The oregon bull trout STRATEGY (STRATEGY) links bull trout management actions with research and monitoring information, data organization, and analyses to achieve recovery most effectively in an…

This $163,588 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Recovery Implementation program (CFDA 15.657) supports continued implementation of the Oregon Bull Trout Strategy. The project aims to:

1. Develop a centralized website to disseminate data, reports, and other products from the Oregon Bull Trout Strategy, which links management actions to research and monitoring to facilitate bull trout recovery.

2. Inventory the distribution and hybridization rates of non-native brook trout in Oregon's bull trout core areas to inform future management plans.

3. Provide a statewide coordinator to participate in local bull trout working groups, promote coordination, and align recovery efforts with state and regional priorities.

This two-year project builds upon previous work by the State of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to assess bull trout population status, model habitat, monitor demographics, and prioritize recovery actions across the state. The online repository and brook trout management plan will help address gaps in data access and invasive species management for the benefit of Oregon's endangered bull trout.

The oregon bull trout STRATEGY (STRATEGY) links bull trout management actions with research and monitoring information, data organization, and analyses to achieve recovery most effectively in an accessible and transparent manner. The STRATEGY supports the bull trout recovery plan through five primary elements 1) assess core area status using the threats assessment tool, 2) project future habitat availability and probability of occupancy using species distribution models, 3) monitor demographic status of bull trout, 4) prioritize recovery actions using a decision support model, and 5) disseminate data and information through a website. The STRATEGY relies on 12 bull trout working groups in oregon for data to assess status, evaluate threats, and implement recovery actions. IT is the role of the STRATEGY to support these working groups by providing statewide resources, tools, and direction. The implementation of the STRATEGY is complete except for the fifth element, disseminate information. A website is needed to facilitate the distribution of information within and among the working groups. Through the STRATEGY oregon has developed a variety of tools to assist with status assessment and prioritization of actions. These products are difficult to locate and access. This project proposes to develop a central online repository for documents, tools, and data to be accessed by natural resource professionals, decision makers and the public working with oregon bull trout. In the absence of a website information will continue to be siloed within the working groups, often stored on local computers, and potentially lost with staff turnover. In addition, through the implementation of the STRATEGY, nonnative brook trout was identified as a significant, but unmanaged, threat to oregon bull trout. Brook trout compete with bull trout for food and space and the two species can hybridize. Although IT is not possible to eradicate brook trout everywhere in oregon, IT is likely there are locations where the suppression or eradication of brook trout is feasible, practical, and beneficial to bull trout. This project proposes to create an inventory of current knowledge of brook trout distribution and hybridization rates in bull trout core areas. This inventory will serve as the basis of future data collection efforts and ultimately a site-specific brook trout management plan. Oregons bull trout working groups meet annually to share information, assess status, set priorities, and coordinate recovery activities at a local level. A statewide bull trout coordinator is needed to participate in each working group to continue the implementation of the STRATEGY, promote coordination between working groups, and provide a regional perspective of recovery. A coordinator, acting on behalf of odfw and FWS, will identify statewide priorities and help facilitate processes beyond the scope covered by any single bull trout working group. Without a person functioning in this capacity momentum gained since the inception of the STRATEGY could be lost and connectivity to state and regional recovery priorities interrupted. The purpose of this project is to continue providing leadership around bull trout recovery and the strategic implementation of the bull trout recovery plan in oregon. This project proposes to complete the implementation of the STRATEGY through the development of a website to disseminate data, reports, and STRATEGY products. This project also adds an additional element to the STRATEGY, the development of a brook trout management plan, to provide guidance for managing brook trout for the benefit of bull trout resiliency in oregon. Finally, this project will work closely with odfw and USFWS to support bull trout working groups to continue implementation of the STRATEGY and contribute a statewide perspective to local, state, and regional discussions.