The WestSlope Cutthroat and Bull Trout Preservation project at Gunsight Lake (pictured above) has been put on hold by the National Park Service and is under way. Now, we learn about two environmental groups filing a lawsuit, challenging the project. It should be pointed out that this is a temporary “hold” and that the Park Service can move forward, if they choose.
The Friends of the Wild Swan and the Council on Wildlife and Fish argue that the federal agencies overseeing the project — the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act by failing to consider the consequences of collecting and propagating drainage-specific Bull Trout, precluding public comment.
Gunsight Lake is a remote, high-altitude Lake fed by the St Mary River east of the Continental Divide in the Park. It could be one of the keys to bringing back native WestSlope Cutthroat Trout and Bull Trout. Historically, there were no fish in Gunsight Lake until 1916, when non-native Rainbow Trout were introduced.
Glacier Park had already been cleared to remove the Rainbow Trout using a toxicant. Once the non-native fish are gone, the plan is to translocate Bull Trout and genetically pure WestSlope Cutthroat trout into Gunsight Lake.
In their suit, the groups say the project establishes a native fish reserve at Gunsight Lake. That could actually be true.
As it was, the Rainbow Trout were migrating downstream and hybridizing with native WestSlope Cutthroat. With the
Rainbow Trout gone, the native species stays in Gunsight Lake because the waterfalls make it impossible for non-native fish to swim upstream to the Lake.
