Comment on proposed FY 2006 budget

The budget appears correct for the ongoing mitigation program. This amount will be necessary to fund scheduled mitigation actions including the South Fork Flathead River Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Project and renovation of the Sekokini Springs Natural Rearing Facility. The SF WCT project is in the final EIS stage and cooperating agencies are expected to issue RODs during fall 2005. The Sekokini Springs project was recently set back during review by ISRP until certain questions are answered. I expect both projects to be implemented in FY06. MFWP also requests $2 million of BPA’s capital funding for land acquisitions and conservation easements during FY06 to protect fisheries habitat and associated riparian and wetlands. Montana has an NPCC-approved loss statement and has negotiated a fish crediting strategy with BPA, which allows BPA to use capital dollars for this purpose (Contact Joe DeHerrera, BPA project manager).

Accomplishments since the last review

This project uses a combination of stream habitat restoration, fish passage improvement, hatchery technology and offsite mitigation to offset NPCC-approved fisheries losses caused by the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. Note: All location coordinates are decimal degrees; Montana State Plane 1999 – Hubbart Reservoir was treated with 800 gallons of rotenone at minimum pool elevation to remove an over abundance of yellow perch. 2000 - Eliminated two fish passage barriers in Paola Creek; one at Highway 2 crossing and one at Forest Service Road 1638 crossing. A final fish passage barrier was eliminated in 2000 and involved modifying a gradient check structure at the railroad bridge abutment. 2000 - Completed a minimum instream flow study on the South Fork Flathead River (Marotz and Muhlfeld 2000). The new minimum flow requirement was implemented by the BoR in 2001. 2000 - Completed a stream restoration and revegetation project in the lower 1.9 km of Emery Creek, a major spawning tributary to Hungry Horse Reservoir. 2000 - Participated in a cooperative fencing project in Rogers Lake with 2 other agencies and upgraded the boat ramp. 2002- Completed riparian fencing and stream restoration project in Dayton Creek. 2001 - Restored natural pool frequency to that of undisturbed referenced reaches in Hay Creek, a tributary to the North Fork Flathead River. 2002 - Dredged approximately 13,000 cubic feet of sediments and organic material from Dry Bridge Slough to deepen the existing channel and improve conditions for rearing trout. 2003 - Installed two unpstream barriers to fish migration in Abbot Creek to prevent access by hybrid rainbow trout. 2003 - Installed an upstream barrier on Gooderich Bayou to prevent rainbow trout spawning. The barrier enlarged a pond upstream providing rearing habitat for westslope cutthroat. 2003 and 2004 - Began cooperative project with the US Forest Service to replace or remove road culverts to reduce fine sediments in critical spawning areas in Coal, Granite, Whale, Red Meadow, and Big Creeks. 2004 - Completed species inventories of Mountain Lakes scheduled for chemical rehabilitation to remove nonnative fish species from the S. F. Flathead River. 2004 - Completed plan to restore LWD and natural stream pattern in Hallowat Creek. 2005- Reconstructed 1,500 foot channelized reach in Haskill Creek.

FY 2006 goals and anticipated accomplishments

Summer 2005- Construct the Hallowat Creek Restoration Project to improve spawning and rearing habitat conditions for bull trout. Fall 2005 and summer 2006- Install permanent barrier in Rabe Creek to prevent hybrid trout from using the stream for spawning. Fall 2005- Improve the existing upstream barrier to fish migration in Abbot Creek to prevent access by hybrid rainbow trout and install geotextile fabric matting in a 50 m section below the barrier to eliminate spawning habitat. Fall 2005- Install permanent barrier in Taylor’s Outflow to prevent hybrid trout from using the stream for spawning. Winter 2005-2006. Complete IFIM model for Flathead River and conduct time-series analyses for various dam operation scenarios. Sekokini Springs Natural Rearing Facility: Convert two existing rearing ponds into four ponds with water surface elevation control and littoral habitat enhancement. Mountain Lakes Project: Chemically eradicate hybrid fish from 3 lakes.

Subbasin planning

How is this project consistent with subbasin plans?

Hungry Horse Mitigation Program proposed actions for FY2006 are consistent with the Flathead Subbasin Plan. On page 87 (Table 10.3), the plan lists the objectives, priority rankings and briefly describes those management objectives related to each overall objective. Specifically, this project addresses the following overall objectives, and relates those objectives to specific management objectives and associated strategies outlined within the Management Plan: 1. Restore normative mainstem riparian; M1 (p. 21), and RW1 (p. 49) and reduce fine sediments M4 (p. 24). 2. Modify Hungry Horse Dam operation 50% closer to normative M33 (p. 23). 3. Protect and restore tributary habitat in class 1 to 2.5 streams, T1-T6 (p.26-32). 4. Improve HH Res. Conditions by reducing drawdown and improving refill R2 (p.34) and water retention time R4 (p.36). 5. Bull trout monitoring and restoration BT1 and BT2 (p. 39-41). 6. Westslope cutthroat research and restoration WCT1-WCT4 (p. 44-47). 7. Improve and protect riparian and wetland habitat RW1-3 (p. 49-51) and RW6 (p. 54) weed control. 9. Suppress and remove nonnative species; BT1 ( p.39), WCT3-4 (p.46-47). 10. Reduce and prevent nonnative introductions, BT3 (p.41), WCT1-2 (p. 45-46). 11. Increase habitat diversity to reference levels T3 (p. 28), R3 (p. 35) is done with BoR. 12. Improve channel stability to reference conditions M1 and T2 (p. 27). 13. Improve habitat connectivity T5 (p. 31). 14. Restore normative thermal regime in mainstem M3 (p. 23). In addition, the Assessment identified stream temperature, riparian condition, channel stability and fine sediment (in descending order) as the key limiting factors for resident salmonids. In the regulated mainstem, they are altered flows, riparian condition, fine sediment and channel stability, and in the reservoirs they are migratory obstructions, volumetric turnover rates, hydraulic regime and trophic status.

How do goals match subbasin plan priorities?

We identified three primary aquatic limiting factors in the Flathead River Subbasin: (1) impoundment and hydro operations, (2) physical habitat alteration(in addition to impoundments and hydro operations), and (3) the introduction of non-native species. These three primary limiting factors resulted in at least 18 important secondary limiting factors that negatively affect habitat, fish, and wildlife. Our objectives and strategies address each of these limiting factors (Management Plan, Tables 10.1 and 10.2) for mainstem, tributaries, reservoirs, and lakes and for focal fish species (bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout). The highest priority (urgent) objectives relative to this project are: Restore normative mainstem hydrograph, Suppress and remove nonnative species, Improve and protect critical habitat (complexity) and fish passage; Restore/maintain population size required for populations to persist, Restore/maintain population stability, connectivity, and habitat conditions required for recruitment. All of our projects are considered urgent or high priority as determined by limiting factors.

Other comments

This exercise is duplicative as all the information is already provided in the Flathead Subbasin Plan, Pices, SOWs and Project Reports. These types of administrative duties continue to increase our project management and administration workload, which reduces on-the-ground benefits to fish and wildlife populations.