The Rio Grande cutthroat trout occupies the southern-most habitat of all the cutthroat trout.
An Imperiled Native Fish
At least twelve species of native cutthroat trout inhabit the western United States, three of those within the Greater Southern Rockies. The Rio Grande cutthroat trout is found in a small number of higher elevation rivers in the southwestern part of Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. All three of our region’s surviving native cutthroat trout species are threatened with extinction; the Rio Grande cutthroat has been reduced to roughly 1% of its original range. 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.
Natural History
Rio Grande cutthroat trout typically spawn between the middle of May and the middle of June. Males are sexually mature at age 2; females at age 3. They will live on average of five years; in rare cases, cutthroat trout have been known to enter their teens. All native cutthroat trout require clear and cold water, naturally-fluctuating stream flows, low levels of sediment, well-distributed pools, stable streambanks, 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
-Candidate Species, Endangered Species Act
-Colorado Division of Wildlife Species of Concern
-IUCN Threatened Species
-New Mexico Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Action Taken
Center for Native Ecosystems is working to protect the higher elevation habitat essential to the recovery of the Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
