"The fish distribution in Cottonwood Creek, Whitman County, Washington, was documented through sampling efforts during 2003. Cottonwood Creek is a tributary of Rock Creek that enters about five kilometers below the outlet of Rock Lake. A total of 55 locations along Cottonwood Creek and its two main tributaries, Kamiache and Pleasant Valley Creeks, were electrofished to determine relative abundance of each species present. Eight species were collected throughout the drainage. Native minnows dominated the fish fauna, comprising 52% of all species collected. Two nonindigenous species, the brook stickleback, Culaea inconstans and fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, were recorded for the first time in the Cottonwood Creek drainage. Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss were also collected from this drainage. Rainbow trout in Cottonwood Creek could have come from 1) hatchery plants into Rock Lake (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has stocked the lake with rainbow trout from the Spokane and Lyons Ferry hatcheries); 2) wild (naturally reproducing) fish derived from these hatchery stocks, or 3) an indigenous population of wild (naturally reproducing) interior redband trout. The fish appeared to be wild (naturally reproducing) because they did not bear characteristic markings of a hatchery fish, such as stubby fins. Rainbow trout collected during sampling efforts were analyzed using microsatellite DNA analysis for stock identification. Nei's genetic distance was used to measure the relationship between Cottonwood Creek rainbow trout and six other eastern Washington trout populations: two populations derived from plants of coastal rainbow trout, a population of cutthroat trout and three redband rainbow trout populations. Cottonwood Creek rainbow trout most closely resembled those from Buck Creek in the Spokane River drainage. The Buck Creek rainbow population is a coastal variety that was planted into Buck Creek from the Spokane Fish hatchery and subsequently began to naturally reproduce in the wild. Thus, it is probable that the Cottonwood Creek rainbow trout were derived from Spokane hatchery plants into Rock Lake that subsequently began to reproduce in the wild"--Document.
The construction of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams completely and irrevocably blocked anadromous fish migrations to the Upper Columbia River. Historically this area hosted vast numbers of salmon returning to their natal waters to reproduce and die. For the native peoples of the region, salmon and steelhead were a principle food source, providing physical nourishment and spiritual sustenance, and contributing to the religious practices and the cultural basis of tribal communities. The decaying remains of spawned-out salmon carcasses contributed untold amounts of nutrients into the aquatic, aerial, and terrestrial ecosystems of tributary habitats in the upper basin. Near the present site of Kettle Falls, Washington, the second largest Indian fishery in the state existed for thousands of years. Returning salmon were caught in nets and baskets or speared on their migration to the headwater of the Columbia River in British Columbia. Catch estimates at Kettle Falls range from 600,000 in 1940 to two (2) million around the turn of the century (UCUT, Report No. 2). The loss of anadromous fish limited the opportunities for fisheries management and enhancement exclusively to those actions addressed to resident fish. The Lake Roosevelt Rainbow Trout Habitat/Passage Improvement Project is a mitigation project intended to enhance resident fish populations and to partially mitigate for anadromous fish losses caused by hydropower system impacts. This substitution of resident fish for anadromous fish losses is considered in-place and out-of-kind mitigation. Upstream migration and passage barriers limit the amount of spawning and rearing habitat that might otherwise be utilized by rainbow trout. The results of even limited stream surveys and habitat inventories indicated that a potential for increased natural production exists. However, the lack of any comprehensive enhancement measures prompted the Upper Columbia United Tribes Fisheries Center (UCUT), Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT), Spokane Tribe of Indians (STI) and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to develop and propose a comprehensive fishery management plan for Lake Roosevelt. The Rainbow Trout Habitat/Passage Improvement Project (LRHIP) was designed with goals directed towards increasing natural production while maintaining genetic integrity among current tributary stocks. The initial phase of the Lake Roosevelt Habitat Improvement Project (Phase I, baseline data collection: 1990-91) was focused on the assessment of limiting factors, including the quality and quantity of available spawning gravel, identification of passage barriers, and assessment of other constraints. After the initial assessment of stream parameters, five streams meeting specific criteria were selected for habitat/passage improvement projects (Phase II, implementation -1992-1995). Four of these projects were on the Colville Indian Reservation South Nanamkin, North Nanamkin, Louie and Iron Creeks and one Blue Creek was on the Spokane Indian Reservation. At the completion of project habitat improvements, the final phase (Phase III, monitoring-1996-2000) began. This phase assessed the changes and determined the success achieved through the improvements. Data analysis showed that passage improvements are successful for increasing habitat availability and use. The results of in-stream habitat improvements were inconclusive. Project streams, to the last monitoring date, have shown increases in fish density following implementation of the improvements. In 2000 Bridge Creek, on the Colville Reservation was selected for the next phase of improvements. Data collection, including baseline stream survey and population data collection, was carried out during 2001 in preparation for the design and implementation of stream habitat/passage improvements. Agencies cooperating on the project include the Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS, Ferry County District), Ferry County Conservation District, and Ferry County. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) provided project funding support and program integration assistance. A stock of redband rainbow trout, were discovered in 2001 in an isolated section of Bridge Creek above a set of waterfalls. DNA microsatellite analysis was conducted at the University of Idaho and indicated that very little if any hybridization. The targeted species in the genetic analysis was red band/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss spp.). The sub-contract is with Madison Powell and Joyce Faler at the Center for Salmonid and Freshwater Species at Risk at the University of Idaho/HFCES. DNA analysis used mitochondrial and nuclear RFLP markers along with two microsatellite loci. Sample populations were screened for detectable levels of introgressive hybridization arising from possible admixtures of hatchery coastal rainbow trout with native red band trout.
