Bring Back the Greenback

60 recycled cheesecloth panels, dye, paint

In 2008 at the State Fair, I picked up a flyer from the Forest Service display titled “Bring Back the Greenback: A Native Trout Bounces Back From Near Extinction.” It said that the Greenback Cutthroat Trout, a formerly abundant native trout species in Colorado, was thought to be extinct by 1937. Over-fishing, the introduction of non-native fish species, development and destruction of habitat, all were contributing factors in the vanishing of this trout.

Two small populations were discovered, however, and in 1959 efforts were made to save them. In 1973, the Endangered Species Act listed the Greenback Cutthroat as endangered and a recovery effort was formulated.

That effort was successful and “the Greenback ranks as one of the very few species to be removed from the endangered list,” as the flyer said, -”without entering the extinct list.”