Page 51 - Flathead Beacon // 6.11.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM OUTDOORS JUNE 11, 2014 | 51

OUT OF BOUNDS Rob Breeding
Warming Up to
How did
Habitat Protection
D.A. Davidson & Co.

grow to be the largest
T
full-service investment HE LATEST BROADSIDE IN But Clint Muhlfeld, the U.S. Geo-
the global warming discussion logical Survey biologist who authored
firm headquartered
in the Northwest?
hits close to home. A new study the climate study published in the jour-
shows that climate disruption and nal “Nature,” reminded me that stocked
warming has increased the likelihood rainbows are not the same ish as those
that native westslope cutthroat trout in that might have migrated to the Flat-
the upper Flathead River will breed with head if the downstream geology had
introduced rainbows. The result: more been diferent. There remain examples
hybrid cuttbows and fewer native trout.
where wild rainbows and cutthroats co-

Rainbows were introduced into the evolved and persist as separate species
Flathead more than 100 years ago, but occupying diferent niches in the same
the rate of hybridization has increased habitat.
signiicantly in the last 30 years. The Those zombie swarms are likely a
study suggests why. Rainbows prefer
symptom of farming rainbow trout.
Hatchery managers select
One relationship at a time.
for diferent characteristics
in ish than nature does. We
“IT TURNS OUT THAT KEEP-
raise trout that are comfort-
able living in close quarters,
eating feed pellets, and stay- ING THE PLANET HABITABLE
ing alive long enough to be
caught despite being stocked FOR SPECIES ALSO HAS SIDE
into a variety of habitat types.
406-752-6212 or 1-800-955-2208
Raise a few generations se- BENEFITS FOR ANGLERS.”
200 First Ave. E., K-M Bldg.
Kalispell, MT 59901
lecting for these character-
406-862-2101 or 1-888-564-3008
istics and you’ve got some-
thing very diferent from a
14 West Second Street
wild ish. It may still look like
Whiteish, MT 59937
a rainbow, but its not going to act like its to spawn earlier in the spring than cut-
D.A. Davidson & Co. is not a tax advisor. Before investing, wild ancestors when it’s unleashed on an
throat, but climate change has com-
you should always consult your tax/legal advisor about the aquaticecosystem.
pressed snowmelt and runof into a
speciic tax consequences and advantages of your situation.
If rainbows had migrated to the Flat-
shorter period, leading to more com-

head on their own there probably would mingling on the redds.
have been some sorting out between that A cuttbow is ine sport on the end
species and cutthroats — at least that’s of your line, but it’s a lost ish when it
what happened elsewhere. In this alter- comes to genetic diversity. To make
nate biological universe, the irst Euro- matters worse, these hybrids can form
pean anglers to wet a line in the Flathead zombie-like swarms that swamp aquatic
might have found both ish, either liv- systems, pushing native ish closer to the
brink.
ing side-by-side or occupying diferent
portions of the watershed. The hybrid We’re lucky that in the upper Flat-
cuttbows sometimes common in rivers head many parts of our native isheries
where rainbows have been introduced remain intact despite multiple threats.
aren’t the usual byproduct of wild ish Bull trout still run from the mainstem as
interactions.
far north as the Canadian North Fork on
I’m not resigned to defeat and the epic spawning migrations. And anglers
loss of our native cutthroat. Rainbows still catch westslope cutthroat, often

may yet take over the upper Flathead, dozens in a summer day. They may not
but I don’t think it’s inevitable and there be the biggest ish, but they are plentiful
are steps we can take to save native ish. and eager to eat dry lies.
One promising approach: identifying I’ve assumed the cutthroat in the
where rainbows spawn and capturing Flathead were sheltered relics, protect-
them before they can reproduce.
ed by barrier falls that prevented later
But the bigger message is that Flat- arriving, marauding rainbows from tak-
head cutthroat are just another canary ing over the joint. If you buy that theory,

reminding us its time to get our act to- the hybrid cuttbow swarms that now
gether on climate change. Most of the threaten native populations are just a
things we need to do to slow human- human-created version of what would
caused warming of our planet — such have happened if the falls had been low
as using less fossil fuel, embracing wind enough to allow rainbows to migrate up-
and solar power, walking more and driv- stream.
ing less — are things we should be doing Maybe. It’s easy to ind examples of

anyway.
rainbow trout “dominance” all across
It turns out that keeping the planet Montana where we’ve stocked the ish
habitable for species also has side ben- on top of native populations. The intro-
eits for anglers.
duced ish take over, while the native
This is the irst of three columns on cutthroat are relegated to remnant pop-
protecting Montana’s native trout.
ulations in the headwaters.

Rob Breeding writes and teaches when he’s not ishing or hunting.