The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision Tuesday to not list the Bonneville cutthroat — Utah’s state fish — as endangered did not sit well with everyone. Noah Greenwald, the Science Director for the Portland-based Center for Biological Diversity, was particularly unhappy with the decision for three different reasons. He said it reflected the Bush Administration’s new policy to only consider a species’ current range and not its traditional range, a fact that met the agency looked at only 65 percent of the trout’s traditional range.

Greenwald also said the agency only looks at isolated pockets of healthy fish without examing the species on a cumulative basis that might take into consideration problems such as competition with non-native trout, habitat degradation, and the number of secure populations. He said that, when the Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Rio Grande Cutthroat, which is similiar to the Bonneville, as endangered, it took those factors into the equation.

Finally, the scientist complained that the agency in only looking 20 years ahead ignores the long-term effects of climate change. Since the Bonneville cutthroat often inhabit small streams that can be affected negatively by drought and warming water temperatures, he said that could be a critical mistake.

Tom