Category: Biome

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The Cutthroat Trout-A Utah Native

The Cutthroat Trout-a Local Favorite: Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri
Courtesy USDA Forest Service
 
Cutthroat Trout A “no-trouts-land” on the Logan River, Copyright (c) Chadd VanZanten, Photographer vanzanten-cutthroat_trout Cutthroat Trout on the Logan River, Copyright (c) Chadd VanZanten, Photographer
 
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarki pleuriticusColorado River Cutthroat Trout
Oncorhynchus clarki pleuriticus
Courtesy US BLM Rawlins, WY Office
 
Utah streams offer excellent year-round fishing opportunities for every level of angler. According to the Department of Natural Resources, Utah’s waters are home to approximately 80 different species of fish, but it is the trout fishing that is the biggest attraction for fishermen. Of the trout species swimming in our rivers and lakes, the cutthroat trout is a local favorite and the only trout native to the state.

The cutthroat trout represents the most diverse trout species in North America. They are a freshwater fish of the Salmonidae family that live in cold, clear streams and lakes across the west. Cutthroat trout are distinguished from other trout species by two red slashes prominently striping the lower jaw after which they are named. All cutthroat trout share a single common ancestor, but historic population isolation gave rise to 14 subspecies, each endemic to their own geographic region and river drainage.

There are four subspecies that exist in Utah. Only three of these are considered native to the state: the Colorado River cutthroat, the Yellowstone cutthroat, and Utah’s state fish, the Bonneville cutthroat. In Utah, the Colorado River cutthroat trout can be found in some of the smaller streams and tributaries of the Green River, the San Juan River, and the Colorado River drainages. Their bright coloration and posterior black spotting distinguish these cutthroats from others.

Pure, native Yellowstone cutthroat trout are present in small numbers in the streams of the North Slope of the Raft River Mountains in northwestern Utah. However, this subspecies is more widely distributed across the state due to extensive stocking. Yellowstone cutthroat trout can be differentiated by larger-sized black spots concentrated near the tail and their gold, gray, and copper tones.

The Bonneville cutthroat trout evolved in the Bonneville Basin of Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada. Its primary ancestors were a population of lake dwelling cutthroat trout living in the late-Pleistocene aged Lake Bonneville. The Bonneville cutthroat trout is less vividly colored and has spots that are more sparsely and evenly distributed across the body than other cutthroats. Thought to be extinct in the 1970s, populations of the Bonneville cutthroat trout are now estimated to exist in around 35% of their historic range, including the nearby Weber and Provo Rivers.

Like so many species, the native cutthroat trout of Utah are under significant pressure due to drought, habitat loss, disease, and competition with non-native species. Though only the Colorado River cutthroat is included on the Utah State Sensitive species list, conservation of all of Utah’s native cutthroat populations is a focal point for state wildlife resource managers.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Anna Bengtson of Park City.

The Cutthroat Trout-a Local Favorite-Credits:
Images: Courtesy USDA Forest Service, US Bureau of Land Management & Chadd VanZanten.
Text: Anna Bengston

Additional Reading:

Anna Bengston’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/anna-bengston/

Utah Fishing Regulations, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/fishing-regulations.html.

Fishes, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, n.d. Web. 7 July 2014: https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?class=actinopterygii.

Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, Utah Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=oncorhynchus%20clarkii%20utah

Colorado River Cutthroat Trout,, Utah Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=oncorhynchus%20clarkii%20pleuriticus.

Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, Utah Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=oncorhynchus%20clarkii%20bouvieri

Greenback Cutthroat Trout, Western Native Trout, https://www.westerntrout.org/gc-trout.html.

Cutthroat Trout, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/ResearchCutthroatTrout.aspx.

Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) – FactSheet. Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) – FactSheet. U.S Geological Survey, 14 June 2013. Web. 7 July 2014: https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=890.

Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki utah), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fws.gov/species/bonneville-cutthroat-trout-oncorhynchus-clarkii-utah

Brown, Dylan. Shocking habitat projects help increase native Cutthroat populations. Standard Examiner, 14 May 2014. Web. 7 July 2014: https://www.standard.net/lifestyle/recreation/2014/may/13/shocking-habitat-projects-help-increase-native-cutthroat-populations/.

Chorney, Chad. For the Love of Cutthroat Trout Unlimited Blog, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 7 July 2014: https://westslope.tu.org/comment/1556.

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An Arizona Road Trip Back Into the Past

Montezuma Castle, Courtesy US NPS
Montezuma Castle
Courtesy US NPS
 
Location of Hubbell Trading Post NHS in the Southern Colorado Plateau Network, Courtesy US NPSLocation of Hubbell Trading Post NHS in the Southern Colorado Plateau Network
Courtesy US NPS
 
Hubbell Trading Post, Courtesy US NPSHubbell Trading Post Interior
Courtesy US NPS

Arizona is rich in history — from the 1800s all the way back to the Late Triassic Period. You can stitch together a road trip that winds out of Flagstaff to Montezuma Castle National Monument, to Petrified Forest National Park, and ends at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site. Along the way you’ll experience fascinating chapters of geologic and cultural history.

At Montezuma Castle, 45 minutes south of Flagstaff and just off Interstate 17 (Exit 289), a short walk places you in front of a 5-story-tall cliff dwelling that offered safety from invaders: it stands 100 feet above the valley floor, nestled into an alcove.

The site was misnamed Montezuma Castle in the late 1800s by whites who thought the structure had been built by the Aztec people. The original owners, members of the Southern Sinagua (seen aug wah) people, called this area home from roughly 1100-1425 A.D.

Stroll the short trail that loops around a vegetated landscape below the “castle,” and you’ll find great views as well of the remains of Castle A. That dwelling once rose 60 feet and was home to about 100 residents.

From Montezuma’s Castle, it’s 95 miles via Arizona 87 to Winslow, and then 34 miles east on Interstate 40 to Holbrook. Finally, another 19 miles southeast on Arizona 180 leads you into Petrified Forest National Park and its unusual landscape.

There’s no lodging within the park, and you have to leave by sundown, so you will need to make some tough decisions if you have just one day. Do you take time to tour the Rainbow Forest Museum with its dinosaur displays, or hike out to Agate House?

A building built of petrified wood is pretty cool, so stretch your legs with a walk to the house. Then head north and deeper into the park to the Crystal Forest Trail. Wander this path and you’ll find yourself surrounded by petrified wood with its hues of yellow, red, and green, black and white.

Blue Mesa is another great stop. There’s a trail that takes you down into another colorful landscape of badlands and chunks, logs, and even slabs of petrified wood in shades of red, blue, yellow and black.

The northern end of the park road is anchored by the Painted Desert, a great place for sunset photos. Here you’ll also see the Painted Desert Inn, which some day could put the Park Service back into the lodging business but today is just a museum piece.

Back on Interstate 40, drive 22 miles east to Chambers, and then north on U.S. 191 for about 38 miles to Ganado and Hubbell Trading Post. This authentic trading post was opened by John Lorenzo Hubbell in 1878 on the Navajo Reservation.

Although it was added to the National Park System in 1967, Hubbell is not a museum piece but an active trading post. As such, it still holds richly woven Navajo rugs, jewelry, and other Native American artworks for purchase.

Schedule your visit to Hubbell Trading Post for May and you just might be able to attend the annual Native American Art Auction. Check with the park (928-755-3475) for the exact date.

If you have a little more free time, you could extend your your trip by heading 39 miles north on 191 to Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

For Wild About Utah and National Parks Traveler, I’m Kurt Repanshek.

Credits:
Image: Courtesy and Copyright Kurt Repanshek, www.nationalparkstraveler.com
Text:     Kurt Repanshek, NationalParksTraveler.com.

Additional Reading:

Montezuma Castle National Monument, NationalParksTraveler.com, https://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2012/03/visiting-montezuma-castle-national-monument-arizona9636

Montezuma Castle National Monument, US National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/moca/index.htm

Geographic Area covered by the State of Deseret and Utah Territory, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, https://www.dupinternational.org/dyn_page.php?pageID=54

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Wildlife Corridors

Western Wildway Network
Copyright © Wildlands Network

Have you heard about the Yellowstone to Unita Connection or the Western Wildway Priority Wildlife Corridor and the Bear River Range Corridor? What we will talk about today is the critical importance of protecting, maintaining and creating wildlife corridors throughout Utah and the west.

Animals and yes plants and all other critters that live in ecosystems, such as birds, insects and amphibians, always suffer when their ecosystem and the ecosystems that are adjoining theirs, either through land or water corridors are fragmented and minimalized, if not lost altogether due to human activities. The ever expanding web of roads and highways, residential and commercial development, intensive agriculture, energy development and off-road vehicle trails in essence trap animals in an ever shrinking island of non-connected ecosystems. Its when species can’t move between ecosystems to mate, migrate, eat, pollinate, find new homes and resources. recycle nutrients, take refuge and more, that inbreeding can cause significant problems for flora and fauna. Sometimes even extinction.

Our politicians and agency folks, as well as developers, farmers and ranchers, businesses and everyday residents can all help to assure that we preserve, maintain and develop a network of these corridors connecting large and small ecosystems running from Canada, through the United States into Mexico.

One such large project, called the Spine of the Continent, is a geographic, social and scientific effort to sustain linkages, along the Rocky Mountains, so that plants and animals can keep moving. A local example, the Bear River mountains, located in northern Utah and southern Idaho, is a relatively narrow tract of forest land in the Uninta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and the Caribou and Targhee National Forests. This mountain range and surrounding basin are a key component of the western United States biological corridor system. The Bear River basin corridor is a critical choke point for species migration in the western United States because it offers the only major link between the northern and the southern Rockies. Or more specifically, the link between the greater Yellowstone ecosystem and the high Unitas wilderness area.

Here’s how you can get involved:
We have dedicated organizations working on the protection, expansion and maintenance of wildlife corridors. I mentioned the Yellowstone to Unita connections. They along with the Bear River Watershed Council and others in our state are actively working on wildlife corridors. I spoke to Dr. John Carter, manager of the Yellowstone to Unitas connection about their program. They are doing great work to restore fish and wildlife habitat in the Yellowstone to Unitas corridor, through the application of science, education and advocacy. He invites you to check out their website at www.yellowstoneuintas.org.

I’m Jim Goodwin for Wild About Utah

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy
Text:    Jim Goodwin, co-founder of the Utah Bioneers Sustainability Conference, https://www.intermountainbioneers.org/

Additional Reading:

Yellowstone to Unitas Connection, https://www.yellowstoneuintas.org/

Western Wildway Network, Wildlands Network, https://westernwildway.org/

Wildlife Mortality Along Utah’s Highways, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://www.slideshare.net/UtahDWR/wildlife-mortality-along-utahs-highways-april-2011

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Wilderness 16 Feb 2015

Wilderness. The word conjures up romantic images of wide open landscapes teeming with birds, beasts, and plants. I imagine places untouched by human influence – truly wild and free. Places that are exotic and far away.

High Unitas Wilderness, Utah, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright 2009 Cordell Andersen, Photographer www.cordellmandersen.com
High Unitas Wilderness, Utah
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2009 Cordell Andersen, Photographer

Red Butte Wilderness, Utah, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright 2011 Paul Gooch, PhotographerRed Butte Wilderness, Utah
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2011 Paul Gooch, Photographer

Wellsville Mountain Wilderness, Utah, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright 2011, Dusty Vaughn, PhotographerWellsville Mountain Wilderness, Utah
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2011 Dusty Vaughn, Photographer

Paria Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright © 2011 Mike Salamacha, Paria Ranger, BLM, PhotographerParia Canyon
Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2011 Mike Salamacha, Paria Ranger, BLM, Photographer

 

But wilderness exists much closer than you may think.

The United States Congress adopted the Wilderness Act with a nearly unanimous vote in 1964. Ours was the first country in the world to define and designate wilderness areas – lands valued enough to be set aside for the purpose of protection.

Currently, the Wilderness Act protects 757 individual wilderness areas across the United States – totaling more than 109 million acres. Thirty-three wilderness areas are found in Utah, and they protect a variety of unique landscapes from the red rock desert found in Red Butte Wilderness to the alpine forests of the High Uintas Wilderness. While the landscapes may look incredibly different from one wilderness area to the next, these lands share a number of qualities which can be described by adjectives such as peaceful, quiet, untouched, and pristine.

These areas protect some of the most unique and incredible landscapes that Utah has to offer, but that doesn’t mean they’re off limits. Our wilderness areas are just that – ours. They are public lands, accessible to anyone who wants to visit – so long as you tread lightly.

Areas that fall under its protection are described in the Wilderness Act as “lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition…” which “…shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreation, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation and historic use.” These amazing lands were set aside in 1964 with an eye to the future and because of it, should still be around for your grandchildren’s grandchildren to enjoy.

There is an ongoing effort to educate Americans about the immense value of preserving wilderness areas. For without education, they may one day be selfishly reclaimed and lost. One of these educational opportunities is coming to Logan on April 13th and 14th. The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center will be hosting a teacher training workshop in conjunction with the Stokes Nature Center and the Utah Society for Environmental Education. The workshop is aimed at teachers in grades 5-8, though anyone is welcome to attend. For more information, please contact the Stokes Nature Center at www.logannature.org

Not a teacher? The best way to learn about wilderness areas is to go visit one! Information, and photos of Utah Wilderness Areas, can be found at www.wildaboututah.org

For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy Wilderness.net, Steve Archibald, (Individual Copyrights noted)
Text:    Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center, logannature.org

Additional Reading:
The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center:
wilderness.net

Wilderness Investigations teacher training workshop:
logannature.org/wi_workshop