The Status of Restoration Efforts for Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus Populations in the Upper Willamette Basin, Oregon
Presented by: Jeff Ziller Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Springfield Oregon
Major support provided by: Contributors
•David Bickford Willamette National • Doug Larson Forest •Raymon Rivera
•Greg Taylor Willamette Valley •Doug Garletts Projects
•Kelly Reis South Willamette • Jason Seals Watershed District
•Mark Wade ODFW Research Study Area Oregon Bull Trout Distribution
-- Historic -- Upper Willamette Population Status of Bull Trout Upper Willamette Basin (Ratliff and Howell 1991) Trail Bridge Reservoir Mainstem McKenzie High Risk Moderate Risk South Fork McKenzie Moderate Risk
Middle Fork Willamette High Risk Population Status of Bull Trout Upper Willamette Basin (Buchanan, Hanson and Hooton 1996) Trail Bridge Mainstem McKenzie Reservoir Of Special Concern High Risk
South Fork McKenzie High Risk
Middle Fork Willamette Probably Extinct Middle Fork Willamette Bull Trout Observations
Water Body Last Year Observed • Middle Fork Willamette below 1953 Hills Creek Reservoir • Salt Creek 1960
• NF Middle Fork Willamette 1962
• Hills Creek Reservoir 1988
• Middle Fork Willamette above 1990 Hills Creek Reservoir Information Dissemination Upper Willamette Bull Trout Working Group Willamette Bull Trout Recovery Actions
• Reduce angler harvest • Increase habitat effectiveness • Increase access to habitat • Increase prey base • Re-establishment of populations Reducing Angler Harvest Hatchery Rainbow Trout Program Changes
Year Location Action 1988 McKenzie River Rb stocking discontinued (RK 0 to RK 24) 1992 McKenzie River Ad fin-clipped harvest only
1994 McKenzie River Rb stocking discontinued (RK 105 to RK 133) 1997 South Fork McKenzie Rb stocking discontinued
1997 Trail Bridge Reservoir Ad fin-clipped harvest only
1997 Middle Fork Willamette Ad fin-clipped harvest only (above Hills Creek Res) Reducing Angler Harvest Restrictive Angling Regulations
Year Location Action
1991 Willamette Basin Taking bull trout prohibited
1992 McKenzie River All wild trout must be released (Mainstem and South Fork) 1994 McKenzie River Artificial flies and lures only (RK 105 to RK 133) 1997 South Fork McKenzie Artificial flies and lures only
1997 Trail Bridge Reservoir All wild trout must be released
1997 Middle Fork Willamette Artificial flies and lures only (above Hills Creek Res.) All wild trout must be released 2001 Most McKenzie River tributaries Artificial flies and lures only and Trail Bridge Reservoir All wild trout must be released Reducing Angler Harvest Increasing Angler Awareness
• Informational posters since 1992 • High quality signs at key access points • R&E funds Increasing Habitat Effectiveness McKenzie Watershed Large Wood placements
Distance Approximate Year Location Pieces (km) Cost 1991 Anderson 14 0.1 $4,300 Creek 1993 Buck Side 31 0.4 $7,800 Channel 1995 S Fk McKenzie 40 1.5 $14,000 (below Cougar Reservoir) 1996 S Fk McKenzie 191 4.0 $65,000 (above Cougar Reservoir) 1998 S Fk McKenzie 160 3.2 $57,600 (above Cougar Reservoir) 1998 Roaring River 40 0.8 $14,400 Increasing Habitat Effectiveness Middle Fork Willamette Large Wood placements
• Middle Fork Willamette above Hills Creek Res • Future Projects – McKenzie River above Trail Bridge – McKenzie River below Trail Bridge Dam in off-channel habitats. – South Fork McKenzie River Increasing Access Upper McKenzie Study Area
• Downstream migrant trap
• Upstream passage problems Increasing Access Sweetwater Cr Culvert Increasing Access Olallie Cr Culvert Increase Prey Base
• 1,000’s of spring chinook released into bull trout rearing areas above dams •Nutrients from carcasses • Juvenile chinook as prey Re-establishment Downstream Migrant Trap Anderson Creek
Fry
Age 1+ McKenzie River Bull Trout Releases for Rehabilitation
2000 Sweetwater Cr (n=6,384) 1800
1600 Olallie Cr (n=670)
1400 y r
F 1200 f
1000 er o
mb 800
Nu 600
400
200
0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Middle Fork Willamette Juvenile bull trout release sites
Oakridge
Hills Creek Dam
Hills Creek Reservoir M id d l e Fo rk W ill am r C et t te if w S
S Release Sites t a le y
C r Middle Fork Willamette Bull Trout Releases for Rehabilitation
3000 MF Willamette (n=8,855)
2500
y 2000 r F f
1500 er o mb
Nu 1000
500
0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Results Middle Fork Willamette Monitoring
• 3 age classes found in release locations • Estimated 240 juvenile bull trout in about 8 Km of Mainstem Middle Fk • At least one 45 cm bull trout in Hills Creek Reservoir Adult bull trout moving upstream through electronic counting devices on the McKenzie and South Fork McKenzie
Anderson Creek Roaring River
400 100
80 300 r r e e 60 b 200 b m m 40 Nu Nu 100 20
0 0 1999 2000 2001 2002 1999 2000 2001 2002 Willamette Bull Trout Spawning Surveys
Anderson Roaring River 100
80 dds e 60 of R er 40 b m
u 20 N 0 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 Willamette Bull Trout Spawning Surveys
Olallie Sweetwater 20
15 edds
of R 10 er b m 5 u N 0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Population Status of Bull Trout Upper Willamette Basin 2003
Trail Bridge Mainstem McKenzie Reservoir Of Special Concern High Risk, Increasing trend South Fork McKenzie High Risk, Increasing trend
Middle Fork Willamette Probably Extinct, ? Restoration ? Recovery Project Partners
• National Fish and Wildlife • Bonneville Power Administration Foundation (Bring Back the Natives Program) • Willamette National Forest
• Weyerhaeuser Company • US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Bureau of Land Management • Eugene Water and Electric Board
• Oregon Department of • McKenzie Watershed Council Transportation • Saturday Academy • (Apprenticeships in Science and Oregon State Police Engineering) • Oregon Council Federation of • Oregon Chapter American Fisheries Flyfishers Society • McKenzie Flyfishers • Sl li fl t Ciit Joseph R. Tomelleri UpperUpper WillametteWillamette RiverRiver RecoveryRecovery CriteriaCriteria
• 4 or more local populations • Stable or increasing • 600-1,000 adults •Connected