76916 REL 18: Rev 1: WE G: Work Element Summary

Work Element Summary PDF

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Basics

Contract Number:

76916 REL 18

Contract Title:

1995-004-00 EXP LIBBY RESERVOIR MITIGATION PLAN

Contract Start Date:

7/1/2021

Contract End Date:

6/30/2022

WE ID:

157. Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data

Work Element Usage Report

Title:

G: 157 - Monitor trend and status of bull trout populations.

Description:

MFWP uses a variety of sampling gears and techniques to monitor trend and status of bull trout that inhabit the tributaries to the Kootenai River. Each particular method is described in the milestone section and within an associated monitoring protocol. These techniques rely on indices of relative abundance to evaluate long-term trends. For example, trends in adult adfluvial and fluvial bull trout abundance is monitored by completing redd counts in eight bull trout core areas.

WE Agreement Type:

Contracted

Deliverable Specification:

Several indices of relative abundance that serve as long-term indicators for trend and status of bull trout inhabiting the tributaries of Montana portion of the Kootenai River Basin. These indices include:

1. Bull trout redd counts in eight core bull trout streams, and associated fine sediment levels within the segments of stream used by spawning bull trout.
2. Fine sediment concentrations in eight core bull trout streams.
3. Estimate bull trout juvenile abundance in eight core bull trout streams.

WSE Effective Budget:

$78,000

% of Total WSE Effective Budget:

6.49%

WSE Start:

07/01/2021

WSE End:

06/30/2022

WSE Completion:

06/01/2022

WSE Progress:

Concluded

WSE ID Continued From:

n/a

WSE ID Continued To:

n/a

Finite or Recurring:

Recurring

Budget History

SOWRevision	Planned	Updated	Contractor Comments (optional)	BPA Comments (optional)
Work Element Budget (Current Performance Period)	$78,000	$78,000

Milestones

9 Milestones

Sort	Type	Title	Start	End	Status	Modified By	Modified Date
A	EC	Environmental compliance requirements complete	7/1/2021	7/31/2021	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	3/30/2021 8:55:53 AM
		Description: On-the-ground work associated with this work element cannot proceed until this milestone is complete. Milestone is complete when final documentation is received from BPA environmental compliance staff.
B	PUBPROTOCOL	Review, revise, and finalize Protocol and Methods in MonitoringResources.org	7/1/2021	6/30/2022	Active	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/18/2021 8:52:43 AM
		Description: The Protocol (including temporal and spatial design) and Methods for this work element are stored at MonitoringResources.org and need to be finalized there, preferably prior to data collection. Preparations for contract renewals must include reviewing any previously finalized Protocols/Methods to ensure that they are consistent with how work will be done in any subsequent contract.
C	BackUp	Secure data back-up	7/1/2021	6/30/2022	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/25/2021 12:28:37 PM
		Description: Minimum requirements: Hard copies of field sheets and original dataloggers secured against fire and flood. At least daily data back-up of electronic data on a separate hard drive. Secure cloud-based or off-site location data back-up to preclude catastrophic data loss at least weekly. More frequent cloud/off-site back-up is greatly encouraged. [Timing guidance: from beginning to end of contract]
D	Upload	Yearly upload of error-checked datasets	7/1/2021	6/30/2022	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/25/2021 12:28:37 PM
		Description: Upload datasets with associated metadata to a publicly accessible site each year as soon as they have been QA/QC checked. This generally happens within 6 months for direct field-to-database input, but may be longer if laboratory analysis is required (e.g., scale reading or genetic analyses). If data is not QA/QCed within 1 year, data must be made accessible with acknowledgement of QA/QC limitations. Periods for dataset collection should be no longer than a year, and coincide with the logical biology of the data collection, which may not be on a calendar year. Example of a dataset: redd counts for one species for one season for a particular brood year. Dataset upload requirements apply to both original and derived data, which should be at a level of quality suitable for release to resource co-managers to make decisions – not the rigor required as if you were going to use the data for a peer-reviewed publication.
E		Conduct McNeil core substrate samples	3/1/2022	4/30/2022	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/25/2021 12:28:37 PM
		Description: FWP monitors bull trout spawning and incubation habitat quality annually in eight bull trout core spawning streams. Successful egg incubation and fry emergence are dependent on gravel composition, gravel permeability, water temperature, and surface flow conditions. Redds become less suitable for incubating embryos if fine sediments and organic materials are deposited in interstitial spaces of the gravel during the incubation period. Measurements of the size range of materials in the streambed are indicative of spawning and incubation habitat quality. In general, research has shown negative relationships between fine sediment and incubation success for salmonids that construct redds (Chapman 1988). A significant inverse relationship exists between the percentage of fine sediment in substrates and survival to emergence of westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout embryos in incubation tests (Weaver and White 1985; Weaver and Fraley 1991, 1993). We monitor bull trout spawning and incubation habitat quality by determining the percent fines in a given spawning area through hollow core sampling across years as an index of incubation and emergence success.
F		Complete juvenile bull trout abundance estimates.	7/1/2021	8/31/2021	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/25/2021 12:28:37 PM
		Description: Juvenile bull trout population estimates will be conducted using mobile electrofishing gear. Population estimates are performed using multiple pass (depletion) estimator techniques in index reaches of 9 bull trout core populations streams including Pipe, Quartz, Grave, Bear, O'Brien, West Fisher, Callahan, and Keeler creeks. Index reaches are located in close proximity to index spawning reaches were bull trout consistently spawn annually.
G		Count bull trout redds in the core bull trout spawning tributaries of the Mt portion of Kootenai Basin.	10/1/2021	10/30/2021	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/25/2021 12:28:37 PM
		Description: MFWP conducted basin-wide surveys in the 1990s to determine the proper timing and geographical extent of bull trout spawning surveys, and used these data to identify index reaches within each tributary that consistently contain most the spawning sites within each tributary. MFWP conducts bull trout redd surveys in the index reaches of West Fisher, Grave, Quartz, Bear, Keeler, Pipe, and O’Brien, Callahan creeks, and the Montana portion of the Wigwam River.
H		Process McNeil core substrate samples	3/1/2022	6/30/2022	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/25/2021 12:28:37 PM
		Description: McNeil core sampling (McNeil and Ahnell 1964) and the subsequent laboratory analyses produce the proportion of stream substrate for various size class intervals. During the field portion of this work element, substrate samples are collected near bull trout spawning sites (redds), and then the samples are processed in the laboratory by sieving the substrate materials through progressively smaller meshed sieves in order to quantify the proportion of the fines (<1/4 inch) present in the stream.
I	DELIV	Trend/status datasets of Montana focal species.		6/30/2022	Concluded	Cecilia Brown (Inactive)	2/25/2021 12:28:37 PM
		Description: Several indices of relative abundance that serve as long-term indicators for trend and status of bull trout inhabiting the tributaries of Montana portion of the Kootenai River Basin. These indices include: 1. Bull trout redd counts in eight core bull trout streams, and associated fine sediment levels within the segments of stream used by spawning bull trout. 2. Fine sediment concentrations in eight core bull trout streams. 3. Estimate bull trout juvenile abundance in eight core bull trout streams.

Metrics

Implementation Metrics

Metric	Planned	Actual	Contractor Comments	Measures	HLIs
1464. Primary R, M, and E Focal Strategy [Population Status, Hydrosystem, Tributary Habitat, Estuary/Ocean, Harvest, Hatchery, Predation, Multiple Strategies]	Population Status	Population Status
1472. Primary R, M, and E Type [Status and Trend Monitoring, Action Effectiveness Research, Uncertainties Research, Project Implementation/ Compliance Monitoring]	Status and Trend Monitoring	Status and Trend Monitoring

Location

Work Site ID	Latitude	Longitude	State	County	Province	Subbasin
107762	48.479237	-115.653946	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai
107763	48.477985	-115.849469	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai
107764	48.590859	-115.615237	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai
107765	48.916561	-114.761674	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai
107766	48.183231	-115.563971	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai
107767	48.998665	-114.811305	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai
107768	48.040426	-115.458516	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai
107769	48.342025	-115.895995	Montana	Lincoln	Mountain Columbia	Kootenai

Focal Species

Primary Focal Species:

Trout, Bull (S. confluentus) (Threatened)

Secondary Focal Species:

None

Environmental Compliance

None

RM&E Metadata

Data Repositories:

Title	Link
MFISH - Montana Fisheries Information System (NO LONGER IN USE - Select FIS instead)	http://fwp.mt.gov/fishing/mFish

Study Plan:

Study Plan Name	Study Plan Owner	Protocol State	Sample Design Name
MFWP Bull Trout Redd Counts v1.0	Ryan Sylvester	Draft	MFWP Bull Trout Redd Counts v1.0

Methods:

ID	Name	Type	Optional	Customized Based On	Status
394	Adult Escapement to Tributary v1.0	Data Analysis/Interpretation	No	N/A	Draft
380	Adult Run Timing v1.0	Data Analysis/Interpretation	No	N/A	Finalized
135	Adult Trap Fish Processing v1.0	Data Collection	No	N/A	Finalized

Metrics:

Title	Category	Subcategory	Subcategory focus 1	Subcategory focus 2
Abundance	Fish	Abundance of Fish (ID: 46)	Fish Life Stage: Adult - Returner	Fish Origin: Both
Run Timing	Fish	Timing of Life Stage: Fish (ID: 101)	Fish Life Stage: Adult - Returner	NA

Please correct the errors noted below.

Implementation Metrics