Battle grounds and the front line...

Yellowstone Cutthroat vs the Lake Trout

One of the greatest benefits of southwest Montana, Simms headquarters since 1993, is its juxtaposition to Yellowstone National Park.  The Park – as locals refer to it – is somewhat of a lighting rod for locals.  Some adore its pristine backcountry and otherworldly cauldron of fire and steam. Others stay free and clear of the Park due to its, uh, passionate attention from visitors the world over that can make it feel more like Disneyland than wild lands.

To me, the Park is one of the greatest places I have ever known.  Moreover, as an angler and employee of a fishing company, I love that Yellowstone is often seen as a breeding ground for anglers.  Just drive the Lamar Valley on a summer day and you find anglers of all abilities tossing large dry flies to Yellowstone cutthroats.  It is a wonderful site to behold.

There is a dark side of Yellowstone, however.  Some “anglers” have taken to using the Park as their own laboratory.  Witness the egregious introduction of lake trout into the cutthroat’s bedroom: Yellowstone Lake.  Thought to have happened in the mid-1980s  by “bucket biologists” who thought Lewis Lake lakers would be a great addition to Yellowstone Lake, this introduction has hit catastrophic levels. How bad? It’s believed that since lakers have arrived, some 99 percent of all spawning-age cutts in the lake have been wiped out.

Last week, I was fortunate to join Simms’s President, K.C. Walsh, Trout Unlimited, Yellowstone Park Foundation, representatives from Yellowstone’s Fisheries team and bloggers in the outdoor industry for an up-close look into the problem.  Simms was the main sponsor of a blogger contest to raise awareness for the native Yellowstone cutthroat, and the prevalence of lakers. How bad has it gotten?  Since mid-May, officials working the front lines of eradication have killed 180,000 lake trout!  In 10 weeks. That’s an average of 18,000 lakers a week.

To read statistics like this is shocking.  To see it up close and personal is staggering.  Gill nets with hundreds of dead lakers are pulled up every 45 minutes.  Trap nets with hundreds of live (and very large) lake trout dot the lake’s surface.  New research is being conducted to work on taking the fight to lake trouts spawning grounds and tracking efforts have increased the knowledgebase on how to combat lakers. All of this is an effort to help out the imperiled Yellowstone cutthroat, brought to the brink by the actions of a few.  There is evidence the assistance is helping, but it is a massive mountain and we are only in the foothills.  This story won’t end overnight.

After spending a good part of a day on the water witnessing the laker eradication efforts, we left the scene of the crime with bewilderment and a sense of energy. Protecting our native trout seems all more important for me personally…and for Simms as a company.  The fight is on and I hope you can help us in the fight.

What can you do as a concerned angler?  First of all, support organizations like Trout Unlimited that spearheaded this trip.  They are driven by the goal of helping critical native populations of trout.  Secondly, as Kirk Deeter points out, it is time to stop foreign introductions of fish. The list of damage done by illegal stocking efforts is long and heart-breaking.  Thirdly, become part of the conversation with Simms and others as this story unfolds and you hear much more about this.  Finally, embrace Yellowstone and all other angler incubators. It is the next generation of anglers we need to be part of this story.