The tone of the response was so defensive that it was difficult to see the substance of the response. The project sponsor does include graphs in the response that surely should have been included in the original proposal. However, there still is no evidence of progress in meeting the initial goals and objectives regarding biological response to habitat initiatives. They do provide some assessment of trends in fish populations in Flathead Lake, but there is no effort to tie these trends to the habitat program. With regard to all the road restoration work, it is true that population-level improvements will take several generations to be apparent; however, monitoring fish presence above an improved road crossing is quite achievable and could yield a rough estimate of increased potential productivity if you knew how many miles of stream were now available. Indicating a willingness to adjust the M&E to address the ISRP's concerns would have been helpful.



Reviewers remain of the opinion that Not Fundable is the appropriate recommendation. By any reasonable standard that we might apply, this effort falls short of demonstrating biologically significant results (and current/proposed actions) that benefit fish and wildlife.