Monitoring fluvial bull trout migration and movements in the Lemhi River Subbasin, Idaho: integrating PIT tag technology with radio telemetry Kevin Poole a and Jeff DiLuccia Idaho Department of Fish and Game a Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Salmon, Idaho 2015 PIT Tag Workshop

STUDY AREA Lemhi River Subbasin 3,289 km 2 2,140 stream km 251 cfs (mean annual flow) High elevation topography  3,900 – 12,195 ft

Source: Idaho Dept. of Water Resources, gravity diversions Heavily diverted by irrigation 2 out of 31 tributaries connected  Hayden Creek  Big Springs Creek USFWS identified critical habitat LEMHI SUBBASIN WATER DEVELOPMENT Connected Lemhi Subbasin Tributary Status: 2008

Tributary Reconnection Restoring Perennial Stream Flows Habitat Restoration LEMHI CONSERVATION PROGRAM (LCP)

 Screening (ongoing) Canyon Creek Functional Reconnection Little Springs Creek Complete Restoration Kenney Creek Functional Reconnection Big Timber Creek Bohannon Creek Hawley Creek  Diversions/Screens  Additional Flow  Flow  Barriers/Screens IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS

HABITAT ACTION EFFECTIVENESS MONITORING IMW: Intensively Monitored Watershed ISEMP: Integrated Status & Effectiveness Monitoring Program

PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE Presence of fluvial sized Bull Trout: Lemhi mainstem Hayden Creek Big Timber Creek Kenney Creek

: Upper Salmon River migration study (Schoby and Curet 2007) 15 radio tagged 2006: Lemhi Subbasin migration study (Lamperth et al. 2006) 32 radio tagged RADIO TELEMETRY

Migration Results RADIO TELEMETRY Upper Salmon River Study Mean Length (mm): 466 ± 82 ( ) Lemhi River Subbasin Study: 2006 Lemhi River Subbasin Study Mean Length (mm): 493 ± 89 ( ) Hayden Creek Prespawn Migration Upper Salmon River Study: 2005

RADIO TELEMETRY Bull Trout Movements Upper Salmon River Study None detected entering or leaving Lemhi Subbasin Winter habitat: mainstem Lemhi Lemhi River Subbasin Study Detected entering or leaving Lemhi Subbasin Winter habitat: mainstem Lemhi and Salmon River Movement Results

13 of 31 tributaries monitored Three Upper Salmon River arrays PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY 2007: PIT tagging initiated 2008 – Present: PIT tag arrays Support habitat actions

PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY 3247 tagged Bull Trout Mean Length (mm): 196 ± 92 (56-740) Tagging Results (n=2899) (n=343)

PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY 90% Tagging Results

PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY 1018 (31%) Bull Trout detected Detection Results (n=608) (n=409)

PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY Mean Length (mm): 435 ± 80 ( ) Hayden Creek Prespawn Migration Migration Results

Tributaries/Reaches Hayden Creek Mainstem Lemhi Kenney Creek Pattee Creek PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY Movement Results

Hayden Creek PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY 704 (38%) detected leaving Hayden 64 detected leaving Lemhi subbasin  Overwintered in upper Salmon River 17 detected in tributaries  Kenney Creek  Little Springs Creek  Wimpy Creek Movement Results

PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY 55 (41%) detected leaving mainstem 30 detected leaving Lemhi subbasin  Overwintered in upper Salmon River 42 detected in Hayden Creek Four detected in other tributaries  Kenney Creek  Big Timber Creek Movement Results Mainstem Lemhi

Kenney Creek PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY 14 (5%) detected leaving Kenney One detected leaving Lemhi Subbasin One detected In Hayden Creek Movement Results

Pattee Creek One (5%) detected elsewhere  No PIT tag array Detected in Hayden Creek PIT TAG TECHNOLOGY Movement Results

DISCUSSION RADIO TELEMETRYPIT TAG TECHNOLOGY Expanding Our Knowledge

Integrating technologies is beneficial Fluvial Bull Trout utilizing greater extent Interchange of Bull Trout populations Supports and directs future adaptive management:  Lemhi River Subbasin  Bull Trout DISCUSSION Management Implications

Through the years, all of the: IDFG Fisheries Biologists, Technicians, and Bioaides PSMFC Fisheries Biologists and Technicians ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Any Questions? It’s hard to work with this view!

Lampert, J., C. Claire, and J. Lutch Fluvial bull trout Salvelinus confluentus migratory dynamics and life history in the Lemhi River subbasin, Idaho. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Report 07-11, Boise. Murphy, P. and M. Horsmon Kenney Creek fisheries report. Idaho Department of Fish and Game Anadromous Screen Program, Salmon. Murphy, P. and M. Horsmon Big Timber Creek fisheries report. Idaho Department of Fish and Game Anadromous Screen Program, Salmon. Schoby, G.P. and T. Curet Seasonal migrations of bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout, and rainbow trout in the upper Salmon River basin, Idaho. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Report 07-12, Boise. (USFWS) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chapter 17, Salmon River Recovery Unit, Idaho. 194 pages in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bull trout Salvelinus confluentus draft recovery plan. Portland, Oregon. LITERATURE CITED