Location
UMass Amherst
Event Website
http://fishpassage.ecs.umass.edu/Conference2012/
Start Date
7-6-2012 1:50 PM
End Date
7-6-2012 2:10 PM
Description
Avista Corporation (Avista) operates Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge hydrologic developments on the lower Clark Fork River near the Montana-Idaho border. Avista's pro-active relicensing application process for these facilities involved years of planning and consensus building among 27 stakeholder groups representing state and federal agencies, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organizations. This nationally recognized effort culminated in the Clark Fork Settlement Agreement (CFSA) in 1999. Approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2000, the CFSA addressed fisheries management and mitigation efforts through the Native Salmonid Restoration Plan (NSRP). The NSRP utilizes adaptive management in implementing diverse fisheries programs that address fish passage, tributary habitat, pathogens, genetics, and non-native species among others. Development of upstream fish passage for adult bull trout has been challenging due to the unfamiliarity of this species' fish passage requirements and the dynamic nature of the two tailraces. Extensive tailrace telemetry studies, flow modeling, as well as experimental, smaller scale fish passage facilities culminated in the formation of an expert review panel and an agreement of fish passage proceedings between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Avista. This agreement led to the design of permanent fishways for both Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids dams. Concurrent with this fishway development process, upstream passage efforts that utilize capture by electrofishing, hook-and-line, and a fish ladder trap, and upstream transport of adult bull trout began in 2001. To date these efforts have passed a total of 365 adult bull trout upstream. Ongoing monitoring of these passage efforts included a genetic parentage study that confirmed the contribution of transported fish to upstream populations. It is anticipated that the operation of fishways in the lower Clark Fork River will build upon this reconnection for not only bull trout but for other native species of the lower Clark Fork River.
Session A8 - Fish Passage Development on the lower Clark Fork River
UMass Amherst
Avista Corporation (Avista) operates Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge hydrologic developments on the lower Clark Fork River near the Montana-Idaho border. Avista's pro-active relicensing application process for these facilities involved years of planning and consensus building among 27 stakeholder groups representing state and federal agencies, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organizations. This nationally recognized effort culminated in the Clark Fork Settlement Agreement (CFSA) in 1999. Approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2000, the CFSA addressed fisheries management and mitigation efforts through the Native Salmonid Restoration Plan (NSRP). The NSRP utilizes adaptive management in implementing diverse fisheries programs that address fish passage, tributary habitat, pathogens, genetics, and non-native species among others. Development of upstream fish passage for adult bull trout has been challenging due to the unfamiliarity of this species' fish passage requirements and the dynamic nature of the two tailraces. Extensive tailrace telemetry studies, flow modeling, as well as experimental, smaller scale fish passage facilities culminated in the formation of an expert review panel and an agreement of fish passage proceedings between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Avista. This agreement led to the design of permanent fishways for both Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids dams. Concurrent with this fishway development process, upstream passage efforts that utilize capture by electrofishing, hook-and-line, and a fish ladder trap, and upstream transport of adult bull trout began in 2001. To date these efforts have passed a total of 365 adult bull trout upstream. Ongoing monitoring of these passage efforts included a genetic parentage study that confirmed the contribution of transported fish to upstream populations. It is anticipated that the operation of fishways in the lower Clark Fork River will build upon this reconnection for not only bull trout but for other native species of the lower Clark Fork River.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2012/June7/16
Comments
Sean's interest in fisheries began with his passion for fishing growing up in Amherst Massachusetts. His first experience in the field was at a trout hatchery and continued as a volunteer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and fieldwork while attending the University of Massachusetts. Sean transferred to the University of Montana in 1993 and received his Masters Degree from Montana State University, in 2001. Sean started with Avista in 2000 as a technician and as was hired as a biologist in 2001. His work with Avista has centered around their cooperative bull trout mitigation programs and has involved various aspects of inland fisheries biology and management. These aspects have included: habitat improvement, non-native interactions and suppression, fish passage efforts, remote sensing, and life history studies, among others; along habitats that have varied from rearing tributaries, to rivers, to reservoirs and Lake Pend Oreille.