Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation Fish Stocking and Operations/Maintenance Project

Located on ID/NV border  Deemed sufficient to provide ample fish and wildlife resources for subsistence

Bruneau and Owyhee subbasins  Southernmost drainages to Columbia River  Historic runs of anadromous salmonids  Salmon and steelhead were a significant part of Tribal culture  Used for subsistence as well as for trade goods  Identified by NPCC (1995) as “blocked areas”

Dam Construction  Brownlee Dam - completed in 1958  Oxbow Dam – completed in 1961  Hells Canyon Dam – completed in 1967

Mitigation for loss of salmon/steelhead  Construction of 3 reservoirs on DVIR –Sheep Creek Reservoir  Completed in mid-50s  ~855 acres –Mountain View Reservoir  Completed in 1969  ~640 acres –Lake Billy Shaw  Completed in 1998  ~430 acres

Reservoir Management –managed as a put and take fishery – originally funded by USFWS –BPA assumed funding in 1988 –Tribal and visiting anglers primary users

Fish Stocking  Rainbow trout are target management species  Sourced from two southern ID hatcheries –College of Southern Idaho (Twin Falls, ID) –Black Canyon Trout Farm (Grace, ID)  Annually plant ~ 95K fish –LBS receives ~ 17K triploid rainbow trout –SCR and MVR receive ~ 78K rainbow trout

Operations and Maintenance  Monitoring and Evaluation –Important component used for adaptive management –Biological data  Fish health, growth –Water quality data  Temperatures  Dissolved oxygen  pH –Angler information  CPUE, angler satisfaction

Operations and Maintenance  Key infrastructure components –Dams, boat launch facilities, docks –Many at or near end of useful life –Significant component of angling satisfaction –Replacement/upgrades needed –Surrounding recreation areas (campgrounds) are vital to lure visitors to remote location  Overnight stays are most common  98 miles north of Elko  96 miles south of Mountain Home  150 miles south of Boise

Water Quality  All reservoirs are relatively shallow – depth average of < 12 feet  Inflow of water is tied to irrigation uses  Turbidity problem at SCR –Sources identified –Project proposal developed, seeking funding  Issues related to temperature, DOs –Reservoirs routinely stratify in late July – mid August –Hypolimnion has low DO values

Future Monitoring  Bathymetric mapping  Feasibility of steelhead re-introduction  Propose the use of elastomer tags to track cohorts –Unknown if over-winter survival is an issue –Multiple stockings at different times of the year make tracking by size class difficult

Questions?

Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation Fish Stocking and Operations/Maintenance Presented to NPCC – ISRP January 18, 2012