The Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI) is awarding $232,640 in grant funding for eight projects that benefit native trout species across the western United States, including two in Wyoming. The community-based projects are funded through the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The projects were selected because of their emphasis on collaborative action to address some of the biggest challenges facing the restoration and recovery of western native trout.
“Our main objectives are to leverage and support strategic, local efforts that stabilize, recover and improve populations of western native trout,” said WNTI Coordinator Therese Thompson. “In addition to the grant funding we’re providing through the National Fish Habitat Partnership, local partners have secured additional matching funds totaling $2.33 million dollars for these projects.”
The following native trout habitat projects have been approved for funding by WNTI for 2018:
WYOMING: Coal Creek Bank Stabilization and Sediment Reduction. This project benefits an important Bonneville Cutthroat Trout stream in western Wyoming by improving riparian and aquatic habitat condition and function, reducing sediment loading, enhancing stream habitat connectivity, and improving road function. The lead partner is Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
WYOMING: West Pass Creek Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Restoration. This multi-phased project involves removing nonnative trout and establishing a temporary fish barrier to protect a pure population of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. Completion of subsequent phases will expand native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout to a 6-mile stream network, and will boost recruitment and the resiliency of the species in the West Pass Creek drainage. The lead partner is Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
COLORADO: Rock Creek Recovery Program Phases 3 and 4. This project will create a connected population of Greenback Cutthroat Trout across Rock Creek and its tributary Black Canyon, eliminate whirling disease from a portion of the drainage where it is established, and provide seven stream miles for native trout on a combination of private land and National Forest. The project includes an innovative approach to intermediate barriers, featuring two temporary barriers that can be removed and replaced as needed, along with one permanent barrier at the downstream end of the project reach. The lead partner is Colorado Trout Unlimited.
IDAHO: Kootenai River GMU Redband Assessment. This project seeks to improve the current level of knowledge regarding Interior Redband Trout distribution and abundance in the Kootenai River Basin and provide information critical for the protection and or restoration of Redband Trout populations and their habitat in the basin. The lead partner is Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
IDAHO: Tincup Creek Stream Restoration Project, Phase 2. This is the second phase of a project to improve riparian conditions and habitat for Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, northern leatherside chub, boreal toad, western pearl shell mussels and bluehead suckers. The lead partner is Trout Unlimited.
NEW MEXICO: Leandro Creek Restoration Project. The project will isolate and extend 2.5 miles of current habitat for a core Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout population with an additional 5.25 miles of habitat on Leandro Creek through construction of a new barrier to replace an aging wooden barrier and control of non-native salmonids. The lead partner is Turner Enterprises, Inc.
OREGON: Deep Creek Town Diversion Fish Passage. Restoring fish passage for Warner Lakes Redband Trout and Warner Sucker is the focus of this project, which will complete a fish passage solution for a diversion dam that has been an upstream fish passage barrier for over 100 years. The lead partner is Lake County Umbrella Watershed Council.
OREGON: Wood River Ditch Fish Screen. This project will eliminate entrainment of native fishes while ensuring water delivery to private landowners and water users by installing a functioning fish screen and energy efficient irrigation pumps, representing an important step in protecting Redband Trout populations in the upper Klamath basin. The lead partner is Trout Unlimited.
WNTI is an initiative of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies that seeks to cooperatively restore and recover 21 western native trout and char species across their historic range. Since its inception in 2006, WNTI has directed almost $5 million in federal fish habitat funds leveraged with an additional $19 million public and private matching dollars for 123 priority native trout conservation projects.
For more information about these projects, visit https://westernnativetrout.org/2018-funded-projects/.
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Photo by: Aaron Nistler / USFWS
