Brook Trout out West

While I (we) celebrate the presence of brook trout in the eastern US, they are invasive species in the western US. Similar to the imapact that brown trout have on native brookies in the east, brookies in the west displace native cutthroat trout.

This was clearly evident on a recent trip to Montana. While hiking up and fishing a tributary of the Gallatin River, brook trout dominated pool after pool. Where native cuts should have been, non-native brookies were found and eagerly took fly after fly.

Are they less valuable because they are non-native? They serve a very similar ecological role, they are beautiful fish, but they are not native fish. There is great value in native, original, appropriate species.