Assistant Manager Jay Bigelow and fishery biologist AL Duncan spawn threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout at the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery, Nevada during the spring of 2003. The Hatchery has been developing a wild strain of Lahontan cutthroats called the "Pilot Peak"strain. Genetic research suggests it originated from the original Pyramid Lake strain. The native Lahontan cutthroat trout were once abundant through the Lahontan Basin of eastern California and north central Nevada including Pyramid, Walker, Donner and Independence lakes as well as Lake Tahoe. Developments within the watershed when the Europeans arrived in the 1800s, poor forest practices, grazing, loss of water for agriculture and domestic purposes, and introduction of nonnative trout all contributed to the Lahontan cutthroat trout’s loss within much of their historical range. The Hatchery produces approximately 500,000 threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout for Pyramid and Walker lakes. Photo taken March 25, 20
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