Bull trout population assessment in northeastern Oregon: a template for recovery planning Annual Progress Report for 2004

Within the overall framework of conservation and recovery planning for threatened

bull trout, this project provides critical information on abundance, trend, vital rates,

habitat needs, and information on the potential for improving survival at one or more

life stages. In addition, the project gathers information related to population structure structure
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(age, life history, and genetic components). We provide a template against which

different strategies for monitoring and evaluation can be evaluated in terms of

accuracy, precision, and cost/effort. The data and conservation assessment tools

provided by this project will ultimately help guide the US Fish and Wildlife Service in

determining the necessary courses of action and management actions for recovery of

bull trout populations throughout this as well as other provinces. The project was

initiated in 2002 and has continued through 2004, with plans to continue work

through 2005. To meet our goals, we have developed and implemented each year, a

comprehensive mark-recapture program including two tag types, multiple capture

techniques (both passive and active) and systematic sampling of two large study

areas (South Fork Walla Walla and North Fork Umatilla rivers) with a high degree of

effort. We also study habitat needs of bull trout within a hierarchical arrangement of

spatial scales and are evaluating the environmental and biological cues for migration

as well as the potential for genetic distinction between life-history types.