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| MONDAY February 19, 2001 Vol 5, # 17 |
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| MONDAY February 19, 2001 Vol 5, # 17 |
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| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion $7.95 Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-
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 PROTECTING YELLOWSTONEby Bruce Gourley Yellowstone is a national treasure which is owned by the American public. Protecting Yellowstone is the responsibility of the American public. This weekly feature will help identify and explore the issues which are crucial to the ongoing, healthy existence of the "Crown Jewel" of America's National Park system. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- In recent years, Yellowstone's native fish population has come under increasing danger from non-native species, particularly the Lake Trout. Recently the Park Service announced a new policy which is designed to further protect native fish from the ongoing threats which they face. The new policy is particularly applicable to anglers. The text of the announcement concerning the new trout protection policy is found below. Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Michael Finley has announced that beginning with the 2001 fishing season, all native sport fish species in Yellowstone would be placed under catch-and-release-only fishing rules. The native species affected by this change are the cutthroat trout and its several subspecies, Montana grayling, and mountain whitefish. Most of the park’s native fishes have been included under catch-and-release-only fishing rules since the early 1970’s. The changes announced today primarily affect populations in Yellowstone Lake, its tributaries, and upper Lamar River. Citing evidence that invasive introduced organisms such as lake trout, whirling disease, and New Zealand mud snails are having negative effects on Yellowstone’s native sport fish, Superintendent Finley stated that the 2001 changes "are the next logical step to help repair the tremendous damage being done to our native species." Yellowstone cutthroat trout have declined throughout the west and are currently designated as a "Species of Special Concern-Class A" by the American Fisheries Society. A formal petition to list this subspecies as "threatened" throughout its range was submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1998 and is currently under review. Yellowstone National Park represents approximately 91% of the current range of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and contains 85% of the historical lake habitat for this subspecies, so the park is considered crucial to the survival of the species. Yellowstone cutthroat trout generally declined in the second half of the 20th century due to angler overharvest, competition with exotic fishes, and overzealous egg collection. Populations rebounded in the park after the advent of catch-and-release-only fishing rules in the 1970’s, but new and aggressive invaders are causing an increasing threat to these native fish and alarming park fisheries biologists. Nonnative lake trout, an effective fish predator, were discovered in Yellowstone Lake in 1994. Throughout the west cutthroat trout populations preyed upon by introduced lake trout have typically declined, exhibited lower growth, or have disappeared. Aggressive lake trout control efforts by the National Park Service and no harvest limits have resulted in removing 27,000 lake trout from Yellowstone Lake since 1994, including more than 12,000 in 2000. Still, the number of Yellowstone cutthroat trout monitored during the annual fall count in Yellowstone Lake was lower in recent years than at any other time in the 25-year history of the monitoring effort. Whirling disease, which has been implicated in recent years in the decline of trout populations in many western states, was discovered in Yellowstone Lake in 1998. So far, it is unclear which of these two nonnative invaders has been the greater factor in the decline of Yellowstone cutthroat trout, but there is no question they are causing it. Other native sport fish, including westslope cutthroat trout and Montana grayling, have been under catch-and-release-only fishing rules since 1973. This is the first time mountain whitefish have been placed under such rules in Yellowstone National Park. This new rule gives mountain whitefish equal status to the other native sport fish in the park. Superintendent Finley announced that, in addition to the new catch-and-release-only fishing rules, the opening date of the fishing season on Yellowstone Lake would return to its historical date of June 15 for the 2001 fishing season. From 1998 through 2000, Yellowstone Lake’s opening date was moved forward to June 1 in an attempt to give anglers a greater chance of catching nonnative lake trout, but monitoring showed that during the early June period, anglers caught several thousand cutthroat trout for every lake trout caught. Because of incidental hooking mortality of released fish, this negates the positive impact of the angler catch of lake trout. (Yellowstone Net provides you opportunity to voice your opinion regarding the various Yellowstone issues to your congresspersons and to editorial sections of magazines and newspapers by clicking here.) |
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley
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WOLF
CONFERENCE AT CHICO HOT SPRINGS HELENA, Mont. (USFWS) -- The North American Interagency Wolf Conference is scheduled for April 2-6, 2001 at Chico Hot Springs, MT. The 2nd and 3rd will consist of a field techniques workshop sponsored by Wildlife Veterinary Resources. The Interagency Wolf Conference will begin on the 3rd at 1 p.m. and end at noon on the 5th. This conference focuses on wolf biology, management, law enforcement, forensics, and related research throughout North America. Abstracts for papers will be accepted until February 23, 2001. The abstracts should be no longer than 1 page single spaced and mailed on a PC compatible disk to Joseph Fontaine, Assist. Wolf Recovery Coordinator, 100 N. Park St. Suite 320, Helena, MT, USA 59601 or e-mailed to Joseph_Fontaine@fws.gov More information about the conference or registration can be found at www09.tierranet.com/forwolves.org/confer2001.html |
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| SNOWMOBILING UPDATE News Brief BELGRADE, Mont. -- U.S. Senator Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., introduced a bill Thursday to overturn a snowmobiling ban in national parks which was developed under the Clinton administration. Thomas' bill would direct the EPA to scuttle the snowmobile ban and instead to develop emission and noise standards for national parks. Currently, heavily-polluting two-stroke engine snowmobiles are allowed in many national parks. It is unclear whether or not Thomas' proposal would result in a ban of two-stroke machines in favor of four-stroke machines, which cause much less pollution and are somewhat quieter-running. Environmentalists have decried the proposal as insufficient in addressing pollution and noise concerns. Thomas' bill does not affect plans to phase snowmobiles out of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks by the year 2004, as it is a separate ban from the other national parks. |
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| YELLOWSTONE SNOWMOBILING
ON NBC News Brief In the midst of the ongoing snowmobile controversy in America's national parks, NBC Nightly News is scheduled to run a story on snowmobiles in the parks tonight (Monday, February 19th), focusing on Yellowstone National Park in particular. Roger O'Neill will do the story. U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who has expressed disapproval of banning snowmobiles in national parks, declined to be interviewed. |
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