Oregon Public Broadcasting

Federal officials are announcing final plans Monday to restore bull trout to a river the fish hasn't seen in half a century.

Bull trout. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Clackamas River hasn't had bull trout since 1963. The trout have been on the Endangered Species List since 1999. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the Clackamas is the first place where the fish will be re-introduced, as part of a recovery strategy.

The plan is to capture bull trout from the Metolius River, tag them, and then bring them to the Clackamas by the end of the month. Janet Lebson is with U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

"We hope if we have success here, that maybe it can serve as a model for other reintroductions in the future, and really help re-connect fragmented communities of bull trout throughout their range," Lebson said.

Lebson says the reintroduction took years of planning, in part because officials wanted to make sure bull trout wouldn’t harm other sensitive fish, like salmon. The feds hope to have at least 300 bull trout take hold in the Clackamas River by 2030.

Species profile:

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=E065