Bear Creek survey shows decline in population of greenback cutthroat
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Aquatic biologists and researchers at Colorado Parks and Wildlife have launched an intensive review of data on Bear Creek after a routine survey revealed a troubling decline in greenback cutthroat trout populations.
“We have looked into several factors that may have contributed to this decline including water quality, temperature, flow, sediment accumulation, disease and the possibility of some unnatural human-caused event,” said Josh Nehring, senior aquatic biologist for CPW’s Southeast Region. “At this point, we cannot say there is one single, definitive cause.”
In 2012, CPW confirmed that tiny Bear Creek, on the city’s southwest edge, was home to wild greenback cutthroat trout, which are the Colorado state fish and are native to the South Platte River in the northeast.