Managing Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Recovery

Recovery: A mandate or a responsibility?

Why do Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) need us to manage them? Shouldn’t we let nature take its course? These are questions we hear all the time and there is no one answer that covers everything. Instead of just saying “it’s complicated,” we can say that the mandate to recover LCT comes from the Endangered Species Act:

“The Endangered Species Act establishes protections for fish, wildlife, and plants that are listed as threatened or endangered; provides for adding species to and removing them from the list of threatened and endangered species, and for preparing and implementing plans for their recovery; provides for interagency cooperation to avoid take of listed species and for issuing permits for otherwise prohibited activities; provides for cooperation with States, including authorization of financial assistance; and implements the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).”

Recovery Implementation Strategy

In 2024, Recovery Implementation Teams are updating or developing new Short-Term Action Plans for each LCT Management Unit. The Short-Term Action Plans will become the guiding management strategies for LCT.