Many parts of the west have seen a significant decline in native fish populations over the years, both in wilderness and in other areas. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently unveiled a plan to try and bring back native Westslop Cutthroat Trout to several lakes, including some in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The history on these lakes is interesting as some were stocked prior to the Wilderness Act with helicopter yet now the'll have to be stocked by more traditional means - pack string.
From the a recent article in the Missoulan:
"Historically in the South Fork, these were all fishless lakes," Boyer said. "But they were great fish habitat. So in the 1920s and '30s, they started stocking rainbows and Yellowstone cutthroats. They'd load them in milk cans and haul them in on mule trains. Later on, they'd use helicopters."
Boyer said because the Bob Marshall lakes were mechanically stocked before the area became federally designated wilderness in 1964, the state had an exemption to continue delivering fish by helicopter to all but Pyramid Lake. Volunteers from the Backcountry Horsemen's Association will deliver fish to that lake, which never saw helicopter activity before it became wilderness.
Read the full article here: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_2e1cc662-8b29-11e0-a202-001cc4c03286.html
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