Conservation

Cutthroat trout may be the state fish, but the redband trout is itself a state gem. Redband trout are a subspecies of rainbow trout that are native to the interior portion of western North America. In the U.S., this includes Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Montana, and Nevada.

Redband trout are similar in appearance to rainbow trout such as the familiar rosy pink stripe from their gills to their tail. But there are a few differences too, such as larger, more rounded spots, and parr marks which persist into adulthood. Check out the May 2020 edition of the Wildlife Express magazine to learn more about redband trout.

Wood River Basin

The Wood River Basin in central Idaho lies on the very eastern edge of the native range of redband trout (Figure 1). Like many other river basins in southern Idaho, the Wood River Basin has been hydrologically isolated from the Snake River for quite a long time. Over 50,000 years ago, glaciation and volcanic activity formed the Malad Gorge Falls, an almost 60-foot-tall waterfall that prevents upstream movement of fish from the Snake River into the Wood River Basin. Due to this isolation, there are several fish species that are unique to this system.

The Wood River sculpin is found nowhere else in the world. The basin is also home to populations of bridgelip suckers and mountain whitefish, which are genetically unique from all other populations in Idaho. It was also recently discovered that redband trout in this basin are also genetically distinct from other redband trout populations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Map outlining the species composition at each stream reach surveyed in 2003 (left) and 2021-2022 (right) in the Wood River Basin (where RBT = Redband Trout, BKT = Brook Trout, and BNT = Brown Trout). Survey stream reach, main stem rivers, reservoirs and Idaho towns are also outlined.

 

 

 

Trout populations are notorious for fluctuating widely from year to year and thus must be monitored through time. More surveys will be used to assess whether the changes we recently observed continue into the future. That is why you often see Fish and Game staff working in streams around the state, monitoring our fish populations. In locations like the Wood River Basin where genetically distinct fish lineages reside, these surveys help us understand and manage such unique fish populations.

 

*Hemingway TU did not write this article and is reposting from the ORIGINAL IDFG article.

Friends and Supporters,

It has been a few months since our last update but rest assured that we have been monitoring the activities and all communications by Phoenix Copper as it relates to the proposed Empire Mine in Mackay, ID, including multiple conversations with the CEO of Phoenix Copper and ongoing contact with other members of management.

Phoenix Planning and Financing Process

As a reminder, there are multiple critical steps in the exploration, development, permitting, determining “Economic Feasibility” and filing of a Plan of Operations (PoO) before construction of a proposed mine like Empire can even be considered. There are also other important input and approvals required; local community input, formal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approval of the PoO including an Environmental Impact Statement. Ultimately, final financing “terms and conditions” can only be negotiated after these steps are in place and before actual operations can begin.

In a very recent email to Phoenix Copper about the status and expected completion date of all these critical steps, the CEO didn’t answer the direct questions, but said on November 20 that they “have had for some time …3 groups of investors seriously interested in investing in the project.” Statements and representations about the supposed $300 million financing have been made repeatedly since early 2023. Later in the day, Phoenix Copper formally announced the “Extension of Loan Facility” until December 8th. This $2 million working capital loan will simply enable them to keep their few employees, pay the rent and keep the office lights on.

Our Activities

In an earlier March 2022 Update, we stated that “…our real work will begin when Phoenix Copper/Konnex Resources resubmits its Plan of Operations”. The initial filing of a PoO, submitted in early 2021, was rejected by the BLM as “incomplete”. The Challis office of the BLM responded to us only a few days ago that “We have not received any updates on Konnex’s future. They have not resubmitted a revised PoO and it has been almost 2 years.”

Both Trout Unlimited (TU) and Idaho Conservation League (ICL) have continued to work closely together. TU completed an extensive water rights study of the Big Lost River (May 2023). Both groups have toured the Empire and Navarre Creek sites on the ground and more recently from the air thanks to the help of a nonprofit group called EcoFlight (See more here). ICL has also regularly and frequently been in contact with the BLM, US Forest Service and publicly taken an outspoken position in the Idaho Mountain Express and their own periodic newsletters regarding the importance of remediation practices following mine completion and ongoing monitoring.

We have also been monitoring developments in the Navarre Creek area, where Konnex began early-stage exploration drilling this summer under approval from the US Forest Service. Some of the new roads and drill pads constructed as part of this project were visible from our overflight of the area. We are keeping an eye on the project to ensure that reclamation of temporary roads and drill pads is done properly. It is unclear what the next step in this exploration will be, or where Konnex would obtain the water necessary to proceed with full-scale mining operations (if it ever progressed to that point).

Tom Blanchard, one of our supporters, former Blaine County Commissioner and Mining historian, provided a strong rebuttal directly to Phoenix Copper in the Idaho Mountain Express about mining reclamation activities. Josh Johnson, ICL’s Central Idaho Director publicly challenged a claim by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) (Idaho Mountain Express, 9/15/23) about contamination of the Big Wood River from the Triumph Mine. His statement that “Unfortunately, Triumph is the gift that keeps giving, reminding us that we need to make sure mining companies are held accountable”. His challenge to DEQ is relevant and ultimately directly applicable to any activities by Phoenix Copper.

Our Position

We will continue to stay the course following Phoenix Copper/Konnex closely and questioning them directly when necessary. We thank you for your early and ongoing support and will keep you informed.

Many Thanks,
Joe Chlebowski, Terry Ring, Mark Ullman, Tom Blanchard, Josh Johnson (ICL) and Michael Gibson (TU)

ICL Empire Mine
Phoenix Copper Website

Thursday, December 14, the White House announced a true whole-of-government
commitment to restoring salmon. It includes massive commitments to invest in the
infrastructure reimbursements which are necessary to replace the services provided by
the four lower Snake River dams.

Credit must go to our own Congressman Simpson. He originally identified the range of
economic and societal winners and losers that benefit or are damaged by the existing 4
Lower Snake River Dams. He proposed a comprehensive plan to “moth-ball” the dams
and compensate/replace the benefits the dams are delivering in Idaho and Washington.

Trout Unlimited has thrown its full weight behind the campaign to deactivate the 4 dams.

Now the Biden administration has picked up the mission. The current proposal is for
Tribally-led renewable energy development, enhanced rail infrastructure to get grain to
market without relying on dams and barges, and infrastructure to support the fish
population. This puts us on the pathway to decommission the four dams.
And it’s more than just that – this is a pathway to restoring salmon to true abundance
throughout the Snake and Columbia Basin, protecting orca, and honoring our
commitments to Tribes.

This is a big deal. There will also be a chorus of objections from those that want to cling
to the status quo. For example, the State of Idaho has already said it will sue to block
these steps forward.

This announcement is the result of years of hard work by many. Credit especially goes
to the Idaho Conservation League which has pushed the issue within the broader
environmental community, working with other NGOs and Tribes from all across the
Northwest.

The announcement today means that the work shifts to implementing the dam removal
and get our salmon back. There is finally a clear path forward for our salmon. We all
need to support it and push it.

Written by Nick Miller, TUH Chapter President

If you want to know more on this very important issue please visit ICL or follow this LINK  to Patagonia Action Works to take a deep dive.

Local anglers have long valued the Big Wood’s wild trout, but new evidence suggests they’re even more special: they likely represent a unique lineage of native redbands.

The Big Wood River flows through 137 miles of south-central Idaho, originating in the stunning Sawtooth Mountains and flowing through the resort towns of Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Bellevue. A Western freestone river, it offers excellent dry-fly fishing for rainbows. The headwaters offer classic small stream habitat, with many eager fish willing to hit attractors. The main stem offers excellent opportunities to match the hatch, especially in the summer and fall.

The entire watershed has excellent public access, even when it flows through resort neighborhoods in Ketchum and Hailey. For many anglers, a couple of days on the Big Wood can save a trip after frustrating experiences on Idaho’s more challenging waters like the Henry’s Fork and Silver Creek.

I often head to the Big Wood after a morning on Silver Creek, because I enjoy fishing attractors and, admittedly, to restore my ego. Casting an Elk-hair Caddis into pocketwater is refreshingly simple after a few hours of fishing with #22 Tricos.

Like many Idaho waters, the Big Wood was once heavily stocked. Between 1913 and 2000, more than 80 million rainbow trout were released in the river. Most of these originated from California hatchery strains. While the main stem of the river hasn’t been stocked with fertile trout since the 1990s, most assume the river’s wild fish trace their origins back to hatcheries. Some questioned whether rainbow trout were ever native to the Wood River watershed in the first place.

One of those skeptics was Matthew Campbell, fisheries genetics program coordinator for Idaho Fish and Game. Campbell’s state-of-the-art lab in Eagle, Idaho, primarily focuses on the genetics of Idaho’s anadromous salmon and steelhead. But he also pursues other research, including the origins of Wood River’s rainbow trout. Hypotheses and rumors about these fish have circulated for decades.

This confusion has in part been abetted by the names used by anglers and others. “People have always put names to fish, but haven’t always been consistent,” says Campbell. “In the early 1900s, there was a lot of confusion about what a rainbow trout was and what a redband trout was.”

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the ocean and back, whereas the term “redband” typically applies to rainbow trout that remain residents in streams. In Idaho, all rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) share similar genetics, what is commonly called the “interior redband” lineage. Most hatchery fish trace their origins to California and the Pacific Northwest, which is another lineage, called the “coastal rainbow.”

“If you saw evidence of coastal genes in Idaho rainbow trout, you assumed it was evidence of hatchery stocking,” says Campbell.

Numerous genetic investigations conducted on Wood River trout over the last 30 years, using a variety of genetic markers, found genetics similar to coastal rainbow trout. This was regarded as evidence of significant hatchery influence.

“Everything we sampled looked heavily influenced by coastal hatchery lineages,” says Campbell. “Our assumption was that every native redband in Idaho should look like an interior redband. These Wood River rainbows did not. We thought there were probably no pure fish left in the Wood River.”

Case closed? Not quite.

Nagging at Campbell, and other fish geneticists, were some historical hypotheses. The earliest surveys of the watershed identified the Wood River trout as cutthroats. The late trout expert Robert Behnke described Wood River rainbows as a relict form of redband trout, based on a single museum specimen. Clearly, questions about these fish remained unanswered.

Campbell looked at the swirling hypotheses and couldn’t find consensus. What exactly were the Wood River rainbows? Native fish? Hatchery descendants? A mix of the two? Something else?

In an attempt to answer this question, researchers greatly expanded the sampling and genetic screening completed on previous studies.

The latest research compared the trout to other native and hatchery rainbow trout genetics, as well as rainbows from the Henry’s Fork, where the trout are not native. And while there were similarities between Wood River’s rainbows and hatchery coastal rainbows, their genetic makeup was quite different.

The results were presented at the Wild Trout XIII Symposium . Basically, the paper concludes that redband trout were indeed native to the Wood River Basin, that many of the fish show very little sign of hatchery genetics, and the trout represent a unique, previously undescribed lineage of redband trout.

Campbell is quick to note that some trout in the basin do show signs of hatchery trout influence, particularly in the lower basin. In some headwaters, there are rainbow-cutthroat hybrids, likely due to stocking of cutts in high-mountain lakes. (This stocking is now transitioning to triploid cutthroats, which are unable to reproduce.)

But much of the Wood River Basin was and is home to a unique redband trout, presumably found nowhere else in the West.

How could this redband be so different from Idaho’s other native rainbow trout? The story of native trout in the Western United States is, so often, a story of geology.

The Wood River flows into the Malad River before joining the Snake River near the town of Hagerman. The Malad Gorge has a nearly 200-foot waterfall, impassable to fish except under the most extreme floods. This natural barrier may have existed for more than 60,000 years. (As an aside, the Malad Gorge itself is an underrated trout water, especially noted for its excellent dry-fly fishing all winter long.)

A population of redband trout may have become isolated above the waterfall, and remained so during the various floods and geologic changes that influenced other rainbow trout populations in Idaho.

And the uniqueness of the Wood River’s redband trout is similar to what is seen in other fishes in the watershed. The Wood River sculpin is found only in the basin. Mountain whitefish and bridgelip suckers found in the Wood River are also genetically different from other populations of these species.

“These fish have been isolated for a long time,” says Campbell. “And despite extensive stocking, introgression from nonnative hatchery rainbow trout of coastal origin appears to be limited.”

What about those 80 million trout stocked in the Wood River? It could be that these fish were not well adapted to local conditions and did not outcompete the native trout. As many were stocked when “catch and keep” was the norm, it could be that anglers quickly caught the stockers. Whatever the case, today’s Wood River redband trout are, largely, native and unique.

Idaho anglers have always regarded the Wood River as special. It’s a place to take novice anglers, as they can often fool a few trout on dry flies. There are great sections of the Wood River just a couple minutes’ drive from the area’s resort hotels. But you can also experience trout fishing in a wilderness setting, with jaw-dropping mountains as a backdrop.

The Wood River system faces similar challenges to many Western rivers, particularly drought and increased demand for water. But the river’s trout population remains robust. Fly fishers remain among the watershed’s most important allies.

A growing number of anglers have a passion for native trout, pursuing “cutt slams” and recording catches through initiatives like the Western Native Trout Challenge. This interest has highlighted the plight of native trout; most species and subspecies occupy only a fraction of their historic range. But the increased attention and research have also brought some welcome news. The greenback cutthroat, once declared extinct, isn’t. And anglers are now fishing for it in Colorado. Ditto for the San Juan cutthroat trout. The uniqueness of the Wood River redband is another new finding that offers hope for native fish.

I’ve written about Idaho conservation for more than two decades, and I’ve sat in the meetings where speakers noted that rainbow trout weren’t native to the Wood River. This was based on information that looked scientifically valid. But, as Campbell warns, you have to be careful about assumptions.

It turns out the Wood River redband trout should be considered a jewel of the Wood River, different from those found in any other river. “There’s something special about the Wood River drainage,” says Campbell. “I have been speaking to local angling groups about this research. They love this river and now they have another reason to be proud of what they have.”

November 21, 2023By Matthew L. Miller. **HTU does not own the rights and did not write the article

Original Article in the Fly Fisherman