Plan could help native Yellowstone cutthroat reclaim Soda Butte Creek

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

 

By Brett Prettyman

Few fishing experiences top catching wild trout in national parks. There is, however, something particularly pleasing about landing a native trout in America’s first national park.

Trout Unlimited supports a plan by biologists from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and the U.S. Forest Service to chemically treat Soda Butte Creek to remove nonnative brook trout.

Efforts to remove brook trout from Soda Butte Creek by electrofishing have been ongoing for two decades, but the fish have managed to hold on.

Volunteers shock Soda Butte Creek for non-native brook trout. 

Treating Soda Creek, within the park and upstream in Montana, with rotenone will remove all fish in the desired area. Officials expect it may take several years of poisonings to assure brook trout have been eradicated from upper Soda Butte.

Once the treatments have been deemed a success genetically pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout will be stocked as part of the park’s Native Fish Conservation Plan. Yellowstone officials are seeking public input on the project. Comments must be received by the National Park Service by June 19.  Visit this page for details on the plan and on how to submit comments. http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=58279

Brett Prettyman is TU's Intermountain Region (Wyoming, Utah, Nevada) communications director. He works from Salt Lake City.

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