For selected Grande Ronde and Imnaha River Streams

River Streams summarizes 2005 bull trout redd count data and compares this with past years data. Bull trout redd counts have been conducted annually on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (Forest) and along some sections of private property of the Lostine River by the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Forest, Nez Perce Tribe (NPT), contractors, and volunteers for the past six to seven years. Objectives of the survey included; locate bull trout spawning areas, determine redd characteristics, determine bull trout timing of spawning, collect spawning density data, and over time, use this data to assess local bull trout population trends and the long-term recovery of bull trout. Objectives of the 2005 survey included the above objectives, and in addition, identification of the locations of the 2005 bull trout spawning reaches on maps, and the collection of UTM coordinate data on the spatial distribution of the 2005 bull trout redds observed along the Lostine River. Spawning surveys for bull trout required as many as 10-12 people in one day. Surveyors walked the rivers through the selected “index areas ” to locate the bull trout redds. The survey protocol (in addition to repeat surveys, or one-time late surveys where feasible) included