Paiute cutthroat trout restoration

One of my favorite projects over the years is the very first project I worked on - the reintroduction of Paiute cutthroat trout in Silver King Creek.

The PCT has the narrowest range of any native trout subspecies in the world. It is endemic to a ~10 mile stretch of stream above a fish barrier in SKC. Lower SKC’s upstream barrier is a waterfall called Llewellyn Falls. SKC is a headwater tributary to the East Fork Carson River. PCT are notable for their near complete lack of spots:

Paiute cutthroat trout

I decided it would be a good time to provide an update about the project, as I just visited SKC to help out with electrofishing sampling.

electrofishing Upper Silver King Creek - we got a couple of fish in this section

First some history: if we go back to 1912, some PCT were moved above a fish barrier (Llewellyn Falls) by a Basque sheepherder. This is fortunate, because subsequently multiple stockings of various trout species occurred in Lower SKC during what can be considered the fish stocking heydey of the 20th century. Being an isolated subspecies with no natural competitors, the PCT was quickly outcompeted in Lower SKC, leaving a few refuge populations of genetically pure PCT above Llewellyn Falls. Without this inadvertent “rescue” the PCT might be extinct.

View of Upper Silver King Creek (center), Four Mile Canyon (left), and Fly Valley Canyon (right)

I’m going to leave out a lot of history of chemical treatments and restocking efforts here. 

Fast forward to the early 2000s. Having long recognized that the PCT was threatened yet has high potential for recovery and restoration, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Forest Service, and US Fish and Wildlife Service planned on chemically treating Lower SKC to remove nonnative fish. After a number of legal battles that fought to stop the chemical treatment, in 2005 everybody was all set to go and begin the treatment the following morning. However at the very last minute a judge blocked the treatment, sending hikers out with headlamps in the middle of the night to ensure that agency biologists knew that they could not proceed. This was a bit rude given that the biologists had already received word of the judge’s orders via radio. It was not a happy night.

Electrofishing gear. Mules help get all of the gear into the backcountry.

2006 is when I began working on the project. First designing assays to detect hybridization so that we could assess the Lower SKC population. Second I wrote a paper in collaboration with Eric Anderson at NOAA that examined this population further, and showed variability in hybridization amongst the various markers. In 2013 I wrote a Genetic Management Plan for the reintroduction efforts. In the meantime CDFW and the rest of the project team had finally gotten the green light to begin the chemical treatment in 2013. Treatment was conducted in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Lower SKC is now fishless, save PCT getting washed downstream.

At present we are waiting on eDNA results, snorkel surveys, and the lower fish barrier assessment to make 100% sure that the lower fish barrier is intact and there are no rainbow trout in Lower SKC. This is critically important – if any rainbow trout are left behind in Lower SKC, the monumental efforts to chemically treat are likely to have been wasted. We would be back at square one.

mules and cowboys help out with the monumental efforts

Enter the historic California drought from 2012-present, and the latest surveys of the extant refuge populations. The refuge populations in Upper SKC have been regularly surveyed every few years for decades using electrofishing. The first year I worked on the project (2006) I visited SKC and watch the Wild Trout Crew shock Upper and Lower SKC. It was incredible how many fish we found. The populations were healthy and thriving.

electrofishing Upper SKC. No fish.

Over the past few years coinciding with the drought, the census numbers have dropped precipitously in Upper Silver King, Four Mile Canyon Creek, and Corral Valley Creek. As there is plenty of water in the basin (it’s largely decomposed granite, which acts as a sponge), the prevailing theory is that the drought has resulted in an absence of insulating snowpack, causing the formation of anchor ice, further resulting in winter fish kills. Whatever the cause, the outlook is not good, and we are now left with two known healthy populations in-basin (Coyote Creek and Fly Valley Creek), four populations known to be struggling (Upper SKC, Four Mile Canyon Creek, North Fork Cottonwood Creek (an out of basin population in the White Mountains), and Corral Valley Creek), and at least three whose the status is unknown due to access difficulties.

We found a single large fish (with ragged fins, possibly due to anchor ice) in one of the Four Mile Canyon test sections. I felt like I was shocking my grandparent

A picture of Upper Silver King Creek - looks like perfect habitat but... no trout

The whole situation is sadly ironic; it was environmental groups that fought the chemical treatment back in 2005 (pushing back against the use of rotenone, the use of gas-powered equipment in a wilderness area, and what they thought was an insufficient EIS), and now we are worried about the extinction of an iconic trout subspecies. If the PCT had been reintroduced in 2006, their habitat are would have been significantly expanded, and we might not be so worried. At this point we are concerned about whether or not there are enough fish to take from the refuge populations to introduce in lower SKC. It would be a mistake to take so many fish from depleted refuge populations.

Looks like good, strong, trout habitat

What we can do now is wait for the final confirmation that lower SKC no longer has rainbow trout. PCT will be washing downstream into Lower SKC either way. Ideally we would reintroduce a number of fish from the various refuge populations to ensure maximum genetic diversity. Conservation is rarely so straightforward. We must work with what we’ve got, and remember that doing nothing is also a choice.

This is a unique project. Very few areas are able to utilize chemical treatments safely and successfully to remove fish. The PCT is native to a small area, we still have genetically pure individuals, and the reason for their decline is removed when the nonnative fish are removed. We still have hope that the restoration will be successful.

Tuolumne bouldering August 2016

This weekend I made a beeline to the East Side after spending the morning with someone I'm fond of. I tried to beat traffic by leaving around noon. This worked out well, especially since I took Mormon Emigrant and Monitor Pass. Longer distance, but so much less traffic. It seems like there are so many more people recreating than there were before. And now I sound old saying that.

Good way to start the morning - sunrise over Mono Lake with a fire to make the colors pop

I hung out at the Mobil most of the afternoon - reading my book (Girls). Then Mecia and Lucho showed up, as planned. Early bedtime, early morning, and a last minute decision (aren't climbing decisions always last minute?) and Lucho got his way and we headed out to the Polly Dome boulders.

These boulders are not in Charlie's guide. In fact, he admitted he's never been out there. Lucho, Creg, and some others developed these blocks a few years back. We only got lost a few times on the approach. Basically you park at South Whiz Dome parking, and then head past south whiz and somewhat to the left... Well actually the beta is to go with Lucho. Good luck otherwise. The first area was fun, and I did a fun V4/5.

Here's Mecia on the first V4/5 at the Polly Dome boulders

Then we wandered around for a while until Lucho found these boulders he'd been to a few years prior. Lots of fun boulders here! Tons to do. Unfortunately we didn't stay long as Lucho wanted to go to Tioga and we were all afraid to try to hike out without him.

Here's a video of the view along the way to the second cluster of boulders. I had time to take this shot because we lost Mecia and Carolyn on the way...

However we did stay long enough for me to do another V4/5. So all in all it was a decent day. The boulders are good, but the approach is trail-less and about 40 minutes. Then Lucho took off for Tioga and the rest of us went to the Gunks. I tried Cellulite Eliminator and got shut down just like last summer. However Katie L. told me her beta - grab the knob left, then cross right to the slot. I was trying to go left to the knob and then bump to the slot. Then basically getting stuck. I'd love to go back and try it again with different beta.

Here's me using the wrong beta to try cellulite eliminator. My cellulite has not yet been eliminated...

Today we went to the Pennyroyal boulders. I tried this "v6" called Prince of Thieves. V6 is in quotes because it's generally agreed that this one is tough for a 6. Last summer I looked at it and immediately decided it was too hard, and too steep. I hadn't been bouldering, and I hadn't been climbing on anything steep. It was fun to get on it and make progress today. I figured out a bunch of the moves, and linked many of them. I've definitely refreshed my memory of what it's like to climb on steep rock.  I owe that to South Africa.

I'd love to get back out there this summer. It's critical to have plans to boulder with fun people. Otherwise it's hard to rally to make the long drive. I'd hate to get out here and end up with people who are way stronger than me, not that fun, or have nobody to climb with at all. There's obviously tons to do out here (hiking and whatnot) but when you want to climb, you want to climb. While I love hiking, it is a poor substitute want to climb.

Today I head into Silver King Creek to do some Paiute cutthroat electrofishing. One of my favorite places! I'm at the Meadowcliff hotel the night before, which is a special treat as the summer olympics are going on, and I don't have a TV at home. I also get to see a lot of attack ads directed towards Hillary. Ah Nevada.

Broaching the subject of the transplant

holy crap I'm blogging more than one day in a row. In part this is because I'm doing a lot of waiting around right now. Waiting to try to get steroids (yes, I wait to try to wait), waiting for my colleague to make a tree, waiting to feel better from my summer cold so I can be active, waiting for summer to end because it's TOO FUCKING HOT HERE.

I went to a conference in Wales two weeks ago. Admittedly, I drank too much and slept too little. That combined with air travel conspired to give me sinusitis. I've been sick over a week, and there's still junk in my head. I've tried climbing in the gym, and I'm shaky and tired.

Feeling shitty right now sucks more than normal, because I'm going to be starting a stem cell transplant for MS, and it is 100% guaranteed that I will feel like dog shit from late October to January. I have so much to write about this... it's first and foremost on my mind right now.

The idea is that chemo is used to reset my immune system, since it has gone haywire. I'm lucky to have very few symptoms, but over the past few years MRIs twice a year have showing significant progression in the form of new and active lesions. This is not good news.

HSCT is not a new treatment, but given the vagaries of both medicine and transmission of information in general, it's just now getting very popular. I found out about this treatment from my neurologist at Sutter a year ago - he suggested checking the clinical trials website regularly, as he knew that a doctor in Chicago was going to be conducting a Phase III trial for HSCT. I contacted them, made it through the first few hurdles, went to Chicago, and was offered the treatment on a compassionate basis due to my MRI films, and the fact that I'm running out of drugs to try.

Plus - the drugs are total fucking bullshit anyway. Such garbage. I cannot believe that this is the state of things. Switch patients from drug to drug to drug with increasing risk and side effects. No wonder a treatment that cannot be patented and is not new is not covered.

So cue the fight with insurance. On the one hand, it's great that I'm not in the trial, because I won't be randomized out, meaning I will get the treatment. On the other hand, since I'm not in the trial, insurance is fighting covering the $125k cost.

Fortunately my parents are offering to cover it, but I'm still appealing. I've already appealed several times - the last appeal was with an external agency in California. Blue Cross denied me on the basis of the treatment still being considered "experimental". I took the language of their justification of denial and added publications they hadn't cited and a list of insurers who have been covering the treatment. Essentially I was trying to write a proposal disproving that HSCT is experimental. I feel like I made a good case, but who the hell knows what a bunch of bureaucrats are going to decide. I'm at the mercy of the system. A cog in the wheel.

The ultimate plan is to blog the transplant experience, and backdate what has happened over the past 4 years. Wish me luck - in so many ways. All 5 of you who might be reading.

Four years.

For several months I've had a craving to write. So I'd think about writing, where I would write (laptop? hand write in a notebook? some sort of app?) and then I wouldn't write. The last few years have flown by, and I find myself recalling events and not remembering their order. For some reason I find this alarming. It bothers me, makes me feel old, and makes me feel like I can't get a grip on life.

So then I remembered that I have a blog! I hadn't been to this site in years, and hadn't felt the need. But now I need it. This year has been insane. I'd say 2013, 2014, and 2015 were pretty boring. Boring in the most wonderful way. Even as those years were boring, I knew it and I relished it. Because I knew that it never lasts. And so it hasn't.

In writing this blog I've always struggled with the tension between being too private and being too public. Knowing that it's out there alters my voice. Talking about what is happening with particular people in my life exposes them in ways that they didn't ask for, and it's not fair. However I'd like to have an unfiltered journal. I will investigate ways to make the blog private. I know I can password protect the whole blog, but I'm not sure if I can make particular posts private. One more thing on the to do list. I'd start a whole new blog, except I have several years of posting on this one, and I'd like to keep everything in the same place.

At any rate I will do my best to go back through photo and Facebook archives to recreate some memories. Mostly trips and whatnot. I'll be undergoing a stem cell transplant this fall (if all goes according to plan, which...) and I should have lots of time to think and write.

Some topics I'd like to visit are climbing and how it's evolved, my career, medical issues, aging, friendship, marriage and my outsider's perspective, my sad attention span, confidence and/or the lack thereof. You know, just basic life crap. A brain dump. I think it will give me a purpose that I've been feeling is absent lately. Life will pass you by, and I feel like writing enables me to record the things I've been ruminating about. Maybe later I can come back and I will have resolved some thoughts, or moved on to something else.