Could Lake Trout Have Migrated Naturally?
Written by Andrew-Rossi on June 4, 2018
A new theory is being explored on how nonnative lake trout got into Yellowstone Lake.
The conventional theory has been that someone scooped lake trout out of nearby Lewis Lake and dumped them into Yellowstone Lake. But Yellowstone’s chief fisheries biologist, Todd Koel, has been investigating a theory that the lake trout themselves made their way into Yellowstone Lake via creeks in the area.
The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports that Koel emphasizes that he’s merely suggesting an alternative hypothesis to explain the 1994 appearance of lake trout and that more testing is needed.
The National Park Service is spending millions of dollars trying to eradicate the lake trout from Yellowstone Lake because they are endangering the native cutthroat trout that inhabit the lake.
