Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland Aquatic MIS Analysis - Redband Trout July 20, 2011 Prepared by: Daniel Rife /s/ Daniel Rife Ochoco and Deschutes National Forest Fisheries Program Manager 1 I. Introduction In the Ochoco National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan and the Crooked River National Grassland Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP - 1989), three aquatic management indicator species (MIS) have been identified. They are rainbow trout, brook trout, and steelhead trout. Subsequent to the signing of these LRMP’s rainbow trout on the east side of Cascade mountain crest in the Columbia basin and elsewhere were described as redband trout by Behnke (1992). Brook trout are a non-native trout that was planted for fishing opportunities in the 1920’s and 1930’s. They are known to exist in only a few streams on the Forest including Allen Creek, Lookout Creek, and Brush Creek. For purposes of the Forest wide MIS analysis we will consider redband trout, steelhead trout, and brook trout as the aquatic management indicator species. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland states that management indicator species, or groups of species, were chosen to help determine the effects of management activities on fish habitat. The habitat requirements of MIS are assumed to be similar for other fish species. If a selected species and its habitat are influenced significantly by management activities, like effects can be expected on other fish species with similar habitat requirements. Redband trout, brook trout, and steelhead trout were selected as an indicator group because salmonids have a broad distribution across the Forest and Grassland and are of economic importance resulting from commercial and recreational harvest. The group generally has similar habitat requirements which are narrow enough to ensure viability of most fish. The habitat requirements make the group a good indicator of riparian habitat and aquatic habitat condition for both the Ochoco National Forest and the Crooked River National Grassland. The LRMP’s state that management of these species will occur through providing habitat by managing per riparian prescriptions (Management Area F-15 Riparian). Within the MA-15 Riparian description the LRMP states that “Fully functional riparian areas are essential for the maintenance of viable fish populations on the Forest. Riparian areas provide food, cover, and a source of large woody material for aquatic insects, fish and land animals. The vegetation of streamside areas filter sediment and shade the water surface to help maintain stable stream temperatures.” Implementation of the LRMP’s includes monitoring of the following to determine viability of the management indicator species: Monitoring Actions/Effects Units of Measure Variability Suggested Item Monitored Threshold Methods Fisheries: Determine if 1. Sedimentation Loss in habitat 1. Bucket or Habitat habitat meets 2. Temperature, capability, objectives ocular capability and management 3. Channel morphology not being met 2. Thermograph productivity, objectives 4. Riparian community 3. Cross section species and size composition 4. Line transects composition 5. Large woody material 5. Riparian plant 6. Smolt numbers survey 6. Electrofishing 2 II. Redband Trout Conservation Status Endangered Species Act (ESA)_ Redband trout (Oncorhychus mykiss) were listed as a candidate species on the Endangered Species Act in 1982. Petitions to list populations of redband trout under ESA were filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1994, 1995, and 1997. All three petitions ended with a review and decision by USFWS of the listing as not warranted, the last one issued in 2000. Due to budget and policy decisions in 1995 and 1996 the USFWS eliminated several categories under which species could be assigned candidate status. Specifically the only category left for candidate species is for those that are judged to warrant listing as threatened or endangered but the listing is precluded by higher priority needs. As such, redband trout are no longer listed as a candidate species. Natureserve Natureserve, which last reviewed the redband trout global status in February 2003, had the global status as “Secure—Common; widespread and abundant” and the infraspecific taxa (subspecies or varieties) status as “Apparently Secure – Uncommon but not rare, some cause for long-term concern due to declines or other factors”. In the North American continent the status varies widely by province or state. British Columbia status is “Apparently Secure”, Montana is “Critically Imperiled”, Idaho and Nevada are “Imperiled”, and Oregon is ranked as “Vulnerable”. California and Washington are not rated Oregon populations used for this status are Oregon Great Basin – “Vulnerable”, Klamath Basin – “Vulnerable”, Jenny Creek – SE Oregon – “Imperiled” due to little habitat remaining, Catlow Valley in SE Oregon – “Critically Imperiled”, due to little habitat remaining, Warner Valley – “Imperiled” due to some evidence of hybridization, and Goose Lake – “Imperiled” due to highly altered habitat and hybridization. Global short term trend according to NatureServe is declining, with a decline of 10-30%. In the Columbia River basin, nearly all upriver and many lower river stocks have declined, though most Snake River native stocks appear to be improving after having declined (Nehlsen et al. 1991). Threats: Snake River native stocks are threatended by maintem passage problems (e.g. dams), inadequate water flows, and habitat degradation (Nehlsen et al. 1991). Many stocks in the Columbia River basin are threatened by mainstem passage problems, habitat damage (due to logging, road construction, mining, agriculture, and grazing, which decrease water quality and increase siltation), and interactions with hatchery fishes. Dams cause problems for migrants via mortality in turbines, increased predation in impoundments and below dams, and loss of migratory motivation in the impoundments (Spahr, et al. 1991). American Fisheries Society (AFS) Status from AFS was of “Special Concern” in 1989. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) 3 The redband trout is listed on the ODFW’s Sensitive Species list as “Vulnerable “ in all watersheds east of the Cascade Crest in Oregon except in the Great Basin watersheds where they are listed as “Critical”. III. Species Distribution Global Distribution From NatureServe -Large scale, state, Forest Global Range Comments: Range - Columbia River basin east of the Cascades to barrier falls on the Kootenay, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Snake rivers; the upper Fraser River basin above Hell's Gate; and Athabasca headwaters of the Mackenzie River basin, where headwater transfers evidently occurred from the upper Fraser River system (Behnke 1992). Native redband trout of Mackenzie's Liard and Peace drainages may be this subspecies (Behnke 1992). Native trout of the Oregon desert basins and the Upper Klamath Lake basin could be included in this subspecies (Behnke 1992). Thurow and Rieman et al. (2007) summarized existing knowledge of the range of redband trout from 1996 in the interior Columbia River basin and portions of the Klamath River and Great Basins (Interior Columbia River Basin Management Plan effort). They estimated that the potential historical range includes 5,458 sub-watersheds and represented about 45% of the species’ North American range (Figure 1 below). They estimated that the redband trout occupy 47% of the Interior Columbia River Basin (not including Canada) and remain in 64% of their potential historical range. For Oregon, the range of redband trout is mainly east of the Cascade Crest, however, there is some genetic data that ties together the redband from the Lower Columbia River and the Willamette River to the populations upstream of the Cascade Crest (Currens et al. 2007). Thurow and Rieman et al. (2007) break the Oregon population distribution into six Ecological Reporting Units (ERU’s). These include the Southern Cascades, Upper Klamath, Northern Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, Blue Mountains, and the Owyhee Uplands. Only the Northern Great Basin and Upper Klamath ERU’s are entirely within the state of Oregon. Each of these ERU’s does have redband trout present. 4 DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS OF REDBAND TROUT 7 Figure 1.—The potential historical range, known and predicted current range, and known and predicted strong populations of sympatric redband trout (top) and allopatric redband trout (bottom) within the interior Columbia River Basin in the U.S. and portions of the Klamath River and Great Basins. 5 Oregon Distribution The US Fish and Wildlife Service, on their fact sheet for species of concern has the following notes about redband: “Native rainbow trout east of the Cascades are commonly called “redband trout” (Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp.). Redband trout are a primitive form of rainbow trout and are an evolutionary intermediate between ancestral “cutthroat”-like species and coastal rainbow trout. Redband trout are described as inland populations of O. mykiss, with few morphological and meristic characters distinguishing them from coastal rainbow trout. Although there is no consensus on the classification of redband trout east of the Cascades, there is some agreement that at least two broad groups exist in Oregon: the Interior Columbia Basin redband trout and the Oregon Great Basin redband trout. In addition, redband trout in the upper Klamath Basin (e.g., Sprague and Williamson