Rewriting a fish tale at Lake Tahoe

If the road to hell really is paved with good intentions, it’s easy to surmise where those who thought it a good idea to introduce nonnative species to Lake Tahoe will end up.

Then again, with wildlife biologists and others working feverishly to re-establish Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) in the lake, maybe another road is being paved for those who committed the earlier misdeeds.

LCT are Tahoe’s only native trout. They are on the federal engendered species list.

Logging, overfishing, dams and other water diversions along with the introduction of nonnatives led to the demise of the Lahontan cutthroat in the 1930s.

Other native fish at Lake Tahoe include tui chub, Tahoe sucker, mountain whitefish, Lahontan reside shiners and speckled dace.

Mackinaw, also known as lake trout, were first introduced here in the late 1800s. To this day one of the things they dine on are the LCT.

Millions of dollars are being spent on re-establishing Lahontan cutthroat trout to Lake Tahoe and other nearby lakes. (Image: California Department of Fish and Wildlife)

This century the feds along with both states have been working to bring LCT back to Tahoe and its tributaries, as well as to Echo and Fallen Leaf lakes. Nevada Department of Wildlife since 2022 has stocked Tahoe with 100,000 LCT.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposed the reintroduction of the native species to Fallen Leaf Lake in 1999, with the first stocking occurring in 2002.

The USFWS hatchery in the Carson Valley is the main source of LTC that are stocked at Tahoe and other Sierra lakes.

“In part we are trying to fix the problem we created,” Sam Sedillo, NDOW fisheries biologist, said.

The purpose to stock Tahoe, he said, is for sport fishing. The fish are tagged, with the hope people who catch them will report data back to his agency for their research purposes.

While Sedillo is optimistic about the studies going on at Incline and Third creeks in Incline Village, he said it’s too soon to know if LCT will be successfully re-established in the basin.

2012 was the first time Lahontan cutthroat reproduced naturally in the Lake Tahoe Basin in more than 70 years.

The goal is to have Third Creek be home to spawning cutthroat without rainbow trout able to make it up the same passage.

“We are not taking rainbow out of tributaries,” Sedillo explained. “What NDOW does with rainbow trout at the structure is we tag them. We will spawn fish onsite, take them to the hatchery, and release them back to Tahoe downstream so they are not moving into the tributary to spawn.”

Cross breeding of rainbow and LCT would eventually lead to the demise of the latter.

Lahontan cutthroat trout is Nevada’s state fish. The largest one to be reeled in—41 pounds—was in 1925 at Pyramid Lake.

Nevada and California’s wildlife departments are the main agencies working on LCT; however it’s a collaborative effort that includes the Washoe Tribe, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, USFWS and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

“For TRPA, recovering this native species is both a goal of the environmental threshold standards for wildlife and a major project of the Lake Tahoe environmental improvement program,” Jeff Cowen, TRPA spokesperson, said. “The biggest challenges for the recovery effort include reconnecting habitat by removing fish passage barriers in streams and rivers like bridges and culverts installed during Tahoe’s development. Also, hybridization with rainbow trout which share spawning ground and predation by Mackinaw trout which sometimes feed on their eggs.”

A West Shore project could be good news for the LCT. Caltrans is replacing the bridge at Meeks Bay, which ties into the tribe’s restoration of Meeks Meadow, while the Forest Service is removing the historic marina and making improvements to the creek. A goal is LCT will spawn again in Meeks Creek.

Tens of millions of dollars have and are being spent on getting Lahontan cutthroat trout to call Lake Tahoe and its tributaries home again. It’s all for sportfishing and to restore the wrongs committed years ago.

Zach Gordon, a boat captain and guide for Tahoe Sportfishing, calls the efforts wasteful and unsuccessful.

For years there has been a concern that LCT will decimate the rainbow trout population, which would impact the sport fishing industry.

Common nonnatives in addition to Mackinaw and rainbow trout include brown trout and Kokanee salmon.

Other fish seen and caught in the lake that are obviously are not native include goldfish being dumped from personal aquariums. Some have grown to 15 inches long. Largemouth bass, bluegill and crappies are other species the natives have to compete against.

What no one plans to do is remove the nonnative trout and salmon.

“We are not going to permit or go out and haphazardly remove sport fish in the lake for something that isn’t guaranteed,” Sedillo said. “An effort to remove nonnative fish is not worth it any shape or form, and it would not be successful either.”

Note: A version of this story first appeared in the Tahoe Mountain News.