 1975 . Reasons for the fish 's decline included habitat degradation from cattle grazing , drought , overfishing , competition with other fish , and hybridization with introduced rainbow trout , which decreased the number of genetically pure Lahontan cutthroat trout . However , reductions in cattle grazing in riparian zones since the 1980s allowed fish habitat and populations to start to recover .   = = Human uses = =   The Bureau of Land Management ( BLM ) administers most land in the Trout Creek Mountains , but there are also some private lands and some roads in the area . The private lands are mainly used for ranching along mountain streams , while the BLM lands include large grazing allotments for local ranchers ' cattle . At least 100 mining claims in the mountains have been recorded since 1892 , some of which were staked for gold exploration . Commercial mining has occurred in some areas , mostly near the McDermitt Caldera , where uranium and large amounts of mercury have been extracted . Mines in what was called the Opalite Mining District produced 270 @,@ 000 flasks of mercury — " the richest supply of mercury in the western hemisphere " — from cinnabar extracted from the caldera in the 20th century . The two leading mercury @-@ producing mines in North America were the Cordero and McDermitt mines on the edge of the caldera in Nevada . Together , they operated from 1933 to 1989 . The McDermitt Mine , the last mercury mine in the United States , closed three years later , in 1992 . However , mineral exploration has continued at the Cordero Mine in the 21st century , and waste containing mercury and arsenic was returned there from the community of McDermitt as part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup project .   The entire mountain range is very remote ; as a result , there are few visitors , and the range offers a wilderness @-@ like experience . Camping , hunting , fishing , and hiking are the most popular activities . The only developed recreation site nearby is at Willow Creek Hot Springs , just south of the Whitehorse Ranch , where nearby there are miles of trails designated for four @-@ wheel off @-@ road vehicles . Hunters come to the mountains seeking trophy mule deer , pronghorn , chukars , and rabbits . Fishing on some streams is sometimes permitted on a catch @-@ and @-@ release basis . The mountains are also suitable for hiking cross @-@ country or on game trails in natural corridors along canyons and creek bottoms . There are more than 100 archaeological sites in the range that document use by Northern Paiute people as long as 7 @,@ 000 years ago .   Cattle grazing in the Trout Creek Mountains began in the late 19th century , and the BLM currently oversees grazing allotments in the area . Cattle can be found grazing in some areas during the spring and summer months . The effects of grazing on the local environment were the subject of controversy in the 1980s .   = = Land @-@ management compromise = =   By the 1970s and 1980s , a century of intense cattle grazing had reduced much of the riparian vegetation along stream banks in the Trout Creek Mountains and elsewhere in the Great Basin . As a result , stream banks were eroding and upland vegetation was encroaching into riparian zones . Aspen populations declined as grazing cattle eliminated young trees , decreasing shade over streams and raising water temperatures . These conditions put the rare Lahontan cutthroat trout population at risk . Since the Lahontan was officially designated as a threatened species , environmental groups began advocating the cancellation of grazing permits in the Trout Creek Mountains .   Beginning in the early 1970s , the Bureau of Land Management identified damaged riparian zones and began projects to restore natural habitat in those areas . Approximately 20 @,@ 000 willow trees were planted along streams , small dams were put together to create more pools in the streams , and fencing was added to protect riparian zones from grazing . Next , the agency sought to reform land @-@ use plans to change grazing practices , which became a complex and controversial project .   As environmentalists pressed the BLM to close much of the Trout Creek Mountains to grazing , frustrated ranchers joined the Sagebrush Rebellion seeking to protect their grazing allotments . Initially , it appeared that the issue of grazing in the range would produce prolonged litigation with appeals potentially lasting decades . However , in 1988 , interest groups representing all sides of the issue joined to form the Trout Creek Mountain Working Group . The group 's goal was to find a solution acceptable to everyone — a plan that would protect both the land 's ecological health and ranchers ' economic needs .   Initial members of the Trout Creek Mountain Working Group included :   Over the next several years , the group continued to meet and discuss options for restoring the land while meeting the economic needs of local ranchers . Meetings were all open to the public .   The group eventually endorsed a grazing management plan that provided for both the ecological
Ġ1975 Ġ. ĠReasons Ġfor Ġthe Ġfish Ġ' s Ġdecline Ġincluded Ġhabitat Ġdegradation Ġfrom Ġcattle Ġgrazing Ġ, Ġdrought Ġ, Ġover f ishing Ġ, Ġcompetition Ġwith Ġother Ġfish Ġ, Ġand Ġhybrid ization Ġwith Ġintroduced Ġrainbow Ġtrout Ġ, Ġwhich Ġdecreased Ġthe Ġnumber Ġof Ġgenetically Ġpure ĠLah ont an Ġcut thro at Ġtrout Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġreductions Ġin Ġcattle Ġgrazing Ġin Ġrip arian Ġzones Ġsince Ġthe Ġ1980 s Ġallowed Ġfish Ġhabitat Ġand Ġpopulations Ġto Ġstart Ġto Ġrecover Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠHuman Ġuses Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠBureau Ġof ĠLand ĠManagement Ġ( ĠBLM Ġ) Ġadmin isters Ġmost Ġland Ġin Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġ, Ġbut Ġthere Ġare Ġalso Ġsome Ġprivate Ġlands Ġand Ġsome Ġroads Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġ. ĠThe Ġprivate Ġlands Ġare Ġmainly Ġused Ġfor Ġranch ing Ġalong Ġmountain Ġstreams Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe ĠBLM Ġlands Ġinclude Ġlarge Ġgrazing Ġallot ments Ġfor Ġlocal Ġranc hers Ġ' Ġcattle Ġ. ĠAt Ġleast Ġ100 Ġmining Ġclaims Ġin Ġthe Ġmountains Ġhave Ġbeen Ġrecorded Ġsince Ġ18 92 Ġ, Ġsome Ġof Ġwhich Ġwere Ġst aked Ġfor Ġgold Ġexploration Ġ. ĠCommercial Ġmining Ġhas Ġoccurred Ġin Ġsome Ġareas Ġ, Ġmostly Ġnear Ġthe ĠMcD erm itt ĠCalder a Ġ, Ġwhere Ġuranium Ġand Ġlarge Ġamounts Ġof Ġmercury Ġhave Ġbeen Ġextracted Ġ. ĠMines Ġin Ġwhat Ġwas Ġcalled Ġthe ĠOp al ite ĠMining ĠDistrict Ġproduced Ġ270 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġfl asks Ġof Ġmercury ĠâĢĶ Ġ" Ġthe Ġrichest Ġsupply Ġof Ġmercury Ġin Ġthe Ġwestern Ġhemisphere Ġ" ĠâĢĶ Ġfrom Ġc inn ab ar Ġextracted Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcal der a Ġin Ġthe Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġ. ĠThe Ġtwo Ġleading Ġmercury Ġ@ - @ Ġproducing Ġmines Ġin ĠNorth ĠAmerica Ġwere Ġthe ĠC order o Ġand ĠMcD erm itt Ġmines Ġon Ġthe Ġedge Ġof Ġthe Ġcal der a Ġin ĠNevada Ġ. ĠTogether Ġ, Ġthey Ġoperated Ġfrom Ġ1933 Ġto Ġ1989 Ġ. ĠThe ĠMcD erm itt ĠMine Ġ, Ġthe Ġlast Ġmercury Ġmine Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ, Ġclosed Ġthree Ġyears Ġlater Ġ, Ġin Ġ1992 Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġmineral Ġexploration Ġhas Ġcontinued Ġat Ġthe ĠC order o ĠMine Ġin Ġthe Ġ21 st Ġcentury Ġ, Ġand Ġwaste Ġcontaining Ġmercury Ġand Ġarsenic Ġwas Ġreturned Ġthere Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcommunity Ġof ĠMcD erm itt Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġa ĠU . S . ĠEnvironmental ĠProtection ĠAgency Ġcleanup Ġproject Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġentire Ġmountain Ġrange Ġis Ġvery Ġremote Ġ; Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġthere Ġare Ġfew Ġvisitors Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġrange Ġoffers Ġa Ġwilderness Ġ@ - @ Ġlike Ġexperience Ġ. ĠCamp ing Ġ, Ġhunting Ġ, Ġfishing Ġ, Ġand Ġhiking Ġare Ġthe Ġmost Ġpopular Ġactivities Ġ. ĠThe Ġonly Ġdeveloped Ġrecreation Ġsite Ġnearby Ġis Ġat ĠWillow ĠCreek ĠHot ĠSprings Ġ, Ġjust Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe ĠWhite horse ĠRanch Ġ, Ġwhere Ġnearby Ġthere Ġare Ġmiles Ġof Ġtrails Ġdesignated Ġfor Ġfour Ġ@ - @ Ġwheel Ġoff Ġ@ - @ Ġroad Ġvehicles Ġ. ĠHunters Ġcome Ġto Ġthe Ġmountains Ġseeking Ġtrophy Ġm ule Ġdeer Ġ, Ġpron gh orn Ġ, Ġch uk ars Ġ, Ġand Ġrabbits Ġ. ĠFishing Ġon Ġsome Ġstreams Ġis Ġsometimes Ġpermitted Ġon Ġa Ġcatch Ġ@ - @ Ġand Ġ@ - @ Ġrelease Ġbasis Ġ. ĠThe Ġmountains Ġare Ġalso Ġsuitable Ġfor Ġhiking Ġcross Ġ@ - @ Ġcountry Ġor Ġon Ġgame Ġtrails Ġin Ġnatural Ġcorridors Ġalong Ġcan y ons Ġand Ġcreek Ġbott oms Ġ. ĠThere Ġare Ġmore Ġthan Ġ100 Ġarchaeological Ġsites Ġin Ġthe Ġrange Ġthat Ġdocument Ġuse Ġby ĠNorthern ĠPai ute Ġpeople Ġas Ġlong Ġas Ġ7 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġyears Ġago Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠC attle Ġgrazing Ġin Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġbegan Ġin Ġthe Ġlate Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠBLM Ġcurrently Ġoversees Ġgrazing Ġallot ments Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġ. ĠC attle Ġcan Ġbe Ġfound Ġgrazing Ġin Ġsome Ġareas Ġduring Ġthe Ġspring Ġand Ġsummer Ġmonths Ġ. ĠThe Ġeffects Ġof Ġgrazing Ġon Ġthe Ġlocal Ġenvironment Ġwere Ġthe Ġsubject Ġof Ġcontroversy Ġin Ġthe Ġ1980 s Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠLand Ġ@ - @ Ġmanagement Ġcompromise Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġthe Ġ1970 s Ġand Ġ1980 s Ġ, Ġa Ġcentury Ġof Ġintense Ġcattle Ġgrazing Ġhad Ġreduced Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġrip arian Ġvegetation Ġalong Ġstream Ġbanks Ġin Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġand Ġelsewhere Ġin Ġthe ĠGreat ĠBasin Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġstream Ġbanks Ġwere Ġer oding Ġand Ġupl and Ġvegetation Ġwas Ġencro aching Ġinto Ġrip arian Ġzones Ġ. ĠAs pen Ġpopulations Ġdeclined Ġas Ġgrazing Ġcattle Ġeliminated Ġyoung Ġtrees Ġ, Ġdecreasing Ġshade Ġover Ġstreams Ġand Ġraising Ġwater Ġtemperatures Ġ. ĠThese Ġconditions Ġput Ġthe Ġrare ĠLah ont an Ġcut thro at Ġtrout Ġpopulation Ġat Ġrisk Ġ. ĠSince Ġthe ĠLah ont an Ġwas Ġofficially Ġdesignated Ġas Ġa Ġthreatened Ġspecies Ġ, Ġenvironmental Ġgroups Ġbegan Ġadvocating Ġthe Ġcancellation Ġof Ġgrazing Ġpermits Ġin Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBeginning Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġ1970 s Ġ, Ġthe ĠBureau Ġof ĠLand ĠManagement Ġidentified Ġdamaged Ġrip arian Ġzones Ġand Ġbegan Ġprojects Ġto Ġrestore Ġnatural Ġhabitat Ġin Ġthose Ġareas Ġ. ĠApproximately Ġ20 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġwill ow Ġtrees Ġwere Ġplanted Ġalong Ġstreams Ġ, Ġsmall Ġdams Ġwere Ġput Ġtogether Ġto Ġcreate Ġmore Ġpools Ġin Ġthe Ġstreams Ġ, Ġand Ġfencing Ġwas Ġadded Ġto Ġprotect Ġrip arian Ġzones Ġfrom Ġgrazing Ġ. ĠNext Ġ, Ġthe Ġagency Ġsought Ġto Ġreform Ġland Ġ@ - @ Ġuse Ġplans Ġto Ġchange Ġgrazing Ġpractices Ġ, Ġwhich Ġbecame Ġa Ġcomplex Ġand Ġcontroversial Ġproject Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġenvironmentalists Ġpressed Ġthe ĠBLM Ġto Ġclose Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountains Ġto Ġgrazing Ġ, Ġfrustrated Ġranc hers Ġjoined Ġthe ĠSage brush ĠRebellion Ġseeking Ġto Ġprotect Ġtheir Ġgrazing Ġallot ments Ġ. ĠInitially Ġ, Ġit Ġappeared Ġthat Ġthe Ġissue Ġof Ġgrazing Ġin Ġthe Ġrange Ġwould Ġproduce Ġprolonged Ġlitigation Ġwith Ġappeals Ġpotentially Ġlasting Ġdecades Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġin Ġ1988 Ġ, Ġinterest Ġgroups Ġrepresenting Ġall Ġsides Ġof Ġthe Ġissue Ġjoined Ġto Ġform Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountain ĠWorking ĠGroup Ġ. ĠThe Ġgroup Ġ' s Ġgoal Ġwas Ġto Ġfind Ġa Ġsolution Ġacceptable Ġto Ġeveryone ĠâĢĶ Ġa Ġplan Ġthat Ġwould Ġprotect Ġboth Ġthe Ġland Ġ' s Ġecological Ġhealth Ġand Ġranc hers Ġ' Ġeconomic Ġneeds Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠInitial Ġmembers Ġof Ġthe ĠTrout ĠCreek ĠMountain ĠWorking ĠGroup Ġincluded Ġ: Ġ Ġ ĠOver Ġthe Ġnext Ġseveral Ġyears Ġ, Ġthe Ġgroup Ġcontinued Ġto Ġmeet Ġand Ġdiscuss Ġoptions Ġfor Ġrestoring Ġthe Ġland Ġwhile Ġmeeting Ġthe Ġeconomic Ġneeds Ġof Ġlocal Ġranc hers Ġ. ĠMeet ings Ġwere Ġall Ġopen Ġto Ġthe Ġpublic Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġgroup Ġeventually Ġendorsed Ġa Ġgrazing Ġmanagement Ġplan Ġthat Ġprovided Ġfor Ġboth Ġthe Ġecological