Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) are the only native trout species in the Teton River drainage, located in southeast Idaho, USA. Due to habitat degradation and impacts from invasive species, YCT only occupy roughly half of their historical range. Within the Teton River drainage, fishery biologists suggest that non-native Rainbow Trout (RBT) (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are the primary invasive species threat due to hybridization with YCT, leading to the decrease of genetic diversity and quantity of pure YCT populations. To explore RBT-YCT interactions, I am integrating social research methods with an ecological field study. I am studying Badger Creek, a tributary of Teton River that has high RBT numbers to evaluate what factors may contribute to this local population’s invasion and persistence, and whether it serves as a source to the basin-wide metapopulation. In turn, I will draw on a 20-year time series of network-wide monitoring and a snapshot of their current distribution (based on eDNA sampling) to investigate the dynamics of RBT invasion and YCT distribution status and trends. My social science research questions will be developed through stakeholder and community engagement. To accomplish this, I have and will continue to attend regular meetings involving agencies and organizations that execute YCT conservation projects to learn about current research and receive feedback on my proposed methods. Shaped by the feedback and their upcoming management projects, I will conduct semi-structured 1-on-1 interviews with Teton River stakeholders, including anglers and fisheries managers, to explore their varying values regarding YCT conservation and potential management scenarios to mitigate invasive species impacts. The interviews will be coded to developmental models of stakeholder’s varying opinions and values. Incorporating both social and ecological research will provide comprehensive data to inform future management decisions to preserve native YCT populations within the Teton River drainage.