Editor's note: This has been a terrific effort, supported by GYC. Yellowstone Lake is the safety-deposit box for Yellowstone cutthroat trout.

Yellowstone National Park’s fisheries staff has seen a “big spike” in the number of two key year classes of cutthroat trout in Yellowstone Lake this summer, while also netting a record number of invasive lake trout.

Todd Koel, Yellowstone’s supervisory fisheries biologist, said the numbers are proof that the park’s aggressive methods are showing returns.

“Age 2 and age 3 fish represent a large percentage of the cutthroat population, which we haven’t seen in around a decade,” he said. The fish spawn when 3 to 4 years old. “We haven’t necessarily won the battle, but it’s a good sign.”

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