His presentation included excellent slides that showed the historical range for the westslope cutthroat based on old documentation and paleoentological studies. I was surprised to hear that westslope cutthroat were present in the Missouri River and many of its tributaries as far down as the Judith River. A population still exists in the Judith Mountains north of Lewistown. Equally as threatening to cutthroat have been introduction of other fish species, primarily brook trout, into Montana streams. Brookies are fall spawners and their fry emerge to occupy habitat niches before the spring spawning cutthroat.
Competition is high and the chances for cutthroat to flourish are low when brook trout are present.
Brad described a drainage that had been mined long ago but still had a pure strain of westslope cutthroat in it. Since reclamation efforts were under way in the stream channel, Fish, Wildlife and Parks saw an opportunity to revitalize the cutthroat population there. Barriers to brook trout were installed, the stream was realigned, and the flood plain was reshaped. The fish were shocked and all brookies were transported below the barrier. During the shocking, around 50 cutthroat were captured.