Attention Anglers: Invasive Threats - Clean Your Gear
New Zealand mudsnails cover the bottom of a park stream. Photo courtesy of David Richards Yellowstone fisheries are already threatened by damaging invasive species. The whirling disease parasite and introduced lake trout have resulted in a loss of cutthroat trout from Yellowstone Lake. New Zealand mud snails occur in many park streams, impact aquatic insect communities, and ultimately affect the angling experience. Our Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) brochure (423 KB pdf) includes a map showing locations of whirling disease and New Zealand mudsnails in the park, which can be easily transported on waders or other fishing gear. WARNING! ANS (Aquatic Nuisance Species) HOTZONES include popular fishing locations on the following streams:
New Zealand mudsnails on the surface of a rock taken from a stream. Photo courtesy of Dan Gustafson Be aware that you may easily spread harmful ANS if you do not clean your gear after fishing in these areas! Help prevent further spread of ANS by thoroughly cleaning mud, plants, and debris from your fishing equipment and footwear BEFORE leaving your angling site. Drain boat livewells and clean fish ONLY near the same body of water in which they were caught. Preservation of aquatic resources and quality angling in the future depends on you! Please, before coming to Yellowstone: CLEAN YOUR BOAT! 
NPS Photo by Todd Koel Pelican Creek near its confluence with Yellowstone Lake.
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Did You Know?
The 1988 fires affected 793,880 acres or 36 percent of the park. Five fires burned into the park that year from adjacent public lands. The largest, the North Fork Fire, started from a discarded cigarette. It burned more than 410,000 acres.