Upper Yakima Bull Trout Restoration and Monitoring Project
What We Know About Upper Yakima Bull Trout Populations: Isolated populations of bull trout living in the Upper Yakima Basin face significant challenges such as blocks to adult migration, degraded instream habitats, and invasive species. Sensitive to warming temperatures, they are also increasingly challenged by a changing climate. As a result, Yakima Basin bull trout populations currently consist of low numbers of adult spawners. Extreme seasonal dewatering presents an additional challenge, resulting in frequent stranding and desiccation of juveniles.
Yakima Basin "Wood Fiesta"
The Yakima Basin "Wood Fiesta" Helicopter Aquatic Restoration project is a multi-watershed collaborative effort aimed at enhancing aquatic habitat in remote watersheds that have been greatly altered by past management practices. Large wood will be placed in stream and on the floodplain of seven Yakima River tributaries using a helicopter to improve habitat for native fish species. The projects are located in remote areas where terrain and or vegetation limits the use of ground-based equipment to place large wood. More information on these projects and associated temporar