Habitat Creation, Population Establishment, Habitat Restoration and Population Response of Foskett Speckled Dace in Southeast Oregon

The Foskett Speckled Dace was historically represented by a single population that inhabited Foskett Spring on the west side of Coleman Lake in Lake County, Oregon and was listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1985.  We created habitat in 2010 and introduced fish from 2011-2014, re-establishing a second population of Foskett Speckled Dace that is now naturally reproducing at a nearby, formerly fishless spring.  Foskett is a natural spring that originates at a springhead pool, flows through a narrow spring brook into a series of shallow marshes, and then evaporates or flows into the soil of the normally dry Coleman Lake.  ODFW conducted population monitoring from 2007-2012 and noted a substantial reduction in dace abundance, likely resulting from the conversion of open water habitat to emergent vegetated habitat, which is largely unsuitable for dace.  BLM, in cooperation with the USFWS, developed and implemented plans to restore open water habitats.  BLM conducted a prescribed burn and with their partners, hand-excavated pool habitat in 2012-2014.  Abundance of Foskett speckled dace increased dramatically, from approximately 1,848 in 2012 to approximately 24,888 in 2014.  Activities and monitoring results from 2015 will be presented.