Northern Nevada rivers expected to be listed as critical habitat for bull trout

By Stephanie Tavares

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010 | 11:31 a.m.

US Fish and Wildlife is planning to add a Northern Nevada watershed to the list of critical habitat for a rare fish.

The agency is re-drawing its critical habitat maps for the bull trout, which is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

The trout live in cold high altitude streams and lakes as well as coastal rivers in the American Northwest.

Federal officials want to dramatically increase the size of the critical habitat for the fish, designating about 22,680 miles of streams and 533,426 acres of lakes and reservoirs in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Nevada.

The Nevada critical habitat is on the Owyhee and Bruneau rivers, tributaries of the Jarbridge River, in extreme northern Nevada near the Idaho border.

The agency is having a public information hearing on the proposal tonight from 5 to 7 at the Elko Convention Center in Elko.

For more information, log on to www.fws.gov/pacific/bulltrout.