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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel editorial Gven our own regional chauvinism, we would have much preferred that the Colorado River cutthroat trout — a native of the Western Slope — had been designated by the Colorado Legislature as the state's "official" fish rather than the endangered greenback cutthroat. After all, what does greenback imply about Colorado? Other than perhaps an unseemly obsession by some on the dollar bill, not a whole lot.
By contrast, the very name of the Colorado River cutthroat is reflective of the entirety of the Centennial State, although the fishes' native range is limited to waters that flow in the direction that God, in His infinite wisdom, primarily intended. Namely, from high on the Continental Divide, westerly toward the sunset. Unlike Colorado River cutthroats, greenback cutthroats are Eastern Slope natives, originally occupying waters in the South Platte and Arkansas River drainages. However, for much of the 20th century, the greenback cutthroat trout was thought to be extinct, the victim of severe habitat degradation and cross-hybridization resulting from the introduction of non-native species of fish such as rainbow trout. The mid-century discovery of a genetically pure remnant population of greenbacks in Rocky Mountain National Park was a surprising serendipity that provided federal and state fish biologists the requisite gene pool to initiate an intensive recovery program designed to reintroduce the rare subspecies of trout back into its native range. Unfortunately, researchers with the University of Colorado released a study this week that, if correct, found that wildlife biologists have been restocking Colorado River cutthroats, rather than its close cousin, the greenback, in the high-country waters of the Eastern Slope. Out of nine remnant populations of what were believed to be greenbacks, the study found, five were actually Colorado River cutthroats. Oops. To most Coloradans, we suspect a question is, "Why bother? Why spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to save a fish that — save for some slightly larger spots and miniscule genetic permutations — is virtually indistinguishable from the Colorado River cutthroat?" A good question, that is. And one that is difficult for anyone to answer persuasively. When the Colorado Legislature passed legislation to designate the greenback cutthroat as the state's official fish in 1994 — at the behest of Mesa State President Tim Foster in the House and University of Colorado Regent Tilman Bishop in the Senate — state lawmakers extended an official imprimatur to the pluck and tenacity of a rare fish species that has managed to survive against some very long odds. Foster said this week, "It's the only bill I sponsored that my kids remember or seem to care about." That says something. It says something enough that federal and state fisheries biologists should understand the importance of getting the reintroduction program back on track and never let the greenback cutthroat go the way of the saber-toothed tiger. |
