Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) are part of our natural heritage and Nevada’s state fish; a symbol of the life that persisted before western settlement and a testament to the resilience of wildlife.
Once widespread throughout the Lahontan Basin, and a staple and namesake for Indigenous Peoples, LCT now occupy only a small portion of their extensive historical range. Over the last 150 years we’ve seen declines in their populations, largely brought about by human actions: mining, historical overharvesting, historical logging and grazing practices, dams and diversions, the introduction of nonnative fishes, and most recently those declines have been made worse by climate change.
Recovering LCT offers us an opportunity to make things better - not to return the landscape to how it was before European settlement - but to create resilient landscapes that work for the fish, the wildlife, the people and the communities who rely on them.
Lahontan cutthroat trout populations:
How many? How big? How strong? This document guides modern recovery of LCT and seeks to answer those questions with a sound scientific rationale.