Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a Notice of Availability for its draft recovery plan for the Coastal-Puget Sound (CPS) distinct population segment (DPS) of bull trout.
Two separate volumes comprise the draft recovery plan for bull trout in this distinct population segment: the Puget Sound Management Unit is addressed in Volume I, and the Olympic Peninsula Management Unit is the focus of Volume II.
The Coastal-Puget Sound DPS of bull trout encompasses all Pacific Coast drainages within the State of Washington, including Puget Sound. Distinct population segments are groups of organisms from the same species that occupy geographically discrete areas. The Coastal-Puget Sound DPS is separated from other populations of bull trout by the Columbia River basin to the south and the crest of the Cascade Mountain Range to the east. This population segment is highly significant to the species as a whole, since all types of bull trout can live in the Puget Sound area, including the only known anadromous (born in fresh water, moves to salt water and then back to fresh water) forms of bull trout in the coterminous United States.
Bull trout are protected as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act throughout their U.S. range, which includes parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Nevada.
A 5-year review of the species listing classification also is underway and today, in a separate action, the Service announced it is extending the public comment period on the 5-year review until January, 3, 2005. The 5-year review will look at all new information about bull trout that has become available since the species was listed for Federal protection in 1999.
The draft recovery plan released today contains recommendations for recovering bull trout in the Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound areas. The recovery and delisting of the bull trout will depend upon achieving the recovery goals and criteria laid out in this recovery plan. The overall recovery strategy for the Coastal-Puget Sound bull trout is to integrate with ongoing Tribal, State, local and Federal management efforts already underway at the watershed and regional scales, such as the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound (http://www.sharedsalmonstrategy.org/). This coordination will maximize the opportunity for complementary actions, eliminate redundancy, and make the best use of available resources for bull trout and salmon recovery.
Bull trout populations in this region have been in decline as a result of both historical and current land use activities, including dams and diversions, forest management practices, fisheries management, agricultural practices, road construction and maintenance, and residential and urban development. The bull trout was listed as a threatened species in the Coastal-Puget Sound Distinct Population Segment on 1November 1, 1999 (64FR58910).
There are five distinct population segments of bull trout in the lower 48 states. In Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula, the DPS is unique for several reasons. Besides containing the only anadromous forms of bull trout in the coterminous United States, there is an overlap in distribution with Dolly Varden, another species extremely similar in appearance to the bull trout, but distinct genetically.
In October of 1999, more than 150 leaders on salmon issues from throughout Puget Sound gathered in Port Ludlow, Washington, to discuss the regions growing salmon (including bull trout) crisis. At this meeting, a group representing Federal, State, tribal and local governments agreed to develop a shared strategy to facilitate a coordinated regional approach to salmonid recovery. The resulting organization, Shared Strategy for Puget Sound (SSPS), is developing a collaborative recovery plan for the region that is guided by clear goals and meets the broad interests for salmon and bull trout in Puget Sound. The shared strategy is an effort to engage local citizens, Tribes, technical experts and policymakers to build a practical, cost-effective recovery plan endorsed by the people living and working in the watersheds of the Puget Sound region.
"We have been extremely impressed with the efforts of Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, the State, Tribes, watershed councils, private landowners and representatives of industry and conservation groups who have worked with our biologists to determine what it will take to protect and recover bull trout," said Ken Berg, Manager of the Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office in Lacey, Washington. "We will continue to encourage the partnership and initiative we have seen thus far with incentives and support."
An example of this collaboration is the development of expedited consultations from the FWS and NOAA Fisheries for the Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, on its development of a Regional General Permit for fish-friendly piers in lakes Washington and Sammamish.
"We believe this will help private citizens take actions that assist bull trout recovery in the Puget Sound and Olympic Peninsula Management Units," Berg said.
On June 25, 2004, the proposed critical habitat for this DPS of bull trout was announced in the Federal Register. The critical habitat proposal and the draft recovery plan are closely linked. However, critical habitat is designed to provide for the conservation of a species in areas that require special management, whereas a recovery plan is a much larger blueprint providing guidance for the recovery and eventual delisting of a species.
The recovery management units are largely based on watersheds and river basins and parallel existing state plans as much as possible. More discussion of recovery objectives can be found in the accompanying Recovery Question and Answer document and individual management unit documents. Recovery plans are advisory only and carry no regulatory authority.
"Bull trout recovery, like salmon recovery, will require unprecedented partnership and patience on the part of citizens and government agencies in the Puget Sound area," said Dave Allen, Regional Director of the Services Pacific Region. "We are showing the Nation what a region can do when it cares so much about its natural and cultural resources."
Also today, the Service released a draft recovery plan for the Jarbidge River (Nevada) population of bull trout. Draft recovery plans for the Columbia River Basin, Klamath River Basin and St. Mary-Belly River populations of bull trout were released in November 2002. Following the public comment period for the draft recovery plans for the Jarbidge and Coastal-Puget Sound population, the Services work on recovery planning for bull trout will temporarily stop pending completion of the 5-year review.
Bull trout are members of the char subgroup of the salmon family. They require very cold, clean water to thrive and are excellent indicators of water quality and stream health. Char have light-colored spots on a darker background, reversing the dark-spots-on-light-background pattern of trout and salmon. Bull trout have a large, flattened head and pale-yellow to crimson body spots on an olive green to brown background. They lack teeth in the roof of the mouth.
Some bull trout populations are migratory, spending portions of their life cycle in larger rivers or lakes before returning to smaller streams to spawn, while others complete their entire life cycle in the same stream. They can grow to more than 20 pounds in lake environments and live up to 12 years. Under exceptional circumstances, they can live more than 20 years.
Bull trout have declined due to habitat degradation and fragmentation, blockage of migratory corridors, poor water quality, past fisheries management, and the introduction of non-native species such as brown, lake and brook trout. While bull trout occur over a large area, many of the populations are small and isolated from each other, making them more susceptible to local extinctions.
A Notice of Availability of the draft recovery plan was published in todays Federal Register. Comments on the draft recovery plan will be accepted until October 29, 2004, and may be mailed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 510 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey, Washington 98503. Written comments also may be submitted at upcoming public meetings and hearings. The hearings will provide opportunities to submit oral testimony. Meetings and hearings are scheduled for:
Information Meeting Dates/Times & Location
July 12, 2004: 6:30-9 p.m.
Dungeness Riverside Park
Audubon Meeting Room
Sequim,Washington
July 14, 2004: 4-7 p.m.
Edmonds City Hall
Edmonds, Washington,
Public Hearing Date & Location
August 10th, 2004: 1-3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.
Tumwater Comfort Inn, I-5,
Exit #101
Washington
(Information is available one hour beforeeach hearing period)
Maps, fact sheets, photographs and other materials relating to today's announcement may be found on the Pacific Regions Bull Trout Website at http://species.fws.gov/bulltrout. Video of bull trout is available to television stations by calling our Regional External Affairs Office at 503-231-6121.
The Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office of the USFWS is based in Lacey, Washington and addresses Federal fish and wildlife issues from the crest of the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Canadian border to the Columbia River. The office is responsible for listing, recovery and consultation on species protected under the Endangered Species Act; the development of Conservation Plans; collaborative implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan in Western Washington; issues involving migratory birds and other species protected by Federal laws; environmental contaminants assessments and spill response; fish and wildlife habitat restoration; review of proposed Federal projects, including Clean Water Act activities, and technical assistance on fishery resource issues. The Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Office is the lead USFWS pointy of contact for issues with Statewide implications.
