Researchers at an Adirondack college are questioning whether yellow perch are really a non-native "alien species" competing with the native brook trout in the Park’s waterbodies.
Scientists at Paul Smith's College say DNA analysis of 2,200-year-old lake sediment shows a long-term native status for perch.
The finding is of more than academic interest. The alien designation is used to justify "reclamation" projects that poison all the fish in an Adirondack lake so trout can be re-introduced without competitors.
A Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman says protection of native trout in the Adirondacks is a top priority, and the main factor in its decline is competing species such as yellow perch.
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