Madison River/Ennis Reservoir fisheries and Madison River drainage westslope cutthroat trout conservation and restoration program : 2003 annual report to PPL Montana, Environmental Division, Butte and Turner Enterprises, Inc., Bozeman

2004·6.5 MB·English

by  Clancey, Pat, 1956-

MadisonRiverDrainageWestslopeCutthroatTroutConservationand
RestorationProgram
2003
AnnualReport
to
PPLMontana
EnvironmentalDivision
Butte
www.pplmontana.com
and STATEDOCUMENTSCOLLECTlCi.
TurnerEnterprises,Inc. c'Ji') I I2004
Bozeman
MONTANASTATELIBRARY
by HELEN1A51,5MEO.N6TtAhNAAVE5.962C
PatClancey
MontanaFish,Wildlife,&Parks
Ennis
May2004
www.fwp.state.mt.us
MONTANASTATELIBRARY
308640014 94494
INTERNETWEBPAGESCITEDINTfflSREPORT
(inalphabeticalorder)
MAqounattaincaNFuiissha,nWcieldSlpiefce,ie&sTPaasrkksForce .wWwWwW..fwapn.ssttaastkef.omrcte..ugsov
NewZealandMudsnailintheWesternUSA WWW.esg.montana.edu/aim/mollusca/nzms
PPLMontana .WWW.pplmontana.com
ProtectYourWaters .WWW.protectyourwaters.net
WhirlingDiseaseTaskForce .whirlingdisease.org
AllphotosinthisreportweretakenbyMFWPpersonnelunlessotherwisecredited.
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
Noyoung-of-the-yearArcticgraylingwerecapturedduringseininginEnnisReservoirin2003.
SeveralanglersreportedcatchingadultgraylingintheMadisonRiversouthofEnnisthroughoutthe
summer,aswellcatchingadultattheinletofEnnisReservoirandintheBypasssectionoftheriver
belowEnnisDam. Populationsoftwoyearold&olderrainbowtroutinbothlong-termmonitoring
sectionsintheupperriverdecreased,thoughyearlingnumbersincreasedoverthoseseeninrecent
years. IntheNorrissectioninthelowerriver,twoyearold&olderrainbowtroutwereattheir
highestlevelin15years. Twoyearold&olderbrowntroutnumbersinallthreesectionswere
withintheirlong-termhistoricrange,andyearlingnumberswerehigh. Therearenonoticeable,
consistentdetrimentaleffectsofthermalstressongrowthamong2,3,and4year-oldrainbowor
browntroutinthelowerriverwhencomparedtotheupperriver. Twenty-eightfishintheBypass
Reachwereimplantedwithradiotransmitterstomonitortheirmovementsseasonallyandin
responsetoflowchanges. Neitherjuvenilebrowntroutnorsculpinsin30-daycagedfeeding
studiesinDarlintonDitchingestedNewZealandMudsnails. Whirlingdiseasesentinelrainbow
troutyoung-of-the-yearcontinuetodevelopsevereinfection. Watertemperaturewasmonitoredat
14sitesthroughouttheMadisonRiver,andairtemperatureat7sites. TheSunRanchHatchery
wasusedtoincubatewestslopecutthroattrouteggsfortheElkhomMountainsWestslopeCutthroat
TroutRestorationProgram,andhalfofthosefiywerestockedintheSunRanchRearingPond. The
CherryCreekNativeFishIntroductionProjectproceededsuccessfullyin2003despitealawsuit
filedinfederalcourtthedaytheprojectwasinitiated. Persistentdroughtseverelyreducedthe
volumeofwaterinthestreams,andallsentinelandobservablefreeswimmingfishwerekilledby
thetreatments. Adultandjuvenileamphibiansexhibitednomortalityfromthetreatments,though
westerntoadtadpolesdid. TherainbowtroutspawningrunintoHebgenReservoirtributarieswas
lessthanhalfasstrongasin2002.
....TAB.LEOF.CONTENTS
Introduction
\
Methods .....
MadisonGrayling - 4
Gillnetting. .... 4
PopulationEstimates 5
TroutGrowth ^
MadisonBypass - g
TemperatureMonitoring jq
AquaticNuisanceSpecies - - - - _ . . 13
WestslopeCutthroatTroutConservation
andRestoration 24
HebgenReservoirTributarySpawning - - - - . 19
ResultsMaanddiDsiosncuGsrs.aiyolnin.g .-' .-~ ------2322
Gillnetting .... 23
PopulationEstimates
MTraoduitsoGrnoBwytpha.ss - --------------282g
TemperatureMonitoring 29
WAeqsuattsilcopNeuiCsutatnhcreoaStpeTcrioeustConservation ----- 29
HebagnednRReessteorrvaotiironTribu-taryS-pawni-ng -----333332
ConclusionsandFuturePlans
LiteratureCited
INTRODUCTION
MontanaFish,Wildlife,&Parks(MFWP)hasconductedfisheriesstudiesinthe
MadisonRiverDrainagesince1990toassessthestatusoftheArcticgrayling{Thymallus
arcticus)populationofEnnisReservoir,andtoaddresseffectsofhydropoweroperationsat
HebgenandEnnisdamsonfisheries(ByorthandShepard1990,MFWP1995,MFWP
1996,MFWP1997a,MFWP1998a,MFWP1999a,MFWP2000,MFWP2001,MFWP
2002a,MFWP2003). Thisworkhasbeenfundedthroughanagreement,initiallywith
MontanaPowerCompany(MPC),nowwithPPLMontana,ownerandoperatorofthedams.
TheoriginalagreementbetweenMFWPandMPCwasdesignedtoanticipaterelicensing
requirementsforMPC'shydropowersystemontheMadisonandMissouriRivers,which
includesHebgenandEnnisdams,aswellassevendamsontheMissouriRiver(Figure1).
PPLMontanahasmaintainedthedirectionsetbyMPC,andconvenedseveralcommitteesto
addressfisheries,wildlife,waterquality,andrecreationissuesrelatedtotheoperationofthe
hydropowerfacilitiesontheMadisonandMissouririvers. Thesecommitteesarecomposed
ofrepresentativesofPPLMontanaandseveralagencies. Eachcommitteehasanannual
budgetandauthoritytospendmoneythatisprovidedtothembyPPLMontanatoaddress
therequirementsofPPLMontana’sFERClicenseforoperatingtheMadison&Missouri
dams. TheMadisonFisheriesTechnicalAdvisoryCommittee(MadTAC)iscomposedof
personnelofPPLMontana,MFWP,theU.S.Fish&WildlifeService(USFWS),theUS.
ForestService(USFS),andtheU.S.BureauofReclamation(BLM). Eachentityhasequal
authorityindecisionmakingwithintheTAC. Collectively,theninedamsontheMadison
andMissouririversarecalledthe2188Project,whichreferstotheFederalEnergy
RegulatoryCommission(FERC)licensenumberthatauthorizestheiroperation. The
FederalEnergyRegulatoryCommissionissuedPPLMontanaalicensetooperatethe2188
Projectfor40years(FederalEnergyRegulatoryCommission2000). Thelicensedetailsthe
termsandconditionsPPLMontanamustmeetduringthelicenseterm,includingfish,
wildlife,andrecreationprotection,mitigation,andenhancementmeasures.
Duringthelate1990’s,numerousentitiesdevelopedtheMemorandumof
UnderstandingandConservationAgreementforWestslopeCutthroatTroutinMontana
(MUCAWCTM). TheMUCAWCTM,whichwasformalizedin1999(MFWP1999),
identifiesConservation&RestorationGoalsandObjectivesforWCT. ThePlanstates“The
managementgoalforwestslopecutthroattroutinMontanaistoensurethelong-term,self-
sustainingpersistenceofthesubspecieswithineachofthefivemajorriverdrainagesthey
historicallyinhabitedinMontana(ClarkFork,Kootenai,Flathead,upperMissouri,and
Saskatchewan),andtomaintainthegeneticdiversityandlifehistorystrategiesrepresented
bytheremainingpopulations.” Objectivesare:
1. ProtectallgeneticallypureWCTpopulations
2. Protectintrogressed(lessthan10%introgressed)populations
3. Ensurethelong-termpersistenceofWCTwithintheirnativerange
4. Providingtechnicalinformation,administrativeassistance,andfinancial
resourcestoassurecompliancewithlistedobjectivesandencourage
conservationofWCT
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Figure1. LocationsofPPLMontanadamsontheMadisonandMissouririvers.
5. Designandimplementaneffectivemonitoringprogrambytheyear2002to
documentpersistenceanddemonstrateprogresstowardsgoal
Objective3furtherstates“Thelong-termpersistenceofwestslopecutthroattrout
withintheirnativerangewillbeensuredbymaintainingatleasttenpopulationaggregates
throughoutthefivemajorriverdrainagesinwhichtheyoccur,eachoccupyingatleast50
milesofconnectedhabitat.. WithintheMissouriRiverDrainage,fourgeographicareas
areidentified,includingtheupperMissouriwhichconsistsoftheBigHole,Gallatin,and
Madisonsubdrainages.
EntitiesparticipatinginthedevelopmentoftheMUCAWCTMwereAmerican
Wildlands,MontanaChapteroftheAmericanFisheriesSociety,MontanaDepartmentof
NaturalResourcesandConservation(DNRC),MontanaFarmBureau,MFWP,Montana
StockgrowersAssociation,MontanaTroutUnlimited,MontanaWildlifeFederation,Natural
ResourceConservationService,BUM,USFS,USFWS,andprivatelandowners.
Latein1996,MFWPinitiatedaprogramentitled“TheMadisonRiverDrainage
WestslopeCutthroatTroutConservationandRestorationProgram”. Thegoalofthiseffort
istoconserveandrestorethenativewestslopecutthroattrout(Oncorhynchusclarkilewisi)
intheMadisonRiverdrainage. Fieldworkforthiseffortbeganin1997intributariesofthe
MadisonRiver. TheagreementbetweenMFWPandPPLMontanaincludesprovisionsto
addressissuesregardingspeciesofspecialconcern.
Inrecognitionoftheseverityofthesituationfacedbythewestslopecutthroattrout,
andinkeepingwiththephilosophyofpromotingnativespeciesontheirproperties.Turner
Enterprises,Incorporated(TEI)offeredaccesstotheCherryCreekdrainageontheFlyingD
Ranchtoassessitssuitabilityforintroducingwestslopecutthroat. CherryCreek,atributary
totheMadisonRiver,wasidentifiedasanopportunelocationtointroducegeneticallypure
W5.CTM,FWanPdidtewtielrlmpirnoevdidine1a9n9o7pptohrattuinnittryodtuocmiengetweosrtfsullfoiplelMcuUttChrAoaWttCoTChMerorbyjeCcrteiveeksi3s,4,&
feasible,butwouldrequiretheremovalofallnon-nativetroutpresentlyinthatportionofthe
drainage(Bramblett1998,MFWP1998b). MFWP,TEI,andtheGallatinNationalForest
(GNF)subsequentlyenteredintoanagreementtopursuethiseffort. Theagreementoutlines
therolesandresponsibilitiesofeachparty,includingtheGNF,whichmanagesthepublic
landattheupperendoftheCherryCreekdrainage. Administrativeandlegalchallengesof
theCherryCreekProjectdelayeditsimplementationfi-om1999-2002. Theprojectwas
successfullyimplementedin2003.
TheSunRanchhasenteredintoanagreementtoassistMFWPwithwestslope
cutthroattroutconservationandrecovery. Theranchbuiltasmallhatcheryfacilityanda
rearingpondtofacilitatedevelopmentofawestslopecutthroattroutbroodstockforthe
MadisonandMissouririverdrainages,andprovidedpersonneltoassistwithfieldwork
andconducthatcheryoperations.
3
METHODS
MadisonGrayling
Abeachseine(Figure2)isusedtomonitorindexsitesinEnnisReservoir(Figure
3)foryoung-of-the-yeargraylingandotherfishspecies. A125’x5’x%”meshseine
witha5’x5’x5’bagisfedoffamovingboatinwateruptofivefeetdeep,withaworker
inthewaterateachendoftheseine. Theseineispulledthroughshallowwaternearthe
shorelineforsomedistance,thenontotheshorelinewherecapturedfishareenumerated
byspecies. Ifbedsofmacrophytes(aquaticplants)wherejuvenilefisharelikelytorear
arepresentandaccessible,theseineispulledthroughthem.
Figure2. BeachseininginEnnisReservoir.
Gillnetting
GillnetswereusedtosampleadultfishinEnnisReservoirinearlyOctober2003.
GillnettngistypicallyconductedinEnnisReservoirinAugust,butwaspostponeddueto
otherworkpriorities. Experimentalnets,composedoffive25-footpanelsof
progressivelylargermesh(%”,1”,1Vi”,1Vi”2”)weresetatfourlocationsandleftto
fishovernight(Figure3).Forshorelinesets,thesmallestmeshwassetintheshallowest
water,thelargestmeshinthedeepestwater. Floatingnetswereusedattheshallowsouth
endofthereservoir,andonefloatingandonesinkingnetwereusedatthenorthend.
Becausethesouthendofthereservoirissoshallow,floatingnetsarecapableofsampling
theentirewatercolumn. Atthedeepernorthend,afloatingnetandasinkingnetwere
requiredtosamplepelagicandbenthicareas,respectively. Capturedfishwereremoved
fromthenets,separatedbyspecies,measured,weighed,enumerated,andreleased.
4
Figure3. LocationsofEnnisReservoirgillnet(letters)&seining(numbers)sites.
5