Tribe's pike bounty program raises concerns

COEUR d’ALENE — The Coeur d'Alene Tribe announced a new program on Thursday to pay fishermen a bounty to catch northern pike on the southern portion of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

But not everyone is happy about that.

Brock Morrow, chairman of the North Idaho Pike Association, said his organization has been working cooperatively on a predation study the Tribe is conducting on the south end of the lake, but Thursday’s announcement caught him off-guard.

“Our concern is not necessarily about the species of the fish or the pike being targeted. We understand that,” he said. “And if it was being done solely on tribal waters we would be OK with that too.”

He said the pike association has been working closely with the Tribe and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on a study to determine the main source of cutthroat trout predators in the Windy Bay area of the lake.

He said the Tribe was gillnetting pike in the Windy Bay area and transporting the surviving fish to Cougar Bay on the north end of the lake.

“They were supposed to do that for the next three years, and then out of the blue we hear about this program,” Morrow said, adding the Tribe is also targeting waters around Heyburn State Park, where the state claims jurisdiction.

“Our opinion is that they are not only jeopardizing the fishery, they are overstepping their bounds,” Morrow said, adding that IDFG didn’t even know about the Tribe’s plan to pay a bounty on the pike.

“If they were working in cooperation with Fish and Game that would be a different story as well,” he added.

IDFG Fisheries Manager Andy Dux said Morrow informed his agency of the bounty program, but he has been in contact with the Tribe.

“We were very surprised by this too,” Dux said. “But I have learned that wasn’t the Tribe’s intention. The word started getting out before they had a chance to notify us.”

Dux said IDFG staff will meet with tribal fisheries staff next week to get more details on the project, but until then he is not sure how the department will work with them on the project.

“Hopefully we’ll figure out a way to collaborate on this,” he said.

Dux said the state of Idaho considers the waters in the Heyburn State Park area to be under its jurisdiction, but that has been disputed by the Tribe.

Heather Keen, spokeswoman for the Tribe, said the Tribe considers the entire south end of the lake under its jurisdiction. She said since the pilot project is only on the southern portion of the lake, it did not collaborate with IDFG on the bounty program.

She said the Tribe intends to continue its Windy Bay research project, but the fisheries department needed more data and decided to ask anglers to help it collect fish.

The department is calling it the "Catch for Cash" program. It is part of an ongoing research effort by the Tribe to study native cutthroat trout and other game fish and how they are affected by an expanding pike population in the southern part of the lake.

Starting Oct. 1, anglers can turn in whole pike to the check station located at the Heyburn State Park Headquarters at 57 Chatcolet Road.

According to a press release issued by Keen, tribal staff will examine and collect data on the stomach contents of the harvested pike and then donate the remains to the Birds of Prey Northwest raptor rehabilitation facility in St. Maries.

"As an angler, you can play a role in helping us to gather critical information on pike behavior," said Angelo Vitale, fisheries manager for the Tribe. "Ultimately, we hope to use the data collected to better manage the fisheries populations in the lake and reduce the impact of pike on native species such as the cutthroat trout, as well as other game fish such as the yellow perch and kokanee."

All anglers must have a valid fishing license, including a tribal fishing license, in order to participate. Only the first 1,000 northern pike harvested from the target area in tribal waters on the southern part of the lake will be eligible for reward money.

Anglers will be asked to record the approximate location each fish was harvested and will receive $5 per fish. There are several fish that have been marked with a uniquely numbered tag and anglers who catch one of these fish will have the opportunity to receive between $50 and $500.

According to the release, the tags in these fish are not visible and anglers will not be able to recognize one of these special reward fish upon capture, so it is suggested that anglers turn in all eligible fish and completely fill out a report on each pike harvested.

Pike harvested outside of the target area are not eligible for the reward and any anglers found guilty of falsifying records for the purpose of obtaining funds fraudulently will be prosecuted and will not be eligible for further participation in the reward program.

The reward program will run through May 31, 2016. Depending on research outcomes and the level of interest from anglers, this pilot program may continue for additional years.

More information on the program is posted at the check station and at the three boat launches located in Heyburn State Park. For other questions, contact the Coeur d'Alene Fisheries Program at (208) 686-5302.