SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State wildlife managers say work is underway to restore Gila trout to a creek in southwestern New Mexico.
The state Game and Fish Department will be using chemicals next week to remove non-native trout from Whitewater Creek as part of the fish restoration project.
The portion of the creek to be treated stretches 2 miles (3 kilometers) upstream from the Gila National Forest boundary below the Catwalk National Recreation Trail parking area.
Officials say the resulting concentrations of the chemical ingredients pose little, if any, hazards to public health. They also say the treated water will not leave the project area.
In New Mexico, the heart of Gila trout habitat is the Gila and Aldo Leopold wilderness areas. These areas of the Gila Forest contain nearly the entire currently occupied habitat of the Gila trout.