Comment on proposed FY 2006 budget

WDFW desires to continue this project (old contract #16701) for FY2006 (new contract #22537) and the FY2006 budget is consistent with the proposed budget of 305K. This budget represents a 4% across the board increase ($11K) over the FY2005 budget (293K). This project will experience increased costs associated with personnel raises (3.2% as of 07/01/05, first one in 5 years), annual COLA merit increases of 5% (as of 03/01/05), and fuel surcharges of a 7% median per billing cycle implemented by GSA Fleet Services. The 4% (11K) increase in funding appears to be sufficient to cover these costs. However, recent success in the projects' goal of bull trout monitoring will require additional personnel and equipment to intensively monitor the results of having radio tagged the first bull trout in Bonneville Reservoir. Proposed expansion includes: temporary personnel (1 nine month position @ 30.4K), equipment (mobile radio telemetry @ roughly 15K), on-water vessel monitoring (annual costs of 10K), 4 aerial monitoring flights (22.6K); total expanded needs equal $100.5K (29% overhead included). This expansion is necessary to optimize the potential for data acquisition in the efforts to better understand and manage bull trout within Bonneville Reservoir. Note: due to hiring freeze in FY2004, project objectives were only partially met; as of 05/16/05, WDFW contract #16701 had an unspent balance of $98,979.

Accomplishments since the last review

Spring 2005 Capture, tag, release and monitor first ever Radio, PIT, and Floy tagged bull trout within Bonneville Reservoir (Results of ODFW coordination) Summer 2004 Completed renovation of Lyle Falls #5 Fish Ladder Summer 2004 Completed subcontract with Yakama Nation Summer 2004 Database design and development Summer/Fall 2004 Hired Project Biologist and Technician personnel Sum/Fall/Wnter 2004/2005 Through 02/28/05, 5,112 hours of fish ladder operation and trapping, capture, sample, mark/tag 3,370 salmonids (bull trout=0, chinook=292, coho=2051, steelhead W=539 & H=488). Monitoring and operation 7 days a week annually Fall 2004 Creel surveys, 89 angler contacts, bull trout public outreach. Documented report of recreationally landed bull trout from Klickitat River, spring 2003, River Mile 8 Winter 2004 Coordination with ODFW, WDFW, USFWS, USGS, FCRPS, YKFP, U of Idaho for bull trout research within Bonneville Reservoir Winter 2004 Completed PISCES conversion and FY2005 Contract Spring 2005 FY 2004 annual report Spring 2005 Public Outreach Meeting, Goldendale, WA Spring 2005 50% completion to date, of Drano Lakes’ bull trout capture methodology research Spring 2005 March 21, 2005, documented incidental catch of adult bull trout (390mm) at Bonneville Dam by smolt bypass project (Results of FCRPS coordination) Spring 2005 Lyle High School student internship development. Also approached Mt Hood C.C. Opportunity will be extended Fall 2005

FY 2006 goals and anticipated accomplishments

Many of the FY2006 goals will be analogous to FY2005 with an expanded scope to include radio tracking of the tagged specimen within Bonneville Reservoir and genetic analysis of the DNA sample. Additional efforts to coordinate with multiple entities to monitor ingress/egress within Bonneville Reservoir and increase tagged specimens for tracking. Sp/Smr/Fall/Wnter 2005 Monitor tagged bull trout in Bonneville Reservoir (Coordination with U of Idaho, ODFW, WDFW) Sp/Smr/Fall/Wnter 2005 Capture and tag additional bull trout specimens within Bonneville Reservoir Spring 2005 Complete Drano Lake bull trout capture methodology evaluation Sp/Smr/Fall/Wnter 2005 Operate Lyle Falls Fish Ladder for migrating bull trout Sp/Smr/Fall 2005 Creel survey, hatchery spawn and natural spawn sample for mark/recapture analysis. Fall 2005 High School and Mt Hood C.C. internship development Fall 2005 Manage Administer Project, FY2006 SOW, bull trout conference Fall 2005 Outreach and Education, public meetings, TBD Winter 2005 Analyze data from capture methodology and upstream migrant monitoring, Winter 2005 FY2005 annual report Winter 2005 FY2006 SOW Winter 2005 Yakama Nation subcontract development

Subbasin planning

How is this project consistent with subbasin plans?

This project is consistent with the following subbasin recommendations: --Klickitat River Subbasin Plan: Section 4.6.1, p112 (Table 18), bull trout identified as Focal Species. Section 4.6.4, p122, P2, “. . not enough is known about bull trout in Klickitat Subbasin to confidently state the life forms present”. P1, paraphrased, life forms coexist sympatrically and one may give rise another. Section 6.5.3, Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, p360, specifically calls for presence/absence research into juvenile/adfluvial populations with two goals; 1) limiting factors analysis, 2) comparative genetic analysis to other regional stocks --Columbia Gorge Mainstem Subbasin Plan: Section 3.2.1, p 23, P1, bull trout recognized as species of significance (Table 6, p113). Section 3.2.1, p24, Resident Salmonids, describes historical accounts of bull trout presence within multiple subbasin watersheds and Bonneville Reservoir yet scientific body of knowledge is insufficient to inform decisions on resource management in the subbasin. --Klickitat Subbasin Anadromous Fishery Master Plan: Section 3.2.3, p28-29, documents existing resident and fluvial life stages and calls for future work on life history and genetic characteristic assessments, and evaluations of potential reintroduction.

How do goals match subbasin plan priorities?

Numerous subbasin plans determine focal species by their ESA listed status while others identify them by geographic, economic or cultural significance. The Klickitat River Subbasin plan is the only plan that specifically lists bull trout as a focal species while the Columbia Gorge Mainstem Subbasin Plan lists the bull trout as a species of significance. Lower Mid Columbia Subbasin plan (section 5.1.2, p150) designates species based upon the amount and types of existing information as does the Big White Salmon Subbasin plan (section 4.6.1, p68) . This distinct lack of knowledge therefore precludes bull trout from being specifically listed as a priority within subbasin plans that rely upon existing data and research. This critical lack of available science by which management decisions are guided therefore escalates the level of priority for initial baseline research although not specifically stated within the subbasin plans themselves.

Other comments

WDFW completed a stock assessment report for bull trout and Dolly Varden in 1998 which identified 80 different stocks statewide. Of these 80 stocks, 18% were healthy, 3% depressed, 8% critical and 72% unknown. The following references call for action in an attempt to alleviate the vast data gap for bull trout within Washington State and the Lower Columbia River. --1994/1995, NWPCC’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, Section 10.5A.6 provides impetus for initial bull trout project development, WA1999-02400, Bull trout Population Assessment in Columbia River Gorge. BPA Project WA2003-06500 is an outgrowth of 1999-02400 to encompass Bonneville Reservoir and Klickitat River where extant populations exist. --2000-19, NWPCC’s revised F&W Program, page 17, addresses resident bull trout losses as a result of FCRPS operations, 4 objectives listed, first relates to baseline development, last 3 relate to restore, maintain, protect naturally viable populations. Specific objectives and priority development by species have been deferred to the respective subbasin plans. --December 2000, USFWS BioOp for bull trout, required actions from sections: 10.A.2.1: determine extent of bull trout use of LCR affected by the FCRPS 10.A.2.1.c: . . estimate the annual population size of bull trout migrating to and from LCR reservoirs and develop abundance trends over time. 11.A.2.1.d: . . cooperate in studies to determine the movements of bull trout from Hood River and other tributaries into Bonneville Reservoir. As evidenced in the aforementioned subbasin plans and their focal species determinations, this data gap has yet to be significantly narrowed.WDFW completed a stock assessment report for bull trout and Dolly Varden in 1998 which identified 80 different stocks statewide. Of these 80 stocks, 18% were healthy, 3% depressed, 8% critical and 72% unknown. The following references call for action in an attempt to alleviate the vast data gap for bull trout within Washington State and the Lower Columbia River. --1994/1995, NWPCC’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, Section 10.5A.6 provides impetus for initial bull trout project development, WA1999-02400, Bull trout Population Assessment in Columbia River Gorge. BPA Project WA2003-06500 is an outgrowth of 1999-02400 to encompass Bonneville Reservoir and Klickitat River where extant populations exist. --2000-19, NWPCC’s revised F&W Program, page 17, addresses resident bull trout losses as a result of FCRPS operations, 4 objectives listed, first relates to baseline development, last 3 relate to restore, maintain, protect naturally viable populations. Specific objectives and priority development by species have been deferred to the respective subbasin plans. Due to the lack of baseline information, few subbasin plans include bull trout as Focal species which again precludes them from management efforts to attain the last three objectives of the F&W Program, 2000-19. --December 2000, USFWS BioOp for bull trout, required actions from sections: 10.A.2.1: determine extent of bull trout use of LCR affected by the FCRPS 10.A.2.1.c: . . estimate the annual population size of bull trout migrating to and from LCR reservoirs and develop abundance trends over time. 11.A.2.1.d: . . cooperate in studies to determine the movements of bull trout from Hood River and other tributaries into Bonneville Reservoir. As evidenced in the aforementioned subbasin plans and their focal species determinations, this data gap has yet to be significantly narrowed.