Human History
The Lahontan cutthroats of Pyramid and Walker Lakes were of considerable importance to the Paiute tribe. These trout as well as Cui-ui -- a sucker found only in Pyramid Lake -- were dietary mainstays and were used by other tribes in the area.
When John C. Frémont and Kit Carson ascended the Truckee River on January 16, 1844 they called it the Salmon Trout River, after the huge Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) that ran up the river from Pyramid Lake to spawn.
American settlement in the Great Basin nearly extirpated these remarkable fish. During the 19th century and early 20th centuries, Lahontan cutthroats were caught in tremendous numbers and shipped to towns and mining camps throughout the West; estimates have ranged as high as 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) annually between 1860 and 1920. A dam in Mason Valley blocked spawning runs from Walker Lake. By 1905 Derby Dam on the Truckee River below Reno interfered with Pyramid Lake's spawning runs. A poorly designed fish ladder washed away in 1907, then badly-timed water diversions to farms in the Fallon, Nevada area stranded spawning fish and desiccated eggs below the dam. By 1943 Pyramid Lake's population was extinct. Lake Tahoe's population was extinct by 1930 from competition and inbreeding with introduced rainbow trout (creating cutbows), predation by introduced Lake trout, and diseases introduced along with these exotic species.
Upstream populations have been isolated and decimated by poorly-managed grazing and excessive water withdrawals for Irrigation, as well as by hybridization, competition and predation by non-native salmonids. This is important as although Lahontan cutthroat trout can inhabit either lakes or streams, they are obligatory stream spawners.
Read more about this topic: Lahontan Cutthroat Trout
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