ESA Listing Declined
For Cutthroat Trout

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt has declined to list the cutthroat trout as an "endangered" species.

"I am hopeful that, increasingly in the future, we can defer listing as a result of conservation efforts that are underway," Babbitt said in announcing his recent decision.

Several private conservation efforts are underway, including one by Turner Ranches.

Environmental activist groups accuse Babbitt of bowing to pressure from ranching and timber industries.

In February, the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, Southwest Trout, Carson Forest Watch, Biodiversity Legal Foundation, and Ancient Forest Rescue petitioned Babbitt to list the trout as an "endangered" species.

The activist groups said the cutthroat, the official fish of New Mexico, traditionally occurs throughout the higher elevations of the Rio Grande river basin from southern New Mexico and possibly Texas to southern Colorado. They claimed that the trout has disappeared from 95 percent of its range because of overgrazing, logging, water diversions, and competition and hybridization with introduced game trout.