Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Onchorhynchus clarkii bouvieri; YCT) are considered a keystone species in Yellowstone National Park. They provide an important source of energy for an estimated 42 species of birds and mammals including grizzly bears, osprey, and bald eagles and, in the recent past, have supported a $36 million annual sport fishery. Genetically pure YCT populations have declined throughout their natural range in the Intermountain West, succumbing to habitat degradation, angling harvest, competition with and predation by non-native fish species, and a loss of genetic integrity through hybridization. Many of the remaining, genetically pure YCT are found within Yellowstone National Park. State and federal wildlife agencies classify YCT as a sensitive species. In February 2006, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that listing the YCT as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted.

 
Updated 1/08/08