The Division of Wildlife Resources is embarking on a plan to see streams in northeastern Utah become two of the best in the Intermountain West for catching Colorado River cutthroat trout. Reader Creek and Lynn Creek have both experienced dramatic decline in the cutthroat population due to competition and breeding with non-native trout. The decline has been so severe that the species’ future has been called into question. As a result, DWR biologists, partnered with Ashley National Forest, will chemically treat both streams with rotenone from late July through early fall. “The treatment will remove brook trout that have established themselves in the streams,” explains the DWR. “Without intervention, biologists predict brook trout will completely replace cutthroat trout in the streams in less than 20 years.” The area will be closed to the public before treatments occur and reopen to the public after the treatment process is over.
