Concerns about the decline
of native salmon and trout populations have increased among natural
resource managers and the public in recent years. As a result, a multitude
of initiatives have been implemented at the local, state, and federal
government levels. These initiatives include management plans and
actions intended to protect and restore salmonid fishes and their
habitats.
In 1997, Snake River summer
steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were listed as “Threatened”
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This and other ESA listings
have emphasized the need for information about threatened salmonid
populations and their habitats.
The Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is entrusted with “the preservation,
protection, and perpetuation of fish and wildlife....[and to] maximize
public recreational or commercial opportunities without impairing
the supply of fish and wildlife (WAC 77.12.010).” In consideration
of this mandate, the WDFW submitted a proposal to the Washington State
Salmon Recovery Funding Board to assess salmonid distribution and
habitat conditions in some small Snake River tributaries in Southeast
Washington.
In 2001, the WDFW Fish
Management office in Dayton, WA, began a monitoring project to investigate
fish populations and habitat in tributaries of the Snake River and
in George Ck, an Asotin Ck tributary, within Asotin, Garfield, and
Whitman counties in cooperation with their respective county Conservation
Districts and the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board (through
the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation –IAC). The
purpose of this project was to continue the monitoring efforts begun
with the Asotin County Conservation District (ACD) in 2000, and collect
similar initial baseline data for streams within the Garfield Conservation
District (GCD), Palouse Conservation District (PCD) and Whitman Conservation
District (WCD).
Information collected during
this project will be useful to government agencies and land managers
as future decisions are made regarding fish management, land use,
and habitat restoration within Asotin, Garfield, and Whitman counties.
Landowners and managers may also benefit from increased access to
grants because of the documented presence of steelhead and an assessment
of habitat conditions.
