Acknowledgments

With great appreciation we would like to acknowledge the members and participants of the Lake Roosevelt & Banks Lake Hatcheries Coordination Team consisting of Dr. Allan Scholz of Eastern Washington University; John Whalen, Regional 1 Fish Program Manager of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife; Casey Baldwin, Kamia Knuttgen, and Matt Polocek of the Fisheries Monitoring Program for the Department of Fish & Wildlife; Jeff Korth, Region 2 Biologist for the Department of Fish & Wildlife; Tim Peone of the Spokane Tribal Hatchery; Keith Underwood of the Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Monitoring Program; and the staff of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Spokane Complex.

Funding for the hatchery water improvement project and the operation and maintenance of this program is provided by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), project number 21021. We thank Greg Baesler, Joe DeHerrera, and Ron Morinaka of the Bonneville Power Administration, Division of Fish and Wildlife, for their support and cooperation with this multi agency project.

We would like to thank the creel clerks, Aulin Smith, Joleen Kiesel, Jesse Schultz and others WDFW staff who assisted in the collection of data. We thank Dr. Scholz (Eastern Washington University) for helping get this project funded. We acknowledge the cooperation of Coulee Playland, the Sun Banks Resort, and the Washington State Parks for access to their properties. Thank you to all the anglers who took the time to divulge their angling information. Finally, we thank the Bonneville Power Administration for funding this project.

Ford Hatchery Annual Report: August 1, 2001 - July 31, 2002
NOVEMBER 2002

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Bonneville Power Administration’s participation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ford Hatchery, provides the opportunity for enhancing the recreational and subsistence kokanee fisheries in Banks Lake. Funds from the BPA will improve water quality and supply at the Ford Hatchery enabling increased fingerling production for the kokanee program. Funding from BPA also allows for additional fish food, materials and supplies associated with this program, as well as an additional employee (currently, a 9- month temporary) to assist in the operation and maintenance of the program.

The Ford Hatchery will produce 11,666 lbs. (700,000) kokanee for release as fingerlings into Banks Lake in October. Ford Hatchery’s production (along with Sherman Creek and the Spokane Tribal Hatchery) will contribute to a goal of one million kokanee yearlings for Lake Roosevelt and one million kokanee fingerlings and fry for Banks Lake.

While the origin of hatchery stock comes from Lake Whatcom, current objectives will increase the use of native (or, indigenous) stocks for propagation in Banks Lake and the Upper Columbia River.

The Ford Hatchery continues to produce resident trout (80,584 lb. per year) to promote the sport fisheries in trout fishing lakes in eastern Washington (WDFW Management, Region 1). Operation and maintenance funding for the increased kokanee program was implemented in FY 2001 and scheduled to continue through FY 2010. Engineering design and NEPA permits for the water improvement projects are concluding from FY 2001. A hatchery site visit by BPA and WDFW personnel associated with the improvement project on August 12, 2002 will complete the planning phase. The water projects are scheduled to begin in FY 2002.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Ford stocking programs will include existing WDFW creel and lake survey programs to assess resident trout releases in trout managed waters. BPA is also funding a creel survey to assess the harvest of hatchery kokanee in Banks Lake.