Feb-2015 Update on Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Recovery

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Overview

Wyoming Trout Unlimited (WY TU) and the East Yellowstone Chapter of TU (EYCTU) have collectively been focused on recovering the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) population of the upper Yellowstone River and Yellowstone Lake system (YL) since 2008. Our focus has been on aiding and encouraging the National Park Service (NPS) in their efforts to suppress the invasive and predacious lake trout (LT) that were somehow introduced into that system around 20 years ago and in aiding the US Geological Survey (USGS) in their multi-pronged efforts to locate the LT spawning beds in that system, to learn about LT spawning behavior, and to develop alternative suppression techniques focused on LT ova and fry. Principle is a major telemetry study of LT through the use of hydro-acoustic tags. Trout Unlimited has been the major fundraising source for the USGS efforts along with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC), the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), the Federation of Fly Fishermen (FFF), and TU chapters and councils in many states but especially Montana and Idaho.

Update as of February, 2015:

The Yellowstone Lake Working Group which consists of representatives from all of the above agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO's) along with representatives from Montana State University Fisheries (MSU) and the Yellowstone Park Foundation (YPF, the major funding source for the gill netting on the Lake). This Working Group met on February 3rd in Bozeman to review the current status and direction for 2015 of the program. This report is a synopsis of that meeting.   View report as .pdf