Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
The war on nonnative fish in Yellowstone National Park continues next week, as rotenone will be applied to the Upper Gibbon River drainage to kill off remove nonnative rainbow trout and brook trout.
Once nonnative fish are removed, biologists will reintroduce native fish species to the streams in this area, native westslope cutthroat trout and fluvial arctic grayling, the park’s native grayling strain.
From August 20 through August 26, biologists will remove nonnative rainbow trout and brook trout in the upper Gibbon River drainage using the fish toxin rotenone. Rotenone is a naturally occurring chemical compound derived from the roots of tropical plants. Below the treatment area biologists will add potassium permanganate to the water to remove the effects of rotenone and prevent impacts to downstream waters. To ensure the removal of nonnative fish, these treatments will be repeated in 2019 and, if needed, 2020. Reintroduction of native fish would begin in 2021.
The upper Gibbon River drainage is in the central portion of Yellowstone National Park and includes streams that flow out of Grebe, Wolf, and Ice lakes. The Wolf Lake Trail and Virginia Cascades Drive will be closed to the public during this project.
RELATED STORIES: Yellowstone Fishery Crews Prepare For Busy Season of Lake Trout Removal; Soda Butte Project Wrapping Up In A Week and a Half; Arctic Grayling, Westslope Cutthroat Trout Restoration Underway In Grayling Creek; More Trout Restoration in Yellowstone — This Time at Elm Creek
