The Division of Wildlife Resources has announced the dates for the treatment of Reader Creek to restore the cutthroat trout population. Reader Creek and Lynn Creek have both experienced dramatic decline in the cutthroat population due to competition and breeding with non-native trout. The decline has been so severe that the species’ future has been called into question. As a result, DWR biologists, partnered with Ashley National Forest, will chemically treat both streams with rotenone. “The treatment will remove brook trout that have established themselves in the streams,” explains the DWR. “Without intervention, biologists predict brook trout will completely replace cutthroat trout in the streams in less than 20 years.” Treatment within the Reader Creek drainage at Horseshoe and Sharlee Lakes will take place
from July 18th to July 23rd.
The area will be closed to public access and all use of the water including wading, fishing, and swimming will be prohibited. This also includes areas within 100 feet of Horseshoe and Sharlee Lakes and their outlets down to their confluence with Reader Creek and continuing downstream to Forest Service Road 110.
