The Bull Trout is a priority species for the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program – Peace Region, whose aim is to compensate for impacts of the construction of W.A.C. Bennett Dam on fish and wildlife populations. The focus of my presentation is the state of Bull Trout knowledge in the Williston Reservoir watershed. I begin by addressing the question: what is a Bull Trout? This is an important question to many in Northern BC outside of the fish biology community, given that the Bull Trout and closely-related Dolly Varden were not discriminated taxonomically until recently. I then address the question of why the Bull Trout is of such conservation concern across its range by identifying some known limiting factors. Prior to 2012, an acute lack of population data limited FWCP’s ability to initiate conservation actions for Bull Trout in the Williston Reservoir watershed. In this presentation, I describe a long-term study undertaken by FWCP since then to address this lack of population data, make use of the study results to draw conclusions about Bull Trout conservation status (health), and offer some personal opinions about what will be required to conserve Bull Trout in the watershed.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. This special presentation will only be available online. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.

This event is funded by the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP). The FWCP is a partnership between BC Hydro, Fisheries & Oceans Canada, First Nations, Public Stakeholders and the Province of BC, to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife in watersheds impacted by existing BC Hydro dams.