Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Utah
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Utah Project


USFWS: Adaptive Management and Monitoring of Pyramid Lake, Nevada

March 2019 - February 2024


Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • US. Fish and Wildlife Service
Gary Thiede, US Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit setting a larval drift net for Tui chub, the primary forage for Lahontan Cutthroat Trout in Pyramid Lake, NV.  The boat driver is Jason Meier with USFWS Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex.

Pyramid Lake, Nevada is one of the last remaining strongholds for lacustrine Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT); almost all other large lake populations have undergone population declines or extirpation as a result of habitat degradation, over-harvest, and water diversions, all compounded by the stocking of non-native species. The population depends almost entirely on stocking programs and efficient management. For this effort, we are collaborating with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex) and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. We provided a three-tiered Monitoring Approach, in which Tier 1 represents the most critical and includes monitoring LCT and their primary forage base tui chub. We will monitor LCT and tui chub abundance annually using two sampling sessions and adapt the management plan as necessary to inform management decisions.

Technical Publications Publication Date
Budy, P., N. Heredia, G.P. Thiede, and B. Laub. 2014. Pyramid Lake fishery evaluation: evaluating cutthroat trout performance and identifying limiting factors for the native fish community. Progress Report to US Fish and Wildlife Service, Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex, Great Basin Cooperative Agreement. UTCFWRU 2014(6):1-89. USGS FSP IP-066465. October 2014
Presentations Presentation Date
Budy, P. and G.P. Thiede. A multi-faceted approach to understanding the relationship between Lahontan cutthroat trout and their prey in Pyramid Lake to guide a new adaptive management program. National American Fisheries Society, Reno, NV, 29 September – 03 October 2019. October 2020
Heredia, N. A., P. Budy, and G. P. Thiede. 2012. Food Web Interactions in Pyramid Lake, Nevada: Factors Influencing Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Growth and Production. American Fisheries Society, National Meeting, August 19-23, Minneapolis, MN. August 2012