The preliminary ISRP review requested that the sponsors clarify the basis for asserting that the Warm Springs River and Shitike Creek populations of bull trout warrant delineation as separate core areas; what was meant by "relative juvenile abundance and adult escapement indicate that Shitike Ck is robust while the Warm Springs R. population is less healthy than believed"; a better explanation of the analysis and purpose of the evaluation of bull and brook trout hybridization; and, the reasoning that more data is needed to complete the task of evaluating the census model for bull trout abundance.

The sponsors provided mostly adequate responses to the ISRP questions. The proposal has dropped genetic evaluation of hybrids and PIT and radio-telemetry investigation of fish movement. The annual enumeration of bull trout adults and juveniles remains in the proposal, as well as testing the census model. In future proposal cycles, justification for annual census needs to be based on statistical design of analysis, not just the bull trout recovery plan. The ISRP poses the question of how often must bull trout be sampled to obtain data for determining the trend in population abundance.

Completion of the census model is over-due, and testing of the model should be completed in this solicitation cycle. The ISRP also asked if the model has been peer reviewed, but no response was provided.

While this project is listed as new, it has actually been ongoing for several years and by now status and trends of bull trout in this system should be well understood. Application of project results for recovery actions should already be underway.

It would still be valuable to have those proposing this work frame the project in a broader context of bull trout ecology and management.