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the most robust bull trout isheries in trout but no bull trout.

the park.
“So in the span of 30 years the it has
With the upstream lakes of Glacier completely lipped,” Downs said.
National Park invaded by lake trout, the In addition to removing lake trout
ecological network that supports native from Logging Lake, the proposal also
species is becoming increasingly frag- calls for trans-locating bull trout from
mented, said USGS isheries biologist Logging Lake to Grace Lake, an up-
Clint Muhlfeld, who spearheaded the stream body of water that is protect-
Quartz project.
ed from invasion by a waterfall, which

“Bull trout populations in these up- serves as a natural barrier. Downs said
stream lakes are becoming function- he hopes to preserve the population and
ally extinct, and we want to preserve promote the species’ genetic diversity.
all these diferent populations,” he said. “The more genetic diversity you have
“We want to maintain the genetic diver- the more they are able to adapt and per-
sity of the species so it can continue to sist in a changing environment, particu-
adapt, especially in the face of climate larly in the face of climate change.”

change. The question is, can we do any- Downs said the project, which has al-
thing about it? And we’ve answered that ready received funding through grants,
question. We’ve found that the results at will be challenging due to the geogra-
Quartz have been promising.”
phy. Still, given the success of the Quartz
Many sites have already been lost — project, he is optimistic that he will see
Kintla Lake, Bowman Lake, Coal Creek some measure of success on Logging
— while much of the habitat is badly Lake if the proposal is approved.
fragmented.
An adult bull trout. The threatened species is native to Montana, but its future is imperiled by invasive “There is nothing easy about it. But
lake trout. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS DOWNS
Nonetheless, researchers believed it it is our feeling that Logging Lake has
was critical to see what could be done to the greatest recovery potential,” Downs trout population and conserve the re- Researchers irst gillnetted Logging
save the remaining strongholds.
said. “But it is still going to be a chal-
maining bull trout, the Logging Lake Lake in 1969 to assess bull trout popu-
On Dec. 19, Glacier National Park lenge.”
bull trout faces functional extinction in lations and see if they could detect lake
proposed to continue lake trout sup- Comment on the environmental as-
the near term,” the environmental as- trout. In that study, 61 bull trout were
pression on Quartz Lake and begin lake sessment online at http://parkplanning. sessment states.
captured and no lake trout.
trout removal and bull trout conserva- nps.gov/LoggingQuartz or mail com- Chris Downs, isheries biologist for Lake Trout irst appeared in Log-

tion on Logging Lake. The park released ments to: Superintendent, Glacier Na- Glacier National Park, is in charge of the ging Lake in 1984 and in 2000, 12 lake
an environmental assessment for the tional Park, Attention: Logging/Quartz management component of the project, trout were caught and seven bull trout.
proposal, and launched a public com- EA, PO Box 128, West Glacier, Montana and said logging lake was identiied be- In 2005, 25 lake trout were caught and
ment period that runs through Jan. 22.
59936.
cause “historically, it was one of the most seven bull trout.
“Without action to reduce the lake
[email protected]
robust bull trout isheries in the park.”
In 2010, Downs gillnetted 42 lake

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