You may download the complete report by clicking the links below: Final Pygmy Whitefish Status Report Sep/98 - PDF Format (223K) Draft Pygmy Whitefish Status Report Apr/98 - PDF Format (105K) The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife maintains lists of species that are endangered, threatened, or sensitive in the state. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has adopted listing procedures developed in 1990 by a group of citizens, interest groups, and state and federal agencies (WAC 232-12-297). The procedures describe the process for listing species, criteria for listing and delisting, public review, and recovery and management. The first step in listing or delisting species is writing a status report that reviews a species’ status and addresses factors affecting its continued existence. Factors include, but are not limited to, historic, current, and expected population trends; natural history, including ecological relationships; historic and current habitat trends; population demographics and their relationship to long-term sustainability; and past and present management activities. Each status report undergoes a 90-day public review, during which the Department holds public meetings to receive comments and new information. Following the review period, the Department completes a final status report and listing recommendation. These undergo an additional 30-day review prior to being presented to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. State Environmental Policy Act documents are issued concurrently with final status reports and undergo a 14-day public review. The Commission makes a decision to list or delist species solely on biological status of a species. This is a Final Status Report for the Pygmy Whitefish. Submit written comments on this report by October 1, 1998 to: Endangered Species Program Manager, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia WA 98501-1091 or e-mail your comments to wildthing@dfw.wa.gov. The Department will present the results of this status review to the Fish and Wildlife Commission for action at its October 27, 1998 meeting.

Final Pygmy Whitefish Status Report: Executive Summary Pygmy whitefish (Prosopium coulteri) are remnants from the last ice age. In North America they are distributed across the northern tier of the United States, throughout western Canada and north into southeast Alaska. Pygmy whitefish are also found in one lake in Russia. Washington State is at the extreme southern edge of their native range in North America. Pygmy whitefish are most commonly found in cool lakes and streams of mountainous regions. Streams they inhabit are of moderate to swift current, and may be silty or clear. In lakes, pygmy whitefish are frequently found in deep unproductive waters. However, they have been collected from smaller, shallow, more productive lakes in British Columbia and Washington. Washington lakes containing pygmy whitefish are typically unproductive. Pygmy whitefish have been caught in water depths ranging from 7 to 92 m in Washington. Depending upon availability, food items consumed by pygmy whitefish include crustaceans, aquatic insect larvae and pupae, fish eggs and small molluscs. Pygmy whitefish spawn in streams or lakes from late summer to early winter, depending upon geographic location and elevation. They probably scatter their eggs over coarse gravel, as do other species in this genus. Presumed spawning runs have been noted in several streams. Lake spawning by pygmy whitefish may have been observed in Priest Lake, Idaho in late October. Although lake spawning had not previously been documented in Washington, the presence of pygmy whitefish in Bead Lake, which has no spawning streams, verifies its occurrence. Pygmy whitefish presence in heavily sampled lakes has often gone undetected because of the fish's small size (usually under 20 cm) and tendency to inhabit the deeper portions of lakes. Only recently, when sampling techniques were modified to target pygmy whitefish, was the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife able to pinpoint their distribution in Washington State. Historically, pygmy whitefish resided in at least 15 lakes in Washington. Currently they inhabit only nine. We do not know the status of the populations in these lakes. Their demise in six lakes is attributed to piscicides, introduction of exotic fish species and/or declining water quality. Pygmy whitefish, particularly in smaller lakes, are vulnerable to exotic fish species introductions and declining water quality, both of which may constrict their habitat. Because of the very limited range of the pygmy whitefish in Washington, we believe they are vulnerable and likely to become endangered or threatened in a significant portion of their remaining range without cooperative management. For these reasons, the Department recommends that pygmy whitefish be listed as a sensitive species in the state of Washington. For more information on wildlife management issues, please contact WDFW Wildlife Management Program. Phone: 360-902-2515 E-mail: wildthing@dfw.wa.gov Files formatted in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print. You can download the free reader directly from Adobe. Windows versions are approximately 4MB in size.