The Colorado River cutthroat is the ancestor of the other two native Colorado varieties (greenback cutthroat and Rio Grande cutthroat). Photo © Steve Stoner
An Imperiled Native Fish
The once-prevalent Colorado River cutthroat trout now inhabits only a few upper reaches of the Colorado River system in northwestern Colorado and southwestern Wyoming, a reduction of about 95% of its historic habitat. Hybridization with introduced fish species is one major threat. Road construction and use, livestock grazing, logging, mining, water diversions, and other land uses that release sediment or toxins into streams, remove trees and riparian vegetation, or divert water from streams all pose severe threats to native cutthroat. Oil and gas drilling also contributes to increased sedimentation in streams and polluted surface water runoff from drilling sites, both which have devastating effects on the cold, clear streams trout need to survive.
Natural History
One of the most spectacular of the colorful cutthroat trout, the Colorado River cutthroat has a deep red underbelly and neck and distinct black spots covering the tail, sides and back. The Colorado River cutthroat, like all native cutthroat trout, require clear and cold water, naturally-fluctuating stream flows, low levels of sediment, well-distributed pools, and abundant stream cover. A recent report by the Western Native Trout Campaign found that most of the surviving, healthy populations of native cutthroat trout are found in designated wilderness and other roadless areas, underscoring the central role that roads play in devastating native trout populations.
Conservation Status
-Colorado Division of Wildlife Species of Concern
-Forest Service Sensitive Species
-Utah Conservation Agreement Species
Action Taken
Center for Native Ecosystems and other conservation partners are working to secure formal federal protection to keep this rare native from slipping closer to extinction. We are simultaneously working to protect the higher elevation habitat essential to the recovery of the Colorado River cutthroat trout.
Read More
The Importance of Roadless Areas for Native Trout
US Fish & Wildlife Service Preliminary Finding on Colorado River Cutthroat Trout
Learn More
Cutthroat Collapse
