ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY

This project was originally titled the Idaho Steelhead Supplementation Studies (SSS) and it was designed to assess the effects of supplementation and to gather life history and genetic data from wild steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss populations.  The experimental design was submitted to BPA in December, 1992 and field work began in 1993.  The small scale supplementation experiments were completed in 2003.  The project was renamed Idaho Steelhead Monitoring & Evaluation Studies (ISMES) to acknowledge that wild steelhead population dynamics, life-history, and genetics has always been the primary goal of this project.

ISMES cooperates with and complements the other projects in the Idaho Anadromous Natural Production Program (Idaho Supplementation Studies and Idaho Natural Production Monitoring & Evaluation Project) as well as research conducted by other resource management entities operating in areas upstream of Lower Granite Dam (LGR). This Statement of Work is for the project fiscal year 2006 (January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006).

RELATIONSHIP TO SALMONID RECOVERY PLANNING & MANAGEMENT

Current mandates for research and monitoring directed at natural production of anadromous salmonids are derived from two sources: the Northwest Power & Conservation Council (NPCC) and the 2000 National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion on the operation of the Federal Hydrosystem (BIOP). These are further explicated and directed by Interior Columbia Basin Technical Recovery Team (ICBTRT), the Federal Caucus Basinwide Salmon Recovery Strategy (FCBSRS), Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (CBFWP), NPCC subbasin assessments, and the draft Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RME) plan. Specifically, the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) Action 180 of the NMFS BIOP calls for the development of hierarchical basin wide monitoring programs to collaborate with regional agencies, such as IDFG, to determine population and environmental status. Agencies have primary responsibility for data collection (BIOP p 9-165). On the state level, the IDFG 2001-2006 Fisheries Management Plan also identifies monitoring and evaluation as crucial to conservation and management of anadromous fish populations.

ISMES has produced data relevant to evaluation of downstream passage, population status, and life-history characteristics of wild steelhead in Idaho. Performance of the RPA is evaluated in terms of population growth rate, abundance, genetic and life history diversity, and spatial distribution within ESU. This is addressed in the draft Tributary RME plan and uses

In summary, ISMES has been of great benefit to steelhead assessment and management efforts. Much of the status information on wild steelhead in Idaho that was presented in the BIOP was developed from data gathered by ISMES.  With appropriate evaluation, and planning, ISMES will continue to develop relevant data for steelhead management in Idaho.

In addition to gathering and providing information on wild steelhead status, this project has provided managers with bull trout escapement at Rapid River, resident trout abundances in tributaries of the Clearwater and Salmon drainages, migration timing of resident trout, and has PIT-tagged chinook parr, juvenile bull trout and cutthroat trout at Rapid River and Fish Creek.


COORDINATION

ISMES uses data from a variety of sources from the Snake River drainage that is upstream of LGR and accessible to anadromous salmonids. Collection of these data requires coordination and cooperation among numerous agencies and projects, e.g. the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the United States Forest Service (USFS), the Nez Perce Tribe (NPT), the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (SBT), and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).  

Internal IDFG cooperators include the Idaho Supplementation Supplementation Studies (ISS, projects 198909800, 198909801, and 198909802), Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Evaluation, and Idaho Natural Production Monitoring & Evaluation Project (INPMEP project 1991-073-00), and IDFG regional fisheries biologists and managers.

ISMES provides data to cooperators. Project data is uploaded to the Columbia Basin PIT tag database (PTAGIS). This project manages and maintains a long-term juvenile steelhead density database from its summer snorkel surveys, a stream temperature database, an aging database of adult and juvenile steelhead, and is in the processes of completing a statewide genetic analysis of 72 wild steelhead populations.  These data track historical trends and current status of steelhead populations in Idaho, as well as populations of resident fishes and Chinook salmon parr. Data generated by this project are used to assess annual migrations and the effect of the federal hydrosystem upon them. However, there are many other potential applications for ISMES data. For example, data collected by this project has been used in recent status reviews of westslope cutthroat and bull trout.

CURRENT STATUS

In 2006, our monitoring activities will be similar to what was done in 2005.  We will install and operate a weir in Fish Creek to estimate steelhead escapement.  We plan to continue running screw traps in Fish Creek, Lick Creek, and Secesh River.  We propose to install a screw trap in Rapid River downstream of the Rapid River Hatchery if we obtain approval from the landowner. Operating screw traps in Rapid River, Secesh River, and Lick Creek will allow us to gather important life-history data such as: length and age of smolts, smolt migration patterns, and number of migrants.  This juvenile and smolt life-history data is similar to the data collected at Fish Creek, allowing comparisons among the streams.  We will assess juvenile steelhead abundance in tributary streams of the Lochsa River, Selway River, SF Salmon River, and the upper Salmon River.  I will prepare manuscripts for peer reviewed journals that describe the genetic stock structure of Idaho's steelhead populations, productivity of the Fish Creek population, and if time permits a description of steelhead parr and smolt age and growth in Idaho streams.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Objective 1:  Assess the abundance, habitat, and life history characteristics of existing steelhead populations in the Salmon River and Clearwater River drainages.   We monitor the juvenile steelhead densities in streams using snorkel surveys, enumerate wild adult steelhead escapement in Fish Creek and Rapid River, operate screw traps to PIT-tag juvenile steelhead, collect tissue samples for DNA analysis, calculate growth rates, and determine the age of juvenile migrants.

Objective 2:  Information transfer.  Provide information, data, and analysis to IDFG regional and Fishery Bureau staff as requested to help in management decisions regarding Idaho steelhead.