Subscribe
  • News
    • Local
    • Bozeman
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Menu
  • News
    • Local
    • Bozeman
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events

Yellowstone National Park: Nonnative brook trout discovered in Soda Butte Creek in park

in Regional
Yellowstone National Park: Nonnative brook trout discovered in Soda Butte Creek in park

Boiling River near Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. PHOTO BY R. ROBNISON, PUBLIC DOMAIN

Boiling River near Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. PHOTO BY R. ROBNISON, PUBLIC DOMAIN
EBS Staffby EBS Staff
August 4, 2023

By Daily Montanan Staff DAILY MONTANAN

Yellowstone National Park will resume the Soda Butte Creek Native Fish Restoration Project near the Northeast Entrance Aug. 14-18 to remove newly discovered nonnative brook trout, the park said Wednesday in a news release.

“If not addressed this month, brook trout will quickly displace native Yellowstone cutthroat trout and eventually invade the entire Lamar River watershed, threatening the largest remaining riverine population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in existence,” the park said.

Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad
ADVERTISEMENT

The park said the fish restoration project concluded in 2016 after nonnative brook trout were completely removed from the waterway due to successful treatments.

The park will embark on the current project in coordination with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Custer Gallatin National Forest.

On Aug. 14-18, Soda Butte Creek will be closed to the public from the park boundary at the Northeast Entrance to Ice Box Canyon (9.6 miles) while biologists remove brook trout by applying an EPA-approved piscicide (rotenone). Warm Creek and Soda Butte Creek picnic areas will also be closed for project staging. View a map for details.

Cutthroat trout will be moved out of the treatment area the week of Aug. 7 by electroshocking. The salvaged cutthroat trout will be held in the Soda Butte Creek watershed in upper untreated tributaries.

Cutthroat trout will be released back into Soda Butte Creek once fisheries staff complete the treatment.

Cutthroat trout are the only trout species native to the park.

“They are the most ecologically important fish of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and are highly regarded by anglers,” the park said.

Genetically pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout populations have declined throughout their natural range in the Intermountain West, succumbing to competition with and predation by nonnative fish species, a loss of genetic integrity through hybridization, habitat degradation and predation.

Learn more about the Soda Butte fish restoration and ongoing preservation efforts at Native Fish Conservation Program.

Yellowstone National Park Lodge Yellowstone National Park Lodge
ADVERTISEMENT

Listen

Hoary Marmot Podcast

Joe Borden & Michele Veale Borden

Lastest Episode
See More Episodes
outlaw realty montana outlaw realty montana
ADVERTISEMENT
Outlaw Realty Big Sky Bozeman
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Aug 22
August 22 @ 10:00 am - August 31 @ 6:00 pm

Gallatin County RV & Boat Show

Aug 30
10:00 am - 8:00 pm Event Series

7th Annual Art for Everyone

Aug 31
7:00 am - 4:00 pm Event Series

7th Annual Art for Everyone

Aug 31
11:00 am - 6:00 pm Event Series

Big Sky Artists Collective August show

Sep 1
9:00 am - 12:00 pm Event Series

Community Hike Big Sky

View Calendar
Event Calendar

Related Posts

Bison eradication stripped western grasslands of nutrients, Yellowstone research shows
Regional

Bison eradication stripped western grasslands of nutrients, Yellowstone research shows

August 29, 2025
Greater Gallatin United Way to launch annual campaign Sept. 18 
Regional

Greater Gallatin United Way to launch annual campaign Sept. 18 

August 29, 2025
Broadband committee approves $300 million in fiber optic, satellite projects
News

Broadband committee approves $300 million in fiber optic, satellite projects

August 28, 2025
USGS, Yellowstone National Park announce biologists will capture grizzlies for research
Regional

USGS, Yellowstone National Park announce biologists will capture grizzlies for research

August 27, 2025

An Outlaw Partners Publication

Facebook-f Instagram X-twitter Youtube

Explore Big Sky

  • About/Contact
  • Advertise
  • Publications
  • Subscriptions
  • Podcast
  • Submissions

Outlaw Brands

  • Mountain Outlaw
  • Plan Yellowstone
  • Big Sky PBR
  • Wildlands Music
  • Outlaw Partners
  • Outlaw Realty
  • Hey Bear

Copyright © 2025 Explore Big Sky | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Choices

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Bozeman
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Yellowstone
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Real Estate
  • Events

©2024 Outlaw Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Explore Big Sky Logo
  • News
    • Local
    • Bozeman
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Subscribe
Facebook X-twitter Instagram Youtube