Anglers to kill off rainbows....

[Sitkaspruce]

....in the Jellystone

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/19/reluctant-anglers-drafted-in-war-on-fish/

Agree or leave it as is??

Cheers

SS

 

[Cuba Libre]

KILLEM !!!!! Just kidding. To try to turn the clock back 100yrs,when so many people and critters now depend upon them, is ridiculous. The US needs to put more effort into stopping asian carp and exotic predatory fish such as snakeheads. (And Canada should be getting geared up for this fight as well, not the lip-service we have seen so far.)

 

[Dogbreath]

Too much US politics for me to comment knowledgeably but it's sure an awkward situation for local guides.

 

[sly_karma]

Mixed feelings for me. After a century, the local ecosystem has long since adapted to the rainbows' presence, just as it had to the wolves' absence. There is a big ideological war going in in park management, looks like the 'make it all just the way it used to be' faction is winning.

But... is it right to assert that a national park has solely environmental value and not economic? Although it kills some park managers to admit it, parks are there for people too. Like it or not, economic activity develops around them to greater or lesser degrees. Just like the aquatic ecosystem that adapted to accept the rainbow trout, the guides and tackle shops have slowly become part of the economic system anchored on the park. In both cases, arbitrary choices based on ideological principles will have some unpleasant side affects, not all of them foreseen.

 

[Englishman]

Mixed feelings for me. After a century, the local ecosystem has long since adapted to the rainbows' presence, just as it had to the wolves' absence. There is a big ideological war going in in park management, looks like the 'make it all just the way it used to be' faction is winning.

But... is it right to assert that a national park has solely environmental value and not economic? Although it kills some park managers to admit it, parks are there for people too. Like it or not, economic activity develops around them to greater or lesser degrees. Just like the aquatic ecosystem that adapted to accept the rainbow trout, the guides and tackle shops have slowly become part of the economic system anchored on the park. In both cases, arbitrary choices based on ideological principles will have some unpleasant side affects, not all of them foreseen.

Good post SK. The question is whether this decision is being made on ideological principles or ecosystem management principles. Wolves were brought back to Yellowstone for the latter reason. Th Elk were over crowded, browsing the riverside willows and affecting the habitat of other creatures such as birds, otters and beaver. Something had to be done.
In the case of the trout I do not know whether the presence of large numbers of rainbows affect the ecosystem or not, other than out competing the cutthroat. As you say any decision has consequences, some of which are unforeseen, just as the introduction of many exotic species in the past have had unforeseen consequences today.

Economic issues are there, but on that basis would we in BC justify the creation of a whole lot more bass or carp fisheries because this would be good for local economies?
Complex decisions indeed!

 

[Daveroo]

We toured through Yellowstone last year and they had a similar program against lake trout in Yellowstone lake. At some point the non native lake trout were introduced into Yellowstone Lake and competed against and fed on the smaller native cutthroat. As a result the number of cutthroat trout in the lake has plummetted and the eco balance on the lake has been altered. The famous Fishing Bridge on the river flowing into the lake hardly has any fish anymore. Ospreys nested on the lake in adundance years ago, but now only a few pairs nest on the lake because they prey on the shallow water cutthroat. The osprey cannot prey on the deep water dwelling lake trout. What the park has done is hired commercial fishers to net and harvest the lake trout. That has slowed down the growth of the invasive trout, but it has not tipped the scale back enough for the cutties to make a recovery. So if the rainbow culling is for ecological reasons than I think it is a good thing.