Yellowstone Fishes: Ecology, History, and Angling in the Park
Introduction
Yellowstone is being preserved in its natural state, as much for the fish as for the bears
Trout are too valuable to be caught only once
“If fish could scream a lot of things would be different
Yellowstone’s fame as a scientific treasure has been exceeded by its fame as a sportfishing mecca
Part 1
“The World of Yellowstone Fishes”
Chapter 1
The Yellowstone Setting
Objective:
“Preservation of the natural ecosystem for the educational, scientific, and cultural benefit of the citizens of the US and the world”
Geologic Creation
75 mya crustal uplift
50 mya Rockies form
2.1 Mya largest Yellowstone eruption
631,000 ybp latest eruption
1,000 square miles
Hayden Valley and Old Faithful epicenter
14,000 ybp last ice age
9,500-7,000 ybp wetter climate
1,600 ybp modern climate
Land and water have only been ice-free for a short time
Relatively few types of life
Poor, thin, infertile soil
Many waterfalls (barriers)
>200 large waterfalls
Springs introduce heat and minerals
Startling contrast in productivity
747 worth of minerals wash out the Madison every day
Water, like land, is part of the wilderness
Fishless that 1% stream biomass
Aquatic ecosystems of the park originate as rain and snowfall
Mostly absorbed into the ground
Replenishes aquifer
Ensures steady spring activity
Water leeches substances from decaying vegetation
Gives water the color of tea
Young fish eat some plants but mostly fungi, bacteria, and plankton
Insect “groups”
Shredders
Salmon flies
Collectors
Filter feeders
Gather bottom material
Scrapers
Mayfly nymphs
Scrape algae off rocks
Piercers
Caddisfly larvae
The richer the insect diversity the richer the fish diversity
Large dragonfly nymphs occasionally prey on young trout
Typically it’s a straight jump up the food chain from insect to fish
Trout consume 5% of body weight in insects each summer day
YNP supports 40lbs of fish per acre
113,000 water acres
Chapter 2
Three Rivers Named Yellowstone
The last great undammed river in the lower 48
Long tale of bitter political struggle
Gathered drainage of 60% percent of the park
Hidatsa Sioux named it for cliffs outside Billings, MT
Crow called it Elk River
River neither begins nor ends in the park
1st section, Bridger-Teton wilderness
Poor food
Smallest fish population
Contains many fish only after spring floods subside
Fish migrate up from the lake
12 kya
Fish colonized over Two Ocean Pass
Trout and Dace
2nd section, Yellowstone Lake
Infertile stream to organically rich river
Lake has a moderating influence
Less flooding
Less erosion
Acts as a settling basin allowing more light
Higher rate of photosynthesis
Warming basin
Optimum trout temperatures all year round
Much larger than 1st river
The most famous section, most wildlife
Severely overfished section of the river
Historic fish weigh 2.5lbs - 4.5lbs
Currently 1 lb - 1.5 lbs
Portions closed for wildlife access
Viewing
Sanctuary
3rd River
Longest section (36 miles)
Grand Canyon to Northern Boundary
Canyon carved over the last 200,000 years
20 miles inside the canyon
Lamar River is the largest tributary in the park
Sportfish introduced in MT affect fish
Above Knowles Falls (north of Gardinier) cutthroats are still the primary fish
Chance to catch 5 species of sportfish
4 trout and whitefish
Not parallel by any road!
Chapter 3
Yellowstone Lake
“The wonders of this place shouldn’t be concealed in mere statistics”
“I doubt that even in a lifetime anyone could ever catch all of its moods”
“A vast unbroken expanse of ice, wind, and silence”
60th largest lake in the world
2nd largest alpine lake (over 7,000 ft)
Was much larger in the past
2x as large
300ft higher shoreline
Avg. 140 ft deep
428 max depth
Most cutthroat <90 feet of water
12 million acre-feet of water
1.1 million acre-feet of outflow
Lake Mead ~26 million acre-feet of water
Mary Bay
Bottomless Pit 60-180 ft
Pipe gardens at the bottom
Disappeared after earthquake
Generally low productivity
Insoluble rhyolite
Low nutrients
Limited productivity
Trout diet in lakes
Algae, bacteria, plankton, pine pollen
Diaptomus Shoshone
Red pigment passed to fish
18 species of plants
Star duckweed
Richards pondweed
Grow from 3-30 feet or 20-55 feet in windswept areas
Invertebrates
Shrimp, flies, mayflies, caddisflies, fingernail clams, aquatic worms
No large invertebrates
Large trout follow the shoreline May-July
Search for food
Birds eat ~ 200,000 lbs of trout per year
Fisherman 20k-30k per year
Little competition between birds
Osprey: Immature fish
Pelicans: Mature fish
Grizzly: Spawning fish
Dippers: Fry and eggs
Kingfishers: Fingerlings
Closer to pristine conditions than any large lake in the Lower 48
1900-1955 removed 800 million eggs to translocate
48 million fish commercially harvested
1960 population collapse
1975 policy 13-inch max size catch
Largest fish: more eggs, bigger fry, and migrate farther upstream
Minnow fishermen introduced suckers, shiners, and chub into the lake
1985 Brook trout introduced into lake tributary
Killed off with rotenone
Environmental Vandalism
Late 1980’s
Reports of occasional lake trout
Informal and ignored
July 30, 1994
The guide brought 19-inch lake trout to rangers
Illegal and stupid
The suspected founder fish had been in the lake since the 1980s
Optimizing Lake Trout Targeting
Net size
Net location
Spawning locations
Judas fish
Larger lake trout (14+ inches) eat around 90 cutthroats per year
When lake trout are introduced into non-native lakes they wipe out other fish
By 1980 Yellowstone's cutthroat range reduced by 90%
Prediction of sport fishing decline from 36 million to 8.5 million
Not Just a Fish Story
42 Species of birds and mammals are tied to the Yellowstone cutthroat
Nutrient cycling in plants and riparian uptake “beyond complex ways”
Osprey eat only cutthroats
Eagles also eat many ducks
Grizzly bears most prolific fisherman
Dumps closed and more bears turned to fishing
Sows with 2 cubs 100 fish per day for 10 days during spawn
DDT
Fish population down
Fewer fishing bears
Lake trout cannot replace cutthroat, not bioavailable
Not Just a Lake Story
Effects not limited to the lake fish
Fish migrate to the lake in fall and become vulnerable
Migrate in the fall to avoid freezing streams
The Hope
Lake trout can also be overharvested
The cutthroat population only slightly reduced
Cost 300,000 per year (1995)
Right net types, times, places, and depths
Less expensive than fishery collapse
Long-term commitment
Chapter 4
The Madison River System
YNP preserved for assortment of unusual geologic and geothermal wonders
Life begins at 2 sources
Natural precipitation
Geothermal near rivers
Obvious differences
Temperature
Sodium bicarbonate
Iron, sulfur, arsenic, mercury, fluoride, lead
Firehole (unacceptable to drink)
25% of the flow from hot springs
47- 87 degrees ((winter-summer)
Optimum trout growth temperatures
Sometimes called a chalk stream
Not a true chalk-stream
Gibbon gets 20% of water from hot springs
“Iconic” trout streams but relatively lifeless
Rainwater is 5.5pH
No fish outside of 4.3pH - 10pH
Gibbon mildly acidic
More diversity
Firehole mildly alkaline
More organisms
Fish live up to 90 degrees
Much of Madison was without fish
Above Firehole falls
Above Gibbon falls
Madison had west-slope cutthroats, grayling, and whitefish
Since stocked with brooks, browns, and rainbows
Fish survival strategy
Rainbows highly adaptable
Retreat when the water hits 80
Browns avoid all warmer waters
Some fish in the warmest waters never mature sexually
Some have switched spawning times
Rainbows in Firehole grow faster than hatchery fish
1 foot long in 1 year
Normally 1 foot long in 4 years
Chapter 5
Wild Water - Rare to Well Done
The small streams above Turbid Lake contain trout that have been isolated from Yellowstone Lake for 1000s of years
2 Lakes in the park with otter populations that feed on salamanders, not fish
The most important factors governing the life types found in a body of water are:
Heat
Water Chemistry
Volume
Sunlight
Water chemistry is the most complex!
It’s a function of the land it flows over
Also affected by hot springs
3 Stream types
Dilute
Few chemicals, distilled water
Most organics from decaying plants
Tea colored water
Sodium bicarbonate
Minerals from rhyolite
Yellowstone, Lewis, and Shoshone Lakes
Calcium bicarbonate
Common in northern Yellowstone
2 Less common types
Calcium sulfate
Sodium sulfate
Very acidic
Influenced by geothermal activity
Sodium chloride (rarest)
Strong geothermal
3 categories of productivity
Oligotrophic: Low production, low organics, low inorganics, high oxygen
Blue water
Dystrophic: Low production, high organics, low inorganics, low oxygen
Tea colored water
Eutrophic: High production, high organics, high inorganics, high oxygen
Acid, Pollution, and Wilderness
Extremely productive waters dominated by just a few organisms
Low productivity usually diverse
Nymph Lake
Fed by Frying Pan Springs (pH1)
Silica-rich waters allow easy production of diatom shells
Highest diatom diversity in the park
Detergent foam - “Indian soap”
Organic molecules leached from decaying plant matter
Fluoride has to be removed from Madison to make it drinkable
Mercury and arsenic in Firehole
Trout unfit for consumption
Radioactive isotopes along the pitchstone plateau
Human pollution
Petroleum products
Mine tailings
“Is it pollution if Mother Nature is the perpetrator?
Fewer Lakes and Ponds Without Fish
Many lakes were never colonized by fish
8,200 ft max elevation for salamanders
Phantom midge larvae largest predator in many high-elevation lakes
Leeches present in all park waters
Non-fish life is a good indicator of whether fish are present
Introduced fish demolish insects
Fishless waters promote wilderness
Fewer granola bar wrappers on the banks
Chapter 6
Fires and Fish
1950s and 1960s forest service experimented with letting fires burn
1972 set aside backcountry zones to allow fires
Streams are nutrient exporters
1988 fires gave the entire regional ecological system a jolt
A new round of debates and discussions
Surge in fire-related research
Fish effects
The landing rate remained the same
Average size increased
More fishermen and more fish than in the 1970s
Spring runoff was black
What did Fish do?
Some fish boiled
Hard on some aquatic organisms
Usually fish and invertebrates survived
Firefighting
1.4 million gallons of retardant
No major die-offs were reported
Many influences on fire
Extent, intensity, vegetation type, elevation, slope, precipitation
Increased pace of nutrient cycling
Removes shade/ canopy
Good for alpine streams
Bad for lowland streams
Lake effects more subtle
Fire isn’t simply a “good” thing
Altered groundwater chemistry (not too much)
Raised
Nitrates, sodium, pH, and potassium
Lowered
Sulfates, chlorine, calcium
1988 fires had no effect on Lake Yellowstone water chemistry
Jackson Lake had noticeably increased sediment load
Streams in burned watersheds less able to retain logs and sticks
These are used by aquatic invertebrates
Trouts suffocated in heavy sediment runoff
Changes in insect abundance
Decreased carnivores
Increased herbivores and insects
Over-harvest is way more dangerous than fire
Why the Fires Show How Yellowstone Fishing is Different
Rewrote books on fire management
Wildland firefighting
Management of federal lands
Old rule: “Scenery is Greenery”
Truly wild lands, in order to remain wild, does things to itself that seem shocking
It disassembles and reassembles itself on a scale of centuries with no regard for the brief scale of a human lifespan
“Pretty is what works”
“We don't want our trout too wild”
YNP manages for ecological function rather than bolsters the population of any species
Overhaul of YNP regulations in the 1960s and 1970s
No kill
Managed for a healthy wilderness
Chapter 7
On Being a Fish
Fusiform shape
Tighten muscles on one side, relax on the other, repeat
Fine uses
Stabilization
Stopping
Turning
Hydrofoils
Senses
Nearsighted
Smell receptors on the skin
Internal ears
Hearing and balance
Lateral line
Vibration detection, touch from a distance
Skin
Slime glands promote immunity
Can change color!
Gills
Oxygen transfer
Swim bladder
Buoyancy control
Chapter 8
Species Descriptions
18 Species
Native Species
12 species
Low due to recent glaciation
Cutthroat Trout
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Clarks Crooked Snout Trout
Description
Basibranchial teeth (Tongue teeth)
Red slash on the throat and gill plates
Color varies by age and stream
16 inches
Snake River Fine-Spotted Cutthroat
Description
100s of fine spots on the body
Similar to Yellowstone cutthroat trout
16 inches
Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Description
Similar to above
Silvery blue color not yellows
Parr Marks (Large spots)
Often mistaken for rainbows
Distribution
Widest range of any subspecies
Down to 10% of historic range
Inside of Yellowstone National Park is their stronghold
West slopes restricted to Cougar Creek
Habitat
Clear, cold, rocky bottom streams
Lakes 20+ feet deep
Spawning and Growth
Spring stream spawners
Move up and downstream from lakes to spawn
Males arrive first and fight for prime spots
Females arrive second and fight for spots also
Redds dug between 4 and 10 inches deep
Eggs buried after fertilization
4-5 spawns per year
1000 eggs per spawn
25 days to hatch at 52 degrees
3 Migratory Patterns
Downstream to larger streams
Upstream to lakes
Local dispersal
Migrate at night
Mature at 12 inches long
Males 3-4 years
Females 4-5 years
Live to be 10-11 years old
Food
Opportunists
Fish, eggs, frogs, mice, insects, snails, crustaceans, plankton, and algae
Parks foremost sportfish
Easiest trout to catch
2x easier than brook
18x easier than brown
Thus they require more protection
Highly social fish
Capable of living in great densities
Montana Grayling
6 years
15.5 inches
Description
Trout-like
Sail-like dorsal fin
Iridescent body
Ornate pelvic fins
Distribution
Circumpolar
Confined to 8% of the former range
No viable populations in the park
Grayling of Grebe Lake
1931-1956 egg collecting station
72 million eggs sent to 14 states
Used to stock the Madison River
Habitat
Shares rivers with trout and whitefish
Use shallower water than trout
Spawning and Growth
June Spawning 42-48 degree water
Inlets and outlets of lakes
2,500-3,500 eggs
17 days to hatch
Mature at 2 years
7-12 year lifespan
The most beautiful fish in GYE
Also tasty
Mountain Whitefish
9 years
17.5 inches
Description
Large, loose, knobby scales
No teeth
Grey, no spots
Distribution
Lower Yellowstone, Madison, and Snake Rivers
Habitat
Choosier than most fish
Deep waters only
Large rivers
Very sensitive to pollution
“Canary Fish”
Spawning and Growth
Only native fall spawner
50-degree water
September - November
Mature at 2 years
10 inches 1,400 eggs
20 inches 24,000 eggs
No redd or nest
Hatch in 38 days
9 years 1.5 lbs
15 years 3 lbs (Rare)
Food
Bottom feeders
Plankton, algae, larvae
Nocturnal feeders
Compete with chub not trout
The ugly duckling of sportfishing
Mountain Sucker
Description
<8 inches
Dark/ Steel gray
Distribution
Cold clear water
<3 feet deep
Northwestern US
Life History
<9 year lifespan
Males mature at 3 Females at 4 or 5
Eat nearly anything
Comment
Public distaste
“Great at making fish”
Long-nose Sucker
Description
Gray-olive checkered look
Distribution
Adaptable
Introduced into Lake Yellowstone
Life History
Prefer deep, quiet waters
Massive schools
Spawn late spring - early summer
Live to 25 years old
20 inches and 3 pounds
Mature at 5-7 years
Hatch quickly, 14 days
High fecundity (35,000 eggs per spawn)
Very vulnerable young
Eat large quantities of zooplankton
Comments
Little studied
Trout love to feed on suckers
Utah Suckers
Description
Red-orange lateral line
Distribution
Varied habitat
Depths to 100 feet
Life History
long-lived, slow-growth
24 years 4 pounds
May- June spawners
Female matched with 2 males
Mottled Sculpin
Description
Resembles tiny catfish
Distribution
Columbia River to Virginia
Only fish native above Gibbon Falls
They freaking climbed there!
Spawning and growth
May and June spawn
700 eggs
Hatch in 30 days
Parents guard the nest
Mature in 2-3 years
Food
Small insects
Habitat
Fast waters
Under stones and logs
<5 feet deep
<70 degrees
Seldom seen
Comments
Darting behavior
Imitated on fly
1 sculpin per square foot in Cougar Creek
Redside Shiner
5 years
5 inches
Description
Small, deeply compressed body
Distribution
Native to Snake River
Introduced everywhere else
Habitat
<10 Feet deep
50-70 degree water
Lakes, Rivers, and Streams
Spawning
Early July
1,800 eggs
Hatch in 21 days
Comments
Eat plankton
Compete with trout
Accidental fishermen release into non-native bodies of water
Utah Chub
9 years
12.5 inches
Description
“Chubby”
Highly variable color
Distribution
Native to ancient Lake Bonneville
Spawning and Growth
July spawn
<4 feet of water
12-inch female, 90,000 eggs
Hatch in 2 weeks
Slow growth = vulnerable to trout
Seek heavy vegetation for protection
School for safety
Comments
Undesirable fish
Rivers are rich with trout but lousy with chub
Great trout food
Trout select prey 25%-30% of their size
Longnose Dace
5 years
4 inches
Description
Round body
Variable color
Distribution
Temperate North America
Habitat
Everywhere
Back eddies, behind rocks
Spawning
Early summer
5-inch female 3,400 eggs
Food
Opportunistic omnivore
Speckled Dace
5 years
3.5 inches
Description
Similar to other dace
Distribution
West of the continental divide
Habitat
Shallow water <5 feet
Adaptable
Huckleberry Hot Spring at 90 degrees
Live below the 150-degree water of the surface
Life history
Swarms of males prepare a site
3-inch female 500 eggs
Hatch in 12 days
Bottom feeders
Non-Native Species
Brown Trout
7years
22 inches
Distribution
Native to Europe
Brought to Yellowstone in 1890
Habitat
Reputation for hardiness and adaptability
Less adaptable to temperature
Spawning and growth
Fall spawners
Migrate into small tributaries
Build and defend nests
Males fight over females
Developed hooked jaw “Kype”
Incubate over winter
120 day
Hatch February through April
Grow faster in alkaline waters
Food
Primarily insects
Targets larger animals also
Feed when light is dimmest
Comments
Most difficult trout to catch
Sustain fishing pressure well
Highly territorial
Rainbow Trout
7 years
22 inches
Description
Stouter than cutthroat
Bright pink lateral band
Spots but no pattern
Distribution
Native to us pacific coastal rivers
Rare in a pure form inside of YNP
Habitat
Most adaptable fish
Found in most waters in GYE
Age and spawning
April - July spawning
Spawn in colder weather
18-100 days to hatch (38-60 degrees)
Food
Mid and top-water feeders
Mostly insect diet
Comments
Biggest fighter of all trout
Native to the Columbia River
Closest geographic non-native
Eastern Brook Trout
5 years
11 inches
Description
Tubular look
5:1 ratio
Large head
Distribution
Native to the East Coast
Jersey to Georgia
Introduced nearly worldwide
Habitat
Smaller streams and lakes
Colder waters (best at 38 degrees)
Do well in acidic waters
Over-populate areas creating lots of small fish in areas
Spawning and growth
Fall spawners (September-December)
Strongly seek out their hatch site
Construct Redds
Average 400 eggs per spawn
Food
Most generalist of trout
Love snails!
Comments
Gullible fish
Out compete cutthroat in many areas
Beautiful fish
Lake Trout
20 years
32 inches
Distribution
Native to Canada and the northern United States
Invasive
Introduced to Lewis and Heart Lakes in 1890
Habitat
Cold deep lakes
>100 feet
Only in shallows at night
Spawning and growth
September and October spawning (before ice)
Spawn in 10-100 feet of water
No nests or Redds
113 days to hatch
Fry hide in the deepest water
The lowest egg-to-size ratio
Spawn every other or every third year
Food
Eat lots of other fish
90 cutthroats per year
Comments
Lewis and Shoshone lakes were previously fishless
Caught on deep trolls
Previously commercial fishery
Reintroduced in Great Lakes from Lewis Lake
One of the longest-lived animals in Yellowstone
Managers aim to keep fish small to limit cutthroat predation
Lake Chub
4 years
5.5 inches
Description
Chubby
Deeply forked tail
Tubercles on scales
Distribution
Native to lower Yellowstone and lower snake rivers
Introduced by careless bait fishermen
Live History
Early summer spawn
10 days to hatch
Yellowstone Fishes in The Human Mind
Chapter 9
Wilderness Defined: The Evolution of an Idea
Used by natives for 12,000 years
Strong archeological evidence
A special or sacred place
Crossroads for several tribes
Shoshone were full residents in the 1800s
Creation of YNP complex
A few enthusiastic individuals
Motivated by personal glory, tourism, and scientific progress
“For the benefits and enjoyment of the people”
What does that mean?
YNP is an experiment in progress
At first, hardly any restrictions were in place
Attempts were made to reduce the park size by early railroads
Broadening of the park goals
Little or no funding for 14 years
Lack of enforcement of any rules
Inspired by Adirondack Park
A major water source for NYC
Unharvested forest
The idea of GYE was around 100 years before the term was coined
1886 represented a turning point
Calvary assigned to the park
Visitation up over time
First 10 years <10,000 visitors total
20,000 per year in 1910
Exceptions made to commercial fishing until 1917
After which hotel chefs offered to cook guest-caught fish
Fish introduced into many park waters
40% of waters were previously fishless
P. Norris wanted carp (thank god that didn’t happen)
57-year hatchery history
Notable blunders
Introduced Atlantic salmon, yellow perch, and black bass
1919 First creel limits
20 fish per day
Depredation of pelicans and gulls
500 pelicans and young killed per year
Eggs stomped before hatch
Challenging mandate
Conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and provide for the enjoyment of the same, in perpetuity
Park often ahead of its time
YNP first to stop non-native introductions
Both fish and other animals
Formal Stocking Policies 1936
Non-natives not stocked with natives
Propagation of natives for stocking not encouraged
No expansion of the non-native range
No artificial stream or lake improvements
No stocking food
Some waters are left barren
Abolition of bait fishing
Creel limit decreased from 1930s - 1960s
Challenged the idea of maximum sustainable yield
Against park philosophy anyway
Fisherman philosophy changed too
Too many people, too few fish
“Man and Nature in the National Parks” 1967
Trout Unlimited 1959
Federation of Fly Fishers 1964
Preferred “Limit your kill not kill your limit”
Stocking totally ended in 1959
NPS - preserve native fish population
USFWS - mass produce trout
The 1960s Represented the dawn of the environmental era
Natural regulation
Bears, elk, fire, and fish
Not perfect but better
Surveys
Exhaustive, spot surveys, and fisher report cards
Future Objectives
Preservation and restoration of fish and habitat
Provide for recreational fishing
Signs of recovery!
Bears eating trout 19%-62% (1995)
Chapter 10
Fishing in Yellowstone
“How exactly do I catch something?”
Expectation and Reality
The size of trout dependent on
Species
Environment
Management
Less than 1 fish per hour
Pebble Creek highest (2.5 per hour)
Madison River lowest (.4 per hour)
Always read regulations
The Season
Later than most
Late June through early July
Firehole and Gibbon River are the first fishable
Some rivers closed until after the spawn
September and October best months
No crowds
Fall spawn
A matter of skill
Cutthroats are most easily caught
Before catch and release 30% of caught fish
After 85%
Brook trout second easiest
Browns on Madison are experts only
Trophy Fish
12-14 inch Brook Trout
15-18 inch Montana Grayling
19 inch Rainbow
36 inch Lake Trout (40+ lbs)
14-18 inch Cutthroat
20-inch Brown Trout
Lots of small fish only a few giants
The Ecologic Angler
Fish aren't evenly distributed
Feed facing upstream
Stillwaters, eddies, and shelters
All manner of flotsam
Nymphs and detritus
Just as complex as the terrestrial world
Finding Fish
Polarized glasses!
Reading the water
Avoid sudden movements, reflections, shadows
Fish needs
Food
Shelters
Weeds, banks, boulders, trees
Think like a trout
Riseforms
How can fishing help?
Release all fish
Kill all lake trout
Use less damaging lures
Flies less damage than treble hooks
Barbless hooks
Don't play your fish
Land it quickly
If your fish is bleeding it's going to die
Revive your fish before releasing
94%+ survival rate
Handle as little as possible
Conclusion
The goal is to allow the uninhibited natural world to produce whatever it happens to produce
Chapter 11
The Pleasure of Fish Watching
Practical Fish Watching
Easier than you think
Polarized lenses
Watch a good fisherman
What are they doing?
Rise rings like rainfall during salmon fly hatch
Where to Watch Fish
Fishing Bridge
After ice out
Millions of eggs within sight of the bridge
Lehardy Rapids
Migratory fish jumping
Buffalo Ford spawning area
Look beyond the surface and enjoy
Chapter 12
The Future
Invasion of the Aliens
Aquatic systems are the most susceptible to invasion
1 in 3 freshwater fish imperiled
170 nonnative plants in the park
Horse feed and car tires are the largest sources
⅓ of fish are non-native
Tirage system of eradication
Whirling Disease is also a threat
Microscopic parasite that causes nerve damage
Fish chase their tail
Not yet in YNP
New Zealand Mud Snail
Pass through unharmed!
Anti-ecosystem culture
Often called communists?
Water scarcity
Yellowstone's Changes Role in Society
Source of hoe and rallying point
Strong philosophical questions
Why is fishing allowed if not hunting is allowed?
Surviving the crush of modern crowds
Good News
We are trending the right way
Changing public attitudes drive park goals
Experiencing YNP creates love!
Chapter 13
Fish List
Native Fish
Yellowstone cutthroat trout
Snake River Fine-Spotted Cutthroat Trout
West Slope Cutthroat Trout
Montana Grayling
Mountain Whitefish
Mountain Sucker
Long-nose Sucker
Utah Sucker
Mottled Sculpin
Redside Shiner
Utah Chub
Long-nose Dace
Speckled Dace
Redside shiner x Speckled Dace
Non-Native Fish
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow x Cutthroat Trout
Eastern Brook Trout
Lake Trout
Lake Chub