Bull Trout spawner abundance and critical habitats 2019–2020 – Year 2

This multi-year project will estimate Bull Trout spawner abundance, to identify important populations and critical habitats. The results will inform conservation and enhancement actions. This project addresses priority monitoring needs identified in the FWCP’s Bull Trout Information Synthesis and Monitoring Framework.

Update: New critical bull trout spawning habitat identified

Twenty-four new areas of critical bull trout habitat—including 16 critical spawning zones—have been identified in the Williston Reservoir Watershed, thanks to aerial surveys of almost 400 km of streams as well as juvenile bull trout sampling. Redds were spotted in three new sections of the watershed—Collins Creek, Pesika Creek tributary, and Silver Creek—bringing the total number of bull trout critical habitat segments in the watershed to 133, including 72 critical spawning zones.

Bull trout depend on access to stream habitat for spawning and rearing. This project, delivered by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Chu Cho Environmental, and John Hagen and Associates, with FWCP funding, provides key data to inform future projects aimed at conserving and enhancing critical habitat for this focal species.