Bull Trout in the Boise, Payette, and Malheur Basins |
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| Overview |
In this new Opinion, the FWS concurred with Reclamation that the Operation and Maintenance of Arrowrock, Anderson Ranch, Deadwood and Agency Valley Dams may adversely affect bull trout. With more research completed on bull trout in these systems, a more in-depth Opinion was provided in 2005. The 1999 Opinion listed reservoir drawdowns and entrainment (fish moving past dams) through the dams as conditions that cause adverse effects. The new Opinion added predation, decreased prey base, habitat degradation, disruption of migration cues, increased metabolic rates and decrease in growth rates as adverse effects. The FWS identified Terms and Conditions that Reclamation must follow to avoid the prohibitions of Section 9 (Take) of the Endangered Species Act. Those Terms and Conditions to minimize the take of bull trout are listed starting on page 258 of the Biological Opinion. |
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| Current Projects | Reclamation is currently working on projects in each basin associated with the Terms and Conditions outlined in the Biological Opinion. |
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| Related Links | Bull Trout Reports for the Boise, Payette, and Malheur Basins |
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| Contact | Anthony Prisciandaro,
Fisheries Biologist |
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Last Update: September 19, 2007 12:56 PM |
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As a result of declining populations of bull trout, the FWS listed bull trout in the Columbia and Klamath basins as threatened under the ESA in June 1998. On October 15, 1999 the FWS provided a Biological Opinion on Reclamation's Operations and Maintenance in the Snake River Basin above Lower Granite Reservoir. This Opinion expired in 2004 and a new Opinion was issued in March 2005. Reclamation provided a Decision Document in November of 2005 as well as the final Monitoring and Implementation Plan in March of 2006.