BULL TROUT PROTECTED!
ESA Listing Will Have Wide Impact

By Mike Bader
AWR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The bull trout has finally been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act! This is a major victory for watershed protection and restoration, native species, and conservation biology. This action, announced by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on June 5th, follows a lengthy, and continuing, legal battle to protect the bull trout and its habitat. In terms of impact, this may be the largest endangered species listing of its kind. Affected are 32 National Forests, parts of 5 states, numerous Indian Reservations, several National Parks, and a host of other jurisdictions including BLM, Corps of Engineers, state, county, city and corporate timber lands stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide on the Rocky Mountain crest.

Bull Trout Legal History
Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Wild Swan, and Swan View Coalition petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to list bull trout in October of 1992. Despite overwhelming biological information which has chronicled the rangewide decline of the species, the FWS made numerous attempts to classify bull trout as "warranted, but precluded" for listing under the Act, and as recently as 1997 attempted to declare the Coastal/Puget Sound, Jarbidge River, and St. Mary's/Belly River populations as "not warranted." Each time, the groups challenged the illegal decisions in federal court and won.

According to Babbitt, bull trout will now be listed as threatened throughout the Columbia River Basin in Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and in the Klamath Basin in southwest Oregon. These listings took effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, which occurred on June 10th. Bull trout are also now proposed to be listed as threatened in the Coastal/Puget Sound area of western Washington, the Jarbidge River in northern Nevada, and the St. Mary/Belly River area in Montana.

The lead counsel on the bull trout listing cases has been Missoula attorney Jack Tuholske, who did an excellent job overcoming the federal government bureaucracy and securing a huge legal victory for bull trout and the Endangered Species Act. Tuholske also has worked on the case against the U.S. Forest Service alleging violations of the National Forest Management Act for failure to maintain and promote viable populations of bull trout. The listing could force the Forest Service to substantially strengthen habitat protection measures on 32 national forests.

Importance to Other Species
The listings will also benefit numerous other species since bull trout are a leading indicator of the health of aquatic ecosystems. Bull trout are more sensitive to changes in habitat than any other trout and salmon species and have more stringent habitat requirements. Thus, strong habitat standards that protect bull trout will also benefit these other species. Bull trout require very cold, clean water and habitat strongholds connected by migratory corridors. Roadless areas are crucial to bull trout survival and recovery as most remaining populations exist in wilderness areas, parks, roadless areas, and low road-density watersheds.

Impacts on Process
In terms of the process, the listing means that agencies such as the Forest Service will now have to enter into formal consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 7 of the ESA to discuss proposed projects such as timber sales, roadbuilding, grazing, etc., which may have an affect on bull trout. Citizens can also bring suits challenging individual projects such as timber sales based on violations of the ESA. In the areas affected by proposed listing, agencies must conference on potential affects. This is less rigorous than consultation, but still required by the ESA, which the federal court in Portland confirmed in one of our many suits to protect bull trout.

Bull Trout Recovery
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will now have to prepare a formal Recovery Plan for bull trout. This will be the biggest test for conservationists as well as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There will not be critical habitat designated concurrently with the listings, so no formal habitat protection standards are in place. A major challenge for conservationists are Habitat Conservation Agreements, which are sprouting up throughout the Northwest to serve as reasons: not to list species; to weaken standards for habitat protection and water quality; not to invest much effort into recovery planning, and finally; to remove species from the threatened and endangered species list. Secretary Babbitt indicated that he was content with the plans developed by the states of Montana and Idaho, even though such plans have been struck down by courts as unenforceable and thus not strong enough to comply with ESA requirements.

If done right, recovery of bull trout could have the most substantial and beneficial effects yet on recovery of the entire Columbia River Basin. Their vast range means virtually all land use activities within the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains will be affected. Listing gives us the means to ensure that recovery is done right, including use of a conservation biology framework for bioregional protection.

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