Gila trout emergency rescue!
Within a high-mountain creek in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness lives the Iron Creek lineage, one of only five remaining populations of threatened Gila trout. When rain was forecasted after the recent Sacaton Fire threatened their habitat, a multi‑agency team sprang into action and successfully rescued 78 trout.
Thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and New Mexico Department of Wildlife, all rescued fish currently have a 100% survival rate at the Mora National Fish Hatchery. While this rescue effort occurred suddenly, biologists spend years planning for their collection.
The offspring of Iron Creek will be returned to streams in New Mexico and Arizona, primarily for recovery purposes, but to also give anglers a chance to catch them.
Visual description: opening scene is of rescued Gila fish swimming in a holding tank. Next clip shows a helicopter lowering a container of 78 Gila trout while a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biolog...