After invasive rainbow trout threaten to erase Yellowstone’s native cutthroat fish, officials shut Buffalo Creek to wipe them out

Yellowstone National Park is preparing to temporarily close part of Buffalo Creek as wildlife officials launch a targeted effort to remove invasive rainbow trout threatening native fish populations.

The conservation operation will begin on August 31, with the northern section of Buffalo Creek remaining closed to visitors until September 7 while biologists treat the waterway.

According to NBC Montana, the park will use rotenone, an EPA-approved piscicide, to eliminate the invasive fish from the creek.

Yellowstone National Park said the work is intended to protect Yellowstone cutthroat trout, the only trout species native to the park, from competition and hybridisation.

The project forms part of a broader native fish conservation programme aimed at protecting the ecological health of the Lamar River watershed.Yellowstone closes Buffalo Creek for invasive trout removalBeginning August 31, Buffalo Creek will be temporarily closed from the northern Yellowstone boundary downstream to its confluence with Slough Creek.