 | RESCAT-2007-157-00 | Proposal Version 1 | Existing Project | Pending BPA Response | 2007-157-00 | Bull Trout Status and Abundance on Warm Springs Reservation | The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon (CTWSRO), will continue monitoring population status and trends of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the Deschutes River Basin through 2018. This work was previously performed under BPA funded project 1994-054-00 (1994 to 2007) and is currently funded under project number 2007-157-00. The research and monitoring activities to be continued, improved and/or are new are priorities identified in the Deschutes Subbasin Plan (NWPCC 2003) and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) draft Bull Trout Recovery Plan (hereafter referred to as “the Plan” http://www.fws.gov/pacific/bulltrout/Recovery.html).
This project was established in response to the 1998 Columbia River bull trout distinct population segment (DPS) being federally listed as threatened (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2002a; 63 FR 31647) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Monitoring of bull trout status and trend is important as it meets the CTWSRO, Branch of Natural Resources, Fisheries Department Mission is “To provide fish populations at harvestable levels, allowing harvest opportunities for tribal members using information gained through the research, management, production, and habitat programs while excising our co-management authority”; as bull trout are a culturally significant species with limited harvest opportunity due to it’s endangered species status. Information gained through this project will be used to make management decisions (e.g., harvest regulations in the Metolius River as trends in bull trout abundance are detected, identifying habitat bottlenecks through carrying capacity analysis) and provide information to assess if recovery efforts are effective.
The CTWSRO strives to produce high-quality analysis and reports on bull trout population status and trends. After reviewing the bull trout monitoring program from data collected between 1998 and 2009, the CTWSRO has evaluated every objective, identified improvements in past objectives retained for future monitoring and gaps in understanding in which newly proposed objectives are advanced. Through statistical robustness in study design, careful and thorough data collection, and analysis the bull trout monitoring in Reservation streams will be effective in delivering scientifically defensible reports.
The project objectives are to:
1.) Monitor long-term trends in relative densities of juvenile bull trout and brook trout in index reaches in Warm Springs River (WSR), and Shitike Creek (SC);
2.) Perform a permutation analysis to determine the probability of detecting a population decline using snorkel counts in index reaches in WSR and SC;
3.) Begin monitoring juvenile bull trout densities in Whitewater River (WR);
4.) Monitor long-term trends in bull trout redd counts in WSR, SC, WR, and Jefferson Creek (JC);
5) Enumerate bull trout immigration and emigration in WSR and SC;
6.) Monitor immigration of half-duplex (HDX) PIT tagged bull trout from the upper Deschutes Subbasin released downstream of Pelton-Reregulating Dam into WSR and SC;
7.) Monitor movements of HDX PIT tagged bull trout within WSR and SC that were originally tagged in WSR and SC;
8.) Develop bull trout length and age relationships specific to WSR and SC;
9.) Update distribution of bull trout and brook trout in Reservation streams;
10.) Develop a plan for re-establishment of bull trout in Mill Creek; and
11.) Monitor water-temperature of streams within bull trout distribution on Reservation.
Prior to 1998, virtually no data existed on bull trout in Reservation streams. A monitoring program began in 1998 and has been recording relative abundance of juvenile bull trout and brook trout as well as bull trout redds in index reaches in WSR and SC. Additionally, bull trout distribution on Reservation, migration patterns and timing, and bull trout-brook trout hybridization has been documented. This work has provided an indication of population trends over time through relative abundance of juveniles, redd counts in index reaches, identified habitats used, , described general characteristics of the fluvial life-history type of bull trout that migrate between the Deschutes River and WSR and SC, and one documented case of hybridization. A major event that has had a bearing on bull trout distribution within the Metolius Subbasin and the lower Deschutes Subbasin is the completion of the select-water withdrawal modification to Round Butte Dam and subsequent trapping and hauling of fish, including bull trout, from Lake Billy Chinook (river kilometer [Rkm] 177) to the Deschutes River downstream of Pelton Re-regulating Dam (Rkm 161). Goals, methods, and results of the monitoring program were reviewed in 2010 and 2011. As a consequence of these reviews, additional goals for future monitoring have been identified (objectives 2 - 3 and 6 -10, above).
Long-term trends in juvenile abundance in index reaches in WSR and SC will continue through snorkeling surveys during summer (Objective 1). These data are reported as total counts, by index reach. An analysis to determine the ability of the method and effort to detect 25%, 50%, and 75% decline in relative abundance of juvenile bull trout using snorkel counts at time intervals of 5, 15, and 30 years at 80% and 90% statistical power will be performed (Objective 2). This analysis is necessary to more fully understand and interpret juvenile snorkel count data. Habitat surveys (habitat unit identification, such as pool, riffle, rapid, and measurements) that correspond with juvenile bull trout index reaches allow calculation of juvenile bull trout and brook trout densities. This survey methodology will be extended to WR after index reaches are selected (Objective 3). Long-term trends in relative abundance of spawners has been accomplished through enumerating redds in index reaches in WSR, SC, WR and JC during late summer and fall (Objective 4). These data are reported as number of redds per index reach. Timing of migration and relative abundance of bull trout immigrants and emigrants have been recorded through weir counts in WSR and SC for returning adults, and through rotary screw trap operations in WSR and SC for outmigrants (in conjunction with BPA project 2008-311-00, Objective 5).
A recent addition to data collection for bull trout on Reservations is the installation of half-duplex (HDX) antennae in WSR and SC (Objective 6, 7). The HDX arrays will document (time/date/ unique fish identification) tagged fish as they pass, thereby providing additional information on migration patterns. These data may provide: 1) presence of bull trout tagged at Round Butte fish transfer facility released downstream of Pelton Re-regulating Dam that enter WSR and SC (Objective 6); and 2) better understanding of home range of resident bull trout and movement and timing patterns of fluvial bull trout that migrate between the Deschutes River and WSR and SC (Objective 7).
An additional rotary screw trap will be installed in upper WSR to capture juvenile bull trout for PIT tagging, and scale collection to relate length at age and potentially document age at first spawning (Objective 8). The CTWSRO is beginning to develop the capacity for scale analysis to assign ages to spring Chinook and steelhead (BPA project 2008-311-00) and bull trout (BPA project 2007-157-00). As part of incorporating scale analysis into project work, the CTWSRO will also develop validation and analysis methods. As part of this objective methods for validating age at first reproduction, frequency of spawning (e.g., annual or biennial) will be explored, including use of ultrasound technology. If possible, documenting the proportion of adults in spawning grounds undergoing gonad maturation should clarify the actual number of spawners and sex ratio, providing a means for more accurate estimation of adult to redd ratios.
Distribution of bull trout in Reservation streams was last documented in 1998. Since then, there have been reports of bull trout presence in streams not previously acknowledged in the distribution. Therefore, upper limits of bull trout distribution will be verified (Objective 9). Bull trout once populated Mill Creek but extensive surveys in 2001 failed to document presence. However, brook trout were found to occupy the survey area in Mill Creek. Habitat restoration is currently underway in Mill Creek. A feasibility study to develop a plan for re-establishment of bull trout in Mill Creek is proposed (Objective 10). Water temperature is a major determinant for bull trout ecology and is therefore part of long-term population monitoring (Objective 11). | Cyndi Baker (Inactive) | | | 11/10/2011 | 03/05/2014 | Cyndi Baker (Inactive) | Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs | Programmatic | None | Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Category Review | Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Categorical Review | BiOp, Fish Accord |
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