Resident
Fisheries Division
VISION
Manage resident fish, habitat and fisheries within the Nez
Perce Reservation and the 1855 Treaty area.
Provide leadership in regional efforts to restore native resident fish
populations. Enhance resident
fishery opportunities in support of traditional Nez Perce resident fishing
rights.
GOALS
- Conserve,
restore and recover native resident fish populations including sturgeon,
westslope cutthroat trout, and bull trout.
- Rebuild
resident fish populations in order to restore and sustain traditional
subsistence fisheries for native resident fish species.
- Provide
and manage expanded resident fisheries to partly offset the loss of fishing
opportunities caused by the permanent blockage at Dworshak Dam.
-
Restore and maintain normative hydrologic regimes along with suitable water
quality to benefit native resident and anadromous fish.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
The Resident Fisheries Division conducts studies, provides
implementation recommendations, and applies resource monitoring to restore
native fish populations, protect and manage traditional subsistence fishing
opportunities, and provide additional resident fishing opportunities.
Input is provided to regional water management forums to promote ecosystems that
support the full rang of life history needs for native resident and anadromous
fish.
STAFF
The Resident Fisheries Division is headquartered at the
Orofino Fisheries Field Office and is overseen by Director Dave Statler.
Staff needs vary somewhat seasonally, but involve about 5 full-time equivalents
(FTE's). Administrative assistant Chris Nahsonhoya provides office support
to the Resident Fisheries Division, as well as other programs at the Orofino
Field Office.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
-
Ponds Project: Manage, develop and evaluate
pond-based resident fisheries throughout the Reservation.
-
Westslope Cutthroat Trout: Apply published
assessment data to promote continued persistence of westslope cutthroat trout,
including reducing and minimizing hybridization with non-native rainbow trout.
-
Dworshak Investigations: Promote operational
strategies to benefit fisheries both upstream and downstream of Dworshak Dam.
-
Consumptive Sturgeon Fishery: Evaluate and develop
sturgeon fisheries for Tribal harvest in Oxbow and Hells Canyon Reservoirs
(project start-up delayed by Bonneville Power Administration FY 2006).
-
Snake River In-season Management: Participate in regional groups involved in setting
in-season operations to interject needs of fishery resources with the 1855
Treaty area, especially as related to Dworshak Reservoir, the Lower Clearwater
River, Hells Canyon Complex and the four lower Snake River dams and
reservoirs.
-
Regional Fish Management Forums: Actively
participate in forums, such as the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority
and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, that input to Bonneville
Power Administration's funding priorities for fisheries resources projects.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Orofino
208-476-7417 PHONE
208-476-0719
FAX
