This week the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that Bull trout will remain a listed species in the contiguous United States. The decision was part of a five year status review requested by then Idaho governor Dirk Kempthorne (now US Secretary of the Interior). Mr. Kempthorne requested the review because he contended that Bull trout are thriving in Idaho and ESA protections are unwarranted.
Bull trout now inhabit approximately 45% of their historic range. Locally, a population exists in the South Fork Mckenzie estimated at three hundred adults as well as in the mainstem Mckenzie above the Carmen-Smith hydroproject that utilizes Anderson and Ollalie creeks as spawning and rearing habitat. Also, Bull trout have been recently documented spawing in the Upper Willamette river above Hills Creek reservoir for the first time in many years, no small accomplishment for the reintroduction project spearheaded by the US Forest Service in partnership with Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups. A healthy population exists in the Metolius, one of the only thriving populations in Oregon.
This is not the end of the matter: a decision will be made later this year on whether to break bull trout into five distinct populations that will be evaluated separately for future protection and recovery efforts. What that means is that Bull trout will likely have less protection in areas where the populations are reasonably healthy meaning that those somewhat healthy populations should get a chance at a relisting in the not so distant future. Brilliant.
