You wrote one of these messages to the vision2020 listserver and the other
to greentalk. I will attempt to answer both in my response below.
>Thankyou to all who have been trying to answer my question as to the
>history of trout in Paradise Creek. The reason I am wondering about the
>history of the cutthroat trout is because, **and I may be completely off
>base** it is my understanding that part of P.C.E.I.s reasons for the
>clean up effort of Paradise Creek is in hopes of reintroducing and
>sustaining cutthroat trout. I just do not see how that is possible. If
>I am out in left field with my back turned and my eyes closed just let me
>know. And at least part of my question will have been answered.
>Thankyou to all who have been attempting to answer my question. I am
>particularly wondering about cutthroat trout because it is my
>understanding **an I may be completely incorrect** that part of PCEI's
>campain to clean up Paradise Creek is in hopes of re-introducing them
>(cutthroat) to the creek and I just do not see how that is possible.
To answer your original question about cutthroat trout...I have heard
numerous counts of people who have described experiences of their relatives
catching our state's fish in Paradise Creek. It has now been a long time
since cutthroat have been seen in Paradise Creek. There are other
salmonids (trout) that do show up from time to time in Paradise Creek, its
tributaries and other streams in the Palouse River drainage. Please don't
confuse salmonids with salmon. Anadramous fish such as salmon will not be
found anywhere in the Palouse River above the falls, it is too great a
jump.
Trout have been seen in the past couple of years in parts of Paradise Creek
and the South Fork of the Palouse. Other fish known to exist in the creek
right now include dace and a couple of species of suckers. I have
witnessed nesting kingfishers on Paradise Creek in Moscow, and I have
watched several great blue herons active at different times of the year on
the stream in town. Both of these bird species indicate fish populations.
To answer your questions about PCEI's goal with Paradise Creek. PCEI has
no plans to reintroduce any fish species to Paradise Creek. We do believe
that it is possible for some species of trout to exist and spawn in
Paradise Creek on their own accord, although I am not holding my breath for
a particular species. In a 1994 Habitat Assesment study published by the
Idaho Division of Environmental Quality, it was stated very directly that
Paradise Creek should be able to support cold water biota and salmonid
spawning. In general terms, the limiting factors are: 1) silt on the
stream bottom and 2) water temperatures above 18 degrees celsius. Our
approach at PCEI on Paradise Creek has therefore been to 1) reduce soil
erosion which clouds the stream and silts the bottom, and 2) provide more
shade that will in turn reduce the water temperatures and provide cover for
fish.
Our efforts are mostly educational for children as well as adults. The
recent restoration project also serves to diversify the vegetation and
physical aspect of the stream area in an effort to improve the diversity of
water insects and other "critters". This is important as a food source for
other species.
The trash pick-up activities serve two purposes: 1) as an aesthetic
improvement for the town, and 2) to get people to pay attention to this
largely abused waterway that travels past our houses. We believe that by
getting people personally invested in this tiny waterway, they will not
only help this stream, but they may become more interested in water quality
in general (not only in Paradise Creek but where ever they go after leaving
Moscow).
One restoration project will not bring back trout to Paradise Creek. It
took more than one year to ruin the stream's habitat, it will surely take
more than one year to provide for its healing. All we can do is give the
stream a little room, it will do the rest.
There is room for lots of people to help with this work. Let me know if
you want to be part of this effort. You can also contact our water quality
coordinator Adam Thornbrough at pcei@moscow.com. You can visit our web
page at http://www.moscow.com/Resources/PCEI
Thanks for your interest.
Tom Lamar