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Baseline
Assessment of Salmonids in Tributaries of the Snake and Grande Ronde
Rivers in Southeast Washington
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SE Washington
Fish Reports
Baseline
Assessment of Salmonids in Tributaries of the Snake and Grande Ronde
Rivers in Southeast Washington
Glen Mendel, Michael Gembala, Jeremy Trump and Chris Fulton
Executive
Summary
We collected data
to provide information regarding distribution, relative abundance,
and species composition, while obtaining tissue samples for age and
growth or genetic analyses. This effort was part of our salmonid population/stock
assessment in selected streams in southeast Washington where data
were most limited. Small amounts of funding came from several sources
to enable us to combine the following objectives or projects:
1) increase
our field sampling of small streams or stream reaches in Asotin
County,
2) begin sampling
Wenaha Basin tributaries within WA, particularly for bull trout
information, and
3) continue
bull trout monitoring efforts in the Tucannon Basin, and expand
those efforts to include collection of tissues for a collaborative
genetic evaluation of metapopulation structure and to assist with
PIT tagging for evaluation of movements. Most of our efforts were
concentrated on fish population assessment, but a limited amount
of habitat assessment was included.
The sampling efforts
and results documented here are mostly from 2005, but some data from
previous years are included. The 2005 field efforts provide only partial
fulfillment of the goals and objectives of the various projects combined
in this report. For example, we were only partially successful obtaining
40 tissue samples that met our genetic sampling protocol from juvenile
bull trout in each of seven reaches of the upper Tucannon watershed.
Low densities of fish, equipment problems, and restricted access because
of a large wildfire precluded us from meeting our sampling goals.
In addition, we were unable to electrofish in Butte Creek because
of restricted access and safety issues surrounding the 52,000 acre
School Fire in 2005.
We were successful
in obtaining valuable new baseline information that is useful for
assessing salmonid stock status, particularly in portions of the lower
Grande Ronde tributaries and the Wenaha basin within Washington State.
We were able to obtain tissue samples from many fish from several
drainages that will be useful for age, growth, and genetic analyses
in the future.
Currently we still
have streams or stream reaches where we have almost no actual field
sampling information. We hope to secure additional funding for each
of the next 2-4 years to enable us to continue this effort to collect
baseline data regarding salmonids and their habitats in areas where
limited or no data currently exists in southeast Washington. Our ultimate
goal is to then use this baseline data to guide development of a comprehensive
monitoring and evaluation program that would implement appropriate
long-term monitoring of the status and trends of salmonid populations
in these small tributaries.
We trust that
the information documented here will be useful to fish and habitat
managers, as well as subbasin and salmonid recovery planners, for
protecting and restoring salmonid resources in southeast Washington
tributaries within the Snake River Basin.
Introduction
Concerns about
the decline of native salmon and trout populations have increased
among natural resource managers and the public in recent years. In
1992, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated
both Snake River fall-run chinook and spring/summer-run chinook (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha) as threatened species under the Endangered Species
Act. In 1997, NOAA designated Snake River summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus
mykiss) as a threatened species. Then, in 1998, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
as a threatened species in the Columbia basin.
These listings
have emphasized the need for information regarding the status of salmonid
populations and their habitats. As a result, a multitude of initiatives
have been implemented at the local, state, and federal government
levels. These initiatives include completing several management plans
(e.g. draft Bull Trout Recovery Plan -USFWS 2002, several Subbasin
Plans, and the Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan – SRSRB 2005),
and numerous actions intended to conserve and restore salmonid fishes
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 District Fish Management staff in Dayton,
Washington implemented several projects to investigate the status
of salmonid populations and their habitats within Pataha Creek (Mendel
et al. 1999), George Creek, Tenmile Creek, and Couse Creek in 2000
(Mendel et al. 1999, Mendel et al. 2001). This effort was expanded
in 2001-2003 to include multiple watersheds within Asotin, Garfield,
and Whitman counties (Mendel et al. 2004a). In 2004-2005, district
staff continued monitoring efforts in southeast Washington streams
for three related projects with multiple funding sources, including
cost share from WDFW:
1) A contract
from the Asotin County Conservation District, with BPA funding to
sample small streams in Asotin County,
2) A contract
with the Spokane Office of the USFWS to collect tissue samples from
juvenile bull trout in upper stream reaches of the Tucannon Basin
for a collaborative genetic study of metapopulation structure, and
3) monitoring
bull trout distribution and relative abundance in the Tucannon and
Wenaha Basin in southeast Washington with ESA Section 6 funding
from the USFWS. Sampling efforts concentrated on streams suspected
of rearing bull trout or rainbow/steelhead. Most of the streams
sampled in 2005 have little or no prior documentation of species
composition, fish distribution, or stock status.
Information collected
as part of these projects will be useful to government agencies, citizens,
and land managers to guide future decisions regarding fish management,
land use, and habitat restoration in southeast Washington. Landowners
and managers may also benefit from increased access to conservation
funding programs as a result of the documented presence of chinook,
steelhead, and bull trout and an assessment of habitat conditions.
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