Native trout restoration in Mill Creek
In September wildlife biologists released a “piscicide” (fish killer) called rotenone into Mill Creek near Elbow Fork in order to remove non-native trout.
-by Amy Brunvand
This month the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources plans to restock the stream with native Bonneville cutthroats (the official state fish of Utah).
This is an exciting re-wilding project, restoring native species to their historic range. In the past Utah streams were stocked with non-native species like rainbow trout from California. Bonneville cutthroats evolved from fish in Pleistocene Lake Bonneville (which has shrunk down to become Great Salt Lake). They were thought to be extinct until remnant populations were found in the 1970s. Due to restoration efforts they now occupy nearly 2,500 miles of stream.
Mill Creek Restoration: wildlife.utah.gov/millcreek-restoration.html
More Oct. 2015 Environews:
Transit funding on November ballots