Arctic grayling restoration proposal, Upper Madison, Lower Beaverhead, and Missouri River Headwaters : environmental assessment

28 Pages·1999·1.5 MB·English

by  Montana. Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
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ARCTIC GRAYLING RESTORATION PROPOSAL : ;;:gk
UPPER MADISON, LOWER BEAVERHEAD,
AND MISSOURI RIVER HEADWATERS
JUNE 1999
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MEPA/NEPA/HB495 CHECKLIST
PARTI. PROPOSEDACTION DESCRIPTION
1. TypeofProposedStateActionProposaltoreintroducefluvialArcticaravlinato
threeriversitesintheupperMissouriRiverdrainageaboveTostonDam.
2. AgencyAuthorityfortheProposedActionMontanaFish,Wildlife&Parks
3. NameofProjectReestablishmentoffluvialArcticaravlina.
4. Name,AddressandPhoneNumberofProjectSponsor(ifotherthantheagency)
N/A
5. IfApplicable:
EstimatedConstruction/CommencementDateSeptember1999
EstimatedCompletionDateN/A
CurrentStatusofProjectDesign(%complete)N/A
6. LocationAffectedbyProposedAction(county,rangeandtownship)
1. MissouriRiverfromTostonDamtoitsheadwatersatThreeForks(22miles),
includingtheGallatinRiverfromitsmouthtotheconfluenceoftheEast
GallatinRiver(12miles),theMadisonRiverfromitsmouthtotheGreycliff
FishingAccessSite(21 miles),andtheJeffersonRiverfromitsmouthtothe
confluenceofWillowCreek(18miles).
2. MadisonRiverfromtheheadofEnnisReservoirtotheoutletofEarthquake
Lake(56miles).
3. BeaverheadRiverfromitsmouthtotheconfluenceofStoddenSlough(40
miles).
7. ProjectSize:Estimatethenumberofacresthatwouldbedirectlyaffectedthatare
currently:
(a) Developed: (e) Productive:
residential acres irrigatedcropland . acres
industrial acres drycropland ... . acres
forestry acres
(b) OpenSpace/Woodlands/ rangeland acres
Recreation acres other acres
(c) Wetlands/Riparian
Areas acres
(d) Floodplain _acres
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8. MUaSpG/sSit7e.5p'lasne:riaetsttacohpoagnraoprhiigicnamla8p1s4h"oxwi1n1g"tohrellaorcgaetriosnecatnidonboofuntdhaerimeosstofrtehceenatrea
thatwouldbeaffectedbytheproposedaction.Adifferentmapscalemaybe
substitutedifmoreappropriateorifrequiredbyagencyrule. Ifavailable,asiteplan
shouldalsobeattached.
Seeattachedmap.
9. NarrativeSummaryoftheProposedActionorProjectincludingtheBenefitsand
PurposeoftheProposedAction.
Arcticgrayling(Thvmallusarcticus)wereoncewidespreadintheMissouriRiverdrainage
upstreamfromGreatFalls. Duringthe20thcentury,therangeoffluvial,orriver-dwelling,
graylingbecamerestrictedtotheBigHoleRiver,whichrepresentsabout4%ofitsnative
range. TheBigHoleRivergraylingpopulationdeclinedinabundanceinthemid1980'sto
22permilein1989,aprecariouslylowlevel. Concernforthepopulationresultedin
formationoftheInteragencyFluvialArcticGraylingWorkgroup(FGW)tocoordinate
restorationoffluvialgraylingintheBigHoleRiverandthroughoutitsnativerangein
Montana. TheMontanaFluvialArcticGraylingRestorationPlanwasdevelopedtorecover
fluvialArcticgraylingwithagoalofatleastfivestable,viablepopulationsdistributed
amongatleastthreeofthemajorriverdrainageswithinthehistoricrangeofMontana
grayling.
AmemorandumofagreementbetweentheU.S.FishandWildlifeServiceandMontanaFish,
Wildlife&ParksrequiresfourreintroductioneffortstobeinprogressbyDecember31,
2000. ThereintroductionofgraylingtotheupperRubyRiver,aboveRubyReservoir,has
beenongoingsince1997;theNorthandSouthforksoftheSunRiverareslatedtobeginin
June1999. InJuly1998,theFGWsupportedthreeadditionalreintroductionsites:(1)the
MissouriRiverHeadwatersnearThreeForks,(2)theupperMadisonRiver,and(3)thelower
BeaverheadRiver(seeattachedmaps).
Thelongriverreacheswithinthedesignatedboundariesofthethreeproposedsitesare
targetedforgraylingreintroduction. However,introducedgraylingcouldstraybeyondthese
boundariesandpotentiallyestablishyear-roundorseasonalpopulationselsewhere. The
lengthofthereaches-40,56and73miles-shouldhelptominimizestraying. Theselong,
unimpededreachesareneededtoaccommodatetheseasonalmigrationsthatarebelieved
tocharacterizefluvialgraylingpopulations.
Thethreeproposedreintroductionsitesgenerallycontainsuitablegraylinghabitat,
specificallylongreachesoflow-gradientstream,deeppoolsandruns,adequatespawning
gravelandacceptablewaterquality. However,eachhasshortcomingsthatcouldhinder
success. Abriefdiscussionofeachsite'spositiveandnegativeattributesfollows.
1. MissouriRiverHeadwaters
Thisreintroductionsite,whichencompasses73rivermiles,beginsatTostonDam,
extendstotheMissouriRiverheadwatersatThreeForksandcontinuesupstream
intothelowerreachesoftheGallatin,JeffersonandMadisonrivers. Unimpeded
accessintolongreachesofpotentialgraylinghabitatcharacterizethesite. Thefour
affectedreachesontheMissouri,Madison,GallatinandJeffersonriverssupportlow
numbersofpotentiallycompetingnon-nativetrout,estimatedatabout225-600
adultspermileofriver;offeraccesstopotentialgraylingspawningareasinthe
Gallatin,MadisonandJeffersonRiverdrainages;containdeeppoolsandside
channels,habitatswellsuitedforgrayling;andsupportlowanglingpressure. Trout
populations,althoughlow,aredominatedbybrowntrout,apotentiallystrong
predator/competitorthatcouldinfluencereintroductionsuccess. Other
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shortcomingsincludetheperiodicsummerdewateringoftheMissouri,Gallatinand
Jeffersonriversandanaccompanyingincreaseinwatertemperatures,whichcan
reachnearlethallevelsforsalmonids;thechronicallyhighsummerwater
temperaturesofthelowerMadisonRiver,whicharepasseddownstreamtothe
MissouriRiver;andin-channelsedimentaccumulationsthatdegradepotential
graylinghabitats.
2. UpperMadisonRiver
This56-mile-reachbetweenEnnisReservoirandEarthquakeLakewasinitially
precludedasareintroductionsiteduetothepresenceof"lake-dwelling"graylingin
EnnisReservoirandthepotentialtogeneticallycontaminatethisresidentstock. A
subsequentgeneticriskassessmentconcludedthattheriskwasminimalanda
reintroductioncouldproceed.
WhirlingdiseasehasreducedtheMadison'soncethrivingrainbowtroutpopulation
toabout1,100ageoneandolderfishpermileinthePineButtesection,whichis
wellbelowthepre-whirlingdiseaseaverageofabout3,800fishpermile. Inthe
Varneysection,wheretraditionalgraylinghabitatsaremoreprevalent,rainbow
troutsdensitiesarecurrently350-400ageoneandolderfishpermile,reducedfrom
pre-whirlingdiseasedensitiesof500-1000fishpermile. Depressedrainbow
numbersintheMadisonRivercouldbenefitgraylingsurvival,therebyenhancing
reintroductionsuccess. However,theMadison'sdepressedrainbowpopulationis
stillpotentiallycapableofoverwhelmingtheintroducedgrayling. Infieldtrialson
theBigHoleRivertoobserveinteractionsbetweengraylingandrainbowtrout,
graylingwereabletodefendtheirpositionsagainstincursionsbyrainbowtroutuntil
rainbownumbersfarexceededthoseofgrayling,forcinggraylingtoexpendmore
energydefendingtheirpositionsthantheygainedfromfeeding. Oncerainbowtrout
exceededanapproximatedensityof500-1,000permile.BigHolegraylingwere
apparentlyunsuccessfulatcompetingforspace. Rainbowtroutdensitiesinthe
upperreaches(PineButte)oftheMadisonRiver,althoughmoderateatbest,may
exceedthecriticalthresholdderivedfromtheBigHolestudies. Avalidconcernis
thattheintroducedgraylingmaynotsuccessfullycompeteattheplanteddensities
likelytobeachievedintheMadisonRiver. Moreover,theMadison'sbrowntrout,a
potentiallystrongpredator/competitorofgrayling,continuetoflourishat1,000-
2,500fishperrivermile. Browntroutdensitiesarehighestdownstreamfrom
Varney,whichisalsothestretchhavingthebestpotentialhabitat-large,deep
pools,numeroussidechannelsandareasofslowmovingwater-forgrayling.
UpstreamfromVarney,fastflowing,shallowriffles-habitatslesssuitedforgrayling
-predominate. Habitatlimitationscoupledwithsignificantrainbowtroutdensities
andastrongbrowntroutpopulationarepotentialshortcomingsthatcouldhinder
success.
AnotherpotentialproblemisthereadyaccesstoEnnisReservoir. Atheory,
althoughunproven,isthatgraylingwillnotremainfluvialovertimeiftheyhave
unimpededaccesstoanearbylakeorreservoir. Plantedgraylingandtheiroffspring
couldenterEnnisReservoir,develop"lake-dwelling"traitsandonlyreturntothe
MadisonRiveranditstributariestospawn,therebyalteringthefluvialbehaviorof
theintroducedgrayling.
PositiveattributesoftheMadisonRiverreintroductionsiteincludetheabsenceof
significantstreamdewatering;presenceoffavorableyear-roundwatertemperatures;
excellentwaterquality;anabundanceofspawninggravel;goodoverallproductivity;
andhealthystreambanksandriparianhabitats.
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3. LowerBeaverheadRiver
ThedesignatedreintroductionsiteontheBeaverheadRiverencompassesthe40
milesofriverbetweentheconfluenceofStoddenSlough,downstreamfromDillon,
andtheriver'smouthatTwinBridges. ThedamatBarrett'sDiversionwould
preventgraylingfromstrayingupstreamandenteringthepopularandhighly
productivetroutfisheryoftheupperBeaverheadRiver. Interactionwiththegrayling
spuopcucleaetdiso.noLfotwhenunmeibgehrbsoroifngbrBoigwnHotlreoutRi(vearboiusta3p0o0ssipbeirlimtiyleif)rienihnatbriotdutchteion
reintroductionsite;fewrainbowtroutarepresent. Fishingpressureislow. Freshly
erodedgravelneededforspawningisreadilyavailable. TheconstructionofClark
CanyonDaminthemid-1960seliminatedtheextremedewateringthatlikely
contributedtothehistoricdemiseoftheriver'sgraylingpopulation. However,
periodicdewateringandaccompanyinghighwatertemperaturesarestillaproblem.
Aninvertedhydrograph(annualhighflowsoccurinwinter,ratherthanspring),poor
riparianhealth,andin-channelsedimentaccumulationscouldfurtherhindersuccess.
Selectivestockingofthethreereintroductionsitescouldbeginasearlyasfall1999.Yearling(over-
wintered)graylingdescendedfromwild,fluvialBigHolestockwillbeplanted. TheBigHoleRiver
graylinghavesurvivedmanyenvironmentalchangesoverthepast100years,includingstream
dewatering,elevatedwatertemperatures,barriersblockingseasonalmigrations,andnon-native
troutintroductions. ProgenyfromthesurvivingBigHolestockmayofferabetterchanceto
reestablishpopulationsinthemodifiedand/ordegradedaquaticreachesthatcharacterizevirtually
allofMontana'srivers,includingtheproposedreintroductionsites.
Stockingaminimumofabout350yearlingspermile-atotalof59,150forthe169milesof
affectedwater-istheannualgoal. Assumingabouta75%annualmortalityofstockedyearlings,
(basedonpreviousAlaskastudiesandoverwintersurvivalofstockedyearlinggraylingintheRuby
River1998-1999),approximately90survivorsarelikelytoremainpermileafteroneyear,whichis
srtoaugnhdlayrdthFeWBPighaHsolfeorRievsetri'msathiingghetshteddeennssiittyyotfhaatg'es1neaenddedoltdoerpgerrapyeltiunagteinaresceelnf-tsuysetaarisni-ngthgeraoynlliyng
population. Ifsurvivalafterthefirstyear'splantisinadequate,subsequentstockingratesmaybe
increased(ifexcessyearlingsareavailable)toimprovethechanceofsuccess.
FWPdoesnotanticipatehavingasufficientsupplyofyearlinggraylingtomeetreintroductiongoals
atallongoingandproposedsitesuntil2001. Untilthen,theproposedsiteswillbebroughtonline
basedonthesupplyofavailablegrayling. Oncestockingbegins,asitewillbeplantedforfour
consecutiveyearsunlessdataindicatethattheestablishmentofareproducing,self-sustaining
populationisunlikely. YearlinggraylingwillbereleasedinlateJuneorearlyJulyimmediately
followingspringrunoff.
Monitoringtoevaluatereintroductionsuccessandtodocumentfactorsthatmayhinderorhelp
futurereintroductionswillbeconductedbyFWP. Monitoringwillcontinueforatleastthreeyears
followingthelast(4th)yearofplanting. ThisallowsFWPtodetermineifreproductionbythe
progenyofstockedgraylingissufficienttosustainapopulation.
GraylingmonitoringwillbeincorporatedintoFWP'sexistingelectrofishingstudies,whichare
annuallyorperiodicallyconductedontheupperandlowerreachesoftheMadisonRiver,thelower
BeaverheadRiverandthelowerJeffersonRivertoassesstroutpopulations. Formerelectrofishing
studysectionsontheMissouriRivernearThreeForksandthelowerGallatinRiverwillbe
reactivatedtogathertroutdataandtomonitorgrayling. Establishedstudyreachesontheupper
MadisonRiverincludethe(1)PineButte,(2)Snoballand(3)Varneysections. Studyreachesfor
theMissouriHeadwatersreintroductionsiteinclude(1)theGreycliffsectionofthelowerMadison
River,(2)LogansectionofthelowerGallatinRiver,(3)ThreeForkssectionofthelowerJefferson
Riverand(4)TridentsectionoftheMissouriRiver. ForthelowerBeaverheadRiver,studyreaches
includethe(1)AndersonLane,(2)MuleShoeand(3)TwinBridgessections. Additionalsitesmay
besurveyedtodefinegraylingdistributionandtoidentifyimportanthabitats. Populationworkin
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