STUDY NUMBER ; 7.1 



ORGANIZATION ; Idaho Fish and Game Department (IFG) 



TITLE OF STUDY ; Lake Pend Oreille Fisheries Investigations 



CONTACT ; Ned Horner - Regional Fishery Manager, Coeur d' 

 Alene - (208) 664-9236 



OBJECTIVE; Evaluate the suitability and contribution of Lake 

 Pend Oreille tributaries as spawning and rearing areas; 

 monitor the success of juvenile fish (fry) releases from the 

 Cabinet Gorge Fish Hatchery. 



DURATION ; 1982 - Indefinitely 



CURRENT STATUS ; For the past three years, inventories have 

 been conducted on the major spawning tributaries of Lake Pend 

 Oreille. Redd counts and intergravel composition studies 

 have been conducted. Estimates of smolt (stream-bred fish 

 that return to the lake) production have also been made. 

 Major species of concern are bull trout, Kamloops rainbow 

 trout and westslope cutthroat trout. The primary purpose of 

 these inventories has been to collect information that can be 

 used to make fisheries management changes for the tributar- 

 ies. These changes are expected to be reflected in the 

 1988-89 fishing regulations. Another benefit, of course, has 

 been to ascertain the value of the tributaries for perpetuat- 

 ing trout and char species within Lake Pend Oreille. The IFG 

 now has important baseline fisheries data so the impacts of 

 land use and fishing pressure can be better monitored and, if 

 needed, better regulated. 



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