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CPW Finds Trout That Was Thought To Be Extinct

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Earlier this week, biologists with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced they have found a lineage of Colorado cutthroat trout, previously thought extinct.

 

CPW biologists have discovered eight small populations of the fish living in isolated habitats in the San Juan River Basin in southwest Colorado. Officials say advanced genetic testing shows distinct markers that identify this lineage as being unique.

Credit Colorado Parks and Wildlife
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife
A museum specimen found in the Smithsonian.

There are three related subspecies of cutthroat trout in Colorado. CPW officials say all have been harmed by reduced stream flows, changes in water quality and competition with other species.

Jim White, an aquatic biologist for CPW in Durango, said in a press release the agency will look into propagating the new subspecies in hatcheries and reintroducing them to their historic habitat.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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