Over the last two centuries, bull trout populations have declined across North America. The bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, once thrived in the Columbia River Basin and coastal rivers of Washington and Oregon, extending north into British Columbia and Alberta.

Bull trout are members of the genus Salvelinus, which also includes Arctic char, brook trout, and lake trout. Like its relatives, male bull trout exhibit brilliant colors during the spawning season. Bull trout migrate during summer, traveling up to 150 miles from lakes and rivers upstream to their natal headwaters to spawn.

A variety of factors have been cited in the decline of bull trout. Habitat degradation and fragmentation, migratory fish passage obstacles, poor water quality, the effects of climate change, bounty fishing, and the introduction of non-native fish species.

Currently, American bull trout populations are scattered across portions of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada. They populate several river systems including the Klamath,Columbia and Snake River Basins. In 1998, bull trout were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

In 2011, bull trout were re-introduced into the Clackamas River after a nearly 50-year absence. The reintroduction team included representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S.Geological Survey, and Mt. Hood National Forest. The project was one of several bull trout restoration programs that are ongoing in western river systems.

bull trout      (photo credit: USFWS)

As part of an overall recovery strategy for bull trout, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will reintroduce the species to the Clackamas River, a major tributary of the Willamette River.

Beginning in the summer of 2011, bull trout of different life stages will be reintroduced into historic bull trout habitat in the upper Clackamas River, within the Mt. Hood National Forest.

The project is expected to include additional fish transfers annually for at least seven and possibly up to 15 years.  The goal is to reestablish a self-sustaining population of 300-500 spawning adult bull trout within 20 years.

Bull trout are primarily threatened by habitat degradation and fragmentation, blockage of migratory corridors from hydroelectric and diversion dams, poor water quality, the effects of climate change, and past fisheries management practices, including targeted eradication through bounty fishing and the introduction of non-native species such as brown, lake, and brook trout.

Bull trout have been extirpated from four sub-basins in the Willamette River Basin, including the Clackamas River. Once widely distributed in the Clackamas River, the last known bull trout was documented there in 1963.  The species is highly unlikely to re-colonize the area naturally due to the geographic distance to existing bull trout populations.

Once plentiful throughout the coldwater rivers and lakes of the Northwest, bull trout populations in the U.S. are now scattered and patchy in portions of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada.

Bull trout occur in the Columbia and Snake River Basins, extending east to headwater streams in Montana and Idaho and north into Canada, and south into the Klamath River Basin in south-central Oregon.  Though still wide-ranging, many of the remaining populations are small and isolated from each other.

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. Some bull trout in the Coastal-Puget Sound population migrate between fresh- and saltwater.

Bull trout require extremely cold, clean water and specific habitat features, as well as connectivity from river, lake, and ocean habitats to headwater streams for annual spawning and feeding migrations.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Recreational anglers in the Pacific Northwest can continue fishing for hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon through June 15 on a section of the Columbia River stretching 163.5 miles above Bonneville Dam.

The spring chinook fishery was extended by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon, who recently agreed that enough fish are still available under the catch limit to allow anglers to keep fishing until the summer chinook salmon season starts June 16. The popular spring chinook fishery was already scheduled to run through June 15 below Bonneville Dam.


Anglers can retain up to two hatchery adult chinook salmon, marked with a clipped adipose fin, as part of their daily catch limit. Sockeye salmon and hatchery-reared steelhead also count toward anglers’ adult daily limit.

All unmarked chinook and steelhead must be released unharmed.

source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Keta (chum) salmon are considered to be almost extinct on the Oregon side of the lower Columbia River, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A cooperative effort of the Oregon and Washington departments of fish and wildlife seeks to restore populations of this unique salmon species to the river.

During early April, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) released 106,000 juvenile chum salmon into lower Big Creek in the first phase of project attempting to re-establish the species.

Keta salmon began to disappear from the Oregon side of the river more than 50 years ago. Biologists believe that severe habitat degradation and other factors played a key role in their decline.

The approximately 50 adult chum salmon male and female pairs used to produce the 2½ -inch fry at ODFW’s Big Creek Fish Hatchery were donated to Oregon by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The adults were captured last fall in Grays River, a tributary of the lower Columbia on the Washington side of the river.

If adult keta salmon make it back to Big Creek, they will be captured and spawned at Big Creek Fish Hatchery to produce more eggs and fry for release in subsequent years.

ODFW hopes to generate enough seed stock over time to begin out-planting keta in other lower Columbia tributaries that are considered suitable for the species.

Keta salmon are generally more selective in their choice of spawning habitat than other species, according to Knutsen. These colorful salmon especially seek out upwelling areas associated with springs and seeps, he said, and they also prefer very clean, well-sorted gravel that is free of sands and silts that could smother their eggs.

If the program works as planned, chum salmon will reproduce naturally in sufficient numbers that they will no longer need a boost from Big Creek Hatchery.

source: ODFW

"Teach today. Fish tomorrow." is the theme for a March conference for volunteers and educators who teach about fish and help protect habitat. The event will be held March 26 and 27 in Rockaway Beach, Oregon.

The event is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program (STEP).

The conference also is a chance for teachers and informal educators to see what educational resources and partnerships are available through the STEP program and the organizations it works with.

The conference begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 26 at the Twin Rocks Friends Camp in Rockaway Beach, Ore. Participants will be able to select from sessions on a variety of topics such as partnering with local teachers, connecting STEP to local communities, managing volunteers and the impact of changing social, political and environmental climates on STEP programs.

On Sunday, March 27 attendees may choose between two optional field trips – a half-day drift boat trip on a nearby river to capture wild winter steelhead for the local broodstock program, or a half-day kayak tour of the Nehalem Bay. There is an additional $20 fee for the field trips.

Registration for the conference is $45 and must be received by March 6, 2011. Pre-registration is required for both the conference and the Sunday field trips.

To register or learn more about the conference and nearby lodging, go to: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/STEP/step-conference.asp

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is offering a 2011 Winter Steelhead Guide. The guide offers the novice steelhead angler an overview of where and when to fish during the winter steelhead season.

The guide also includes updates on access and regulations, and lists other changes that could affect fishing.

Anglers will find the guide on ODFW’s website at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/RR/steelhead_guide/index.asp