Status and conservation of westslope cutthroat trout within the western United States

We describe the historical and current distributions and genetic status of westslope cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisii (WCT) throughout its range in the western United States using data and expert opinion provided by fish managers. Westslope cutthroat trout historically Occupied 90,800 km and Currently occupy 54,600 km; however, these are probably underestimates due to the large-scale (1: 100,000) mapping we used. Genetic analyses found no evidence of genetic introgression in 768 samples (58% of samples tested), but the numbers of individuals tested per sample were variable and sample sites were not randomly selected. Approximately 42% of the stream length occupied by WCT is protected by stringent land use restrictions in national parks (2%), wilderness areas (19%) and roadless areas (21 %). A total of 563 WCT populations (39,355 kin) are being managed as conservation populations. and while most (457, or 81%) conservation populations were relatively small, isolated populations, large and interconnected metapopulations occupied Much more stream length (34,820 km or 88%). While conservation populations were distributed throughout the historical range (occupying 67 of 70 historical]), Occupied basins), they were much denser at the core than at the fringes. From the information provided we determined that conserving isolated populations (for their genetic integrity and isolation from normative competitors and disease) and metapopulations (for their diverse life histories and resistance to demographic extinction) is reasonable. We conclude that while the distribution of WCT has declined dramatically from historical levels, as a Subspecies WCT are not currently at imminent risk of extinction because (1) they are still widely distributed, especially in areas protected by stringent land use restrictions: (2) many populations are isolated by physical barriers from invasion by normative fish and disease; and (3) the active conservation of many populations is occurring.