The Recent Discovery of a Fluvial Bonneville Cutthroat Trout Population in the Weber River, Utah: A Catalyst for Watershed Scale Restoration and Cooperation

The presence of large Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT) in the lower Weber River prompted the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah State University, and Trout Unlimited to complete a study to characterize the life-history of this population.  Between 2011-2014, 2,000 BCT were marked with Passive Integrated Transponder tags and Passive In-stream Antennas were placed into 5-8 tributary streams/year.  Bonneville Cutthroat Trout have moved into each of the tributary streams and have traveled up to 27 km to spawn in a given year.  Also during this time, a new cooperative framework called The Weber River Partnership, which seeks to ensure the long-term sustainability of the watershed, was developed.  The BCT was identified as a conservation target within the guiding watershed plan developed by the partnership.  A major threat to BCT, especially fluvial BCT, in the Weber River is the presence of dams/diversions/road crossings that fragment habitat.  Through the partnership, Conservation Districts and Water Users have been made aware of these issues and are becoming partners in fish passage projects.  To date, fish passage has been achieved at one mainstem irrigation diversion and two tributaries barriers have been removed.  Future work will focus on two mainstem dams and two tributaries barriers.