Concerns about the decline
of native salmon and trout populations have increased among natural
resource managers and the public in recent years. As a result, a multitude
of initiatives have been implemented at the local, state, and federal
government levels. These initiatives include management plans and
actions intended to protect and restore salmonid fishes and their
habitats.
In 1997, Snake River summer
steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were listed as “Threatened”
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This and other ESA listings
have emphasized the need for information about threatened salmonid
populations and their habitats.
The Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is entrusted with “the preservation,
protection, and perpetuation of fish and wildlife....[and to] maximize
public recreational or commercial opportunities without impairing
the supply of fish and wildlife (WAC 77.12.010).” In consideration
of this mandate, the WDFW submitted a proposal to the Washington State
Salmon Recovery Funding Board to assess salmonid distribution and
habitat conditions in some small Snake River tributaries in Southeast
Washington.
From July of 2003 to June
of 2004, the WDFW Fish Management office in Dayton, WA, continued
a monitoring project to investigate fish populations and habitat in
two Snake River tributaries (Penawawa and Alkali Flat Creeks) in Whitman
county (Figure 1), in cooperation with the Whitman Conservation District.
This project was to continue the monitoring efforts that began in
2001 and extended through June of 2003 (Mendel et al, 2004), and followed
the same methods reported in that study. The objectives of this project
were to perform baseline monitoring of salmonid populations and their
habitats by 1) monitoring water temperature and stream discharge throughout
the spring, summer and fall (Figure 2 and 3), 2) conducting spawning
surveys to determine spawn timing, distribution and relative abundance,
and 3) conducting electrofishing surveys to determine relative abundance
and distribution of juvenile steelhead or resident redband trout (Figures
4 and 5). We also collected some genetic samples from steelhead in
these streams.
Information collected during
this project will be useful to government agencies and land managers
as future decisions are made regarding fish management, land use,
and habitat restoration within Whitman county. Landowners and managers
may also benefit from increased access to grants because of the documented
presence of steelhead and an assessment of habitat conditions.
