DESCRIPTION
The Methow Bull Trout Population Assessment Project will provide information critical to the assessment of bull trout population recovery in the Upper Columbia and lead to identification and prioritization of projects to reconnect and restore bull trout habitat. The project will bring together a broad, collaborative partnership to develop a low cost/high value assessment program that will provide information critical to bull trout population recovery in the Upper Columbia and address key information data gaps and recovery criteria identified for bull trout in the Methow Core Area. Subsequently, specific restoration treatment actions will be identified for future implementation. Project focus will be on the reaches where a majority of bull trout spawning is concentrated. To enable tracking of the bull trout population in the Methow at a level meaningful for recovery determination, we will build upon the existing bull trout redd survey framework, implement 'eDNA' to assess distribution, employ standardized regional protocols, and strengthen data management and results dissemination. Newly documented areas occupied by bull trout will support the identification and prioritization of projects to reconnect and restore bull trout habitat to assist species recovery. We will use the information from the assessment, along with other existing information, to select and develop habitat projects focused on improving fish passage, habitat complexity, water quality, and riparian condition.
We completed the Methow bull trout population assessment to address some of the critical uncertainties for bull trout in the Methow Core Area, and to develop an approach for habitat restoration and conservation actions to benefit bull trout recovery.
Specific assessment elements included:
1. Completion of four years of comprehensive redd surveys that provide information to define the timing, location, and abundance of bull trout spawning.
2. Collection and analysis of >200 environmental DNA (eDNA) samples that assisted in more fully defining the distribution of bull trout, and areas of sympatry with brook trout.
3. Completion of three years of water temperature monitoring to assess water temperature regimes in and around bull trout spawning reaches.
4. Development of a restoration and conservation framework based off existing recovery-related information and results of this assessment.
The only significant shift to the scope of the project was a one year no-cost time extension that allowed for 1) an additional year of redd surveys to compensate for the loss of one survey year due to wildfire area closures and 2) the inclusion of habitat restoration priorities results made available through the Upper Columbia Prioritization framework. These results were not available during the development of the project in 2017 and their inclusion greatly benefitted the assessment.
A full accounting of the project and its findings can be found in the submitted final report.
