Lahontan Cutthroat Trout in the Upper Truckee River: Restoration of a Threatened Species in a Fluvial Headwater Environment Project Area N Expansion Area .2008 -2011: beginning of manual removal of brook trout in additional 10 miles stream .Future - 2023: continue implementation in streams and begin removal of brook trout in 85 acres of lake Meiss Meadows .1988-1990: rotenone to remove brook trout .early 1990s: LCT re-introduced & brook trout found .mid 1990s: manual removal of brook trout in upper 5 miles stream & 8 acres lake .2007-2009: no brook trout found, resting treatment .one of the only high meadow LCT populations in Sierra Nevada Project Area Expansion Area Meiss Meadows Manual Removal Methods • Late August thru October • Delineated reaches by natural barriers (low water barriers, falls, and beaver dams) • 3-pass depletion, on varying reach lenght • Species identified and measured to size class • Brook and Rainbow trout sacrificed • Speckled dace returned to upstream reach • LCT returned upstream of Barrier T1BA4 in RL trib and 36B in UTR; sacrificed below due to hybridization threats 3 Pass Depletion Depletion B37-B36A (307 m) 30 LCT 20 BKT SPD 10 # of fish 0 1 2 3 Pass Depletion B34-B33 (254 m) 40 LCT 30 BKT 20 RBT # of fish 10 0 1 2 3 Pass Meiss Meadows LCT in Meiss Meadows Lahontan Cutthroat1996-2009 Trout Catch Upper Truckee River 1996 - 2009 2000 1500 Adult 1000 Juveniles 500 NUMBER OF NUMBER OBSERVED FISH 0 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 YEAR Brook Trout Catch in MeissBrook Meadows Trout Upper Truckee River1996 Electrofishing-2009 Catch 2009 - 1996 300 250 200 150 100 Frequency 50 0 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 2000 1997 8.5 2006 2003 9.5 2009 10.5 11.5 Total Length (Inches) Expansion Area Accomplishment Summary • 2008 • 0.8 miles treated • 3 passes completed • 230 brook trout removed • 213 speckled dace sampled • 194 LCT sampled • 2009 • 1.1 miles treated • 2-3 passes completed • 100 brook trout removed • 353 speckled dace sampled • 369 LCT sampled • 2010 • 5.8 miles treated Round Lake • 1-3 pass completed • 9,252 brook trout removed • 82 rainbow trout removed • 211 speckled dace sampled • 509 LCT sampled 2011 • 3.6 miles treated • 1-3 passes completed • 729 brook trout removed • 27 rainbow trout removed • 337 speckled dace sampled • 820 LCT sampled – 734 returned upstream of T1BA4 and 36B – 86 removed below T1BA4 and 36B Hybrids sampled in 2010 Round Lake (thanks USFWS & M. Peacock!) Upper Truckee River 140 N 120 100 80 # of fish 60 40 20 Species 0 0-5cm 5-10cm 10-15cm 15-20cm 20-25cm 25-30cm 30+cm Rainbow trout LCT 22 116 84 85 37 3 0 LCT BKT 39 68 96 83 18 2 0 Speckled dace SPD 123 5 1 0 0 0 0 RBT 0 7 3 6 0 1 0 Brook trout Round Lake tributary •LCT had last been planted in Round Lake in 2008 •CDFG surveyed Round Lake in summer 2010, and found only LCT and dace 200 N 180 160 140 120 # of fish 100 80 60 40 20 0 10- 15- 20- 25- Species 0-5cm 5-10cm 30+cm Round Lake 15cm 20cm 25cm 30cm Rainbow trout LCT 52 196 153 54 0 0 12 LCT BKT 29 86 162 122 24 0 0 SPD 162 46 0 0 0 0 0 Speckled dace RBT 0 9 1 0 0 0 0 Brook trout 2011: TOTAL FISH = 1,193 2011 UTR mainstem 2011 Round Lake tributary LCT BKT SPD LCT RBT BKT SPD RBT 2010 Round Lake tributary brook trout Lahontan cutthroat trout rainbow trout speckled dace Progress Reach B41-B41A = the most upstream reach in the Expansion Area Brook Trout 10 B41-B41A 9 2008 8 7 2009 6 5 2010 4 2011 3 2 1 0 BKT LCT B41-B41A 35 2008 30 25 2009 20 2010 15 2011 10 5 0 UTR Fish Assessment • CTC, CalTrout, CDFG, UC Davis, City SLT • Late July and August • Survey mouth to headwaters of perennial streams (where possible) • 1 pass electro-shocking • 100 meter reaches where possible • Record species and size class UTR Fish Assessment Species Total bluegill 44 brook trout 6 bluegill brown bullhead 9 brown bullhead brown trout 1954 brown trout Lahontan redside shiner Lahontan cutthroat trout 2 mountain sucker Lahontan redside shiner 108 Paiute sculpin mountain sucker 119 rainbow trout speckled dace mountain whitefish 12 Tahoe sucker Paiute sculpin 1613 rainbow trout 971 speckled dace 7528 Tahoe sucker 118 unknown sucker 37 UTR Fish Assessment .