Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Bull Trout Preservation in the Upper Camas Drainage - Environmental Assessment

Glacier National Park » Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Bull Trout Preservation in the Upper Camas Drainage - Environmental Assessment » Document List

Glacier National Park is proposing to use rotenone, a fish toxicant, to remove non-native Yellowstone cutthroat trout from Lake Evangeline, Camas Lake, and Camas Creek upstream of Arrow Lake in the Upper Camas drainage. Following the removal of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout, native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout would be translocated (i.e. stocked) into the lakes. This would be done to establish a native fish assemblage that is secure against the threats of non-native fish and climate-related habitat degradation. The proposed action is evaluated in the Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Bull Trout Preservation in the Upper Camas drainage Environmental Assessment (EA), posted for comment on this site (see Document List). The EA will be available for a 20-day comment period, beginning March 29, 2019 and ending April 17, 2019.

In April of 2016, the park initiated public scoping for a comprehensive fisheries management plan and environmental impact statement (EIS). The EIS was terminated in August of 2018 in favor of focused and targeted fisheries management projects that can be analyzed in site-specific detail and for which funding is available. Based on the success of smaller scale actions, the park may or may not continue with a larger-scale plan that identifies fisheries actions for the entire park at some point in the future. Public scoping was not re-initiated for the current EA, because scoping for the EIS provided the opportunity for early comments on the use of rotenone and the translocation of native fish.

Contact Information

Mary Riddle, 406-888-7898