Citizen Science MaPS Nooksack river Salmonids
WONDERING WHERE DIFFERENT FISH SPECIES LIVE IN THE NOOKSACK RIVER?
WE WERE TOO...
A few years ago, North Sound TU members learned of a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) project to map the range of bull trout and thought we could add some of our local fish to the study. What started with a modest goal of collecting a few samples on Canyon Creek to settle the ongoing “Bull Trout or Dolly Varden” debate evolved into a 3-year citizen science initiative collecting 269 samples, each tested for 11 species, in which we discovered new information about local fish and developed a new salmonid species test.
The North Sound TU Nooksack eDNA project began as part of the USFS Rangewide Bull Trout eDNA Project whose purpose was to map the current extent of bull trout in the continental U.S. bull trout — a very sensitive species requiring colder cleaner water than other fish. Bull trout are a good indicator of ecosystem health and consistent climatic conditions. Although Washington state lists bull trout as a legal sport fish in some systems, elsewhere they are considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. USFS was particularly interested in the Nooksack basin both because of its bull trout population and the presence of Dolly Varden, a native charr so similar in appearance to Bull Trout that the state manages them as a single species. Puget Sound is the southern end of the range for Dolly Varden, which are found in coastal watersheds from here to Anchorage.
We partnered with the U.S. Forest Service National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation as well as several local partners, financial supporters, and collaborators listed below to map all the native trout, salmon, charr, and lamprey of the Nooksack basin and some other nearby waters.
The North Sound TU Nooksack eDNA project began as part of the USFS Rangewide Bull Trout eDNA Project whose purpose was to map the current extent of bull trout in the continental U.S. bull trout — a very sensitive species requiring colder cleaner water than other fish. Bull trout are a good indicator of ecosystem health and consistent climatic conditions. Although Washington state lists bull trout as a legal sport fish in some systems, elsewhere they are considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. USFS was particularly interested in the Nooksack basin both because of its bull trout population and the presence of Dolly Varden, a native charr so similar in appearance to Bull Trout that the state manages them as a single species. Puget Sound is the southern end of the range for Dolly Varden, which are found in coastal watersheds from here to Anchorage.
We partnered with the U.S. Forest Service National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation as well as several local partners, financial supporters, and collaborators listed below to map all the native trout, salmon, charr, and lamprey of the Nooksack basin and some other nearby waters.
how it works |
SPECIES TESTED |
We used a technique called environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling where volunteers collected water samples from predetermined locations throughout the Nooksack and nearby watersheds. Volunteers filter their samples through a special piece of paper which is then sent for testing. This technique can determine which species are present in the area without actually seeing or catching those fish. It is considered more cost effective, safer for fish, and more effective at finding rare species than traditional survey techniques.
The samples were analyzed using qPCR tests (quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction). The tests compare snippets of DNA from known species (rainbow trout, coho salmon, etc) to look for matches in our water samples, similar to looking for an illness from a swab of your nose. Typically, one test would look for one species. But one test per species is expensive when there are many species of interest. Additionally running multiple tests can deplete the sample before you test all the species of interest. For this project, North Sound TU ran a grassroots fundraising campaign to support USFS development of a new test for 10 species of interest specific to Pacific Northwest coastal streams: seven native salmonid species plus Pacific Lamprey and Eastern Brook Trout, which provided a very cost effective solution to testing for our many native salmonids. This 10 species test developed for the Nooksack project is available for any other projects interested in a cost-effective approach testing for these species. For our project, a secondary test was also performed to help distinguish Dolly Varden from the other charr species (bull trout and Eastern brook trout). |
All of the collected samples will tested for the presence of:
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VOLUNTEER SUCCESS
48 volunteers from across the local community assisted with this project. There were quite a few volunteers from North Sound Trout Unlimited and 4th Corner Fly Fishers (the original project sponsors), students from Bellingham Technical College, Skagit Valley College, and Western Washington University, and many volunteers from the community who had heard about the project and were interested in donating some of their time.
Volunteers were trained in how to properly collect samples and how to minimize risks of sample contamination, then assigned pre-determined locations to visit based on their desired level of adventure. The only special skill needed was to be able to use a GPS or phone app to find the predetermined sample site and to record the latitude/longitude of the location where the sample was collected. Sample locations ranged from easy access next to a road to sites requiring 4WD, mountain bikes, or in some cases hours of steep off-trail bushwhacking. Washed out access roads, non-existent trails, epic floods, a global pandemic, forests of devil’s club, early snows, forest fires – there were plenty of things that could have gotten in the way, but our volunteers persevered. Although the work was often challenging, the overwhelming sentiment from volunteers was their appreciation of visiting a place (often a beautiful, wild place) that few ever see. |
NEw knowledge of nooksack RiveR Fish
The results of the study compare well known species to distributions in the SalmonScape database that has been compiled from decades of field observations and modeling. Similar smaller projects have been done in the past; however, the Nooksack project proves that large basin-wide eDNA studies can be accomplished with heavy reliance upon citizen science volunteers.
Our original interest in this project stemmed from a curiosity about native bull trout and Dolly Varden. Our preliminary results found bull trout to be quite widespread, and Dolly Varden more widespread than anticipated. The results also confirmed that in Canyon Creek (a tributary to the North Fork Nooksack), there resides a population of Dolly Varden, but no Bull Trout eDNA were found above the canyon (a barrier to upstream fish movement). Results also showed Dolly Varden much more widespread in the upper South Fork Nooksack than was previously known.
On the Middle Fork Nooksack we found rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, chum salmon, and sockeye salmon upstream of the City of Bellingham diversion dam after it was removed in 2020.
Eastern brook trout are not native to Washington; they are an introduced species native to the Appalachians and upper Midwest. They were included in the study because they often out-compete native species and can cross breed with native bull trout and Dolly Varden. The study found them widespread in the upper Nooksack tributaries above Nooksack Falls as expected, but also quite common in the North Fork all the way down to Maple Falls.
The native Pacific lamprey was also included in our multi-species test in support of ongoing research to better understand their distribution. They occupy similar habitats as the salmonids and are not well studied or understood. They’ve existed since before the age of the dinosaurs with little change, but their populations appear to be struggling. Our project found them more widespread and a bit further upstream than expected.
Further analysis of the results is ongoing, and similar basin-wide studies are being considered for other Puget Sound watersheds. Final results from the Nooksack project will be published in the USFS Aquatic eDNAtlas website in the first half of 2024. Preliminary results can be explored using the map application below.
Our original interest in this project stemmed from a curiosity about native bull trout and Dolly Varden. Our preliminary results found bull trout to be quite widespread, and Dolly Varden more widespread than anticipated. The results also confirmed that in Canyon Creek (a tributary to the North Fork Nooksack), there resides a population of Dolly Varden, but no Bull Trout eDNA were found above the canyon (a barrier to upstream fish movement). Results also showed Dolly Varden much more widespread in the upper South Fork Nooksack than was previously known.
On the Middle Fork Nooksack we found rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, chum salmon, and sockeye salmon upstream of the City of Bellingham diversion dam after it was removed in 2020.
Eastern brook trout are not native to Washington; they are an introduced species native to the Appalachians and upper Midwest. They were included in the study because they often out-compete native species and can cross breed with native bull trout and Dolly Varden. The study found them widespread in the upper Nooksack tributaries above Nooksack Falls as expected, but also quite common in the North Fork all the way down to Maple Falls.
The native Pacific lamprey was also included in our multi-species test in support of ongoing research to better understand their distribution. They occupy similar habitats as the salmonids and are not well studied or understood. They’ve existed since before the age of the dinosaurs with little change, but their populations appear to be struggling. Our project found them more widespread and a bit further upstream than expected.
Further analysis of the results is ongoing, and similar basin-wide studies are being considered for other Puget Sound watersheds. Final results from the Nooksack project will be published in the USFS Aquatic eDNAtlas website in the first half of 2024. Preliminary results can be explored using the map application below.
A Snapshot in time
Our 3-year data collection is a snapshot in time indicating what fish were found in these streams at the time of sampling. As temperature and rainfall patterns change over future decades, future studies can compare back to this early 2020s work to see if bull trout or other species distributions have changed. That snapshot of the watershed also exists as samples archived in a freezer at the National Genomics Center for future analysis. In fact, less than a year after we finished our data collection, another project wanted to look for a new species. As part of a follow-up study, some of the samples from our project were used with a new test for Western river/brook lamprey. About 50 sites tested positive for this species, and this information will be used to develop a habitat preference model to look for them in other watersheds in future studies. In future years, a study may use the sample to map the Coastal Tailed Frog, American Dipper, an aquatic insect ,or some currently unknown species.
explore preliminary results
eDNA in the media
"Some animal species are indicators of ecosystem health—the proverbial canary in a coal mine. In the case of Washington state’s North Cascades, two such species are Dolly Varden trout and Sasquatch, both of which require pristine, intact environments to survive. On a recent expedition, The Flyfish Journal editor Jason Rolfe joined conservationist and modern-day monkey wrencher Bridget Moran to search for both."
Check out the first of this two-part short film series from The Flyfish Journal here. |
"In summer 2022, The Dollysquatch team went back for more, this time swapping four wheels for two. We arrived on dirt roads through low clouds, light rain and just enough fog to wonder about the weather ahead, which added a misty mood to an otherwise typical Pacific Northwest summer.
Electric bikes poured out of vehicles, along with snack-filled backpacks for the calorie burn, then eDNA sampling gear and plenty of fly fishing equipment. The bikes would power us through washed-out forest service roads deep into North Cascade Sasquatch territory." Check out the second of The Flyfish Journal's short film series here. |
Beers, backcountry, e-bikes: Angler scientists at work
"A volunteer chapter in Washington State is going the distance to collect trout and salmon eDNA samples in their home water." Check out this excellent blog post from Trout Unlimited's Greg Fitz and dive deeper into how the project came about and what we hope to accomplish. |
our phenomanal sponsors & parnters
We'd like to give a huge round of applause to our financial supporters at 4th Corner Fly Fishers, Trout Unlimited, the Washington Council of Trout Unlimited, Orvis, The Confluence Fly Shop, and Dryft. We also want to thank those who have collaborated with us on grant support and sampling design review, as well as those who assisted with land access (Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, Whatcom Land Trust, Seattle City Light, and City of Bellingham). Finally, a massive thanks to our boots-on-the-ground volunteers and NSTU members, as well as volunteers from Western Washington University, Bellingham Technical College, and Skagit Valley College.