Killing Fish to Make Room for Others

None by KCPW

State Fish Doesn't Like Competition

(KCPW News) Apparently Utah's state fish doesn't do well with competition. State wildlife officials have wiped out the existing population of Brown Trout and Mottle Sculpin in a portion of the Diamond Fork River to make room for 10,000 Bonneville Cutthroat Trout. DWR Conservation Manager Scott Root says the state used a naturally occurring toxin to kill the fish.

"We used backpack sprayers to apply the rotenone and we had 20 different trip stations with the chemical. As far as we can tell it was a complete success."

Root says the poisoned fish will decompose and fortify the food base for the new Bonneville Cutthroat in the river. The toxin has not been shown to hurt other organisms in the river system. Wildlife officials installed a barrier to keep Brown Trout from moving back upstream into the portion reserved for Bonneville Cutthroat. Root says the state fish gets special treatment:

"Don't get me wrong, we love rainbow trout and other trout. But when you have a sensitive species like the cutthroat trout, plus it's our state fish and was here when Brother Brigham arrived, we want to be able to make sure the species is able to stay here in its native area."

The new Bonneville Trout habitat is a 21-mile stretch of the Diamond Fork River about 10 miles from the mouth of the canyon. During the 1990s, the same chemical was used in a high-profile effort to wipe out fish in Strawberry Reservoir and make room for cutthroat and salmon.

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