Conservation strategies for the Conchos trout

Authors: James E. Brooks

Year: 2008 (xl)

Abstract

Truchas Mexicanas reported on the 2005 re-discovery of the Conchos trout and made a call for immediate conservation efforts in a white paper written in 2006. Extensive survey efforts by Truchas Mexicanas for the approximate ten preceding years demonstrated the extreme rarity of this species and identified a number of conservation strategies necessary to protect the species from extinction. Originally collected in the 1880s by explorer Nathaniel T. Lupton, this rare endemic trout of the Rio Conchos Basin has persisted in a few isolated streams of the northeastern Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua, México. Information is presented on the known current distribution of the Conchos trout, including results of survey efforts since 2005. Conservation strategies for short- and long-term application to prevent species extinction are identified. An overview of the management plan for protection of Conchos trout at Ejido Panalachi is also presented. Important participants in Conchos trout conservation include, along with Truchas Mexicanas, include World Wildlife Fund - Mexico and Trout Unlimited and their efforts are identified within the Ejido Panalachi efforts.