The Duck Valley Reservoirs Fisheries and Operations and Maintenance project is an ongoing resident fish program designed to enhance subsistence trout fishing opportunities for Tribal members of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes. In addition to stocking rainbow trout in Mountain View, Lake Billy Shaw, and Sheep Creek Reservoirs, the program also maintains healthy aquatic conditions for trout growth and survival. Another component of this program is to provide superior trout fishing and camping facilities to attract non-Tribal anglers to the reservation. DV Fisheries strives to promote communication with the Tribal community about project objectives and management techniques. This program incorporates environmental outreach and education within the region and community.

Project Background

There are three Duck Valley Reservoirs owned by the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes: Sheep Creek Lake (about 850 acres), Mountain View Lake (about 650 acres) and Lake Billy Shaw (about 450 acres). Sheep Creek Lake was built in 1954 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Mountain View Lake was built in 1968 by BIA. Lake Billy Shaw was built in 1999 by BPA. Initially, USFWS furnished funds to supply Sheep Creek Lake and Mountain View Lake with trout. BPA assumed this responsibility in the mid-1980s. After LBS was completed in 1999, it assumed responsibility for trout stocking and O&M funding for this reservoir. In 2003, O&M and trout stocking for all three lakes were combined and called "DV Fisheries." The most recent review of this program occurred in the spring of 2012. The ISRP reviewed the program and recommended its continuation to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC). The ISRP recommended that an overall reservoir management plan be completed for all three reservoirs. An overall management plan was completed and is currently being implemented. DV Fisheries also contracted to have an evaluation of the East Fork of the Owyhee River. This evaluation was to determine the ability of the East Fork Owyhee River to sustain salmon and steelhead populations. The NWPCC recommended to BPA that this program should continue to receive funding. In late 2012 the Tribes started researching the possible purchase of the Black Canyon Trout Hatchery, this investigation has been terminated. Starting in early 2015 the Tribes have been looking into the possibility of building their own hatchery facility.  

Work that continues under DV Fisheries includes:  
1) Annual operation and maintenance of reservoirs include a number of different tasks. Maintenance of the integrity of the canal delivery system to the reservoirs includes arresting headcuts, maintaining stock watering ponds and troughs, fish screens along inflow canals, and miles of lake perimeter fencing and canal exclosure fencing. Maintenance and operation of reservoir dams include spillway canals, the monitoring of dam piezometers, dam toe drains and lake drainage systems. Other facilities needing reservoir maintenance include fishing-related facilities such as boat docks, boat ramps and restrooms. Biological maintenance includes removal of invasive plant species and capture and removal of undesirable fish species.
2) Stocking all reservoirs with trout of  the proper size, disease free, and in good physical condition.  
3) Monitoring and evaluation of all reservoirs for fishery related information including water quality sampling, water level readings, and creel surveys.
4) Property maintenance is continually performed on all items, including vehicles, boats, equipment, and associated shop facilities.
5) Public outreach, such as information dissemination and community education.
6) Reporting through status reports, Statement of Work, annual report, budgets, etc.

Project Location

The projects associated with the DV Fisheries program fall within the Duck Valley Indian Reservation boundaries. The Reservation encompasses approximately 289,820 tribally owned acres, straddling the Idaho and Nevada border, and there are approximately 2,000 enrolled Tribal members. The Reservation is in the Middle Snake Province and both the Bruneau and Owyhee subbasins. The Reservation is remote and isolated; the closest town centers are Elko, Nevada and Mountain Home, Idaho, both approximately 100 miles from the Reservation's small town of Owyhee. These are also the closest areas to buy supplies for projects.

Project areas within the Reservation include Mountain View, Lake Billy Shaw, and Sheep Creek Reservoirs.  

In FY24, the Tribe will continue fisheries and recreation management in all three reservoirs and will continue to work with BPA to explore long-term solutions to the leak in Mountain View Dam.