Bonneville Basin Area Report

Authors: Brandon Albrecht

Year: 2012 (xliv)

Abstract

With many thanks to a number of co-authors (not all were available at the time of abstract submission, but to be presented and acknowledged during the presentation); this year’s Area Report will provide an overview of activities and highlights associated with native aquatic species found within the Bonneville Basin. The June Sucker (Chasmistes liorus) Recovery Program continues to be very active with the propagation of June sucker from brood stock held at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) hatchery facility at the Fisheries Experiment Station (FES), Logan, Utah. Record numbers of June sucker are returning to the Utah Lake tributaries to spawn. The least chub (Iotichthys phlegethontis) was petitioned to list in 2008, and the Fish and Wildlife Service’s 12-month finding was released in June 2010 (warranted but precluded). The UDWR has been working diligently toward habitat creation and restoration for least chub, and some of these actions will be highlighted. The northern leatherside chub (Lepidomeda copei) was petitioned to list and recently subjected to a 12-month status review. In late 2011, listing of the northern leatherside chub was found to be not warranted. The states of Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, and Idaho and federal agencies formed the range-wide team for the northern leatherside chub, and this team continues to remain active. Founding of this team has spurred various sampling and management efforts pertaining to this unique species, and in Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho, several populations are being studied. For example, the UDWR recently and successfully introduced northern leatherside chub into Gold Hill Creek, a tributary of the Hayden Fork of the Bear River in Summit County, UT (within the historic range of the species), and have already documented successful recruitment as a result. The southern leatherside chub (Lepidomeda aliciae) team is active, and the Southern Leatherside Chub Conservation Agreement and Strategy is supported by signatory agencies solely within Utah. The UDWR and Utah State University (USU) are collaboratively conducting a study geared towards Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) in the Weber River. This study is shedding light on interesting metapopulation dynamics of this charismatic and desirable native trout. Also in the Weber River, the UDWR continues to investigate the unique population of bluehead suckers (Catostomus discobolus) found there, and their population status will be updated. USU researchers have been monitoring and conducting a long-term evaluation of native and introduced fishes in the Logan River. These efforts have included population estimation, movement data collection, disease tissue sampling, and have benefited from public outreach and collaboration with stakeholders. Efforts on the Logan River, by USU, have also furthered the ecological understanding of mechanisms to help in the management of native species, particularly by providing insights into biotic resistance by native Bonneville cutthroat trout to the establishment of exotic brown trout. Overall, the outlook for native aquatic species in the Bonneville Basin has improved thanks to these and countless other efforts conducted during the past year.