Assessing the Feasibility of Native Fish Reintroductions: A Framework Applied to Threatened Bull Trout

Abstract

Translocations to recover native fishes have resulted in mixed success. One reason for the failure of these actions is inadequate assessments of their feasibility prior to implementation. Here, we provide a framework developed to assess the feasibility of one type of translocation—reintroduction. The framework was founded on two simple components of feasibility: the potential for recipient habitats to support a reintroduction and the potential of available donor populations to support a reintroduction. Within each component, we developed a series of key questions. The final assessment was based on a scoring system that incorporated consideration of uncertainty in available information. The result was a simple yet transparent system for assessing reintroduction feasibility that can be rapidly applied in practice. We applied this assessment framework to the potential reintroduction of threatened bull trout Salvelinus confluentus into the Clackamas River, Oregon. In this case, the assessment suggested that the degree of feasibility for reintroduction was high based on the potential of recipient habitats and available donor populations. The assessment did not provide a comprehensive treatment of all possible factors that would drive an actual decision to implement a reintroduction, but it did provide a fundamental level of feasibility assessment that is often lacking in practice.

Received May 28, 2010; accepted December 22, 2010

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Members of the Clackamas Bull Trout Working Group (Shively et al. 2007) were critical in helping to develop the information used here. Steve Lanigan (U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region) generously donated staff time for this effort. Steve Jacobs (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) and Rollie White (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) provided helpful comments on an early draft. Additional information on the Clackamas River bull trout reintroduction effort is available online (www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/species/Data/BullTrout/ReintroductionProject.asp). Use of trade or firm names in this document is for reader information only and does not imply endorsement of any product or service by the U.S. Government.