Recovery of Imperiled Native Salmonids 



Six previous Blacktbot River reports detail bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout 

 status, life-history, restoration methods and monitoring results of restoration projects 

 (Peters 1990: Pierce. Peters and Swanberg 1997; Pierce and Schmettcrling 1999; Pierce 

 and Podner 2000; Pierce, Podner and McFee, 2001. 2002). The following sections 

 summarize and synthesize new information in order to help guide the recovery of both 

 species. 



Bull Trout Recovery 



The Blackfoot River watershed supports populations of two imperiled native 

 species, bull trout {Salvelinus confluentus) and westslope cutthroat trout {Onchorynchus 

 clarki lewisi). Of primary concern are the fluvial or migratory life forms. Migratory fish 

 exhibit local adaptations involving specific behavior and habitat needs. This behavior 

 involves spawning in discrete areas, tributary use by early life-stages, extensive 

 migrations at higher flows, and seasonal use of larger, more productive river habitats in 

 order to improve fitness and fecundity. Native salmonids also require more complex 

 habitats, colder water, lower sediment and more tributary access than currently exists in 

 many areas of the Blackfoot Watershed. 



Bull trout, a native char capable of attaining large size (>16 pounds), inhabits 

 -125 miles of the Blackfoot River mainstem. Densifies are very low in the upper River, 

 but increase downstream of the North Fork at mile 54. Outside of the Clearwater River 

 drainage, bull trout occupy -25% of the drainage or -355 miles of stream. Most bull 

 trout spawning streams (Gold Creek, Dunham Creek, Monture Creek, Copper Creek, and 

 the North Fork of the Blackfoot River) support migratory fluvial fish, although some 

 streams (Poorman, Cottonwood and Belmont Creeks) seem to support predominately 

 resident bull trout. Migratory bull trout basin use is generally tied to the larger, colder 

 streams north of the Blackfoot River and larger, more productive river reaches. Fluvial 

 bull trout reproduce in only a few discrete groundwater-fed spawning sites and seek cold- 

 water refuge during periods of river warming. Juvenile rearing of fluvial fish can occur in 

 the small and cold, non-spawning tributaries, in addition to the larger spawning streams 

 and Blackfoot River. 



Bull trout recovery began in the Blackfoot Watershed in 1990 when the FWP 

 Commission adopted basin-wide catch-and-release regulations. Recovery efforts 

 expanded in the 1990s with an emphasis on improving fish passage, restoring degraded 

 habitat, and screening irrigation diversions in the Gold Creek, Cottonwood Creek, 

 Monture Creek and North Fork watersheds (Pierce et al. 2001). In June 1998, the 

 Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced the listing of bull trout in the Columbia 

 River drainage as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). During his 

 announcement. Secretary Babbitt mentioned the bull trout recovery in the Blackfoot 

 watershed to be the best example of bull trout restoration within the range of the species; 

 he urged the restoration team to continue the current effort. 



To help assist in bull trout recovery, the Montana Bull Trout Recovery Plan also 

 established recovery goals for the Blackfoot watershed (MBTRT 2000). Goals are to: 1 ) 

 maintain self-reproducing migratory fish in the Blackfoot River with access to tributary- 

 streams and spawning in all core area watersheds; 2) maintain the population genetic 



