OCR Text |
Show WASATCH MOUNTAIN TIMES Division of Wildlife Resources Poisoned Rare Native Trout in Parleys Canyon copyright By Jeff Rice Wasatch Mountain Times launched by the Utah ivision of Wildlife Resources (DWR) to protect a population of what may have been rare native trout in Parleys Creek, went awry in early A November, killing most of the fish in the stream, state officials confirmed. The fish were believed to be pure Bonneville cutthroat trout, one of only two varieties of trout native to Utah, and candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife officials were attempting to poison nearby Lambs Creek with rotenone, to rid that stream of a population of stocked rainbow trout. Some of the rotenone poison may have leaked into Parleys Creek, DWR officials say. Bonneville Cutthroat The project was initiated to prevent hybridization between the rainbow trout and the rare cutthroats, should their populations intermingle. Hybridization and competition with non-native trout, such as the rainbow, have been the chief cause for the decline of Bonneville cutthroats, which now occupy less than 1 percent of their former range. The Parleys Canyon fish had been identified as possible natives only as recently as this year. They match the physical characteristics of natives Genetic tests are still pending. This discovery, so close to a major metropolitan area, was nothing short of startling to wildlife officials. Most of Utah’s native cutthroat were believed to be found only in isolated streams in remote parts of the state. Parley’s Creek, by contrast, winds through a golf course in places and is not far from Interstate 80. The accident has left state officials as well as trout enthusiasts crestfallen. “They were really pretty fish. I feel pretty bad about it,” said DWR’s Charlie Thompson, who was in charge of the project. Thompson said the cause of the accident is still under investigation. Cold weather may have caused the rotenone to maintain its toxicity longer than expected, he noted. The cause also. may be linked to _ other chemicals, toxic themselves, used to neutralize the rotenone, Thompson ‘explained. DWR was unaware that anything had gone wrong with the project until they were informed by a member of a local fishing club, Paul Dremann, the conservation chairman of the Stonefly Society. Aware that DWR was conducting a rotenone project, Dremann had gone to the site Nov. 1 to check on it. He was horrified by what he found. “The whole stretch was strewn with dead fish,” said Dremann. “My reaction was dismay and tremendous anger.’ Thompson said he was shocked when informed by Dremann. “I don’t know what could have been done differently,” he said. Thompson explained that the leyels of poison were kept far below recommended doses and monitoring stations were carefully watched. “We worked so darn hard to make sure everything went right. We did everything we could.” But critics say that is precisely the problem. Even with the best laid plans, rotenone can be unpredictable. Many want a re-examination of the use of rotenone in the management of Utah fisheries. ‘It’s a crap shoot,” said Dremann. “This is a glaring example of how you can plan carefully and it can still go wrong.” oO": high profile examples of accidents involving rotenone include a project on the Fremont River in 1991. Aquatic life along a 35-mile stretch of the river was killed when The alternatives, electro-shock or netting, are too time consuming and expensive and may be ineffective, Thompson noted. Currently, DWR is using the poison to right the wrongs of the past that came from extensive stocking of nonnative fish. These fish, including all brown trout, rainbows, brook trout and MAYBE IT’S TIME YOU SHIPPED OUT. . i when 430 miles QT if ( { [Zod te ~ ieee , s BEEP! i Noe312) BE CRA iF wot —_ zs l Vee x UVGLOBE ¢Beep! Peregrine Travel YON 800-950-0460 649-0460 / 534-0460 Park City Plaza Park City Skinny Chimneys Bigger Bagels the project went out of control, including sections that flowed through Capitol Reef National Park. And in 1992, an accidental release of rotenone from a project in Scofield Reservoir poisoned 11 miles of stream below the dam. But perhaps the most infamous case of a rotenone accident came in 1962 even most cutthroats (< transplanted variety from Yellowstone), eliminated most of the native population in the state through competition and hybridization. The poison is being used to clear out streams of non-native fish to expand the range of the remaining native cutthroats Two days after the discovery of the accident, a test, in which the water is shocked to stun fish to the surface, revealed one small fish to be still alive Officials hope that is an indication that more fish may have survived. @ of the Green River were poisoned, killing fish as far away as Dinosaur National Monument. “The accident (on Parleys Creek) exemplifies the pitfalls of rotenone,” said Zach Frankel, director of the Utah Rivers Conservation Council. He is calling for a moratorium on the use of rotenone in Utah, until further studies are made to gauge its predictability and to asses environmental impacts. DWR acknowledges the difficulty of using the poison, but officials say that rotenone is the most effective tool they have to control fish populations. “There's no other way,” said Thompson. “That’s the only chemical available to do it.” PAGE 9 Santa’s got a problem! |