Fishery experts agreed at a February conference that
there’s no practical way to eliminate the illegally planted lake
trout that are killing native cutthroat trout in Yellowstone Lake.
“There isn’t a fix, there isn’t a silver bullet – even suppression
is a forever commitment,” federal biologist Lynn Kaeding told the
Billings Gazette. A draft report issued after the conference says
broad-scale poisoning or blowing up the lake trout could hurt other
fish or wildlife. At the same time, introducing sterile lamprey
eels, successful in controlling alien trout populations in the
Great Lakes, might further disrupt nature’s balance. Fisheries
experts say the only long-term hope is for inbreeding to weaken the
population. “That’s a long shot, but it’s one of the only promising
ideas,” says Kaeding. If nothing is done, biologists predict that
half the cutthroat in Yellowstone Lake will disappear within 20
years. Biologists fear that grizzly bears, ospreys, pelicans and
eagles, who feed on the shallow-dwelling cutthroat, will also
suffer from the native fish’s demise (HCN, 9/19/94). For a copy of
the report, contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
307/344-2281.
* Elizabeth
Manning
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bleak future for cutthroat.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
