn Asakawa