Yellowstone Officials Drop Fishing Limit on Non-Native Fish

POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — People fishing in Yellowstone National Park are now being encouraged to take non-native fish in some areas order to protect cutthroat trout and other native species.

The park is removing limits on the amount of rainbow or brook trout than can be caught in the park's Native Trout Conservation Area. That includes all park waters except the Madison and Firehole rivers, part of the Gibbon River and Lewis and Shoshone lakes.

The supervisor for Yellowstone's fisheries program, Todd Koel, told the Powell Tribune that the removal of rainbow trout from downstream areas of the Lamar River in particular will help preserve cutthroat trout upstream. Other native fish include mountain whitefish and Artic grayling. All native fish caught in Yellowstone must be released.