| Tribe works to keep home of endangered fish free of invasive species | |
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A small, unassuming two-inch mussel could stall the comeback of Nevada’s threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout and endangered cui-ui sucker, but the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, long time steward of the lake, has made it a mission to prevent invasive species from establishing themselves in the lake.
The Lahontan cutthroat trout were believed to have gone extinct in 1943, due to a dam that blocked their spawning ground, and the cui-ui were expected to follow. |
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But in a strike of luck, a fishery scientist eventually identified a remnant population of the Lahontan cutthroat trout surviving in a creek on the Nevada-Utah border. The remarkable find allowed the tribe to propagate the trout and successfully reintroduce it into Pyramid Lake.
The tribe now operates three hatcheries to produce both the trout and cui-ui. But those hatcheries are facing new challenges: invasive species like the destructive quagga and zebra mussels.
The Pyramid Lake Tribe’s aquatic invasive species program is a new effort designed to preserve the federally endangered and threatened fish species in the lake. The tribe received a grant of nearly $200,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in November that will help pay for additional seasonal staff at the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe inspection and decontamination station next to the highway in Sutcliffe to intercept watercraft on the way to the lake’s boat launch. |
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