Cottus schitsuumsh

This species is limited to a relatively small area of Idaho and Montana where it may be threatened by climate change.

This species has been observed in the St. Joe, Coeur d'Alene, and Clark Fork River drainages of northern Idaho and western Montana, USA (LeMoine et al. 2014). Current range is estimated at approximately 13,000 square kilometers with 9,584 km2 in Idaho (Idaho Natural Heritage Program 2021) and 3,476 km2 in Montana (Montana Natural Heritage Program 2021).

There are 38 verified observations or collections in Idaho (16) and Montana (22). As occurrences are not tracked for this species by either program, and some observations are in close proximity, the likely number of occurrences is greater than 21 but would not exceed 80.

Threats to this species are unknown as it is recently described and understudied. The species inhabits cool to cold water systems (LeMoine et al. 2014) and any disturbance or anthropogenic action that impacts these conditions is likely to effect the species. In particular forest management actions including timber harvest, fire, and drought may have potential impacts, but the relationship between these and habitat for this species have yet to be established. Warming water temperatures may impede movement and decrease available habitat for this species and have been implicated in declines of the closely related sculpin species in the Bitterroot watershed in western Montana (LeMoine et al. 2020). Given the limited distribution any change to the surrounding ecosystem would be expected to have significant impacts on the global population.