This report summarizes work completed by U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia River Research Laboratory (USGS-CRRL) in the Wind River subbasin during the period November 2009 through October 2010 under Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contract 46102. Long term research in the Wind River has focused on assessments of steelhead/rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss populations, interactions with introduced populations of spring Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, and influences of habitat variables and habitat restoration on fish productivity. During the period covered by this report, we collected water temperature data to characterize variation within and among tributaries and mainstem sections in the Trout Creek watershed, and assisted Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) with smolt trapping and tagging of smolt and parr steelhead with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. We also continued to maintain and test efficacy of a passive integrated transponder tag interrogation system (PTIS) in Trout Creek for assessing the adult steelhead runsize.
A statement of work (SOW) was submitted to BPA in October 2009 that outlined work to be performed by USGS-CRRL. The SOW was organized by work elements, with each describing a research task. This report summarizes the progress completed under each work element.
