Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced that the Apache trout is being removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife.
The restoration of Arizona’s state fish marks the first sportfish and the first trout delisted due to recovery.
The Apache trout is found exclusively in streams of the White Mountains in the eastern part of Arizona. It is one of only two species of trout native to the state and is sacred to the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
First described as a unique species separate from Gila trout in 1972, a year later it gained protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 due to habitat loss, and introduction of non-native species. It was subsequently downlisted to threatened in 1975. By 1979, 14 known populations occupied 30 miles of habitat. Today, 30 populations occupy 175 miles of habitat.
The Apache trout’s recovery journey involved an initial recovery plan developed in 1979, followed by a revised plan in 1983, and a second update in 2009. Additionally, a comprehensive species status assessment was conducted, incorporating the latest scientific data to evaluate the species’ current needs, conditions and threats and to model future scenarios.