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Overview |
Flathead Timeline |
Flathead History |
Documents |
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Native Fish Issues in the Flathead
Watershed
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You can find documentation relating
to statements below in our
Native Fish Bibliography
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Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited:
Position on native fish recovery in the Flathead
Watershed |
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
along with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are
entering the scoping phase for a proposed
project to extend and improve the Flathead Lake
and River Fisheries Co-Management Plan. The
Tribes and MTFWP are evaluating ways to achieve
the goals of the plan including a proposal that would include
fishing contests and limited
gillnetting to reduce lake trout numbers and aid
in the recovery of native fish.
The board of the Flathead Valley Chapter of
Trout Unlimited supports a scientific and and
narrowly defined process to protect and recover native bull
trout and cutthroat trout populations. Current
angling opportunities in the Flathead watershed
for native bull trout and westslope cutthroat
trout are severely limited due to past and
present conditions. The board supports moving
forward with an inclusive process to define
future actions to restore native fishes
using NEPA and Environmental Assessment
strategies.
You can learn more about the proposed project
and native fish issues in the Flathead Basin by
reading the Montana TU FAQ:
What
anglers should know about Flathead Lake, lake
trout and native trout (PDF).
FVTU would like to encourage you to use the
information you find on these pages to advocate
for native trout in the Flathead Drainage. If
you would like to write a
Letter to the Editor regarding the current
proposal, we have established a set of tips for
effective letters and ways to
contact local news outlets.
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Native Fish Overview |
Today,
Flathead Lake, the Flathead watershed and it's
native fish species continue to face diverse
hardships and threats from pollution, land use,
invasive species, hydro-electric dam operations,
a warming climate and other adverse impacts.
Native bull trout are currently listed as a
Threatened species under the Endangered Species
Act. Westslope Cutthroat are listed as a Species
of Special Concern under the ESA and by Montana
FWP. Current
Flathead bull trout populations continue to fail
to meet Bull Trout Recovery Criteria set by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
FVTU Fact Sheet:
Native
Fish Issues in the Flathead Watershed
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Recent Impacts on Native Fish |
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Three hydroelectric dams,
on the Swan River, the South Fork Flathead
River, and Kerr Dam on the mainstem affect
flow and temperature regimes throughout the
basin.
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1968: Opossum Shrimp (Mysis
relicta) were introduced by fisheries
managers in an attempt to increase growth
rates of the once abundant kokanee salmon.
Unexpected interactions between the shrimp
and fish populations caused a complete
collapse of the popular kokanee salmon
fishery reducing fishing pressure on
Flathead Lake by more than 50%.
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1999: Introduced Lake
Trout (Slavelinus namaycush) were
estimated at 200,000 catchable-sized fish
(14+ inches) in Flathead Lake. By 2009, that
population had more than doubled. Today the
total lake trout population in Flathead Lake
is estimated to be nearly 2 million fish.
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2006: Predaceous lake
trout became established in Swan Lake, the
Swan River, and in westside lakes of Glacier
National Park from fish in the Middle and
North Forks of the Flathead River. We are
now in danger of losing many of those native
fish populations due to predation by lake
trout.
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2006: Illegally
introduced Northern Pike (Esox
lucius) in the upper Flathead River now
number 1,200 to 1,300 fish and are estimated
to consume more than 8 metric tons of fish
annually, including 13,000 westslope
cutthroat trout and 3,500 bull trout.
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2009: Native Bull Trout
populations in Flathead Lake and the North
and Middle forks of the Flathead River are
currently estimated at less than 3,000
fish.
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Flathead Lake and River Co-Management
Plan |
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The management plan that ended in 2010 was cooperatively
created in 1999 by Montana Fish, Wildlife and
Parks and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes after extensive public scoping. The
following management plan goals were
established: |
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Increase and protect
native trout populations (bull trout and
westslope cutthroat trout).
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Balance tradeoffs between
native species conservation and non-native
species reduction to maintain a viable
recreational/subsistence fishery.
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Protect the high quality
of water and habitat characteristics of
Flathead Lake and its watershed.
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The primary means currently being used to
control the Flathead Lake lake trout population
are general angling and the Mack Days Fishing
Contests in the Spring and Fall.
The goal of increasing native trout populations
and reducing non-native fish in the Flathead
Basin failed to be met in any of the ten
years that the recent co-management plan was in effect.
Clearly additional steps must be taken to
achieve the goals set forth by the co-management
team. |
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Economic Impacts of Guided Fishing Trips
on Lakes and Rivers |
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Direct economic impact of outfitted fishing
trips in Montana was just over $34 million (2005
report, released in 2007). |
- 56% of all guided fishing trips take
place on rivers.
- 26% of all guided fishing trips take
place on lakes.
- 18% of all guided fishing trips take
place on reservoirs (Note: Flathead Lake is
not classified as a reservoir).
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Click Here to download a copy of
the above information in printable PDF format |
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Learn more about
our native fish and the impact of recent and
historical changes on the
Flathead Watershed
A
History of Native Fish Issues in the Flathead
Basin |
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