On Tuesday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed plans aimed at improving bull trout population. The draft plan for six recovery units is open for public comments through July 20.

The draft plan for six recovery units includes Idaho, western Montana, Washington, Oregon and a small portion of northern Nevada. The agency has proposed that once the recovery is complete in every unit, the federal protections could be lifted off.

Steve Duke, bull trout recovery planning coordinator for the agency, was of the view, "We think it focuses on what still needs to be done, and it lets local agencies and those with managerial oversight focus on those areas without having to look at the larger distribution of bull trout".

In the six recovery units, 111 core bull trout areas have been identified by the agency. The plan does not have any concrete steps, but it looks at ways to keep water clean in streams. The plan is the result of a settlement, which agency has entered into in 2014 following a lawsuit by two environmental groups, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Friends of the Wild Swan.

In 1998, bull trout was added in the federal endangered and threatened species list. At the time when it was added in the list, bull trout's overall range has decreased by as much as 60%. Warming streams due to climate change, difficult to cross dams and destruction of their habitats from activities are threats faced by bull trouts.