Apache Trout were first described as a full species Salmo apache in 1972 (Miller 1972), however, based on genetics are now considered a subspecies of Gila Trout, Oncorhynchus gilae apache (Behnke 2002). ![]() The Apache Trout are the state fish of Arizona and are native to the headwaters of the Black, White and Little Colorado Rivers in the White Mountains of Arizona. To follow the process, you can use the USFWS’s Environmental Conservation Online System.An Apache Trout from the White Mountains of Arizona. That move will prompt a 60-day comment period seeking input from members of the public, as well as state, federal, tribal, and other government entities. The next step for the USFWS in the official removal of the Apache trout from the long list of species protected under the ESA will be the publishing of a proposed rule to the federal register. ![]() Apache trout were long considered the same species as the closely related Gila trout. “Additionally, non-native brook and brown trout pose threats through competition and predation.” In order to remedy this issue, the USFWS and the AZGFD have focused on the removal of these species from the Apache trout’s native range, measures that AZTU says it supports despite blowback from anglers who like to fish for the non-natives. “The gene pool was threatened by hybridization with non-native rainbow and cutthroat trout,” wrote the USFWS in its press release. The USFWS says that one impediment to the success of Arizona’s Apache trout was the introduction of non-native game fish species. “Like much of the excess that went on at that time, there would literally be strings of fish between trees.” “Back then, the fishing for these trout was just incredible,” Davis told F&S. He says that the over-harvest of the yellow-bellied Apache trout by European settlers around the turn of the century played a big role in the native fish’s decline. According to AZTU Chapter Chair Alan Davis, the White Mountain Apache Tribe has been trying to restore the fish since the mid-1950s. George Andrejko / AZGFīringing Apache trout back to sustainable levels has been a goal of the federal government since at least 1979, but Indigenous tribes in the area have been working to restore the valuable native fishery even longer, the Arizona Chapter of Trout Unlimited AZTU tells Field & Stream. A year later, it gained protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and it was subsequently downlisted to threatened in 1975.” Apache trout live only in streams around the White Mountain area of northeast Arizona. “Apache trout first described as a unique species separate from Gila trout in 1972. “It was originally considered the same species as the Gila trout, which was listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1967,” the USFWS explained. In fact, for many years, North American scientists didn’t fully understand the taxonomic distinctions between the Gila and the Apache trout. ![]() ![]() The apache trout is one of just two trout species native to the Grand Canyon State-the other being the closely related Gila trout. The USFWS says that the recovery effort included non-native trout removal, fish barrier construction, and the reintroduction of hatchery-reared Apache trout back into their historic native habitat. Under the right conditions, Apache trout can reach 20 inches in length. The agency’s proposal comes at the end of a five-year review process involving the White Mountain Apache Tribe, Arizona Game and Fish (AZGF), the federal government, and the Arizona Chapter of Trout Unlimited (AZTU). The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is recommending the removal of the Apache trout from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). While the small streams that these rare fish typically inhabit only allow them to grow to about 10 inches in length, they can reach sizes of 20 inches or more under the right conditions. It lives exclusively in the streams around the White Mountains of northeastern Arizona. Native only to the high country of northern Arizona, the Apache trout is a hard-fighting, olive-colored salmonid with a bright yellow underbelly. After a half-century of federal protection, a unique trout species is being considered for removal from the Endangered Species List.
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