community news
august17
2017
13
ODFW Test-Drops Larger Trout in Eagle Cap Mountain Lakes
Larger trout may better
survive high lake conditions
Thousands of juvenile trout
were airlifted to the Wallowa Mountains
recently by the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to supplement
the fish populations of lakes within the
361,000-acre Eagle Cap Wilderness in
Northeast Oregon.
The Eagle Cap Wilderness has
some of Oregon’s most beautiful moun-
tain lakes, including the state’s highest
lake, Legore Lake, perched above the
Wallowa Valley at an altitude of 8,950
feet. More than 40 lakes in the Eagle
Cap are above 7,000 feet.
“The extreme conditions in-
volved in maintaining healthy fish popu-
lations in a landscape above 7,000 feet
has its own challenges,” said Jeff Yanke,
ODFW district fish biologist in Enter-
prise, adding, “but anglers have consis-
tently told us that fishing is one of the
recreational experiences they expect
when they go to the wilderness.”
ODFW stocks Eagle Cap
Wilderness lakes by helicopter every
two years. The stocking program is paid
for with federal Sportfish Restoration
Program dollars, which is funded by a 10
percent excise tax on the sale of fishing
equipment. In this way, ODFW seeds
off-the-beaten-track lakes with rainbow
trout that will hopefully grow to become
the eight inchers that anglers can legally
retain.
The challenges juvenile trout
face in the high mountains are consider-
able. First there is the long fall from the
aerial stocking device (ASD) or “shut-
tle” underneath the helicopter to the cold
waters of the high lake. In some of those
lakes, the rainbows may encounter east-
ern brook trout, which were stocked in
the high lakes decades ago and are a vo-
racious predator. Freezing cold water is
another factor in the high lakes that can
take a toll on fish.
One way to improve survival
rates is to start with larger fish. Fish
biologists have long known larger fish
are better able to withstand the forces of
nature than smaller fish. However, larger
fish also take up more space, which
means fewer of them will fit into the
two-gallon containers on the helicopter
shuttle that ODFW uses to transport fish
to the high lakes.
This year ODFW’s Enterprise
office began testing three sizes of rain-
bow trout to see which one may fare
better with the presence of brook trout
in Oregon’s highest lakes. The con-
trol group, raised to a target size of 2.5
inches, is similar to what ODFW has re-
leased into the high lakes in the past and
most commonly used for aerial stocking
in other locations. This year two larger
sizes: 3- and 4-inch rainbows – were
also tested to see if there is any improve-
ment in survival rates as the result of
using larger trout. This part of the study
will be completed in three to four years.
“Our study was initiated to see
if we could increase rainbow survival in
our lakes enough by raising a larger fish
to overcome predation and competition
by naturally producing brook trout,” said
Kyle Bratcher, ODFW assistant district
fish biologist in Enterprise.
One of the concerns was that
larger fish might suffer more severe
injuries when they hit the water after
a 70-foot free fall because their bodies
have more surface area to injure. Finding
little or no documented evidence of this,
the biologists simulated an air stocking
event by dropping these different groups
from varying heights into a small
reservoir in advance.
Preliminary results indicate
that all three size groups have high
post-drop survival rates, according to
Bratcher, who noted that samples were
sent to ODFW’s fish lab in La Grande
where they will be assessed for bruising,
injuries and other signs of trauma.
In addition, ODFW crews will
sample survey the stocked lakes two
years from now, with captured fish
identified as to species, length, weight,
and other criteria that will lead to
estimates of population abundance,
growth, and condition.
ODFW Commission Adopts
2018 Sport Fishing Regulations
The Fish and Wildlife Commis-
sion adopted 2018 sport fishing regula-
tions at its meeting in Salem. Some of
the changes anglers will see next year
include:
• Anglers with a two-rod endorsement
will be able to use up to five rods when
ice fishing (statewide).
• There will be additional opportunity
for retention of hatchery spring Chi-
nook from January 1-July 31 in some
NW Zone streams including the Wilson,
Trask, Nestucca, Kilchis River(s).
• No bag or size limits for bass in the
lower Deschutes River.
• Change in the kokanee bonus daily bag
limit in Wickiup Reservoir and Lake Bil-
ly Chinook to 5 kokanee per day in ad-
dition to the daily trout limit (so anglers
can take up to 10 kokanee per day).
The Commission was also
briefed on a draft updated Cougar Man-
agement Plan and heard public testimony
about it. The Plan to guide management
of cougars was last updated in 2006.
The current draft Plan does not propose
major management changes. It does in-
corporate more scientific literature and
Oregon-specific research about cougars,
including a genetics and habitat analysis.
The updated Plan will continue to stress
coexistence with Oregon’s more than
6,000 cougars.
The Commission approved
grant funds for nine Restoration and En-
hancement Projects to improve angler
access or facilities, or enhance fisheries,
and appointed John Breese of Prineville,
OR as the Landowner Representative to
the Access and Habitat Board.
The Commission is the policy
making body for fish and wildlife issues
in Oregon. Its next meeting is September
14-15 in Welches, OR.
Vernonia School Board Meetings are held on the second Thursday
of each month. The next School Board Meeting is scheduled
for September 14 at 6:00 pm in the Schools Library.
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