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  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Our Board
    • Sponsors & Partners >
      • Sponsorship Levels
    • Bylaws
  • What We Do
    • Strategic Plan
    • Latest News
    • Action Center
    • Past Programs
  • Conservation
    • Projects >
      • Dream Stream Willows
      • South Platte River Clean up
      • River Watch
      • Eleven Mile Dam Removal
    • Education >
      • Greenback Cutthroat Game
      • Trout in the Community
      • Youth Education
      • Trout in the Classroom
  • Protection
    • Fairplay Asphalt Plant
    • Zephyr Mine Application
    • Bear Creek Greenback Cutthroat Trout >
      • Home On The Range
      • Greenbacks Discovered
      • Morphology Study
    • Invasive Species
    • Whirling Disease
    • Endangered Species Act & Clean Water Act
  • Restoration
    • Could Fishing Be Better?
    • Fishing Opportunities In South Park
    • Fishing Opportunities In Colorado
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Monthly Meetings
    • Become A Member
    • Email Subscribe
    • Monitor Water Temps
    • Volunteer
    • Donate via Grocery Store Gift Cards
    • Sustaining Membership
    • Chapter Raffle
    • Donate A Vehicle
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Greenbacks Discovered - DNA Study

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A Short History of Greenback Cutthroat Trout

Until the publication of the scientific study in 2012 the then current thinking was that there were four lineages of Cutthroat Trout originally in Colorado at the time European settlers began to arrive.

These lineages were: Colorado River Cutthroat, Greenback Cutthroat, Rio Grande Cutthroat and the Yellowfin Cutthroat. It was further thought that these trout lineages resided in streams of the Western Slope, South Platte, Rio Grande and Arkansas Rivers. 

In 1937 it was declared that the Greenback Cutthroat lineage was extinct. 

In 1964 a population of what was thought were Greenback Cutthroat Trout were discovered in some of the ponds of Fort Carson, outside Colorado Springs.

These trout were moved to hatcheries and raised for distribution into other streams as part of the recovery project.

In 1974, the Greenbacks were on the first class of species listed under the Endangered Species Act as Endangered. Due to the work  of CPW Greenbacks later were down listed as Threatened under the Act

In about 1996 it was determined through a new technique of DNA sequencing that these trout were actually hybridized Greenbacks with Rainbow DNA.

Other populations of Greenbacks by this time had been identified in Trappers Lake so these were  then used in the recovery project and considered the standard for comparative purposes against which all other samples were analyzed. 

The question arose: What is a Cutthroat Trout and What is a Greenback Cutthroat Trout?
In a study commissioned and published in 2007 only added to the confusion as Greenbacks were discovered in many locations on the Western Slope and many populations of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout were identified in Front Range streams.
​
​In an attempt to clarify these confusing finding the 2012 study was commissioned. PPCTU contributed $9000.00 toward this study.

This study identified six lineages originally native to Colorado. It also identified that there was only one population of Greenbacks in existence and those resided in Bear Creek, just outside Colorado Springs.
The DNA Study
File Size: 862 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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