CONSERVATION GROUPS PLAN TO SUE
OVER WESTSLOPE CUTTHROAT

Ramon Vanden Brulle

This past July, American Wildlands, a Montana-based conservation organization, filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue, over the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision last spring not to list westslope cutthroat trout as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The westslope (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) was historically the most widespread sub-species of interior cutthroat trout (O. clarki). East of the Continental Divide, westslopes occupied Canada’s upper South Saskatchewan basin and the entire upper Missouri basin, including many streams at the epicenter of modern trout fishing. West of the Divide, westslopes occupied all the upper Columbia drainages in Montana, Idaho, British Columbia, and Washington, and BC’s upper Fraser River system. Isolated populations occupied Washington’s Methow, Lake Chelan, Entiat, and Wenatchee drainages, and Oregon’s John Day basin. Recent research by Washington Trout indicates that indigenous westslope populations occur in other Washington systems, including the Yakima basin.

In June 1997, American Wildlands, with groups including the Madison-Gallatin chapter of Trout Unlimited, and legendary Montana flyfishing guide Bud Lilly, petitioned the FWS to list westslope cutthroat based on evidence of dramatic declines in both their distribution and abundance. The petition showed that westslopes have been reduced to small, fragmented headwater-resident populations, that important life-history types are functionally extinct, and that genetically pure westslope cutthroat are absent from almost all of their former range. The declines are attributable to habitat loss, overfishing, and to large degree the introduction of non-native fish, especially brook trout, rainbows, and other cutthroat. The non-native species have displaced westslopes through predation, competition, and hybridization.

Despite the critical nature of AWL’s petition, the FWS took nearly three years to make their listing decision, even though they are required to take only twelve months. When this past April they finally did reach their decision not to list, most observers were dismayed, not least American Wildlands.

"I thought the ESA required the agency’s decision be based on biological, not political science," Rob Ament, AWL Executive Director, said at the time. "The species is in decline and threats are increasing. Perils from exotic fish, disease, and habitat destruction were all still present when I woke up today."

While westslopes continue to decline, FWS determined that listing was not warranted in part because the major decline occurred in the early 20th century. They held that westslope populations are viable precisely because they are isolated in headwaters, ignoring scientific opinion that interconnected populations are essential to long-term survival. The Service’s claim that westslope cutthroat occupy 23,000 miles of stream habitat is misleading. If a state agency reported that westslopes occurred in a stream, FWS recorded that the population occupied the entire stream reach, even if it was actually isolated in one small part of the headwaters.

American Wildlands spent the spring and early summer reviewing FWS’s Listing Decision and its Status Review for Westslope Cutthroat before taking this first step toward litigation. They found both documents technically flawed and believe that many of the documents’ conclusions were politically, rather than biologically motivated.

Suing the US Fish and Wildlife Service is a big step, but AWL and its partners believe that ESA protections will be critical to the survival and recovery of westslope cutthroat. According to Judi Brawer, AWL Watershed Program Coordinator, "We and our partners will continue to fight for the protection of westslope cutthroat. We are committed to doing what it takes."

The State of Montana responded by saying it would intervene in court on behalf of the FWS. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Director Pat Graham called listing unnecessary, and touted voluntary, cooperative conservation efforts worked out between private landowners, state, federal, and tribal agencies.

AWL’s Ament countered that westslope populations continue to decline despite Montana’s efforts, and that the courts have found that vague promises of future voluntary actions can not be used to preclude listing.

"We’ve gone through the administrative hoops and now we are getting in line to have our day in court," Ament said. Alluding to FWS’s reluctance to list bull trout and lynx until they were sued, he added, "the FWS simply does not have the will to list a species unless they are wrestled through the courts."

For more information or to join the westslope cutthroat trout campaign, contact American Wildlands at (406) 586-8175 or see their web site at www.wildlands.org.

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