That's great for anglers, but state wildlife officials fear that
accessibility will help whirling disease spread rapidly across
fisheries on the Manti-La Sal National Forest. Division of
Wildlife Resources (DWR) officials announced Wednesday that the
trout malady that deforms and sometimes kills young trout was
confirmed in Electric Lake. Whirling disease was discovered in
May in Huntington Creek, which flows from the dam at Electric
Lake, and fisheries biologists had hoped the cement barrier
would help prevent the spread of whirling to the reservoir.
"We've had biologists watch people fishing in Huntington Creek
and then head to one of the reservoirs and walk right in with
the same waders they used in the creek," said Paul Birdsey,
regional aquatics director for the DWR. "If you want to move
whirling disease around that's the way to do it." Electric Lake
was once used as a brood stock natural fishery for Yellowstone
cutthroat trout. The state has since changed its cutthroat focus
to native strains like Color