As the Outlaw Partners editorial department nears the release of the Winter 2020 edition of Mountain Outlaw magazine, we at EBS look to share some of the best stories from that cherished sister publication as it heads into a celebratory phase—10 years running, and strong. Enjoy.
– EBS STAFF
Yellowstone’s War on Lake Trout
Is aggressive gillnetting finally paying off?
By Christine Gianas Weinheimer
It’s rare for
gillnetting boat crews to feel gratified when their nets yield fewer fish. But
that’s what happened on Yellowstone Lake last season when crews saw a 25
percent reduction in the number of invasive lake trout they caught over the
previous season. It signaled a job well done.
Gillnetting
boats, staffed by National Park Service and private-sector crews, work the 132
square miles of Yellowstone Lake annually from May to October. They represent
the linchpin in a race against time to remove non-native lake trout before they
consume the park’s native Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
NPS is
attempting to solve a problem that dates back more than 100 years. In 1890, the
U.S. Fish Commission introduced lake trout into Yellowstone’s Lewis Lake for
sport-fishing purposes, and eventually the fish found their way to Yellowstone
Lake where, a century later, they began wreaking havoc.
One mature lake
trout can eat approximately 41 Yellowstone cutthroat per year, and the large,
deep-swimming fish have no natural predators. Further tipping the scales in
their favor, lake trout can live more than 40 years, whereas the life span of a
cutthroat is typically 10-12 years.
Yellowstone
Lake’s cutthroat population was once estimated at 3.5-4 million fish. By the
mid- to late-2000s, however, that number had plummeted to roughly 500,000.
Fast forward to
2018, when boat crews removed 297,000 lake trout as compared to 400,000 in
2017, a 25-percent decrease over just one year despite an increase of 8 percent
in the number of gill-net units deployed. It likely indicates that the lake
trout population is declining.
The outlook
didn’t always look so bright. Gillnetting started in 1995, but in 2012 park
officials began fearing it was a losing battle. That’s when Yellowstone Forever
— the park’s official nonprofit partner — committed to help Yellowstone double
down on its gillnetting efforts. Yellowstone Forever spearheaded a fundraising
effort, the Native Fish Conservation Program, with an annual $1 million
donation matched dollar for dollar by federal funds. The resources help
Yellowstone implement its management plan focused on aggressive lake trout removal,
and the investment is paying off.
“Since 1994, the
boats have removed more than 3 million lake trout, of which roughly 2 million
have been removed during the past six seasons since Yellowstone Forever started
supporting increased netting,” said Jeff Augustin, senior director of park
projects for Yellowstone Forever.
The
goal of the park’s sustained efforts is to recover Yellowstone cutthroat trout
to at least mid-1990s levels, when the prized fly-fishing catch was still
abundant in the lake. But, as Augustin emphasizes, it’s not just about the
fish.
“The size and health of Yellowstone’s native trout population has a direct impact throughout the entire food chain,” Augustin said. “Raptors, grizzlies, otters and other species rely on cutthroat as a vital food source. The loss of native trout would be devastating for the ecosystem.”
According to a
report published in March by the journal Science Advances, some park predators
that have historically fed on Yellowstone cutthroat have been displaced from
the ecosystem or switched to alternative prey. Dr. Todd Koel, head of the
park’s Native Fish Conservation Program and the report’s lead author, says ospreys,
for example, which only eat fish, were nearly displaced from riparian habitats
around Yellowstone Lake. And bald eagles, in the absence of cutthroat trout,
have shifted to scavenging carcasses and preying on common loon chicks and
trumpeter swan cygnets — two waterfowl species that have declined in the park
in recent years.
“This study
demonstrates how the addition of an exotic species such as lake trout can change
ecosystems,” said Koel. “Yellowstone is responding to the stressor of losing a
native food source.”
Fortunately,
progress has been measured in other areas. Gillnetting crews are seeing fewer
small lake trout, indicating a lower birth rate, while higher numbers of
cutthroat trout are being seen within the lake and spawning streams, and
netting crews are catching more cutthroat in their hauls.
While the data
is trending in the right direction, Koel says it’s not time to slow efforts.
“We have no intention of letting off on the netting pressure.”
Koel says the
team will also expand their attack on lake trout eggs. They strategically place
dead lake trout on spawning areas to manipulate the water quality, which has
proven effective in killing the eggs. Mature lake trout they have implanted
with hydro-acoustic telemetry tags lead them to the spawning sites.
While Koel says
he would like to “put the nail in the coffin” of these lake trout, he admits
that may never happen. “Yellowstone plans to continue the program in one manner
or another, indefinitely, as we will never capture the last lake trout in
Yellowstone Lake.”
But he believes that complete annihilation of lake trout won’t be necessary for the native fish to fully recover. “We plan for cutthroat trout to regain their rightful role in the ecosystem.”
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.