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South Fork Flathead Watershed Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement

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South Fork Flathead Watershed Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement South Fork Flathead Watershed Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement Responsible Agency: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Cooperating Agencies: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS) and State of Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (MFWP) Department Title of Proposed Project: South Fork Flathead Watershed Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program State Involved: Montana Abstract: In cooperation with MFWP, BPA is proposing to implement a conservation program to preserve the genetic purity of the westslope cutthroat trout populations in the South Fork of the Flathead drainage. The South Fork Flathead Watershed Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program constitutes a portion of the Hungry Horse Mitigation Program. The purpose of the Hungry Horse Mitigation Program is to mitigate for the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam through restoring habitat, improving fish passage, protecting and recovering native fish populations, and reestablishing fish harvest opportunities. The target species for the Hungry Horse Mitigation Program are bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout, and mountain whitefish. The program is designed to preserve the genetically pure fluvial and adfluvial westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) populations in the South Fork drainage of the Flathead River. In order to accomplish the goals, MFWP is proposing to remove hybrid trout from identified lakes in the South Fork Flathead drainage on the Flathead National Forest and replace them with genetically pure native westslope cutthroat trout over the next 10-12 years. Some of these lakes occur within the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Jewel Basin Hiking Area. Currently, 21 lakes and their outflow streams with hybrid populations have been identified and are included in this proposal. Other lakes may also be included as additional information is discovered. BPA funds would be used to implement this project. These activities would occur on lands administered by FS. For additional information, contact: Colleen Spiering, Environmental Specialist Bonneville Power Administration (KEC-4) P.O. Box 3621 Portland, OR 97208-3621 Telephone: 503-230-5756 or toll free at 1-888-276-7790 Facsimile: 503-230-5699 E-mail: [email protected] For additional copies of this document, please call 1-800-622-4520 – leave a message with the name of this project and your name and mailing address. The draft environmental impact statement is also on the internet at: http://www.efw.bpa.gov/cgi-bin/efw/E/Welcome.cgi. Click on the link to South Fork Flathead Watershed/Westslope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Project. For additional information on DOE National Environmental Policy Act activities, please contact Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, EH-42, U.S. Department of Energy, Room 3E-094, 1000 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585, phone: 1-800-472-2756. Contents Contents Contents .................................................................................................... i Summary ...............................................................................................S-1 Purpose of and Need for Action..................................................................... S-1 Need for Action........................................................................................... S-1 Purpose of Action ....................................................................................... S-1 Key Resource Issues ................................................................................. S-2 Decisions to be Made................................................................................. S-2 Proposed Action and Alternatives.................................................................. S-3 Scope of Project ......................................................................................... S-3 Alternatives Under Consideration............................................................... S-3 Comparison Summary of Alternatives ........................................................... S-4 Alternative A: No Action or Status Quo Management ................................ S-4 Alternative B: (Proposed Action) Fish Toxins – Combined Delivery and Application Methods ....................................................................... S-5 Alternative C: Fish Toxins – Motorized/mechanized Delivery and Application Methods.......................................................................................... S-6 Alternative D: Suppression Techniques and Genetic Swamping ............... S-6 Chapter 1.0: Purpose of and Need for Action .................................1-1 1.1 Need for Action ...................................................................................1-2 1.2 Background.........................................................................................1-2 1.3 Purposes.............................................................................................1-9 1.4 Public Process and Relevant Issues...................................................1-9 1.4.1 Westslope Cutthroat Trout Listing Process .....................................1-9 1.4.2 Public Scoping...............................................................................1-10 1.5 Decisions to be Made........................................................................1-13 1.5.1 Bonneville Power Administration ...................................................1-13 1.5.2 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks ..................................................1-13 1.5.3 United States Forest Service.........................................................1-14 1.5.4 Montana Department of Environmental Quality.............................1-14 1.6 Organization of the DEIS ..................................................................1-14 Chapter 2.0: Proposed Action and Alternatives .............................2-1 2.1 History.................................................................................................2-1 2.2 Scope of Project..................................................................................2-2 Westlope Cutthroat Trout Conservation Program i Contents 2.2.1 Proposed Transportation Method.................................................... 2-3 2.2.2 Proposed Treatment Method .......................................................... 2-3 2.3 Alternative A: No Action or Status Quo Management......................... 2-3 2.4 Alternative B: (Proposed Action) Fish Toxins–Combined Delivery and Application Methods ........................................................................... 2-4 2.4.1 Piscicide Use................................................................................... 2-8 2.4.2 Project Assessment and Preparation............................................ 2-11 2.4.3 Transportation of Staff, Materials, and Equipment to and from the Proposed Treatment Sites ............................................................ 2-15 2.4.4 Treatment...................................................................................... 2-21 2.4.5 Follow-Up ...................................................................................... 2-25 2.4.6 Restocking .................................................................................... 2-26 2.4.7 Summary of Proposed Action ....................................................... 2-28 2.5 Alternative C: Fish Toxins – Motorized/mechanized Delivery and Application Methods ......................................................................... 2-29 2.6 Alternative D: Suppression Techniques and Genetic Swamping ..... 2-30 2.6.1 Gill netting ..................................................................................... 2-31 2.6.2 Trap Nets ...................................................................................... 2-33 2.6.3 Merwin Traps ................................................................................ 2-34 2.6.4 Genetic Swamping ........................................................................ 2-35 2.7 Alternatives Considered for Suppression and Others Eliminated from Detailed Study .................................................................................. 2-35 2.7.1 Angling .......................................................................................... 2-36 2.7.2 Seining .......................................................................................... 2-36 2.7.3 Downstream Barriers .................................................................... 2-38 2.7.4 Explosives..................................................................................... 2-38 2.7.5 Electrofishing................................................................................. 2-39 2.7.6 Dewatering .................................................................................... 2-41 2.7.7 Introduction of Tiger Muskellunge ................................................. 2-42 2.8 Comparison of Alternatives and Summary of Impacts...................... 2-44 2.8.1 Comparison of Alternatives and their Ability to Meet Project Purposes ..................................................................................................... 2-44 2.8.2 Summary of Impacts from Alternatives ......................................... 2-45 2.9 Preferred Alternative......................................................................... 2-47 Chapter 3.0: Affected Environment and Environmental
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