Bull Trout at Boundary

"The bull trout is the fish of concern at Boundary Dam, located on the Pend Oreille River in the far northeastern corner of the state."

Bull trout are members of the salmon family but, unlike other salmon, they travel far up in the watershed and prefer very cold water for spawning and incubating their eggs.

Some bull trout spawn in a river and grow out in a lake, others do the reverse and still others remain in a river or lake their whole life. In the Puget Sound region, some even migrate to sea like salmon. Such diversity of life history makes bull trout a difficult fish to study.

City Light works with state and federal agencies and the Kalispel Tribe to learn where bull trout live, their numbers, and their habitat needs. To date, only a few bull trout have been identified in the Boundary Dam reservoir.