THE WESTSLOPE LEGACY
Pet The Fish
or just watch
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.. 
Walter “Wally” V. McClure (1961–2003) prowled around the neighborhood visiting those 
places where the Westslope Cutthroat Trout just might be lurking... These are places long forgotten by the habitues of our nearby glory waters. These are places where the water is clean, cold, clear and generally small.
.. In a scrap of water formerly known as "the ditch," or as "AOUF Ditch," Wally found a population of genetically pure cutts.
.. These fish and this stream have had no small significance in the efforts to preserve our native fish. This population is one of the few populations that occupy their native habitat, (only 8% - 20% of historical habitats are currently occupied by genetically pure Westslope Cutthroats.)
.. On April 13, 2010, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved the naming of "the ditch" as "Wally McClure Creek." This is more than appropriate and certainly a fitting honor for both the creek and the man.
.. You can read more about it:
==> Gallatin National Forest News Release,
==> Montana State Names Authority,
==> Montana Topographic Map Finder,
==> AFS Letter of Support, [worth the read],
==> Wally McClure Scholarship.
.. For an overview of the status of this fish check the 2002 report of The Westslope Cutthroat Interagency Conservation Team.
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