Bull Trout Recovery Planning: A Review of the Science Associated with Population Structure and Size

摘要

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) were listed as threatened in 1998. In 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a Draft Recovery Plan for bull trout (USFWS 2002). As a result of internal, public and peer review of the Draft Recovery Plan several scientific questions were raised regarding the Draft Recovery Plan. These questions involved 1) attributes for the delineation of population units in the Draft Recovery Plan and 2) the number of bull trout necessary for recovery. The Management Oversight Team (MOT) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for guiding the recovery planning process. The MOT requested the Science Team of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service address the issues identified above by conducting a thorough review and analysis of the scientific information available. The results of that review are presented in this document.