Eagle Lake Trout May Warrant Protection under the Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife (Service) today announced that they will review the status of the Eagle Lake trout to determine whether listing under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) may be warranted. This announcement follows a finding that a petition, seeking to protect the fish under the ESA, and other information available at the time of the petition, presented substantial information to indicate that listing may be warranted.

In making this finding, the Service relied on the information presented by the petitioner and information in our files at the time we received the petition in 2003.  In the review of the status of the Eagle Lake trout, the Service will be looking at the best scientific and commercial available today and is asking the public for any scientific and commercial information regarding this species.

The Service will accept information from the public until November 5, 2012.  Comments can be submitted online at the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, (Docket Number FWS-R8-ES-2012-0072) or by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to:

Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2012-0072
Division of Policy and Directives Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM
Arlington, VA 22203

The Eagle Lake trout is a beautiful fish.  It is a subspecies of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and native only to Eagle Lake in Lassen County, California. Eagle Lake trout are known for their ability to withstand high alkalinity and the large size of mature fish. 

The ESA provides a critical safety net for America’s native wildlife.  This landmark conservation law has prevented the extinction of hundreds of imperiled species across the nation