Yellowstone Begins Native Fish Restoration in Grayling Creek

Yellowstone is taking another step forward this week in efforts to restore native westslope cutthroat trout and Arctic grayling in park waters.

Grayling Creek and its tributaries are located north of West Yellowstone in the Madison River drainage.

Decades ago, the streams were invaded by non-native brown and rainbow trout. Their presence has contributed to a decline in native cutthroat trout in park lakes, rivers and streams.

This week an interagency team of biologists will introduce a fish toxin into the streams to remove the non-native trout as part of Yellowstone's Native Fish Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment, which was approved in May 2011. Only waters within Yellowstone National Park will be treated. The project will not impact downstream reaches.

While the chemical Rotenone will be introduced in small quantities, visitors are advised not to swim in or drink from the streams now through August 30. Warning signs will be posted at all treated areas.

This year's treatment is the first in a series that is expected to continue over the next two to three years. Treatments will be conducted until nonnative trout have been completely removed from the streams. The park will then reintroduce genetically pure native Arctic grayling and westslope cutthroat trout to the streams. The long term plan is not only to support native species restoration, but also for these streams to provide a brood stock population for future restoration efforts in the region.

More information on the park's Native Fish Conservation Plan can be found online at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=30504.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Glacier Proposes to Modify Existing Quartz Creek Fish Barrier

Native fish populations in Glacier National Park have been severely compromised by the invasion and expansion of non-native fish species into the park’s lakes and streams. Non-native fish can affect native fish populations through predation, hybridization, and competition and are imperiling populations of bull trout, which are federally listed as threatened, and the native westslope cutthroat trout, a state listed Species of Concern. Of the seventeen lakes on the west side of the park that support bull trout, nine have been compromised by non-native lake trout and a tenth has been compromised by the non-native brook trout.

Quartz Lake, located in the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage and the park’s North Fork District, is one of the last remaining strongholds for bull trout in park waters west of the Continental Divide. Until recently, Quartz Lake was believed to be the largest lake on the west side of the park accessible to lake trout but not yet colonized by them. In 2005, lake trout were detected in Quartz Lake, threatening the long-term persistence of the Quartz Lake bull trout population. At that time, a fish passage barrier designed to protect the drainage from invasion by non-native fish was under construction on Quartz Creek, approximately 100 yards below Middle Quartz Lake, but completion of the barrier was suspended until options to control lake trout could be reviewed. The National Park Service has since collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey and others in an ongoing experimental program to remove lake trout from Quartz Lake to suppress the population. Experimental suppression has so far been promising, with identification of lake trout spawning areas and annual removal of spawning lake trout. Data suggests that the project is successfully removing a high percentage of spawning adults annually, which is expected to eventually reduce the lake trout population over time.

The NPS is proposing to complete, modify, and improve the existing Quartz Creek fish barrier. The purpose of the project is to support lake trout suppression efforts in Quartz Lake, reduce the potential for additional lake trout to enter the lake, and reduce the likelihood of invasion from other non-native species such as rainbow trout and brook trout, thereby better protecting the integrity of native fish populations in the upper Quartz drainage.

According to the environmental assessment, the park is proposing to raise the barrier's total height by 1-2 feet in order to prevent further migration of lake trout into Quartz Lake. The EA calls for installing about 28 gabions (wire mesh cages filled with rock, each two feet high, two feet wide and six feet long) on and near the existing barrier.

If you would like to comment on this proposal, please click here. The comment period ends on 3/19/2012.



Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com