Cutthroat: The Race to Save Yellowstone

AN ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARYDISCOVER THE STORY

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01 / THE STORY YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

A wild place.
An invisible battle.

Beneath the surface of Yellowstone Lake, a fight for the future of an entire ecosystem is underway.

For thousands of years, native Yellowstone cutthroat trout thrived in the lake, isolated by a natural geographic barrier. The discovery of non-native lake trout in 1994 threatened that balance and a species woven into the life of the park.

Cutthroat: The Race to Save Yellowstone follows the scientists, conservationists, and fishing crews who came together to protect it, and the difficult, determined work of helping a wild place recover.

A working boat and crew on Yellowstone Lake

YELLOWSTONE LAKETHE WORK ON THE WATER

02 / INSIDE THE FILMTHE PEOPLE BEHIND THE EFFORT

To save one species
is to protect so much more.

Cutthroat trout are a keystone species, a vital food source for bears, eagles, osprey, pelicans, and other wildlife. Their fate reaches beyond the lake and into the surrounding wilderness.

From the lake’s depths to the streams of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, the film explores the science, persistence, and collaboration behind an extraordinary conservation effort.

The threat

Non-native lake trout prey on Yellowstone cutthroat, threatening a fish that has long supported wildlife throughout the region.

The response

Researchers track tagged “Judas fish” to locate lake trout, study the lake with underwater drones, and test plant-based pellets on spawning grounds. Commercial netting crews work the lake throughout the summer.