The HFF research and restoration program has contributed enormously to our understanding and improvement of the river and its watershed. Research projects provide a scientific basis for management and decision making; as well as support our restoration efforts throughout the watershed. HFF has participated in or sponsored more than 100 research and restoration projects. HFF works cooperatively with federal and state agencies, academia, and non-profit organizations to develop, fund, and complete projects. In addition, we utilize many professional contractors to complete research and restoration projects.
The following ONGOING projects are being undertaken or funded by HFF
Please click for a brief summary of each project.
- Brown Trout Telemetry Study
- Long-term aquatic monitoring in the Henry’s Fork watershed
- Fish passage monitoring of the Buffalo River Hydroelectric Project
- Yellowstone cutthroat trout survey, monitoring, and restoration project – 2006
- Yellowstone cutthroat trout status summary for the Henry’s Fork, Teton, and Sinks drainages
- Henry’s Lake outlet restoration
- The Economic values of recreational fishing and boating to visitors and communities along the upper Snake River
- Hydrologic alteration and its ecological effects in the Henry’s Fork Watershed upstream of St. Anthony
- Rainbow trout migration, movement, and survival in the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River
- Yellowstone cutthroat trout survey and population assessment - 2005
- Sheridan Creek restoration
These recently COMPLETED projects were undertaken or funded by HFF
Brown Trout telemetry project (Click here to view sponsored fish)
This study is evaluating trout movement, migration, and habitat use in the lower Henry’s Fork. Little to no scientific information has been collected about the trout populations in this part of the Henry’s Fork that is altered by diversion dams and irrigation canals. This multi-year effort seeks to understand the factors that govern trout distribution and abundance in this part of the river.
On September 26, 2007, the Henry’s Fork Foundation, in partnership with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game captured twenty adult brown trout by electrofishing from a drift boat. Fish were collected from the base of the Chester dam downstream 5.3 kilometers (about 3 miles) to the Fun Farm backwaters. Radio transmitters (tags) were then implanted into the abdominal cavities of captured fish during a short surgery and then the fish were released. Radio transmitters have a life span of about two years. An antenna is visible outside the fish, extending from behind the pelvic fins to the tail. Radio-tagged fish range in size from 14 to 24”. Fish will be tracked every four days through the completion of their spawning, likely October through December. During the summer and non-spawning times, fish movements will be tracked less frequently.
At completion of the study in 2009, the movements, migrations and spawning characteristics of the radio-tagged brown trout and the previously radio-tagged rainbow trout will be analyzed. This is the first data of its kind in this dammed and diverted stretch of the Henrys Fork.
This project is being funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Mr. Robert Bardin. Thanks to all those who sponsored radio-tagged trout. Click on link above for photos, measurements, and relocations of the fish.
Long-term aquatic monitoring in the Henry’s Fork watershed
Long-term aquatic monitoring of the Henry’s Fork and several tributaries will continue in 2006 based upon a comprehensive review and analysis of the all data collected from 2001 through 2005. There are eight permanent monitoring sites; five sites located on the mainstem Henry’s Fork from Mack’s Inn to St. Anthony and one site each on three tributaries: Henrys Lake outlet, Sheridan Creek, and Fall River. Invertebrate density and species composition, water temperature, size and abundance of juvenile trout and species of non-game fish have been collected along transects at these sites since 2001. Data are analyzed for seasonal, annual, and spatial trends.
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Fish passage monitoring of the Buffalo River Hydroelectric Project
HFF will assist with the fish passage monitoring of the recently completed improvements at the Buffalo River Hydroelectric Project. Improvements should prevent fish migrating downstream at the dam from being injured or killed when entering the turbines or being trapped in holes in the dam. Upstream migrating fish will benefit from a state-of-the-art 270-foot long fish ladder.
Improved fish passage at the Buffalo River Hydroelectric Project could improve the Henry’s Fork fishery by increasing the survival of juvenile rainbow trout through their first winter. Survival of juvenile rainbow trout could be improved by: 1) offspring from spawning rainbow trout in the Buffalo River spend the winter there and then migrate to the Henry’s Fork; 2) young-of-the-year rainbow trout (age-0’s) migrate from the Henry’s Fork, spend the winter in the warmer waters of the Buffalo River, and then return to the Henry’s Fork; and 3) downstream migrating fish are protected by eliminating direct mortality associated with the turbines or leaky dam.
Fish passage monitoring includes a fish trap that catches fish that have migrated upstream through the ladder. Initial numbers and sizes of fish in the trap in March and April, 2006 are encouraging. Large rainbow trout migrating to spawn have been captured in addition many fish as small as 4 inches. Monitoring of fish migrating downstream past the dam will likely begin during the summer of 2006.
HFF is working cooperatively on this project with the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Northwest Power Services; facilities consultants. The hydropower project is owned by the Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout survey, monitoring, and restoration project – 2006
Objectives of this project include: 1) complete fisheries surveys on the remaining unsurveyed stream length that may support Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) in the Henrys Fork drainage, 2) monitor the status of YCT populations at nine sites in the Henry’s Fork and the Sinks drainages, and 3) provide on-the-ground support to reintroduce YCT into a total of 5 miles of two streams and evaluate other YCT restoration sites within the Henry’s Fork and Sinks drainages.
All survey and monitoring data will be used to update the YCT Status Summary for the Henrys Fork and Sinks drainages. Survey and monitoring data is critical in the ongoing efforts to manage YCT by the land management and fish and game agencies working in these drainages. The Henry’s Fork Foundation has developed project partnerships with all applicable state and federal agencies in the drainages.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout status summary for the Henry’s Fork, Teton, and Sinks drainages
The distribution, abundance, and genetic status of Yellowstone cutthroat trout (YCT, Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri) are being assessed for the Henry’s Fork, Teton, and Sinks drainages. To date, we have compiled fisheries data from a total of 1,200 electrofishing and snorkeling sites within these drainages for the years 1996 to 2004. We have extrapolated to about 60% of the total stream length found in these watersheds. In the Henry’s Fork drainage, YCT were present in 24% (276 km) of the surveyed length with trout and exclusively occupied 3% (38 km). In the Teton drainage, YCT were present in 82% (495 km) of surveyed length with trout and exclusively occupied 13% (75 km). In the Sinks drainage, YCT were present in 33% (91 km) of the surveyed length with trout and exclusively occupied 2% (4 km). YCT are mostly found at low densities in those stream lengths with other trout species, which is the majority of where YCT presently exist in these drainages. Relatively little genetic data is available for YCT populations in these drainages; therefore the presence and degree of introgressive hybridization is largely unknown. Extensive survey data collected in 2005 will further refine the known status of YCT within all three drainages. This work is being conducted by Gregory Aquatics and HFF in cooperation with federal and state agencies and non-profit organizations. The project has been funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Henry’s Lake outlet restoration
The Henry’s Lake outlet has been affected by historic channel straightening, overgrazing, and a highly altered hydrograph, which has resulted in the simplification of stream and riparian habitat and high erosion rates. The objective of the outlet restoration project is to restore a half-mile reach of the outlet to its historic channel on the Nature Conservancy’s Flat Ranch.
The restoration project includes three phases: 1) stream channel assessment, 2) channel restoration work, and 3) post-construction monitoring.
Stream channel assessment work was completed in 2003 and 2004 by HFF, working with Gregory Aquatics and River Research and Restoration, Inc. The assessment phase provided the data needed to plan and design the restoration project. Construction began in November, 2004 to remove deposited sediment from the historic channel, create pool and riffle sequences, and re-establish the stream gradient necessary for water flows. Construction work is currently suspended until the concerns of the North Fork Reservoir Company are resolved concerning potential project effects to water timing and delivery. HFF is currently seeking a Memorandum of Understanding with the NFRC on the project. Flow, sediment, and riparian monitoring of the project will occur when the project is completed.
This project is being funded by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Flat Rock Club, the Gibbons Foundation, and the Trout and Salmon Foundation.
The following completed projects were undertaken or funded by HFF:
The Economic values of recreational fishing and boating to visitors and communities along the upper Snake River
The natural beauty and outstanding recreation opportunities of the Snake River corridor
from Southwestern Wyoming to Southeastern Idaho draws thousands of visitors a year.
This report quantifies the economic benefits, local employment, and income effects
stemming from the maintenance of Snake River ecological conditions and associated
fisheries, including all its dimensions water
flows, water quality, riparian vegetation as
well as public access. Improving ecological conditions and fisheries has the potential to
further increase economic benefits and income and employment in this area. Through
careful management, the Snake River can support traditional economies related to
irrigated agriculture and hydropower generation, along with a robust recreation economy.
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Hydrologic alteration and its ecological effects in the Henry’s Fork Watershed upstream of St. Anthony
Abstract — Stream flow in the Henry’s Fork watershed is altered by three storage reservoirs and numerous diversions. We assessed hydrologic alteration and its ecological consequences on the main stem Henry’s Fork upstream of St. Anthony and on the entire length of its largest tributary, Fall River, over water years 1972 through 2002. We divided the study streams into 10 reaches based on the location of reservoirs, major diversions, return flow, and unregulated tributaries. Hydrologic conditions in each reach were represented by one of the 10 stream gage stations currently operating in the watershed. We calculated natural flow by adding upstream change in storage, diversions, and reservoir evaporation to regulated flow. We then compared regulated and natural flow using the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration methodology and the percent deviation of regulated daily flow from natural. We defined annual alteration as the water-year mean of the absolute value of daily alterations and watershed-averaged alteration as the mean of annual alteration over all stream reaches, weighted by reach length. The degree of alteration was assessed by determining deviations from median natural flow that fell within observed ranges of natural flow. Regulation at all three storage reservoirs resulted in lower winter flows and higher late season flows downstream than under natural conditions. These effects were greatest in Henry’s Lake Outlet, where winter flows were often less than 20% of natural and late summer flows could be two orders of magnitude greater than natural. Unregulated inflow from groundwater-dominated tributaries moderated the effect of alteration due to Henry’s Lake and Island Park dams with distance downstream. Flows in the lowest reach of Fall River and the Henry’s Fork below Fall River were affected primarily by irrigation diversion, which resulted in low late summer flows but not in substantial alteration of peak flow characteristics and overall hydrograph shape. A short reach of Fall River affected by the Marysville hydroelectric plant diversion experienced significantly decreased flows throughout the water year. Average annual alterations ranged from less than 10% on most of Fall River and in the Henry’s Fork upstream of Island Park Reservoir to 100% on Henry’s Lake Outlet. Natural range of variability in the watershed averaged about 25% during the winter, 65% during early summer, and 40% during late summer. Based on these observed ranges of variability in natural flow, we determined that alteration was extreme in Henry’s Lake Outlet and high between Island Park Dam and the Buffalo River and in the Marysville power plant reach. Alteration was moderate between the Buffalo and Warm rivers and below Fall River and low everywhere else. Alteration in most reaches and in the watershed as a whole was a decreasing function of annual watershed discharge. Watershed-average alteration was low in 14 of the 31 water years studied and high or extreme in 11 of the 31 years. Hydrologic alteration negatively affects winter survival of juvenile rainbow trout between Island Park Dam and Warm River and probably also in the power plant reach of Fall River. Low late summer flows may result in warm water temperatures and associated effects in lower Fall River and in the St. Anthony area. Where riparian areas naturally exist in the watershed, hydrologic regimes are sufficiently close to natural to maintain riparian and floodplain processes except on Henry’s Lake Outlet. The hydrologic regime in the Outlet was altered sufficiently to negatively affect nearly every aspect of aquatic, riparian and floodplain ecology. Although desirable resources could benefit from hydrologic restoration below Henry’s Lake and Island Park dams, meaningful reductions in hydrologic alterations cannot be made under existing legal and physical infrastructures. Although not optimal for all aquatic and riparian resources in the watershed, current management provides numerous benefits
to diverse users while maintaining floodplain and riparian processes in the lower watershed and low hydrologic alteration throughout most of the watershed in average to wet years.
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Rainbow trout migration, movement, and survival in the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River
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Yellowstone cutthroat trout survey and population assessment - 2005
Stream surveys took place throughout the Henrys Fork and Sinks drainages in 2005. The objectives of these electrofishing surveys was to provide data on Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri distribution, abundance, and genetic status, especially in relation to rainbow trout O. mykiss and brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis. Sixty-six sites were surveyed on 38 streams in the Henrys Fork. Of the sites with trout; 11 (50%) had brook trout only, 10 (45.5%) had cutthroat trout only, and one site (4.5%) had both cutthroat trout and brook trout. Genetic samples were collected from 256 fish from seven different sites on five different streams. No evidence was found of rainbow trout or westslope cutthroat trout introgression at any of the samples sites; all samples were genetically identified as Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Genetic screening of a 65 fish sample from the Fall and Bechler rivers suggests that these pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout are products of past introductions from Yellowstone Lake. There were 84 sites surveyed on 61 streams in the Sinks Drainages. Of the sites with trout, 22 (59 %) had brook trout only, 9 (24 %) had cutthroat trout only, and 2 sites each had cutthroat trout with brook trout, cutthroat trout with rainbow trout (including hybrids), and rainbow trout only. Stream surveys conducted in 2005 have further refined the known Yellowstone cutthroat trout distribution in the Henrys Fork and Sinks drainages, including four previously undocumented populations. This information is crucial to the continued management of this cutthroat trout subspecies. However, further survey, assessment, and monitoring are required in both drainages to provide a better understanding of Yellowstone cutthroat trout distribution, abundance, and genetic status in these drainages.
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YCT Survey and Population Assessment - 2005 Appendix B revised |
Sheridan Creek restoration
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For more information about HFF's Research and Restoration programs,
please email Jim De Rito
