Comment on proposed FY 2006 budget

We request that this project be renewed, and the budget for FY06 is consistent with our expectations.

Accomplishments since the last review

Major accomplishments in FY03 • Performed 477 fish and habitat surveys in southwest Idaho in 2003. • Analyzed the factors affecting the distribution and abundance of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the Upper Snake River Basin. Incorporated into 2002 annual report. Major accomplishments in FY04 • Completed a Bull Trout Status Assessment for Idaho in December 2004. It will be submitted for publication in a scientific journal. • Performed 400 fish and habitat surveys in southwest Idaho in 2004. • Installed and retrieved temperature loggers from over 200 locations to monitor summer (Jun – Sep) water temperature, bringing our total number of locations where we have joint surveys of water temperature and fish survey information to over 200. • Completed the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Status Assessment in Idaho in July 2004. It will be submitted for publication in a scientific journal. Incorporated into 2003 annual report. Major accomplishments in FY05 • Finalized sample site selection, study methodology, and hypotheses to be tested for our redband trout genetic study. Analysis is underway. • Finished analyzing the effectiveness of a 3-year brook trout removal project that ended in 2003. This data will be in the 2004 annual report and will soon be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. • Completed one of two parts of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout genetic analysis using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analysis to determine purity, relatedness, genetic diversity, and other questions. Both parts will be submitted for publication in scientific journals. • Finished first year evaluating an alternative technique (pheromone attractants) for brook trout removal from streams where they threaten native salmonids. It will be submitted for publication in a scientific journal, and also will be Part 2 of 2004 annual report.

FY 2006 goals and anticipated accomplishments

Major accomplishments in FY06 • Conduct 2nd year of study on pheromone attractants to remove brook trout from streams. • Finalize data collection at 70 additional study sites (mostly large-river mark-recapture surveys) for a Mountain Whitefish Status Assessment in the Upper Snake River Basin. • Collect remaining genetic fin clips necessary for redband trout genetic study. • Initiate a graduate student study to evaluate growth of RBT from desert vs. montane streams to assess differences. • Initiate the Redband Trout Status Assessment. • Continue to compile data into a database.

Subbasin planning

How is this project consistent with subbasin plans?

Consistency: The project is consistent with and implements Aquatic Strategies in a number of subbasin plans. Boise/Payette/Weiser Subbasin Plan - strategies 2A1, 2A2, 2B3, 2c1 thru 8, 3A1 thru 4, 3B1 thru 4, 3C1 thru 4, 4A1 thru 8 Bruneau Subbasin Plan - strategies 6A2, 8A1 thru 3, 8B1 thru 2, 8C1 thru 3, 8D1 thru 3, 9A1 thru 3 Middle Snake Subbasin Plan - strategies 3A1, 3A2, 3Ba, 3B3, 3B5, 3C3, 4B5, 11A1, 11B1, 11B2, 11B3 Upper Snake Subbasin Plan - strategies IG1a thru f, ILa thru g, IM1a, IM1g, IN1a thru e, IN2a thru f All of these strategies are aimed at protecting native salmonids, restoriing their habitat, evaluating their status and viability, assessing limiting factors for populations of native salmonids, and developing recovery strategies from these findings. Priority: Two subbasin plans in my area of work (Owyhee and Upper Snake) have no designated priorities. My project accomplishes priority work outlined in the remaining subbasin plans because the Prioritization Framework in the Management Plan puts as a high priority the evaluation and protection of native salmonid habitat, limiting factor analysis, status assessments, and other related work. Priorities this project addresses within a combination of any and all the subbasins outlined above include 1) determining impacts of predaceous species on redband trout and mountain whitefish, 2) determining genetic purity and variability among and within redband trout populations, 3) obtaining a better understanding of factors limiting native salmonid populations, 4) obtain population parameter data for mountain whitefish including natality, mortality, distribution, movements, etc., and 5) assess thermal tolerance for native salmonids.

How do goals match subbasin plan priorities?

The goals outlined for FY06 are in agreement with the priorities outlined in the above response. Goals 1) Coordination of all data collection and data sharing will help accomplish all the priorities listed above. Goal 2) Status assessments for both redband trout and mountain whitefish would be valuable for determining priority populations in need of protection or restoration, and for initiating limiting factor analysis to assess what factors appear to be influencing the current status of these native salmonids (priorities 2, 3, 4, and 5 above). Goal 3) Assessing another form of brook trout removal will help identify whether this new technique can be effective in controlling the spread of this nonnative salmonid that is a major limiting factor to many populations of native salmonids in the Upper Snake River Basin (priority 3 above). Goal 3) Initiating the redband trout growth study will help us understand the uniqueness of the desert redband trout, and help evaluate the extent that water temperature is a limting factor for desert and montane redband trout (priority 3 above). Goal 4) Finalizing data collection and moving forward with the redband trout genetic study will also help prioritize core populations in need of protection as well as populations that need rehabilitation or restoration (priority 2 above). Goal 5) Collecting mountain whitefish population abundance data as well as population dynamics characterization addresses priority 4 above. Goal 6) Data storage in a database facilitates quick and easy data sharing which this project has done extensively, and addresses all the priorities outlined above.

Other comments

This project was originally designed with 3 phases: 1) assess current status and population trends for native salmonids in the Upper Snake River Basin; 2) identify major limiting factors; and 3) develop and implement recovery plans and strategies. With fish surveys at over 2,300 stream locations in the first seven years of the project, phase 1 has nearly been completed, except for a genetic assessment of redband trout and status of mountain whitefish, both of which will have field work completed by 2005). By 2006 or 2007 (after 8 field seasons), we will have produced status assessments for all four native salmonids in the Upper Snake River Basin (Yellowstone cutthroat trout, bull trout, redband trout, and mountain whitefish). Data collected during Phase 1 has also been used to develop more-focused investigations into the major limiting factors for native salmonid populations at risk. These investigations are partially being implemented at this time of transition to Phase 2, but are not yet fully formulated or underway. We estimate that they will continue through 2009 or 2010. At that point, focus of the project will shift to Phase 3. We have already begun, where possible, to initiate Phase 3 (develop and implement recovery plans and strategies) with fish, wildlife, land, and water managers in the Upper Snake River Basin. We anticipate that full implementation of this phase will take several years. The original timeline we outlined in our original proposal was that it would take until 2015 for full implementation of this project. Assuming funding continues, it appears that our original timeline is going to be accurate.