San Juan National Forest rescues unique native cutthroat trout from path of Stoner Mesa Fire

RICO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Aquatic biologists have stepped up to save one of Colorado's most precious natural resources.

In the southwest region of the state, the Stoner Mesa fire continues to grow. As the fire was approaching Wildcat Creek, a team had a short window to relocate a unique strain of Colorado River Cutthroat trout.

“Because the headwaters of Wildcat Creek are located very close to the Stoner Mesa Fire, there is concern that the fire could impact the creek and negatively change the characteristics of the water, which could be extremely harmful to this unique species of trout,” Stoner Mesa Fire Operations Chief Brian Austin said. “Fire Operations leaders are doing all they can to protect Wildcat Creek and all of the watershed tributaries, but the potential threat to species like the Colorado cutthroat remains.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) says the goal was to catch 250; the team was successful in relocating 266.

CPW says the rescue was done by one biologist who walked the channel using a backpack electrofishing setup, while others followed alongside and behind with nets to collect every fish that surfaced.

Through electrofishing, CPW says a light dose of electricity is applied in the water, which briefly stuns fish and allows for their capture.

“Upon arrival at the Roaring Judy isolation facility, the 266 cutthroats were sorted by size and moved to circular rearing tanks,” said Hatchery Manager Seth Firestone, who personally drove the hatchery truck Monday to Wildcat Creek. “The circular tanks provide the fish with a constant supply of cold, clean, oxygenated well water and plenty of space to grow. Over the following days and weeks, the fish will be feed-trained to accept a high-quality fish pellet that contains all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals required to help them grow and remain healthy. The fish will be closely monitored and cared for every day until conditions are suitable to restock them back into the wild.”

The group of fish was relocated to a hatchery 165 miles away as the Stoner Mesa Fire has grown to over 7,000 acres.

CPW plans to keep the cutthroat trout from Wildcat Creek at the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery until after the fire incident is concluded and there is no longer a threat to water quality that could threaten their survival.

“We are looking at a couple of scenarios to either restock the fish back into Wildcat Creek once they are out of danger,” White said. “We may also replicate this population in the Dolores River Basin in a stream where non-native trout were removed just last year.”

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