There are thousands of native Rio Grande cutthroat trout now swimming in the upper reaches of the river in northern New Mexico.
A crew of volunteers and staffers with the New Mexico Game and Fish Department on Monday made the arduous trek into the Rio Grande Gorge north of Taos with backpacks and containers filled with water and trout fingerlings.
They stocked almost 10,000 Rio Grande cutthroat into the river.
The department began restocking the state fish in the river in 2008. Today, people can fish for cutthroat that have grown to adulthood in the gorge and are now as large as 12 inches.
The fish released Monday were raised at Seven Springs Hatchery.
Like other native fish, the Rio Grande cutthroat has disappeared from much of its historic range.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.