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Kelly Warm Spring Efforts Topic of Presentation at UW Research Center July 14

people putting a net into a stream with Teton mountain peaks in background
Researchers use a seine to sample fish and other species in Grand Teton National Park’s Kelly Warm Spring in 2015. Restoration efforts in the unique spring are the topic of the July 14 Harlow Summer Seminars at the University of Wyoming-National Park Service Research Center at the AMK Ranch. (Wyoming Game and Fish Commission Photo)

Efforts to help native fish in Grand Teton National Park’s Kelly Warm Spring are the topic of the Harlow Summer Seminars Thursday, July 14, at the University of Wyoming-National Park Service (UW-NPS) Research Center. The center is located at the AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park.

Aida Farag of the U.S. Geological Survey and Sue Consolo-Murphy of Grand Teton National Park will present “Assessing aquatic resources in Kelly Warm Spring: Have native fish been displaced by non-native aquarium fish?” at 6:30 p.m. at the AMK Ranch, located north of Leeks Marina. A barbecue, at a cost of $5 per person, will take place at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are not required. For more information, call the UW-NPS Research Center at (307) 543-2463.

Kelly Warm Spring, a unique geological feature within Grand Teton, is used extensively by park wildlife and for recreation by park visitors. Since at least the 1960s, the spring has been the recipient of nuisance fish disposal, presumably from household aquariums. As a result, guppies, green swordtails, goldfish and other species have established reproducing populations there. Park managers aim to remove nuisance species to reduce competition, disease and habitat degradation for native fish including speckled dace, redside shiner and Utah chub.

In 2014, citizen scientists helped the National Park Service identify specimens caught in minnow traps. In 2015, the Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Wyoming Game and Fish Department worked to define aquatic invertebrate and fisheries composition, and to document year-round water temperature in the spring. The Park Service is preparing a plan and environmental assessment to address restoration of native species there.

Farag is station leader of the USGS Jackson Field Research Station. She received a master’s degree (1987) and Ph.D. (1993) from UW, and her research defines the health of aquatic resources affected by human disturbance.

Consolo-Murphy is Grand Teton’s chief of science and resource management, part of a 35-year career with the Park Service. She received a bachelor’s degree in recreation and park management from UW and a master’s degree in forest resource conservation from the University of Montana.

The UW-NPS Research Center provides a base for university faculty members and government scientists from throughout North America to conduct research in the diverse aquatic and terrestrial environments of Grand Teton National Park and the greater Yellowstone area.

For more information about the Harlow Summer Seminars, contact Michael Dillon at (307) 543-2463 or Michael.Dillon@uwyo.edu.

 

Contact Us

Institutional Communications
Bureau of Mines Building, Room 137
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-2929
Email: cbaldwin@uwyo.edu


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