Native Fish News

In case you missed it, there has been some rare good news for our native fish populations in the last few weeks.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced that they will continue lake trout suppression netting on Swan Lake for another five years. 89% of comments received by MFWP supported continuation of the popular netting project. Native bull trout populations have fallen by more than 50% since the discovery of a reproducing population of invasive lake trout in Swan Lake in 1998. Lake trout are now found throughout the Swan drainage including upstream Holland and Lindbergh lakes. The first three years of the experimental netting program have shown promising results and give anglers hope that removing some of the mackinaw will ultimately result in a rebound in our important native fish populations.

A good article in the August/September issue of Fly Fisherman Magazine outlines a promising project funded by Avista Utilities to map the genetics of migrating bull trout in the Clark Fork basin to track native fish to their spawning streams in hopes of providing more information for the restoration of threatened populations. Bypass ladders similar to the one recently opened at the Thompson Falls Dam on the Clark Fork are planned for both the Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids dams. Hopefully, this new genetic information will give managers more information about where fish using the ladders spawn and rear. “We’ll be able to read what age a fish is on the way up and on the way down, how long it takes to get through the system and how many are lost.” said USFWS Endangered Species Coordinator Wade Fredenberg of Kalispell.
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The Kalispel Tribe has signed a 10-year, $39.5 million agreement with federal agencies that focuses on actions to address impacts of Albeni Falls Dam on fish and wildlife in the area of Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho and on the tribe’s reservation along the Pend Oreille River about 55 miles north of Spokane. The agreement will allow the tribe, along with USACOE and BPA to do important habitat work for bull trout as well as work on improvements in water management to improve conditions for bull trout and other native fish in the Clark Fork basin.

“BPA is pleased to add the Kalispel Tribe to the growing list of tribes and states that are working together as partners to provide on-the-ground benefits for fish and wildlife,” said Lorri Bodi, vice president for BPA Environment, Fish and Wildlife. “Today there is widespread agreement that this comprehensive approach is the best plan for fish.”

The July-August issue of Montana Outdoors also reported on the MFWP Cherry Creek restoration project in Montana to restore native Westslope Cutthroat to a portion of their historic range. Genetically pure westslopes in the Upper Missouri have dwindled to less than 5% of their historic range and this project on Ted Turner’s ranch hopes to restore populations to an important tributary of the Madison River. Lee Nelson, coordinator of the MFWP Native Fish Program says, “I think most people would agree that any species that has existed in an area for thousands of years has an inherent value and should be maintained for future generations.”

So, while the outlook for our native fish populations may sometimes seem bleak, there remains some hope that these elegant native fish can maintain their important place in our aquatic ecosystems. Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited remains dedicated to doing all we can to protect and restore valuable native fish populations in our little part of Paradise.