An environmental analysis and review process for a proposal to continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake and begin lake trout removal and bull trout conservation in the Logging Lake drainage in Glacier National Park’s North Fork District has been completed, and a decision was signed by the National Park Service Intermountain Regional Director to move forward with the project. The project is located in an area of recommended wilderness.
The beneficial effects to bull trout, a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and other native fish will outweigh the negative impacts to wilderness character. The project will help protect the park’s bull trout populations, is in accordance with other state and federal projects designed to conserve native fish species in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, and will help maintain Quartz and Logging Lakes as important, high elevation habitat for native fish faced with the stressors of a changing climate. Approximately one-third of the nation’s bull trout populations inhabiting natural, undammed lake systems are found in Glacier National Park, and the park has a critical role in the regional recovery and long-term conservation of the species. Quartz and Logging Lakes are at risk of losing their historically robust bull trout populations to non-native invasive lake trout.
The project will continue experimental efforts begun in 2009 in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to suppress the lake trout population in Quartz Lake and will begin lake trout suppression on Logging Lake.
An analysis of environmental impacts associated with the project and review of public comments on the proposal were considered before making a final decision. The environmental assessment was released for public review in December of 2013. Twenty five comment letters were received; twelve letters expressed support, six expressed opposition. Most of the concerns pertained to impacts to Glacier National Park’s recommended wilderness, as the project will include the use of motorboats for gill netting operations.
The EA and finding of no significant impact (decision document) can be found here.
Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park
Showing posts with label Quartz Lake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quartz Lake. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Proposal to Conduct Lake Trout Removal on Logging Lake and Continue Lake Trout Suppression on Quartz Lake
Glacier National Park officials announced today the beginning of public scoping for a proposal to conduct lake trout removal on Logging Lake and continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake (both in northwestern part of the park). Public scoping is the first step involving the public in the environmental assessment process.
Glacier National Park contains approximately one-third of the bull trout populations inhabiting natural (un-dammed) lakes in the United States. Bull trout are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and, in many areas, are increasingly at risk from invasive non-native species, including lake trout. On the west side of Glacier National Park, lake trout have already invaded nine of the twelve lakes they are able to access and have replaced bull trout as the top level aquatic predator in the majority of lakes that have been monitored. To protect bull trout and other native fish species, non-native fish suppression and removal efforts are occurring across the intermountain west, including within the transboundary Crown of the Continent.
In 2005, lake trout were detected in Quartz Lake, an important stronghold for bull trout and other native fish. In 2009, Glacier National Park and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began an experimental project to reduce or eliminate lake trout from Quartz Lake. Results from the project are promising, and the effort is anticipated to eventually reduce the size of the lake trout population in Quartz Lake.
Logging Lake is also a high priority for bull trout conservation, and was once considered the most productive bull trout fishery in the park. But due to invasive non-native lake trout, Logging Lake could lose bull trout as a functional part of the aquatic ecosystem if action is not taken to reduce the size of the lake trout population. Therefore, the park is proposing to conduct lake trout removal in Logging Lake using methods developed on Quartz Lake. Techniques would be refined and could be used in other locations within and outside the park. Also, as a conservation measure to protect Logging Lake's few remaining bull trout, bull trout would be translocated within the Logging drainage and bull trout and/or eggs would be collected from the lake and raised in a conservation rearing facility for release back into the lake to boost the population. Additionally, the park is proposing to continue the lake trout removal effort in Quartz Lake, which is currently approved through 2012. Continuing the project is necessary to keep lake trout numbers low and to remove juvenile lake trout that have not yet grown large enough to be caught by the sampling gear. Under continuation of the program, removal efforts on Quartz Lake would occur every year with periodic re-evaluation.
Four alternatives have been identified to date:
Alternative A - conduct experimental lake trout removal and restore a viable bull trout population at Logging Lake using multiple approaches, such as translocating bull trout and releasing conservation facility-reared bull trout within the drainage
Alternative B - continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake
Alternative C - both Alternatives A and B
Alternative D - (no action) do not conduct lake trout removal or bull trout conservation on Logging Lake and do not continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake.
The public scoping brochure contains additional information about this project and is available here. Comments can be posted to this website or mailed to Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attn: Logging/Quartz EA, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, MT, 59936. Comments are due September 10, 2012.
Jeff
Glacier National Park Trails
Glacier National Park contains approximately one-third of the bull trout populations inhabiting natural (un-dammed) lakes in the United States. Bull trout are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and, in many areas, are increasingly at risk from invasive non-native species, including lake trout. On the west side of Glacier National Park, lake trout have already invaded nine of the twelve lakes they are able to access and have replaced bull trout as the top level aquatic predator in the majority of lakes that have been monitored. To protect bull trout and other native fish species, non-native fish suppression and removal efforts are occurring across the intermountain west, including within the transboundary Crown of the Continent.
In 2005, lake trout were detected in Quartz Lake, an important stronghold for bull trout and other native fish. In 2009, Glacier National Park and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began an experimental project to reduce or eliminate lake trout from Quartz Lake. Results from the project are promising, and the effort is anticipated to eventually reduce the size of the lake trout population in Quartz Lake.
Logging Lake is also a high priority for bull trout conservation, and was once considered the most productive bull trout fishery in the park. But due to invasive non-native lake trout, Logging Lake could lose bull trout as a functional part of the aquatic ecosystem if action is not taken to reduce the size of the lake trout population. Therefore, the park is proposing to conduct lake trout removal in Logging Lake using methods developed on Quartz Lake. Techniques would be refined and could be used in other locations within and outside the park. Also, as a conservation measure to protect Logging Lake's few remaining bull trout, bull trout would be translocated within the Logging drainage and bull trout and/or eggs would be collected from the lake and raised in a conservation rearing facility for release back into the lake to boost the population. Additionally, the park is proposing to continue the lake trout removal effort in Quartz Lake, which is currently approved through 2012. Continuing the project is necessary to keep lake trout numbers low and to remove juvenile lake trout that have not yet grown large enough to be caught by the sampling gear. Under continuation of the program, removal efforts on Quartz Lake would occur every year with periodic re-evaluation.
Four alternatives have been identified to date:
Alternative A - conduct experimental lake trout removal and restore a viable bull trout population at Logging Lake using multiple approaches, such as translocating bull trout and releasing conservation facility-reared bull trout within the drainage
Alternative B - continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake
Alternative C - both Alternatives A and B
Alternative D - (no action) do not conduct lake trout removal or bull trout conservation on Logging Lake and do not continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake.
The public scoping brochure contains additional information about this project and is available here. Comments can be posted to this website or mailed to Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attn: Logging/Quartz EA, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, MT, 59936. Comments are due September 10, 2012.
Jeff
Glacier National Park Trails
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Glacier Proposes to Modify Existing Quartz Creek Fish Barrier
Native fish populations in Glacier National Park have been severely compromised by the invasion and expansion of non-native fish species into the park’s lakes and streams. Non-native fish can affect native fish populations through predation, hybridization, and competition and are imperiling populations of bull trout, which are federally listed as threatened, and the native westslope cutthroat trout, a state listed Species of Concern. Of the seventeen lakes on the west side of the park that support bull trout, nine have been compromised by non-native lake trout and a tenth has been compromised by the non-native brook trout.
Quartz Lake, located in the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage and the park’s North Fork District, is one of the last remaining strongholds for bull trout in park waters west of the Continental Divide. Until recently, Quartz Lake was believed to be the largest lake on the west side of the park accessible to lake trout but not yet colonized by them. In 2005, lake trout were detected in Quartz Lake, threatening the long-term persistence of the Quartz Lake bull trout population. At that time, a fish passage barrier designed to protect the drainage from invasion by non-native fish was under construction on Quartz Creek, approximately 100 yards below Middle Quartz Lake, but completion of the barrier was suspended until options to control lake trout could be reviewed. The National Park Service has since collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey and others in an ongoing experimental program to remove lake trout from Quartz Lake to suppress the population. Experimental suppression has so far been promising, with identification of lake trout spawning areas and annual removal of spawning lake trout. Data suggests that the project is successfully removing a high percentage of spawning adults annually, which is expected to eventually reduce the lake trout population over time.
The NPS is proposing to complete, modify, and improve the existing Quartz Creek fish barrier. The purpose of the project is to support lake trout suppression efforts in Quartz Lake, reduce the potential for additional lake trout to enter the lake, and reduce the likelihood of invasion from other non-native species such as rainbow trout and brook trout, thereby better protecting the integrity of native fish populations in the upper Quartz drainage.
According to the environmental assessment, the park is proposing to raise the barrier's total height by 1-2 feet in order to prevent further migration of lake trout into Quartz Lake. The EA calls for installing about 28 gabions (wire mesh cages filled with rock, each two feet high, two feet wide and six feet long) on and near the existing barrier.
If you would like to comment on this proposal, please click here. The comment period ends on 3/19/2012.
Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com
Quartz Lake, located in the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage and the park’s North Fork District, is one of the last remaining strongholds for bull trout in park waters west of the Continental Divide. Until recently, Quartz Lake was believed to be the largest lake on the west side of the park accessible to lake trout but not yet colonized by them. In 2005, lake trout were detected in Quartz Lake, threatening the long-term persistence of the Quartz Lake bull trout population. At that time, a fish passage barrier designed to protect the drainage from invasion by non-native fish was under construction on Quartz Creek, approximately 100 yards below Middle Quartz Lake, but completion of the barrier was suspended until options to control lake trout could be reviewed. The National Park Service has since collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey and others in an ongoing experimental program to remove lake trout from Quartz Lake to suppress the population. Experimental suppression has so far been promising, with identification of lake trout spawning areas and annual removal of spawning lake trout. Data suggests that the project is successfully removing a high percentage of spawning adults annually, which is expected to eventually reduce the lake trout population over time.
The NPS is proposing to complete, modify, and improve the existing Quartz Creek fish barrier. The purpose of the project is to support lake trout suppression efforts in Quartz Lake, reduce the potential for additional lake trout to enter the lake, and reduce the likelihood of invasion from other non-native species such as rainbow trout and brook trout, thereby better protecting the integrity of native fish populations in the upper Quartz drainage.
According to the environmental assessment, the park is proposing to raise the barrier's total height by 1-2 feet in order to prevent further migration of lake trout into Quartz Lake. The EA calls for installing about 28 gabions (wire mesh cages filled with rock, each two feet high, two feet wide and six feet long) on and near the existing barrier.
If you would like to comment on this proposal, please click here. The comment period ends on 3/19/2012.
Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com
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