Glacier fish preservation project launches

Glacier National Park, in collaboration with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, will launch a native fish preservation project in the Upper Camas Drainage this week.

The undertaking has been in consideration since the release of an environmental assessment in late March in which the National Park Service proposed the use of rotenone, or fish toxicant, on the lakes, according to a park press release. The project will protect native westslope cutthroat trout against threats such as hybridization with non-native Yellowstone cutthroat trout. It will also safeguard westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout against habitat degradation stemming from climate change.

The initiative will use the rotenone to remove the non-native fish from Lake Evangeline, Camas Lake and Camas Creek. The fish toxicant in Camas Creek will be neutralized downstream of the project area for several weeks following application with the common chemical component, potassium permanganate. Evangeline and Camas Lakes will neutralize naturally over the course of the fall, according to the press release.

Park officials say the use of the plant-derived toxin was proposed because it is more effective than alternative methods of removal including netting, trapping, and angling. They say rotenone will lead to a complete removal, quicker.

Park officials will later translocate, or stock, native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout into the lakes. The translocated native fish will be hatched from “genetically pure species of fish” from both the Sekokini Springs Native Fish Hatchery in Coram and the Creston National Fish Hatchery in Kalispell, according to the press release.

The project area is currently closed to the public and will remain closed through the spring of 2020. Closed areas include Arrow and Camas Lake backcountry campgrounds and the area upstream of Arrow Lake backcountry campground in the Camas Creek drainage area.

The lakes are expected to reopen to fishing after the restocking efforts. According to the press release, this process may take several years to establish viable populations. However, other nearby lakes will remain open for fishing.

“Native fish are a significant, if not overlooked, puzzle piece in Glacier’s ecosystems,” Glacier Conservancy Director Doug Mitchell said. “This project is another great example of the power of partnership. The Conservancy is very proud to come together with public and private partners, and state and federal agencies to help preserve Glacier’s native fish for future generations through this innovative project.”

The Bonneville Power Administration, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the National Park Service are providing funding for the project. The Conservancy is also supporting the project with philanthropic donations and has contributed in the past to a number of other fisheries projects that target native species, aquatic invasive species prevention and water quality.

In 2004, Fish, Wildlife and Parks launched a 10-year project that also used rotenone to re-establish westslope cutthroat trout in 21 high-mountain lakes. The eradication proved successful in many ways and prompted consideration of the use of rotenone for future projects.

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4439 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com