The green and red striped and dotted Lahontan cutthroat trout has been Nevada’s state fish since 1981, and its official status is threatened, which means anglers heading out for a day of fishing in Nevada should familiarize themselves with this symbolic fish.
Here are a few facts about Nevada’s state fish:
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1. It's native: The Lahontan cutthroat trout is native to Nevada and is said to exist in nearly all of the state’s 17 counties. The fish was thought to be extinct in the 1940s, but conservationists, biologists, and hatchery managers worked together to help restore the population. As a result of the successful restoration of this species, “The Lahontan cutthroat has spurred habitat improvements in the region ... and this has also helped other rare wildlife, including Cui-ui suckers and sage grouse,"
Al Jazeera America reported.
2. It's threatened: Efforts to restock the Lahontan cutthroat trout after it was listed as an endangered species in 1970 proved fruitful when the trout was elevated to threatened status just five years later in 1975, and the future continues to look positive for these trout.
According to KNPR.org in 2014, “Cutthroats raised from a strain of a remnant population near the Nevada-Utah line spawned upstream from Pyramid Lake for the first time in nearly 80 years.” These results are made that much more impressive considering that Nevada was in a fourth drought year at the time, which “suggests [cutthroats] have the resiliency to be a self-sustaining population.”
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3. It can live in alkaline lakes: The Lahontan cutthroat trout is able to live in a several habitats that exist in Nevada, such as mountain creeks, alpine lakes, and warm lowland streams. However, what makes this trout species special is that it can live in alkaline lakes, a difference from other trout species.
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