This year, the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (one of the last self-sustaining lake populations of this threatened species) didn’t just spawn, they were thriving in style. From sunrise net check to late night data entry, the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe (SLPT) and the Great Basin Institute (GBI) Fisheries crew worked diligently to track the health of this unique population. When your workday includes snow flurries, fish nets and a boat soundtrack of sea shanties and 2000s throwbacks, you might just be a fisheries tech living the dream, or as some would say, +1000 aura points.
This spring season, GBI and SLPT partnered to support an ongoing conservation effort. The SLPT actively manages fisheries within their reservation and traditional territory. This initiative is fostered by the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Recovery Plan; focused on conserving, protecting and enhancing tribal resources through monitoring fish populations, habitat restoration and managing access to fishing areas.
At the center of this year’s fieldwork was Audrey Dufresne, Fish and Wildlife Biologist II for SLPT. Dufresne, leads the Lahontan Cutthroat trout Fisheries management program for the Tribes Natural Resources Department. Originally from Northern California, in 2017 Dufresne moved to Reno to jumpstart her path towards Environmental work, where she attended and studied Environmental Sciences at the University of Nevada, Reno. She now finds herself immersed in the kind of career she always imagined – one that keeps her outside, hands on and making an impact. “I’ve always been passionate about protecting nature and wildlife.”
During this season she supervised two of GBI’s RA Fisheries Technicians, including Megan Huske. The team conducted redd surveys, juvenile samples and lake wide sampling to track trout population health. Her favorite memory was “battling the elements from day one and having to work on the lake in the snow.”
Megan Huske, a Fisheries Technician with GBI’s Research Associate Program (RA), brought her own vibrant background to the team. With experience in environmental ecology and outdoor recreation, Huske spent her days as a student at UNC Asheville. She previously interned with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Natural Resources Department and later worked as an outdoor guide in North Carolina. When the opportunity arose to join GBI and SLPT, Huske found it to be a perfect fit.
“My favorite moment was holding my first Lahontan Cutthroat,” she recalls. “It was snowing and we were pulling in Fyke nets on the lake. Audrey showed me how to collect data, and there I was fish in hand, snow in the face and feeling like I was part of something meaningful.”
Their victories for this project in the spring months included surveying and processing a total of 731 spawning LCTs. Their hard work and data collection represents a victory in the broader effort to restore and protect the LCT population. This species’ striking coloration and ancient lineage is a culturally significant and vital source for the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe.
