(Washington, D.C.) — The Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI) has launched a new interactive ArcGIS StoryMap showcasing collaborative efforts to reconnect rivers, restore aquatic habitats, and support the recovery of native Bonneville Cutthroat Trout throughout the Bear River watershed.

Titled “Freeing the Bear: One Barrier at a Time,” the StoryMap highlights more than a decade of conservation work focused on removing and modifying fish passage barriers across portions of Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. Thanks to partners like the Resources Legacy Fund, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Trout Unlimited, and many more. Thanks to more than $6 million in funding, partners have removed or improved 24 structures, including dams, diversions, and culverts, and reconnected approximately 145 miles of river habitat for native fish migration and spawning.

The StoryMap combines interactive maps, restoration project profiles, photography, and historical context to demonstrate how collaborative conservation is restoring river connectivity, improving water infrastructure, and supporting local communities.
“Connected rivers that allow fish to migrate are essential for healthy fisheries, resilient ecosystems, and thriving communities,” said Martin Koenig, WNTI Coordinator. “This StoryMap showcases how partnerships within working landscapes like the Bear River watershed can help native trout thrive while still supporting rural communities."

A Conservation Success Story for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
The StoryMap traces the remarkable history and recovery of the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, a native trout species found only in the American West. Once believed extinct between the 1950s and 1978, Bonneville Cutthroat Trout were rediscovered in isolated populations in Utah, launching decades of coordinated conservation and restoration efforts. Today, more than 202 populations occur across 21 watersheds in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming. The StoryMap highlights how restoration partners have focused not only on rebuilding populations but also on understanding fish movement, improving habitat connectivity, and restoring river function throughout the watershed. A key turning point came in 2012 when telemetry studies conducted in the Bear River revealed that tagged Bonneville Cutthroat Trout were unable to reach traditional spawning grounds due to man-made diversion barriers. The findings demonstrated the urgent need to reconnect fragmented river habitats and catalyzed a watershed-scale restoration effort.

Restoring Rivers One Project at a Time
Working alongside agencies, tribes, nonprofits, irrigation companies, and private landowners, WNTI and partners have accelerated aquatic habitat restoration projects throughout the Bear River basin. Projects highlighted in the StoryMap include replacement of outdated diversion dams with fish-friendly cross-vane structures, culvert removals and bridge replacements to improve fish passage, streambank stabilization and riparian restoration, installation of fish screens to reduce fish entrainment, and irrigation infrastructure modernization to improve water reliability for communities and landowners. Major projects such as the Evanston Town Historic Dam, Salt Creek Restoration, EF Hilliard Canal and Screen, and Stauffer Creek Diversion have reopened significant stretches of river habitat for native fish while improving infrastructure resilience and water management.

Benefits Beyond Trout
The StoryMap emphasizes that restoring river connectivity benefits far more than a single species. Healthy rivers support numerous native fish and wildlife species, including Green Sucker, Northern Leatherside Chub, Columbia Spotted Frog, Mountain Whitefish, Western Pearlshell Mussel, and Western Toad, among others. 
Restoration projects also improve water quality, reduce erosion, enhance flood resilience, support pollinators, and provide important habitat for birds and other wildlife. Local communities benefit through improved irrigation reliability, recreational opportunities, and investments in local economies through restoration-related infrastructure projects.

A Collaborative Effort Across the West
The restoration work highlighted in the StoryMap is supported through a broad coalition of conservation organizations, government agencies, tribes, and private partners. Key partners include Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, U.S. Forest Service, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Resources Legacy Fund’s Open Rivers Fund, and numerous local landowners and community partners.

Looking Ahead
While substantial progress has been made, thousands of barriers continue to fragment rivers and streams across the western United States. WNTI and its partners will continue advancing restoration efforts focused on reopening rivers, restoring habitat connectivity, improving water infrastructure, and supporting resilient native fish populations throughout the region. The StoryMap calls attention to the importance of continued collaboration and investment to “open the next 100 miles” of river habitat for native trout, wildlife, and communities across the West.

Explore the StoryMap

About the Western Native Trout Initiative:
The Western Native Trout Initiative is a geographically focused Fish Habitat Partnership under the National Fish Habitat Partnership. WNTI works collaboratively to improve, protect, and restore habitat for native trout species and other aquatic organisms throughout the western United States through strategic conservation partnerships and science-based restoration efforts.

About the National Fish Habitat Partnership:
Since 2006, NFHP has supported over 1,700 projects and has put over $600 million in conservation projects on the ground benefiting fish habitat throughout all 50 states. This effort works to conserve fish habitat nationwide, leveraging federal, state, tribal, and private funding resources to achieve the greatest effect on fish populations through priority conservation projects of 20 Fish Habitat Partnerships that are organized around key fish species, geographic areas, or important fish habitats. In 2020, NFHP was recognized by Congress as part of the America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act and was reauthorized in 2024. NFHP guidance and policies are developed in conjunction with our partnerships and National Fish Habitat Board.