SUMMARY:  Over the duration of this project our main focus has been and will continue to be acquiring knowledge of basic life history, population abundance, distribution, and habitat utilization of Pacific lamprey in Idaho.  Primary focus in 2006 will be to complete distribution sampling in the Clearwater River drainage and reach 90% completion in the Salmon River drainage.  Trend analysis monitoring sites have been established in both drainages and will continue to be sampled. In addition electroshocking sampling in both the Clearwater and Salmon River drainages, and capture of fish at rotary screen traps in the S.F. Clearwater River drainage will continue to provide us with more life history and population characteristics.  Based on project work to date a conservation management plan to provide direction for future population restoration actions will be completed.

GOAL: The overall goal of the project is to determine status,habitat utilization and distribution of Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) in the State of Idaho and develop and implement adaptive conservation plans to restore or maintain Pacific lamprey populations in the State of Idaho.  Project will include coordination with other Columbia River Basin Pacific lamprey scientists to ensure identification and modifications to hindrance to Pacific lamprey migration through hydroelectric facilities on the mainstem Columbia and Snake rivers are implemented.  The project will also coordinate with a number of federal land managements agencies to strive for compatibility of their on-ground activities so they are consistent with survival of Pacific lamprey populations.

PURPOSE: The preservation of present levels of Pacific lamprey in Idaho is important for the continued survival of this species until the migration corridor problems associated with the dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers are corrected.   Understanding population composition of larval (ammocoetes) and juvenile (macropthalmia) fish, distribution in Idaho, migration periodicity, and habitat needs will provide for more exact management to perpetuate this species.  Without this knowledge, preservation of critical habitat may be lost.  During the past six years, the project has identified status and life history characteristics of Pacific lamprey throughout the Clearwater River drainage.  From information collected, it appears that Pacific lamprey distribution is significantly depressed when compared to historical information.  No Pacific lamprey have been found in many of the streams (i.e., Potlatch River) where this fish had been collected in the past.  Additionally it appears that younger year classes in the S. F. Clearwater River are absent or significantly depressed.  This project will continue to monitor existing populations in the Clearwater River drainage as well as work with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in identifying distribution in the Salmon River drainage.  Because of the unclear status of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  ESA petition process, it is imperative that the scientific community expedite the sampling process throughout the Snake River subbasin to fully understand present day distribution.  The project will also assess the feasibility of restoring Pacific lamprey to selected tributaries in the Clearwater River drainage.  Adult translocation and hatchery supplementation have been identified as two tools by which partial restoration may be achieved in concert with improvement of mainstem migratory corridor passage conditions.  Prior to implementing either adult translocation or a hatchery program, it is essential that a genetically compatible source population be identified.  In cooperation and coordination with the University of Idaho, a graduate program addressing genetic analysis of potential source populations has been undertaken.  The stated objectives will add to our knowledge of this species, provide the critical information necessary to minimize future degradation of lamprey habitat, and initiate actions to maintain and restore Pacific lamprey populations in Idaho.  The products of this project will include progress reports, annual reports, presentations to professional societies, and publication in professional journals.