BETTER, SAFER ACCESS
Easier Walk
more fish
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.. Just a brief note to let you know that the trail realignment and improvement along Fan Creek is approaching completion.
.. The return of the beavers, and their impoundment seems permanent.
.. The NPS has chosen to honor this structure and it's expanding pond by adjusting the trail realignment to avoid the feeder streams and seasonal trickles that were previously crossed by the trail.
.. Outfitters with stock will soon be able to use the new trail. Fishers with legs can use it now! We look forward to a mature beaver pond and a captive audience for some exuberant dances in the near future.
.. The beavers were a happy coincidence that coincided with the 10 year "Trail Restoration" project funded by the Yellowstone Park Foundation. You can investigate this initiative HERE & HERE.
.. Many of the beavers in the neighborhood are bank dwellers. We are pleased to see this innovative pond building & dwelling initiative on the part of the busy little rodents. And we also hope that they capture some hungry native trout in the process... Perhaps this will aid the preservation of some native cutthroat trout in the little valley.
.. The Wild Fish Habitat Initiative, (#1, #2,) has had a stuttering history on Fan Creek and it's environs.
.. Invasive species, (such as Brown Trout & Rainbow Trout,) have been, (and continue to be,) protected by the NPS to the detriment of our natives.
.. These foreign invaders, in Yellowstone National Park are, sadly, cherished by indiscriminate fly fishers and feather merchants alike.
.. It seems that the lesson of foreign char in Yellowstone Lake has gone unheeded by most of our park's managers when it comes to the streams in the park.
.. Maybe the beavers can help restore some perspective about the place of Yellowstone National Park in the effort to preserve our native species... In a related note yesterday PROTECT YOUR WATERS points us to the robust program that Idaho is undertaking (PDF). Although still aimed at the little critters such as New Zealand Mud Snails and plants such as water milfoil, it's a good start.
.. It would seem that these programs are aimed at protecting, among other things, fishing in general - rather than protection and restoration of native species.
.. We'll continue to watch this effort and see if it holds promise for the Yellowstone region.
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