2005 Bull Trout Populations on the Payette National Forest
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Bull Trout Populations on the Payette National Forest Migrating bull trout in Pete Creek in the Secesh River watershed by David Burns, Mary Faurot, David Hogen, Mike McGee, Rodger Nelson, Dale Olson, Linda Wagoner, and Caleb Zurstadt (Appendix 6) November 14, 2005 Abstract This paper was developed by the fisheries biologists of the Payette National Forest (PNF or Forest) to evaluate the population trends and relative viability of Columbia River bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) on the Forest. We infer that populations that are more fragmented have undergone long term population declines. We evaluated populations based on several quantitative criteria including the degree of fragmentation, the amount of habitat occupied, the number of life history forms in various watersheds, and other factors. Factors used in our evaluation include the number and extent of areas with bull trout, topographic relief to indicate areas with higher elevation and higher potential to support bull trout, the number of life stages of bull trout present, anthropogenic sources of fragmentation (e.g., roads), the extent of sympatry with brook trout, and the number of potential food sources as indicated by the number of anadromous salmonids. Considerations such as genetic integrity are also evaluated. Quantitative evaluations were all restricted to values of attributes on the Payette National Forest, but it is likely that off-Forest attributes are important. Insofar as viability varies among watersheds on the Payette National Forest in a fashion that we understand, several factors separating watersheds were useful for describing viability classes. We initially placed populations into viability classes based on a subjective evaluation of the factors we understood. Then, we illustrated this with the canonical discriminant analysis. The importance of road development as a discriminatory attribute indicates that low bull trout viability is related to increased roads. Because of this, we postulate that reduction in roads may to have a positive effect. We postulated that time of disconnection from the sea is potentially an important determinant of bull trout viability. Although anadromous species presence or ubiquity and bull trout and life history expression are inherently biological factors, they can also be indicators of management-induced fragmentation. This is certainly true in the Weiser and Snake River watersheds where anadromous fish were excluded upstream of Hells Canyon dam in about 1965 and in the North Fork Payette River where Black Canyon Dam excluded anadromous species in about 1924 from the west side of the Forest. We have concluded that bull trout viability is low in these areas, with an inferred long term declining trend. We do not know the extent to which bull trout viability is affected in the Salmon River basin by hybridization with brook trout. A genetic study of the Secesh River, and other easterly basins would help determine the level of hybridization and introgression that is occurring with brook trout. This information is important, because this geographic area is believed to have the most viable bull trout populations on the Forest. However, we do not know the trends of the Salmon River populations. ii Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ i List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. i List of Figures ...........................................................................................................................iii Introduction................................................................................................................................ 1 Synopsis of Bull Trout Biology and Distribution ...................................................................... 3 Summary of Best Scientific Data by Section 7 Watershed........................................................ 9 NF Payette River (NFPR) ...................................................................................................... 9 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................... 9 Metapopulations and Fragmentation.................................................................................. 9 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 10 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 10 Deep Creek (DC).................................................................................................................. 10 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 11 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 11 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 11 Main Salmon River Southwest (MSSW) ............................................................................. 11 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................. 13 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 14 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 14 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 15 Little Salmon River (LSR)................................................................................................... 15 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................. 15 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 16 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 16 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 17 Middle Fork Salmon River (MFT)....................................................................................... 17 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................. 17 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 17 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 18 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 18 Salmon River from Middle Fork to South Fork (MSSE)..................................................... 18 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................. 18 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 19 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 19 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 19 South Fork Salmon River (SFSR)........................................................................................ 19 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................. 21 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 21 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 22 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 23 Brownlee Reservoir (BR)..................................................................................................... 23 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................. 23 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 24 Life History and Genetics ................................................................................................ 25 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 25 Weiser River (WR) .............................................................................................................. 25 Subwatersheds.................................................................................................................. 26 Metapopulations and Fragmentation................................................................................ 26 Life History and Genetics ...............................................................................................