Greenback Cutthroat Trout

Introduction: The Greenback Cutthroat is a minor subspecies of the Yellowstone Cutthroat that is more directly derived from the Colorado River Cutthroat. These trout are native to the eastern side of the continental divide in the Arkansas and South Platte River drainages of Colorado and a small part of Wyoming. This trout was very susceptable to extinction caused by the introduction of non-native trout, overfishing and pollution. This resulted in the Greenback being declared extinct by 1937, however thankfully a few pure populations persisted in headwater streams in the high rockies in the 1960's. In 1973 this fish was listed under the Endangered Species Act, and today it has become known as one of the most successful fish restoration projects. Currently there are about 60 different transplanted populations of Greenback Cutthroat, which occurr mostly in lakes and streams of Rocky Mountain National Park. A trait that is unique to some populations of these cutthroat is that due to the altitude that they are found at their eggs hatch earlier than those of other trout. I found these fish in a stream in the Colorado Rockies at about 10,000 ft in elevation isolated above a barrier fall, where they area now thriving thanks to restoration efforts.

Description: The Greenback Cutthroat typically has large round spots that are distributed mostly above the lateral line. The coloration on these trout tends to be typical of the Colorado River Cutthroat, with the same deep red-orange coloration along their lateral line and gill plate. The coloration on there back is usually a greenish-yellow, and populations that are found in smaller streams will often keep their parr marks into maturity. The maxium size of the greenback is about 5 pounds under the right conditions.