biologically important but degraded streams. Improving habitat involves mostly passive 

 (e.g. compatible grazing), but also active (e.g. channel reconstruction) measures 

 depending on the degree of degradation and a stream's recovery potential. Restoration is 

 also iterative and relies on continued habitat and population monitoring, expanding the 

 scope of projects and modifying methods of restoration based on monitoring results. 

 Iterative restoration leads to site-specific measures of individual tributary populations and 

 involves restoration methods such as enhancing flows in rearing areas, preventing 

 juvenile fish loss to irrigation in critical migration corridors, reconstructing streams, 

 fencing livestock from critical spawning areas, and expanding these types of actions to 

 biologically connected tributaries. Our current program does not (at this time) involve 

 removal of non-native game fish due to lack of social acceptance, high cost, general 

 ineffectiveness and other risks. 



Since 1990, the Blackfoot Cooperators have developed or implemented fisheries 

 improvements on 40 streams mostly on private lands. Most of the implemented projects 

 have been successfiil, however project setbacks have occurred (Results Part III). 

 Landowners are intimately involved in all aspects of fisheries restoration from baseline 

 data collections to post-project monitoring. Attempts to address limiting factors usually 

 involve integrating both fisheries and landowner objectives. Upon project completion, a 

 period of rest and recovery is usually essential to meet fisheries objectives. Table 2 

 summarizes projects undertaken to date (see Appendix F and Appendix H for 

 cooperators). 



Table 2. Restoration activities in 40 tributaries of the Blackfoot Watershed (Pierce et al. 

 2002b, Results Part III). 



Restoration Activity Number Streams 



Fish passage improvement (road crossings, irrigation diversions) 27 



Prevention offish losses to ditches 13 



Spawning habitat protection 9 



Fish habitat improvement 18 



Instream flow enhancement 17 



Improve wetlands 15 



Improve range/riparian habitat 29 



Improve irrigation diversions 22 



Conservation easements 23 



Remove streamside feedlots/corrals 13 



Primary objectives of this report are to: 1) summarize the status of Blackfoot River 

 fish populations; 2) summarize Blackfoot River restoration, inventory and monitoring 

 results for restored streams; 3) present the results of an upper Blackfoot River telemetry 

 and other studies, and 5) help guide future restoration actions. 



17 



