News
Yellowstone National Park's supervisory fish biologist, Dr. Todd Koel, has led the Yellowstone Native Fish Conservation Program for the past 25 years. His life's work has been dedicated to protecting, enhancing, and restoring native fish species in Yellowstone National Park. Dr. Koel's native fish conservation vision has impacted streams, rivers, and lakes that flow into two oceans, span three states, and provide recreational opportunities to millions of visitors.
Dr. Koel has worked tirelessly to bring Yellowstone Lake's iconic Yellowstone cutthroat trout back from the brink of extirpation, which was caused by the invasion of predatory, nonnative lake trout. Thanks to Dr. Koel's leadership, the expansive Yellowstone Lake restoration program has reduced the biomass of adult lake trout by a staggering 94 percent. Over the past 30 years more than 4.75 million lake trout have been gillnetted, with 264,613 lake trout removed in 2024 alone.
