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Upper Columbia United Tribes Report Regional Northern Pike Forum February 17, 2021 Overview The purposes of the February 17, 2021 Upper Columbia United Tribes Regional Northern Pike (N. Pike) Forum were: • Draw attention to the urgent risk that invasive N. Pike pose to our native and endangered fish populations. • Share information regarding the current distribution of Northern Pike, the risk they pose, and what can be done to minimize that risk and prevent their spread. • Highlight policy level opportunities and challenges, and the vital need for a coordinated regional policy response. • Present a Call to Action at the technical and policy levels, and in educating and communicating with your constituencies. Desired outcomes were: • Increased regional awareness regarding the threat posed by N. Pike. • Identify individuals and entities who are willing to participate in planning, coordination and eradication efforts. • Launch next steps. The forum was sponsored by the Washington Invasive Species Council and the Spokane Tribe of Indians. One hundred and twenty-one individuals registered to attend, with between 90 and 116 individuals on the call at any given moment. This report includes: • Session 1 – Technical perspectives: learning about and managing invasive northern pike • Session 2 – Policy perspectives: opportunities, challenges and questions • Session 3 – A call to action • Attachment A – Forum evaluation • Attachment B – Contact information and introductory notes (where provided) for everyone who registered for or attended the forum. • Attachment C – Summary of the responses to the pre-forum survey. A recording of the forum will be available for viewing or download until April 2, 2021: • https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/1RvI228QR-ToRZ32UmGWjSF9ZOI- aElM4i5CFl4VnMGuKINducN42lflBPdxqAwV.FOcadqhqySTmZrLL • Passcode: wAha.Ah4 Technical Perspectives: Learning About and Session 1 Managing Invasive Northern Pike Laura Robinson, Policy Analyst for Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) presented the following: • The following UCUT member presentations will share information on suppression and monitoring efforts. • The UCUT are committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing cultural resources for the benefit of all people. • UCUT is actively investing time, energy and resources into the N. Pike issues. • The goal is to protect the resource of Tribes and others in the basin. • UCUT members include: o Coeur D’Alene Tribe (ID) o Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (WA) o Kalispel Tribe of Indians (WA) Kootenai Tribe of Idaho o Spokane Tribe of Indians (WA) UCUT February 17, 2021 Regional Northern Pike Forum Report 2 Joe Maroney, Director Fisheries and Water Resources with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians shared the following information: • Historical range of N. Pike and expansion of N. Pike from 1948 through 2020. • In last 60 years N. Pike have dramatically expanded beyond their native range • With expansion of N. Pike has come increased awareness of the risks, especially in the Columbia River Basin and Pacific Northwest. • In the last 3-4 years there have been multiple meetings, and development of web tools and other resources. • What happens if N. Pike get into anadromous zone. • N. Pike are a priority within UCUT. • UCUT prioritizes the management and eradication of N. Pike within UCUT territories. • And advocates for similar activities in native and non-native waters. UCUT February 17, 2021 Regional Northern Pike Forum Report 3 • Map with geographic location of UCUT Tribes. • Red dots are areas where member Tribes are dealing with N. Pike. Nick Bean, a fisheries biologist with the Kalispel Tribe shared the following information: • The Kalispel Tribe is working in the Washington state portion of Pend Oreille River in the NE corner of Washington state. • The Pend Oreille River originates at an outlet in Lake Pend Oreille in N. Idaho, and travels through Washington, terminating just north of the Canadian border as a tributary to the Columbia River. • The southern portion of Box Canyon reservoir is adjacent to the Kalispel reservation and has the most extensive N. Pike habitat. • The northern section is more riverine with less N. Pike habitat. • Pike habitat includes shallow flooded vegetation that is critical to spawning, rearing, and foraging. • Boundary reservoir is north of Box Canyon. • The Boundary Dam facility is operated by Seattle City Light. • Operations are different from Box Canyon. • Seattle City Light runs power peaking • The Kalispel Tribe’s work focuses on two operations with daily elevation changes of reservoirs. several feet. UCUT February 17, 2021 Regional Northern Pike Forum Report 4 • Box Canyon is the largest reservoir. • This operation limits N. Pike habitat in that • It is the southernmost, furthest upstream, system. and largest. • Completed multiple population estimates, standardized survey work, diet studies, bioenergetic studies to understand the population, scope, and scale of problem. • The Pike population expanded in a matter of a few years from several hundred in Box Canyon to over 10,000. • The Washington State and the Tribe coordinated to address the issue. • Over the last decade they have implemented targeted suppression efforts. • This has included setting numerous gillnets in March and April to target pre-spawn N. Pike in • The Kalispel Tribe and State of Washington their spawning locations (SPIN surveys). first detected N. Pike in the Pend Oreille • Established abundance targets for each River, in box Canyon in 2004 during a warm reservoir i.e., the desired target to get the water survey. population below. • At that time, less than 30 N. Pike were • Reevaluate every year with a spring Pike index captured. netting survey to monitoring pre-suppression • Engaged in an active monitoring effort over populations and current populations. next several years. • In 2010-2011 pre-suppression had very high abundance of N. Pike. • In surveys seeing 12-13 N. Pike per net on average. • Engaged in active suppression. • In 2012-2015 averaged 1,000 gill nets per year set over 2-3 month period in spring. • Eliminated close to 5,000-6,000 N. Pike per year. • Relative abundance during the survey dropped dramatically from 2011 to 2012. • Subsequently had some very successful year classes, which were targeted. • Box Canyon reservoir is about 89 km long. • Took about 3 years to get the population to an • The black line in the graph is the abundance acceptable level. monitoring survey for the core area. • Reduced effort starting in 2016 from average • The grey bars are the number of N. Pike 1,000 to 300 nets per year during spring removed annually starting in 2012 and suppression efforts. through 2020. • Have been able to maintain population below • Dashed blue line is CPUE target to get Pike CPUE target since 2013. back to early detection numbers. UCUT February 17, 2021 Regional Northern Pike Forum Report 5 • Knocked CPUE down to 1 fish per net. • Similar effort in 2018. • Establish 0.5 fish CPUE threshold in this system. • Since 2018, have decreased effort in that system and maintained population well below threshold. • Boundary reservoir has less habitat available. • Between the two reservoirs have caught about 19,000 N. Pike. • Lots of upfront efforts, about 6,000 gillnets in both systems but once you’re over the hump it is possible to keep the population low enough to minimize the impacts. • Current plans are to maintain suppression in • Initially didn’t think N. Pike would establish these key reservoirs. Determine level of effort in this system. needed based on catch rates and SPIN surveys. • But around 2016 found that anglers were • Plan to continue ongoing annual SPIN surveys catching a lot of N. Pike. to maintain low levels of N. Pike. • Conducted SPIN survey in 2016 and started some suppression effort. • In 2017, conducted extensive suppression effort and removed 300 N. Pike. Jon Firehammer, a fisheries biologist with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe provided the following information on N. Pike suppressing in Lake Coeur d’Alene: • Lake Coeur d’Alene N. Pike suppression is implemented by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe to support recovery of native freshwater salmonids. • The emphasis of the supression work is on recovering depressed populations of adfluvial Westslope Cutthroat Trout. UCUT February 17, 2021 Regional Northern Pike Forum Report 6 • Localized strategy based on assumption that the N. Pike populations residing in the shallow waters around the lake are relatively independent of one another with little movement among populations. • Assume there will be a lack of colonists to repopulate areas we were trying to deplete. • This approach has been supported by the data as being an effective strategy. • Use gillnets deployed in spring and fall when N. Pike are concentrated. • Tribe is primarily responsible for conducting netting efforts. • Map shows two primary watersheds • However, this is a cooperative venture between supporting adfluvial cutthroat populations, Tribe and Idaho Department of Fish and Game Lake Creek and Benewah Creek. (IDFG) since fisheries in Lake Coeur d’Alene are • Rather than attempt lakewide erradication, co-managed by both entities. used localized extraction in shallow bays • The supression effort has removed about 1,370 where there is high potential for spatial N. Pike in Windy Bay from 2015-2020. overlap between different life stages of • About 2,000 pike in Southern end from 2019- migratory Cutthroat and N. Pike. 2020. • Strategy first initiated in Windy Bay in 2015. • The Southern end of Lake Coeur d’Alene has a • Expanded strategy to southern end in 2019. lot more shallow, weedy habitat. • Windy Bay is a success. • Prior to 2015, the percentage of outmigrating juvenile Cutthroat Trout that survived to return as spawning adults averaged only 1.6%. • Since starting N. Pike removal in 2015, return rates have increased to about 6.5%. • The open circle in the graph is the juvenile cohort that left in 2018. • It only represents fish that have returned within two years after outmigrating. • Many fish require about 3 years to mature.