The Goose Lake is a closed interior basin that straddles the eastern Oregon-California border. The basin contains a unique and relatively diverse native fish assemblage.  Nine fish species are native to Goose Lake (listed below), four of which are endemic, and five of which have federal status under the Endangered Species Act. In 1996, in response to severe drought and habitat degradation the Goose Lake Fishes Working Group drafted a conservation and monitoring plan for all native species. However, since then data describing distribution and abundance have not been collected.  The last survey was conducted in 1994 and occurred only on public land.  Other field work has been limited and sporadic, targeting only Goose Lake redband trout and Modoc sucker. 

 

Goose Lake Basin Native Fish Species
Species	Federal Status
Goose Lake Redband Trout	species of concern
Goose Lake Lamprey	species of concern
Pit-Klamath Brook Lamprey
Goose Lake Tui Chub
Goose Lake Sucker	species of concern
Modoc Sucker	endangered
Speckled Dace
Pit Roach	species of concern
Pit Sculpin
orange = endemic

In 2007 The Native Fish Investigations Project conducted a comprehensive distribution survey for all native fish in the Goose Lake Basin.  Sites were randomly selected and spatially balanced to ensure a representative sample.  Considerable effort was made to obtain permission to privately owned land.  Field crews used a variety of sampling gears, both active (electrofishing) and passive (trap nets, minnow traps, etc), to capture species in a wide range of habitat types.  Results will describe current distribution and serve as a baseline reference for future monitoring work and habitat restoration projects.

Annual Reports and Publications:

Heck, P.M., P.D. Scheerer, S.L. Gunckel, and S.E. Jacobs. 2008. Status and Distribution of Native Fishes in the Goose Lake Basin. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Information Report 2008-02. Corvallis.