The team identified grazing as a high risk to bull trout in the Upper Clark Fork, Bitterroot, and Blackfoot River drainages. Grazing was identified as a locally significant threat in the Thompson, Stillwater, and Fisher River watersheds. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has also identified grazing as a high risk to bull trout in the Ahtanum Creek watershed. A requirement for each leaseholder to prepare an annual range management plan for the grazing season that describes how cattle will be managed to achieve the performance standards above. A monitoring and adaptive management program.
Monitoring involves a form and photographs.
The Grazing BMPs are consistent with the Prescribed Grazing BMP framework developed by the Montana Grazing Practices Work Group. Based on discussions with foresters, lessees, and leaseholder BMP monitoring, riparian conditions have been put on a positive trajectory since the BMP program was initiated in 1994. However, few scientific data are available to support these observations and opinions.