South Paint Rock Creek scheduled for treatment

In an ongoing effort to maintain a core conservation population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout on the west slope of the Big Horn Mountains, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department plans to remove brook trout from a section of South Paint Rock Creek later this month.
In cooperation with the Bighorn National Forest and Bureau of Land Management, fisheries biologists plan to remove brook trout beginning July 30 by treating a 6-mile section of South Paint Rock Creek with rotenone, a chemical used in very small doses that is toxic to animals with gills. The treatment should be completed by Aug. 2. 
South Paint Rock Creek on the west slope of the Big Horns is one of the few remaining Yellowstone cutthroat trout populations in the Big Horn Mountains. “Currently, Yellowstone cutthroat trout occupy 21 miles of habitat secured with a downstream natural barrier,” said Joe Skorupski, Cody region fisheries biologist.