This just in from Dave Sweet, Wyoming Trout Unlimited volunteer extraordinaire: TU chapters and councils from all across America have helped surpass the $85,000 goal Dave and his fundraising partners from Idaho and Montana set to fund the purchase of telemetry equipment needed to monitor invasive lake trout in Yellowstone Lake.
As of today, Dave tells me, Wyoming TU is sitting on $92,000. Simply put, that’s amazing. And it’s proof that TU members from all over the United States recognize the very serious threat lake trout pose to native Yellowstone cutthroat trout in Yellowstone Lake. With the equipment purchased with this money, the National Park Service will be able to monitor lake trout migration throughout the lake and provide data needed to expedite the removal of the invasive char.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout
But, even though the initial fundraising goal has been achieved, Dave tells me there continues to be a need for more funding for this effort. The Park Service has adopted a very ambitious lake trout removal plan, and it’s working under a new and very aggressive native trout recover plan for all of Yellowstone. These plans require money, and in these tough economic times, cash doesn’t flow from Washington without a fight. The more TU and its members from coast to coast can do for this effort, the better the outlook is for native trout within the boundaries of the crown jewel of America’s national parks system.
And, of course, that means the better the fishing will be in Yellowstone in the very near future and for years to come.
So, pat yourselves on the back TU volunteers. You’ve helped make progress toward overcoming one of the most pervasive challenges to native trout recovery in the country. And, in the process, you’ve helped ensure a future for angling in Yellowstone, a storied and iconic landscape that, with your help, will be healthier and more intact in the years to come.
The effort’s not over, though. More funding is needed as the Park Service continues its efforts to go after invasive lake trout in Yellowstone Lake. To give to this effort, and to help guarantee the future of quality fishing in Yellowstone National Park, visit East Yellowstone Trout Unlimited and make a tax deductible donation to the effort to save the West’s most iconic native trout.
