Outlook Poor For Yellowstone Trout

Fishing

A panel of fisheries experts says there is no practical way to rid Yellowstone Lake of illegally planted lake trout that threaten Yellowstone’s treasured native cutthroats.

Expensive - and perpetual - netting of the unwanted lake trout will be needed even to limit their impact on the cutthroats, a critical food source for other Yellowstone wildlife from grizzly bears to pelicans.

Park managers are considering the options. In the meantime, fishing regulations have been loosened, and anglers are being encouraged to catch and kill as many lake trout as possible.

The park also has offered a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the illegal stocking.