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then and now species at risk: Westslope cutthroat trout
"The specks on these are of a deep black..." 		click here to find another animal

"Goodrich had caught half a dozen very fine trout and a number of both species of the white fish. These trout are from sixteen to twenty-three inches in length, precisely resemble our mountain or speckled trout in the form and the position of their fins, but the specks on these are of a deep black instead of the red or gould colour of those common to the U' States." -Meriwether Lewis

Westslope cutthroat trout

On June 13, 1805, Lewis witnessed a scene that he described as "the grandest sight I ever beheld." He spent paragraph after paragraph in his journal painting the splendor of the Great Falls of the Missouri (at a place that would later become Great Falls, Montana) and then, frustrated at his inability to capture the beauty in words, wondered if he shouldn't cross it all out and start over.

The waters of the Great Falls also provided a glimpse of a species new to science: the westslope cutthroat trout. Private Silas Goodrich caught some for dinner, and before Lewis took a bite, he noted the appearance, partaking in a great tradition that Charles Darwin would also employ: dinner-table natural history. Two centuries of dams and water diversion have tamed the roaring wall of water that so impressed Lewis. The spot he admired is now the site of the Ryan Dam. Westslope cutthroat trout, which honors both explorers in its scientific name, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, is found in only a fraction of its historic range.

taking a closer look

Preserving the legacy

In order to preserve the remaining westslope cutthroat trout, the Sierra Club is working to:

  • Implement the Roadless Area Conservation Rule as originally written to protect pristine habitat for this sensitive species.

  • End commercial logging, oil and gas leasing, and dirt-bike use in cutthroat habitat and permanently protect important wildlands, watersheds, and fish habitat.

  • Restore the wildlife-rich area of Lolo Pass in Montana's Bitterroot Mountains.

  • Redouble protections for cutthroat by ensuring it is granted Endangered Species Act protections.

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