WE's A-N, AP Kalispel Tribe of Indians
WE's O-AA Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
WE's AB-AJ Spokane Tribe of Indians
WE's AK-AO Colville Confederated Tribes

Goals:
Assess current fishery conditions in the Blocked Area, above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams, by conducting baseline habitat surveys of tributary streams, lakes, and reservoirs and assessing the stocks and status of all resident fish species known to exist in those water bodies.  

Compile fisheries, habitat, and water quality data into a unified database.  The Blocked Area fisheries information housed in a central location allows managers to view the entire system while making management decisions, rather than basing decisions on isolated portions of the system.

Recommend and implement management actions based on research results.

Background:  
The project Resident Fish Stock Status Above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams (also known as the Joint Stock Assessment Project; JSAP), developed in 1997, is a cooperative project designed and guided jointly by fisheries managers in the Blocked Area; the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the Colville Confederated Tribes.   The initial year of the project (1997) identified the need for a central data storage and analysis facility, coordination with the StreamNet project, compilation of Blocked Area fisheries information, and a report on the ecological condition of the Spokane River System.  These needs were addressed in 1998 by acquiring a central location with a data storage and analysis system, coordinating a pilot project with StreamNet, compiling fisheries distribution data throughout the Blocked Area, identifying data gaps based on compiled information, and researching the ecological condition of the Spokane River.

In order to perform joint stock assessment, the participants needed to develop a central database of fisheries related data for the Blocked Area that would be accessible to all Blocked Area managers.  Initial development of the database involved collecting all existing data, and storing them in various electronic formats at the Kalispel Tribe JSAP office in Spokane, WA.  Data gaps were identified and new investigations were initiated to fill those gaps.  A Unified JSAP Database was constructed in 2002, incorporating all data compiled for the Blocked Area to date into a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database.  

In order to ensure that any additional information collected throughout the life of this project will be easily stored and manipulated in the Unified JSAP Database, it was necessary to develop standardized methodologies between the JSAP fisheries managers.  Common collection and analytical methodologies were developed in 1999, and revised in 2002.  Since 1999, the project has been addressing some of the identified data gaps throughout the Blocked Area.  

Projects developed and undertaken by JSAP fisheries managers include investigations of the Pend Orielle River and its tributaries, the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation.  Specific projects include migration patterns of adfluvial and reservoir fish in Box Canyon Reservoir and its tributaries, a baseline assessment of Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries, ecological assessment of mountain lakes in Pend Oreille County, and assessments of seven streams and four lakes on the Spokane Indian Reservation.  These projects were completed through 2000.  Assessments of the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, tributaries to the Pend Oreille River, lakes throughout Pend Oreille County, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation were conducted in 2001, 2002, and 2003.  

In 2004, WDFW and the Kalispel Tribe identified as a priority the need to assess the current warmwater fishery conditions of the Box Canyon Reservoir, Pend Oreille River.  A standardized electrofishing, gillnetting, and fyke netting survey was conducted following the WDFW Standard Fish Sampling Guidelines for Washington State Ponds and Lakes (Bonar et al. 2000).  Additionally, baseline stream habitat, fish distribution, and abundance were determined for the Skookum Creek watershed, remaining tributaries in the Middle Spokane and Little Spokane watersheds, and upper Tshimikain Creek in 2004.    

In 2005, The Kalispel Tribe initiated a radiotelemetry study of northern pike in the Box Canyon Reservoir, Pend Oreille River to determine seasonal distribution, migration patterns and timing, habitat use, and locate potential spawning areas.  Tracking 25 tagged fish will continue into the summer of 2006.  Littoral and limnetic surveys of Deer and Loon lakes were completed in 2005.  WDFW personnel aided the Lake Roosevelt White Sturgeon Recovery project conducting white sturgeon stock assessments in 2004 and 2005.  Spokane Arm Lake Roosevelt tributary surveys were completed to determine baseline stream habitat conditions, fish distribution, and critical low flow conditions.

In 2006, the project will complete the Harvey Creek kokanee spawning run monitoring.  Monitoring of the spawning run (2002-2006) is being conducted to establish trend data for the population, which was identified as a priority by regional managers due the relatively high variability in run sizes observed in previous years.  The run is monitored annually using a weir-style trap from early October through mid to late December.  Data collected during kokanee spawn monitoring includes species, length, weight, sex, reproductive condition, and fecundity.  The Kalispel Tribe will continue investigating the status of northern pike in the Pend Oreille River by conducting a diet analysis, a mark-recapture population estimate, and a recruitment study, in addition to continuing the tracking study through summer 2006.  A burbot stock assessment protocol will be developed for eastern Washington lakes, using CPUE, and the status of burbot stocks in Bead, Marshall, and Sullivan lakes will be determined.  A statistical model of redband rainbow trout presence as a function of stream habitat will be developed to help managers prioritize conservation and enhancement activities.  Work will continue on adfluvial spawner use of tributaries to the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt and baseline habitat conditions of those tributaries.  Data from all collection activities, as well as the compilation of current and historical Colville Tribe fisheries, habitat, and water quality data will be submitted to the JSAP database manager for inclusion in the JSAP UDB.  

Location:  
The Joint Stock Assessment Project area (Blocked Area) covers 9.3 million acres with elevations ranging from 1000 feet above mean sea level to 7200 feet above mean sea level.  The project boundary is defined as all water body areas lying upstream of Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River System within the State of Washington.  Although the Blocked Area extends north and east into Canada and Idaho, respectively, the project area includes only the portion in Washington State at this time.  The northern and eastern boundaries lie within the Northern Rocky Mountains, while the southern and western boundaries lie within the volcanic soils of the Columbia Plateau.