Bull trout nest numbers below average, but stable
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News from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
NORTHWEST MONTANA — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks have completed their bull trout redd count for 2015. These nests are typically four to six feet long by three feet wide, and easily identified by experienced field crew observers who walk known spawning areas. Redd counts are indicative of the abundance levels of spawning adult bull trout each year and used to assess status of bull trout populations in northwest Montana.
This is the 36th year of annual FWP index counts for Flathead Lake bull trout, which consists of parts of eight streams and is a partial count for the basin.
The count in the four North Fork streams over the past 10 years has ranged from 51 to 144, averaging 86 redds. The 2015 count of 50 is below this 10-year average, but similar to the counts of 54 in 2010, 58 in 2012 and 51 last year.
When only one redd was found in the Big Creek index section and none were found in a supplemental survey in Hallowat Creek, it was found that log debris accumulated as the result of two fires. An additional survey of the area found new gravel deposition and channel braiding, with extensive beaver activity that blocked most upstream migration. Twenty redds were observed in the area below the blockage, which has not contained suitable spawning habitat prior to the recent channel changes.
“It’s important to have the actual field counts as there is considerable agency and public interest in bull trout population status since they were listed under the Endangered Species Act,” said Mark Deleray, FWP Region One Fisheries Program Manager.
Deleray noted that bull trout redd counts provide a means to assess the status of bull trout populations over time, and that one year’s count alone is not indicative of a population trend.
