Groups claim Glacier Park’s bull trout project violates federal law

Friends of the Wild Swan and the Council on Wildlife and Fish claim the National Park Service is violating the Endangered Species Act by moving populations of protected bull trout, according to a notice sent by the environmental groups last week. 

Glacier National Park biologists have undertaken an effort to stock mountain whitefish, west slope cutthroat trout and bull trout to Gunsight Lake, a high alpine lake near Jackson Glacier and Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park. The project went out for public comment last summer, with park officials announcing in August that the agency would move forward.  

Katharine Hammond, the regional director for National Park Service Interior Regions 6, 7 and 8, last year signed off on findings that there were no significant adverse effects from the project. According to the project’s environmental assessment, park officials believe Gunsight Lake presents an opportunity to establish native fish habitat secure against hybridization, particularly as climate change continues.