Fishing News
Fish and Wildlife taking bull trout comments
By Sherry Devlin
The mailbox is open for business at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is taking public comment on its draft recovery plan and critical habitat designation for bull trout.
Comments will be accepted through Jan. 28 on the government�s proposed designation of 18,471 miles of streams in Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington as critical bull trout habitat, as well as 532,721 acres of lakes and reservoirs.
In Montana, the critical habitat designation would affect 3,319 miles of streams and 217,577 acres of lakes and reservoirs � all on the western side of the state. Once listed as �critical,� habitat is protected from harm or destruction.
The draft recovery plan for the fish will be open to public comment for a longer, 90-day period that ends Feb. 27. Bull trout are protected as a threatened species throughout their U.S. range, which includes parts of Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Nevada.
The recovery plan lists hundreds of stream-specific, drainage-specific projects throughout the Northwest.
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