A native cutthroat trout found only in the Arkansas River drainage of southern Colorado, and once on the brink of extinction, is now reproducing naturally in waters where it was reintroduced after a devastating wildfire wiped out much of its native habitat nine years ago.

The last known Hayden Creek cutthroat trout — probably most closely related to Colorado’s state fish, the greenback cutthroat trout — were literally pulled from an active fire zone on Hayden Pass in 2016 in order to keep the fish from winking out altogether. Just last fall, Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists confirmed that reintroduced populations of the fish were reproducing, and, more importantly, they reported, the fish had reproduced several times since they were reintroduced in their once-native waters.

“This is very exciting news for these fish and for the agency, considering the odds they faced back in 2016,” said Paul Foutz, senior aquatic biologist for CPW’s Southeast Region, after discovering young-of-the year fish in tiny Newlin Creek in the Wet Mountains near the small town of Florence west of Pueblo. “Although this does not mean the [Hayden Creek cutthroat trout] in Newlin are a self-sustaining population yet, it’s a huge step in the right direction.”

The summer of 2016, as a wildfire raged around Hayden Creek south of Coaldale, a little hamlet on the Arkansas River southeast of Salida, CPW biologists for U.S. Forest Service staffers donned protective fire gear and pulled off a daring rescue of the extremely rare native trout. Using oxygen bottles, nets, electro-shocking equipment and water tanks, the rescuers ventured behind the lines of the devastating wildfire and pulled out 194 Hayden Creek cutthroat trout. Of those 194 fish, 158 were taken to the Roaring Judy National Fish Hatchery north of Gunnison for safe keeping. The remaining 36 were taken to Newlin Creek.

The fish taken to Roaring Judy were preserved as brood stock. Because the hatchery had limited space, CPW and USFS fisheries biologists began searching for new homes for what they hoped would be a recovering population of native cutthroat trout. Sadly, when biologists returned to Newlin Creek in 2017, none of the originally stocked cutthroats were found.

Nevertheless, as biologists explored Newlin Creek and its half-dozen small tributaries, they were convinced the creek would be the best possible new home for the progeny of the rescued fish that were swimming in the controlled waters of the Roaring Judy Hatchery. In 2018, fisheries crews returned once again to Newlin Creek, and painstakingly removed all non-native brook, brown and rainbow trout they were able to shock up with electro-shocking gear. These non-natives compete with native cutthroat trout for both food and habitat, and it was important that as many of the non-native trout as possible be removed.

Then, in October 2018, 900 Hayden Creek cutthroat trout reared in the hatchery were released in the cold waters of Newlin Creek. Each of the trout was about two inches long.

Since that October stocking, CPW has planted Hayden Creek cutthroats in 13 other streams in the Arkansas drainage, ranging from South Ruxton Creek on Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, south to a small stream on La Veta Pass west of Walsenburg, and north to Iowa Gulch near Leadville, Colo., with an elevation of more than 10,000 feet above sea level.

Since that initial stocking in 2018, CPW has planted more than 8,000 hatchery-reared Hayden Creek cutthroat trout in Newlin Creek in hopes of saving the subspecies. But, not until 2024 did fisheries biologists find concrete evidence of natural reproduction in the small, Arkansas River tributary.

“Our surveys this year found young-of-the-year fish swimming with older class fish from a previous stocking,” Foutz reported last fall.

Foutz was among the biologists who made the initial rescue in 2016, so the discovery of the naturally reproducing fish in Newlin Creek kind of represents a closed circle for him in his journey to save this rare native cutthroat trout. Even more good news? Two of the fish sampled were more than a foot long, which shows that the habitat in Newlin Creek offers solid growth potential.

“CPW’s mission begins with a vow to perpetuate the wildlife resources of Colorado and this is a perfect example,” Foutz said. “These fish have unique genetics and it’s our job to ensure they remain on the landscape for future generations of Coloradans.”