Episode 35 | Trout Tales: The Comeback of the Yellowstone Cutthroat
Having trouble listening? Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts instead.
Is there any fish species in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem more iconic than the Yellowstone cutthroat trout? While the name conjures imagery of a ruthless nature, these fish are called cutthroats due to the distinct red markings found along their jawline and gills. Yellowstone cutthroat trout are a keystone species in the region, providing food to numerous species including bears, otters, ospreys, and others.
Andi Puchany on a gillnetting boat in Yellowstone National Park holding a lake trout. (Photo NPS/Neal Herbert)
Yellowstone cutthroat trout are also at the epicenter of one of the most interesting species recovery stories from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Decades ago, when an unexpected threat appeared in Yellowstone Lake, the population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the park was decimated. This important link in the Greater Yellowstone food web was in big trouble and something needed to be done.
We’re pleased to welcome Andi Puchany, a fisheries biologist at Yellowstone National Park, to the podcast. She joined the park’s Native Fish Conservation Program in 2014 and her work focuses on native fish conservation, population recovery assessments, and lake trout reproductive ecology. Andi received her Bachelor’s in Zoology at North Dakota State University and her Master’s in Fish and Wildlife Management at Montana State University.
A whopping 24.5" Yellowstone cutthroat trout, held by one of the park’s contract netters (Photo Harris Wester).
Join us on the episode to learn how to identify a Yellowstone cutthroat trout, what happened all those years ago to cause a decline in Lake Yellowstone, how these remarkable fish rebounded, and what makes her hopeful about her work today.
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.
Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.
> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.
> Join our Online Community and Receive Two FREE Stickers!
> Donate to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition
> YNP Native Fish Conservation Program
Podcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap Art
Music > Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Header Photo > NPS
Thanks for listening in!
-Emmy Reed, Senior Digital Communications Associate (Bozeman, Montana)
