tributaries (Appendix G). This information led to the adoption of restoration prioritization 

 scheme (Pierce et al. 20002b). 



Restoring populations of wild trout relies on the voluntary involvement of resource 

 agencies, conservation groups and private landowners. The Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout 

 Unlimited is the primary watershed group involved in funding and coordinating of river 

 restoration projects {see Procedures section). Recently, the Blackfoot Challenge has expanded 

 restoration fundraising, TMDL development, teacher education, drought planning and 

 coordination of conservation easements. Both the Western Water Project (Trout Unlimited 

 National) and the DNRC Water Resources Bureau have increased their involvement with 

 emphasis on instream flows. Above all, private landowners provide significant resources to 

 restoration projects and are ultimately responsible for long-term stewardship. 



Table 1. Anthropogenic fisheries impairment on 91 inventoried streams (not including 

 the Clearwater River drainage) of the Blackfoot Watershed (Pierce et al. 2002; Appendix 

 G). 



Type of impact Number Streams 



Road crossings and road drainage 32 



Irrigation impacts (entrainment, dewatering, fish passage) 36 



Channel alterations 33 



Lack of complexity 37 



Riparian vegetation 46 



Instream flow 40 



Concentrated livestock in riparian areas (feedlots, grazing) 5 1 

 Recreational impacts (illegal harvest, high angler pressixre, stream damage) 10 



Whirling disease 9 



The philosophy of managing wild trout through self-sustaining populations 

 through natural reproduction provides the foundation of the Blackfoot River fisheries 

 restoration initiative. This strategy emphasizes restoring tributary habitats to levels 

 suitable to healthy wild trout populations. By correctmg human-induced limiting factors, 

 this strategy provides a framework for the recovery of imperiled native fish when 

 integrated with appropriate harvest regulations, and site-specific recovery measures often 

 undertaken in remote areas of the watershed. The Blackfoot fisheries restoration 

 initiative further integrates the core area concept - including defined sets of recovery 

 goals in bull trout watersheds. Guiding documents include Restoration plan for bull trout 

 in the Clark Fork River Basin and Kootenai River Basin Montana (MBTRT 2000), the 

 Draft Recovery Plan for the Bull Trout and Proposed Critical Habitat (USFWS 2002), A 

 Hierarchical Strategy for Prioritizing the Restoration of 83 Impaired Tributaries of 

 the Big Blackfoot River (Pierce et al 2002b). The recently developed Westslope 

 Cutthroat Trout Status Review (Shepard et al. 2003) should also help shape future 

 recovery plans as will many specific, research and restoration-related studies completed 

 in the Blackfoot. 



Restoration and conservation goals focus on correcting environmental degradation 

 over multiple properties, including large tracts of connected public and private land. 

 Recovery incorporates long-term protection (conservation easements) and restoration of 



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