MEEKS BAY

Five thousand Lahontan Cutthroat Trout were released into Meeks Bay on June 30 in a stocking event, with a second release scheduled for late July. This is the largest release of the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout by the Washoe Environmental Protection Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through its Lahontan National Fish Hatchery. In previous years, the Washoe Environmental Protection Department conducted educational releases of 20 to 40 trout. 

The Washoe Tribe is concurrently working on the Mayála Wáta (Meeks Meadow) Restoration Project across the road from Meeks Bay. A spokesperson for the Washoe Environmental Protection Department said that with the two large Lahontan Cutthroat Trout releases, the hope is the trout will begin to swim up Meeks Creek. On July 28, the Fish and Wildlife Service will release a couple thousand more trout, including 20 to 40 Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tagged fish to track the movement of the cutthroat trout throughout the Basin.

Moving forward, Lahontan Cutthroat Trout will continue to be reintroduced into Lake Tahoe in greater numbers.

The reintroduction efforts are historically and culturally significant as the Washoe people relied on the native species for hundreds of thousands of years. Many fish in Lake Tahoe, such as Mackinaw, are non-native, while Lahontan Cutthroat Trout are designated as threatened due to historic overfishing by settlers.

According to the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery website, one of its missions is to provide fish to its tribal partners for recovery efforts, as part of its federal tribal trust responsibilities.

~ MR