Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited

Council,

The fall meeting is October 26 in Boise at Idaho Fish and Game Nature Center.  The agenda is not final and subject to change.  Below are some topics to peak your interest.

Council Business
NLC Report
National meeting report
Idaho Council Website 101- A how to use and post
Idaho Water Project update and introduction new director- Mark Davidson
IDFG report- Ed Schriever, IDFG staff
Effects of this summer fires on fish- TU Staff (Helen or Dan)
Owyhee basin initiative, TU staff (Pam and Kurt)
Idaho Youth of Trout Unlimited-Christina Assante
Elections for State officers
ICA Scholarship fund

We have secured a rate at the Holiday Inn Express on Parkcenter in Boise.  The hotel is located across the river from Fish and Game headquarters and Nature Center.  Also, close access to downtown Boise.  Please ask for the Trout Unlimited state council meeting rate which is  $83.00/night.  The number to call 1-208-345-2002  or 1-855-799-6861.  If you have any problems Cindy Crane is the manager that set this up.

http://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/boise/boidt/hoteldetail/directions

Other hotels close by meeting  site:

Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Boise –
222 S. Broadway Avenue, Boise, ID, 83702, US
(800) 321-2211
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/boicy-courtyard-boise-downtown/

Hampton Inn & Suites Boise-Downtown
Address: 495 S Capitol Blvd, Boise, ID 83702
Phone:(208) 331-1900
hamptoninn.hilton.com/Boise

For the Adventurous:
Modern Hotel
W Grove Street Boise ID 1-866-599-6674
modernhotel.reservationcounter.com

The agenda is still being finalized and will send out asap.
Best Regards,
Chris

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council, meeting in Boise on September 16, voted to protect forage fish from the development of commercial fisheries.  This is good for salmon and steelhead which rely on forage fish when at sea.  Check out Idaho Statesman reporter Rocky Barker’s blog about it here.

Idaho Trout Unlimited weighed in with comments during the public testimony period prior to the vote.  The letter follows:

Representing Idaho outdoor anglers who care about salmon and steelhead, the Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited ask the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to fulfill the commitment it made a year ago to prohibit unregulated fisheries targeting forage fish on the West Coast. The time to act is now, and we urge the Council to begin the process of amending one or more of its management plans to extend protection to currently unmanaged forage species.

John Ellsworth, VIce Chair of the Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited, speaks to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council in Boise

The Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited works to conserve, protect, reconnect, and restore Idaho’s coldwater fisheries and watersheds. While our fisheries may be located hundreds of miles from the ocean, we know that recovering salmon and steelhead runs depend on a healthy ocean ecosystem. Every year, millions of ocean‐bound juvenile salmon and steelhead migrate through mountain streams, over dams, and past cities and farms. Their survival depends to a large degree on forage fish as cover from an array of predators. Later, after leaving the river, they depend on forage fish as a critical food source for the bulk of their life cycle in the ocean.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) wrote a letter in November 2012 stating that electric ratepayers spend $250 million a year to offset the damage to salmon habitat caused by federal hydroelectric dams. In its letter to the PFMC, the NPCC cited its independent scientific analysis finding that the Columbia’s estuary and plume are “exceptionally important” in determining the proportion of juvenile salmon and steelhead trout that will return to the basin as spawning adults, largely because of the presence of forage fish.

The Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited is supportive and appreciative of the Council’s attention to this matter and the work it has done to transition to an ecosystem‐based approach to fisheries management by adopting a Fishery Ecosystem Plan. We understand the Council doesn’t control all of the factors affecting the survival and recovery of Pacific salmon and steelhead. Significant money and effort is expended to restore their freshwater habitats, yet salmon and steelhead spend the majority of their lives in the Pacific ocean and we are dedicated to ensuring they have the best chance possible to return. The Council has an opportunity now to take an important step forward in helping to maintain a healthy ocean ecosystem so our salmon and steelhead can return home to Idaho.

Sincerely,

Chris Jones, Chairman

Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited

Mark Davidson will pursue collaborative water projects with agriculture
community

Boise—Trout Unlimited today announced the hiring of Mark Davidson as TU’s new director of the Idaho Water Project. In the position, Davidson will oversee collaborative projects throughout Idaho that encourage smart water management and meet diverse needs, from agriculture and industry to fish and wildlife resources.

“We’re excited to have Mark’s leadership and experience on board for Trout Unlimited,” said Scott Yates, director of TU’s Western Water Project, which has completed scores of landowner habitat conservation projects in six Western states. “Trout Unlimited has a track record of working with ranchers, landowners and other water users to find balanced, commonsense solutions that keep our rivers and fisheries intact and healthy. For years here in Idaho, Mark has been a leader in bringing folks together to find win-win solutions. He’ll hit the ground running.”

Mark Davidson demonstrates one of his job qualifications as the new director of Trout Unlimited’s Idaho Water Project

Mark has worked for more than a decade for The Nature Conservancy in their Hailey office. In the first few years at TNC, he managed the Silver Creek Preserve. Since 2003, as TNC’s Senior Conservation Manager for central Idaho, he has been involved with numerous innovative land and water transactions, including a number of restoration projects in the Upper Salmon River.

An Idaho native who grew up on a small farm on the Snake River Plain, Mark understands the needs and realities of agriculture. In the past decade, he has worked closely with the ranch and farm community, completing restoration projects that enhance Idaho’s rivers and streams while improving water management and irrigation infrastructure for producers.

“There are tremendous opportunities in Idaho for developing projects that benefit fisheries as well as ranchers and water users,” said Mark. “I look forward to working with old friends in the agriculture community as well as meeting new ones to find pragmatic solutions.”

Mark will be based in Hailey and can be reached at mdavidson@tu.org.

At the spring meeting the consensus was to have the fall meeting in Boise.  The date for the meeting will be October 26, last Saturday of the month.  For added incentive, the South Fork of the Boise and Owyhee should both still be fishing well at that time.

Hope to see you there,

Chris Jones

Idaho TU State Council President

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has a website showing information collected from hydro-acoustic tags implanted in lake trout in Yellowstone Lake.

The hydro-acoustic transmitters implanted in adult lake trout help to document movement patterns in Yellowstone Lake.  “This will assist with active netting activity and identification of spawning areas that can subsequently be targeted for embryo destruction. These data are critical for expanding management options for suppressing invasive lake trout,” according to the website.  The image above shows the location of the numerous hydro-acoustic receivers arrayed across the lake.  When a fish implanted with a hydro-acoustic transmitter comes within 500 meters of one of these receivers a signal is received and recorded.

Idaho Trout Unlimited is the official sponsor of Lake Trout 189.  Click on the link at left to see a list of months where data on this particular fish has been downloaded.  Check out September 2012 to view what appears to be a rather active month for this fish!  The animated depiction of the signals picked up by receivers lasts one minute.  It is best viewed when enabling the full screen option on the viewer.

A number of other lake trout transmitter tags are sponsored by TU Chapters from across Idaho.  Information on those fish is posted on our official Save Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout page.  Other important updates on this project are posted on that page.

The Hemingway chapter had a particularly productive summer, fall and winter of 2012-2013. Fish rescues, kids’ education, access maintenance, plus fishing outings kept the chapter busy. TU staffer Chad Chorney helped lead the charge by organizing an Adopt-A-Trout program in the Wood River Valley last November. Pioneer Montessori School in Ketchum, with teacher Tom Downey and his very enthusiastic students, also participated in the event. The students and teachers, IDFG, and Hemingway volunteers gathered at the Big Wood River on a cold fall morning. While Fish and Game staff assembled the electroshocking equipment, chapter members gave the students a quick introduction to aquatic insects–flipping rocks to show them mayfly crawlers and caddis cases.

Twenty-four rainbow and brown trout were captured, placed in holding tanks with anesthesia before the radio tags were inserted into each fish. Before the procedure, the students measured and weighed each trout. Students named each fish after recording length and species information prior to returning the trout safely back to their aquatic environs. The next morning Chad released “Sparkle”, “Tiny”, “Frankenfish” and their friends to the Big Wood River.

Throughout winter the Montessori students monitored individual trout movements using radio telemetry technology noting that most of the radio-implanted fish were holding within the same reach of river where they were captured. However, some of the larger browns swam downstream toward Magic Reservoir. Carmen Northen later visited the classroom and did a presentation on aquatic insects for the students. She brought specimen bottles containing stoneflies, mayflies, scuds and caddis as well as boxes of flies. Students shared accounts of how they tracked the in-stream movements of their trout buddies. It’s encouraging to see young students so enthusiastic about trout, habitat and conservation.

The Hemingway chapter restarted their monthly meetings after taking a summer hiatus. Whiskey Jacques in Ketchum became the new host for the club’s meetings and comfortably accommodates 75 or more people with food and refreshments.

Last fall club members rescued over 11,000 fish stranded in local irrigation canals. Thanks to the cooperation of the water master and irrigators, board member Carl Evenson successfully negotiated gradual fall drawdowns on several canals. Carl’s negotiating efforts allowed most of the fish to swim back to the river or into the deepest pools below the headgates where they were captured and returned to the river. John Finnell, one of our dedicated and very creative chapter members, built a mobile 300 gallon fish rescue tank for his truck. The tank consists of bubbler stones and oxygen tanks to provide captured trout recovery time and a safe ride. John installed a 4 inch wide port with flexible hose thereby ensuring the fish a gentle “water slide” back into the river. This is yet another great example of Trout Unlimited volunteers making a difference.

Carmen Northen

Idaho NLC

The spring meeting is fast approaching.  We will be meeting June 1 at the Clarion Inn in Pocatello.  They are holding a block of rooms for us at $75 /night.  When you call and make reservations tell them you are with Trout Unlimited.

Clarion Inn (ID057)
1399 Bench Road, Pocatello, ID, US, 83201
Phone: (208) 237-1400Fax: (208) 238-0225
http://www.clarionhotel.com/hotel-pocatello-idaho-ID057/Hotel

Look forward to seeing everyone in Pokey.  Soon,  I will send out a meeting location for our Friday night get together.

Thank you for your time

Chris

Blackfoot River Project
by Matt Woodard
Blackfoot Home Rivers Initiative Project Manager

Two irrigation diversions were completely rebuilt to improve fish passage. One diversion on Diamond Creek, another on Lanes Creek now utilize instream rock weirs for elevating water to the correct level for irrigation while providing excellent fish passage. New diversions will now incorporate fish screens as part of each improvement. This work has opened up approximately 25-30 miles of new fish spawning and rearing habitat that was previously blocked!

The next fish habitat improvement is to rebuild 5-6 miles of Upper Lanes Creek. This aspect will completely fence off the stream project area, build new off-site water installations and incorporate rebuilding quality fish habitat that removes in-stream sediments and stabilizes the banks. These improvements will have big implications for downstream landowners.

Efforts continue in working with the Bear Lake Grazing Company to re-meander a section of Sheep Creek, a tributary to lower Lanes Creek. This project could be another big win for Yellowstone Cutthroat trout.  Sheep Creek historically produce large numbers of native fish in the Upper Blackfoot. Sheep Creek was straighten out over time and subsequently lost its ability to dissipate energy. Rebuilding Sheep Creek is another big step in restoring Yellowstone Cutthroat trout populations within the Blackfoot watershed.

The Blackfoot HRI is working with IDFG on the Pelican issue. One goal is an attempt to restore some sort of balance to the pelican population on the Blackfoot Reservoir.