Osprey Steelhead News

North Fork Clackamas Update from ODFW Biologist Kathryn Kostow

2012-02-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

Since 2000 the North Fork of the Clackamas has been a refugia for wild winter steelhead. No hatchery steelhead are released in the river and all hatchery adults are removed from the spawning population at the North Fork Dam. Recent work by ODFW biologist Kathryn Kostow has demonstrated that since the removal of hatchery fish from the North Fork the productivity of wild winter steelhead has increased significantly. She recently updated her anaylsis to include more recent years and found that the pattern remains, wild fish are doing better in the North Fork thanks to the removal of hatchery fish. Here is an update on her work.

Memorandum

Date: January 27, 2012

From: Kathryn Kostow

Subject: Update on Clackamas Steelhead

I have been hearing rumors that some people are casting doubts on the benefits of ODFW’s removal of hatchery adults above North Fork Dam on the Clackamas River. I’ve been told that this question came up during the recent Senate hearing on hatcheries, for example. The implication is that wild fish sanctuaries are not effective at protecting wild populations. This seems like an unfortunate interpretation that puts proposals like salmon strongholds and other wild fish sanctuaries at jeopardy.

This perspective is not supported by the facts in the Clackamas. Since my research provided the scientific support for this management action, I have been getting questions about it from a number of sources. The purpose of this memo is to provide everyone with the same update of the Clackamas data so that the facts are evenly understood.

The management action: As a refresher on the management action, it was implemented starting in 2000 and involved the removal of all hatchery adults at the dam, as well as the discontinuance of hatchery smolt plants above the dam. The hatchery programs were primarily for summer steelhead along with smaller numbers of hatchery spring Chinook, winter steelhead and coho. Hatchery programs for all species are still being implemented below North Fork Dam. The management decision was based on two studies of winter steelhead conducted by ODFW in the 1990s and ultimately published in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society . A “cliff notes” version was also published in the Osprey in 2006 . All three papers are attached.

What the data says:

• The hatchery summer steelhead program started with an initial hatchery smolt release in 1969. The hatchery stock came from Washington (“Skamania” stock). By 1976 an average of 164,000 hatchery steelhead smolts were being released above the dam and an average of 70% of the steelhead adults passed above the dam were hatchery adults (Figure 1). Wild population abundance declined over this period to a low of only 109 fish in 1999.

Figure 1. Number of adult wild winter steelhead (blue, solid) and hatchery summer steelhead (red, dashed) passed above North Fork Dam on the Clackamas River.

• A genetics analysis indicated that the hatchery summer steelhead were not interbreeding with the wild winter steelhead, so the hatchery fish were not posing genetic risks to the wild winter steelhead.

• However, the hatchery summer steelhead adults were breeding among themselves, although at a reduced reproductive success compared to the wild winter steelhead. Since the hatchery adults out-numbered the wild adults, even with depressed reproductive success they were producing about half of the smolts out-migrating from the basin (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Relative proportion of parents, naturally-produced smolts and naturally produced adult offspring that were wild winter steelhead verses hatchery summer steelhead.

• The hatchery fish depressed wild steelhead productivity by ecological effects since the hatchery and wild fish were not inter-breeding. This effect was demonstrated by Ricker and Beverton-Holt productivity models. In basic productivity models, the number of offspring produced is determined by the number of parents. Kostow and Zhou (2006) added additional interaction variables to the models to explore whether other factors besides the number of parents might influence the production of offspring. The hatchery variables included the number of hatchery adults passed and the number of hatchery smolts released. Several environmental variables were also explored including several flow scenarios and PDO (ocean productivity). The production of both smolt and adult offspring was measured. Twenty three different models demonstrated significant decreases in wild fish productivity due to the presence of hatchery fish above the dam. The number of winter steelhead offspring produced per parent decreased by an average of 50% while the capacity of the basin decreased by an average of 22% during the years that the hatchery program was implemented.

• A simple version of the modeling, updated through 2011 adult returns (brood year 2005) is presented in Figure 3. This update used a similar approach to the discrete ‘‘high’’ and ‘‘low’’ hatchery fraction models used by Kostow and Zhou (2006). Two Ricker models are shown for the production of adult recruits under two observed scenarios. In the first scenario 0 – 12% (“low”) of the adults passed above North Fork Dam were hatchery adults. In the second scenario 31% - 92% (“high”) of the adults passed above the dam were hatchery adults. These simple models graphically demonstrate the reduction in capacity (height of the curves) and recruits/spawner (slope of the curves) that occurred as a result of the hatchery program. The updated data set validates the original results in Kostow and Zhou (2006).

Figure 3. The difference in wild fish productivity in the Clackamas when no to few hatchery fish were present (upper, blue line, square data points, BY 1958-74 and 2000-05) compared to the years when a large number of hatchery fish were present (lower, red line, diamond data points, BY 1975-99) as modeled by Ricker productivity functions.

• The Clackamas research demonstrated impacts on population productivity, which is a different metric than population abundance. The abundance of a healthy population may fluctuate, but it does not chronically decline. A healthy population responds to a period of low abundance by increasing the number of offspring produced per parent. This productivity response returns the population to a larger size.

• The wild winter steelhead population in the Clackamas appears to cycle under natural conditions (Figure 1, pre-hatchery years 1958-1974). This demographic pattern is likely due to large-scale environmental events. However, after the implementation of the summer steelhead hatchery program, when wild winter steelhead abundance in the Clackamas declined, the fish did not respond by increasing their productivity because the total abundance of steelhead was held artificially high by the presence of the hatchery fish. Kostow and Zhou (2006) determined that the carrying capacity of the river was regularly exceeded during the 25 years that hatchery adults were passed above North Fork Dam.

• Thus over the three decades of the hatchery program, the production of both smolt and adult offspring chronically declined (Figure 4a and b). The decline has reversed when the hatchery fish were removed and the population appears to be returning to its typical cyclic pattern.

• The population appears to be able to grow again, which should increase the chance for recovery of this ESA-listed species. Two factors, population grow rate and basin carrying capacity, will determine how rapid the population abundance will increase and how big it can become. Recent modeling results (still in progress) suggest that population growth could take as long 5 or 6 generations and will continue to be influenced by external factors that influence smolt-to-adult survival, such as migration survival, ocean productivity cycles, and harvest rates.

• The basin should be capable of producing at least 50,000 winter steelhead smolts, based on observed historic (pre-hatchery) production levels. Smolt-to-adult survivals on the Clackamas average 7% (1958-2011 data). Given this survival, the expected maximum Clackamas adult abundance will be about 3,500 fish. In 2004 the run hit 3,100 adults while in 2010 the run hit 2,200 adults. Thus the population has already approached expected abundances since the removal of the hatchery program and is significantly improved over the low of 109 fish.

• The Lower Columbia River Recovery Plan (ODFW 2010 ) indicates that adult abundance in the Clackamas should reach 10,655 fish in order for the population to be at “low risk” (ODFW 2010, page 154, Table 6.2). Since the habitat above North Fork Dam is in fairly good condition, the two options that could increase winter steelhead abundance to the “low risk” goal include substantial improvements in smolt-to-adult survival, or an increase in basin capacity which must be achieved by expanding the protected area in the Clackamas to include natural production areas below the dam.

Recent Snowfall Bodes Well for Columbia Salmon

2012-01-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

During the last ten years returns of ESA listed salmon and steelhead Columbia and Snake River systems have experienced a period of relative abundance. Many have attributed the improvements to court mandated spill, or productive ocean conditions, both of which are undoubtedly contributing to improved survival. But another factor that cannot be underestimated is the importance of a healthy snow pack which transports outmigrating juveniles to sea during spring runoff. Several recent years in the Columbia basin have seen robust snow packs and not surprisingly the survival of outmigrating juveniles through the hydrosystem has been better than usual. The rate at which fish pass through the system limits their survival, and when high runoff keeps river temperatures cool, fish experience less metabolic stress and predation by invasive warm water fish is kept to a minimum.

That's why there had been some concern until recently that this winter's La Nina had yet to deliver it's promised, wintry punch. Fast forward two weeks and the situation looks very different. After the latest round of winter storms the snow water equivalent packed in the mountains of the interior Columbia Basin jumped almost 10%, and with more rainfall yet to come there is hope that this years runoff could be more than adequate to safely pass another generation of juveniles to the ocean.

More in the Columbia Basin Bulletin:

http://www.cbbulletin.com/415682.aspx

Hydropower Threatens Harrison Area Creeks

2012-01-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

"Small" hydro power has devastated large portions of the Ashlu River

The British Columbia Environmental Assessment office is accepting comment on proposed hydro projects on several Harrison Lake area creeks, including one proposed for Big Silver Creek, an important spawning tributary for steelhead, coho, sockeye and cutthroat trout. Thanks to a government initiative which favors private power developers by forcing BC hydro to sign uncompetitive contracts, BC has seen a massive push for small private hydropower developments on creeks throughout the province. These projects generate energy divert water from creeks, often depriving a creek of more than 50% of its flow during the dry season for several kilometers. Despite official statements that no hydro would be developed in streams that supported anadromous fish, these projects have repeatedly been placed in critical salmon and steelhead habitat.

In December the BC environmental assessment office approved a similar project on Vancouver Island's Kokish River, which will dewater 9 kilometers of important summer steelhead, coho and dolly varden habitat. The project still must be approved DFO however and environmental groups have sworn to fight the destructive project to the bitter end.

Perhaps the most notorious example is a project on the Ashlu River which was developed despite widespread local opposition by the passage of Bill 30 which gives the provincial government the authority to circumvent local communities when developing hydro projects. It is critical that the BC public stand up and state emphatically that they will not tolerate the destruction of salmon bearing rivers to promote these economically dubious hydroprojects. Submit comments before February 5th and tell the BC government no hydro in salmon bearing watersheds of Harrison Lake.

http://www.eao.gov.bc.ca/pcp/forms/Big_Silver_form.html

you can also submit comments on the Kokish project here:

http://wildernesscommittee.org/write_wild_kokish_river

Fish Farm Industry Lawsuit Seeks to Muzzle Free Speach

2012-01-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

Mainstream canada is suing over this image and others

Norwegian owned Mainstream Canada, BC's second largest fish farming company is suing Canadian wild fish advocate Don Staniford for "defamatory and false statements" about the fish farming industry. As the impact of salmon farming has become apparent, opposition to the practice of open net pen salmon farming has grown exponentially and public approval of the salmon aquaculture industry has plummeted. Thanks to the efforts of environmental watchdog organizations and individuals like Staniford, the visibility of the issue has grown tremendously putting pressure on a government which has long enjoyed a warm relationship with the aquaculture industry, to institute real reform. This latest move by Mainstream is simply an attempt to silence their critics through brute force, using their stockpile of corporate resources to bring a frivolous lawsuit against a dedicated, and legitimate critic of their practices.

More information in an article from the Province:

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Giant+Norwegian+fish+farm+company+sues+based+activist+defamation/5964907/story.html?cid=megadrop_story

check out saveoursalmon.ca to get the facts.

Action Needed: Rally For Wild Fish In Salem Tomorrow

2012-01-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is a big day for wild salmon and steelhead in Oregon. For the first time ever State legislators will hold a hearing on the impact of hatchery salmon, with testimony coming from leading biologists and economists on the subject. The hearing will give important visibility to an issue rarely debated in the public sphere and it is critical that we seize the opportunity. Not surprisingly there is a vocal minority of hatchery advocates who oppose the hearings and the conclusions they will logically draw. These members of the angling community insist, despite countless research publications to the contrary, that hatchery supplementation is the only way of achieving healthy wild populations of salmon and sustaining fisheries. This is patently false, and it is critical that wild fish advocates turn out en masse to show their support for the hearings.

Rob Russel, author and wild fish advocate is organizing a rally to be held starting at 8am tomorrow morning on the steps of the Capitol building in Salem. Please turn out if possible to show your support and help Rob and others spread the message: Wild is the Future!

Correction. Rob Russel is not an fishing guide. He is the Native Fish Society Nehalem River Steward, and a devoted wild fish advocate.

Hatcheries Taking Center Stage in the Oregon State Legislature

2012-01-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

This week, for the first time ever, the Oregon Legislature will hold a hearing on the economic and ecological effects of hatcheries. Thanks in large part to the efforts of the Native Fish Society, hatchery policy is taking center stage in the debate around wild fish recovery in the State of Oregon. The hearing will take place at 8:30 AM on Wednesday January 18th at the Capitol building in Salem. Interested parties are encouraged to attend the hearing which will include testimony from experts such as former assistant director of ODFW and noted author Jim Lichatowich, Natural Resource Economist Dr. Hans Radtke, and Dr. Peter Paquet Senior Biologist and Wildlife director with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

For directions to the Capitol building click here.

and for those unable to attend, you can listed to the hearing live by following this link.

Documentary Film SPOIL on Enbridge Pipeline

2012-01-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

Check out this amazing documentary film, SPOIL focused on the coastal ecosystem of British Columbia's Central Coast and the threat posed by the Enbridge Pipeline. Hearings are underway in Kitimat and Terrace to hear public testimony on the pipeline plan, however the proposal has the support of the Prime Minister Stephen Harper leading many the conclude that despite a strong unified opposition to the plan it will go through.

Submit your comments on the proposed Enbridge Pipeline today!

http://gatewaypanel.review-examen.gc.ca/efile/LetterOfComment.aspx

SPOIL from EP Films on Vimeo.

Dammed if We Don't

2012-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

An eloquent and well thought out essay from Patagonia founder and long time Wild Salmon lover Yvon Chouinard on the need to turn the tide of dam building. He points out that while US dam building movement has lost some of its steam, we're still a long way from undoing the harm done by dams in this country, and globally, the short sighted endeavor of impounding rivers is still going at full tilt.

The four Lower Snake Dams remain as the greatest impediments to wild salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin, but every passing year is a wasted opportunity, a missed chance to get a step ahead of the climate change and all the other stressors which threaten our wild fish.

Read Yvon's essay at the Patagonia website:

http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=67738

Video: USGS Salmon Disease Research

2012-01-11T14:04:00.001-08:00

check out this video from the USGS on their Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle. The video includes an interview with Jim Winton chief of the fish health section at the center and includes some good quotes on the ongoing effort to identify and understand Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus and it's implications for wild salmon populations.

Hearings Underway on Enbridge Pipeline

2012-01-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hearings on the controversial Enbridge Pipeline got underway in Kitimat last week with more than 2000 people signing up to submit testimony. The pipeline which would carry tar sands oil with the BC coast, would cross the Fraser, Skeena and several of its tributaries before being loaded onto oil tankers at Kitimat. The tankers would then carry oil through the treacherous Douglas Channel and along the pristine Central Coast of BC, one of the worlds largest tracts of undeveloped coastline and temperate rain forest. Opponents of the plan argue that the route posses an existential threat to the ecosystems which could be potentially impacted and that given the history of oil pipelines (including those owned by Enbridge who had 804 spills between 1999 and 2010) it is only a matter of time before a spill happens. Among the principle opponents to the pipeline are first nations groups who have unanimously opposed the pipeline because of the threat it poses to the health of the regions ecosystem, an ecosystem which still sustains them both literally and metaphorically.

Proponents of the pipeline including Prime Minister Stephen Harper have recently complained about an influx of money from international environmental groups who support the opposition's cause. However, they have had no complaints about the massive amount of lobbying money being poured into the discussion by multinational oil giants on the other side.

More information on the hearings from the globe and mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/northern-gateway-your-guide-to-the-hearings/article2295907/

and from the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Public+hearings+Enbridge+Northern+Gateway+pipeline+begin/5932933/story.html

Submit your own comments:

http://gatewaypanel.review-examen.gc.ca/efile/LetterOfComment.aspx

Puget Sound Rivers Closing Early

2012-01-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

For the third consecutive year WDFW has opted to close the rivers of Puget Sound early to protect wild steelhead. Traditionally the rivers of Puget Sound supported well loved sport fisheries for wild winter steelhead throughout the spring. However poor returns in recent years have pushed runs to all time lows, resulting in a 2007 listing under the Endangered Species Act and forcing WDFW to implement stringent restrictions on sport fisheries. Unfortunately, simply closing sports fishing will not bring back populations of wild steelhead, and more needs to be done to understand and address factors that have contributed to their decline. In the long term habitat destruction has eroded the productive capacity of our Puget Sound Rivers, but in recent years biologists believe poor marine survival is among the principle factors depressing wild steelhead abundance. More information in a press release from department.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/release.php?id=jan0612a

Elwha Recovery Plan in Winter Fly Rod and Reel

2012-01-06T13:54:00.001-08:00

Ted Williams, conservation writer for Fly Rod and Real has an excellent article on the Elwha in the latest edition of the magazine. Williams did his due diligence, interviewed people on all sides of the issue and produced a very revealing and honest, albeit depressing piece on the Elwha Fish Recovery plan and the threats it poses to wild fish in the basin. Check out the article at the Fly Rod and Reel website:

http://www.flyrodreel.com/magazine/2012/january/kill-reborn-river

Elwha Event at the Seattle REI

2012-01-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

Next week American Rivers and American Whitewater are celebrating the removal of the Elwha Dams with an evening dedicated to the restoration and recovery of the Elwha River. Highlights of the evening include the premier of the film Year of the River by film maker Andy Maser, which highlights the Elwha Recovery, talks by biologists from the National Park Service and the US Geological Service and a Q&A session hosted by Seattle Time's environment reporter Lynda Mapes. The event is next Wednesday January 11th at the Seattle REI located at 222 Yale Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109. Hope to see you there!

Remember you can track the progress of the removal through a series of webcams at the Elwha Restoration Project website:

http://www.video-monitoring.com/construction/olympic/js.htm

Bill Seeks Expansion of Rogue River Wilderness

2012-01-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

A pair of bills introduced earlier this fall are seeking to expand the amount of Wilderness along the Oregon coast by approximately 90 thousand acres. The first proposal would establish the Devil's Staircase wilderness on 30 thousand acres of land along Wasson Creek on the Central Oregon Coast while the second would add an additional 58 thousand acres of land to the Wild Rouge wilderness. The Rogue is home to both winter and summer steelhead, spring and fall chinook as well as coho salmon and is among the largest, most productive rivers in Oregon. Both bills are progressing through congress, and we will keep you updated on their progress.

Hanford Reach Home to More than 60,000 Wild Chinook

2012-01-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

The resilience of salmon in the Columbia never ceases to amaze. After a century of dam building only 45 miles of free flowing Columbia River remains, protected within the Hanford Reach national monument in Eastern Washington. Concentrated within those 45 miles though is one of the largest spawning aggregations of wild chinook salmon in the world, a reminder of how productive the mainstem habitats of the free flowing Columbia River must have been. This year more than 60,000 chinook spawned in the Hanford Reach, and with flow management tailored to improve the survival of incubating eggs the future appears bright for wild salmon in the reach. More information in the Columbia Basin Bulletin:

http://www.cbbulletin.com/415051.aspx

Northwest Dam Removal Update

2011-12-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

Condit Dam Removal Update from Andy Maser on Vimeo.

This fall marked a major step forward in the effort to remove aging dams throughout the Pacific Northwest, with two high profile dam removals on the Elwha and White Salmon River. While both projects remain works in progress, dam removal is already changing each river's landscape in unmistakable ways. The Condit Dam on the White Salmon came out with a targeted blast of dynamite and a flood torrent of backed up water and sediment, while the dam removal on the Elwha has been far more gradual. On the White Salmon chinook salmon were transported above the dam prior to the blast and this spring for the first time in almost a century, juvenile salmon will emerge from the gravels above the dam and follow the spring freshet to sea. Websites for each project are monitoring their progress and giving the public a glimpse of the changes that are underway.

The White Salmon Timelapse project:

http://whitesalmontimelapse.wordpress.com/

The Elwha River Restoration project:

http://www.video-monitoring.com/construction/olympic/js.htm

WDFW Rule Change Proposals

2011-12-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

In October WDFW released proposed a list of rule changes to be implemented in the 2012-2013 fishing season. Among the proposals is the permanent adoption of the February 1st closure of Puget Sound Rivers, and the shortening of seasons on several Southwest Washington River systems. In the Willapa Bay region these closures are not a reflection of unhealthy fish populations but rather a lack of escapement goals that are based on the true productive potential of the river systems. While we support cautious management of wild steelhead, we also believe it is incumbent upon the state to provide catch and release fishing opportunities for wild steelhead when possible. Around the state escapement goals range from absurdly high to dangerously low and there is a glaring need for WDFW to adopt a statewide protocol for determining escapement goals and statewide fishing seasons based on this data. In areas where populations are ESA listed such as Puget Sound, WDFW should work collaboratively with NOAA to develop a list of criteria that would allow the opening of selective regulations, catch and release fisheries and monitor populations to ensure that these criteria are being met.

WDFW operates under the false assumption that simply closing sport fisheries will allow wild steelhead populations to recover, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Sport fishing has an undeniable impact on wild fish, however it has a comparably small impact particularly when managed under selective regulations for catch and release. Under these conditions the risk posed by sport fisheries is reduced significantly and there is no justification for closing fishing in rivers where wild steelhead populations have been stable for the decades. In instances where populations of wild steelhead are deemed so fragile that they can no longer sustain catch and release fishing for wild steelhead WDFW should also work actively to eliminate other impacts by curtailing hatchery operations, and banning the use of bait all year. With fishing opportunities dwindling around the state we should demand leadership from WDFW that ensures catch and release sport fishing opportunities in areas where it does not pose an undue conservation risk.

Please take a minute to write WDFW and tell them to protect sport fishing opportunity for steelhead by adopting a statewide protocol for determining escapement goals and fishing seasons, and not to close steelhead fishing in areas where populations are stable and have consistently met these escapement goals.

Comments can be submitted before December 30th to WDFW’s rule coordinator at:

Lori.Preuss@dfw.wa.gov

Or by mail

WDFW Rules Coordinator Lori Preuss
600 Capitol Way N.
Olympia, WA, 98501

Support the Osprey: Make Your Tax Deductible Year End Donation Today!

2011-12-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

For over 23 years, the generous support of our subscribers has enabled The Osprey to bring readers timely, relevant news related to the science, management and policy of wild steelhead and salmon around the North Pacific rim. The handful of committed volunteers who make up our editorial committee are proud of our work on behalf of these magnificent fish and the quality of the content we deliver with the goal of advancing their protection and recovery.The Osprey’s pages are consistently filled with the informed writings of leading scientists, agency managers, elected officials, conservation organization leaders, and angler activists.

Over the last year we have joined the fight to keep misguided hatchery programs out of the Elwha, maintained pressure on federal officials to craft a lasting solution for imperiled Columbia and Snake River salmon, and joined a host of other non-profits in submitting comprehensive comments on a potentially disastrous expansion of hatchery production in the Klickitat River. We've also continued to bring our readers world class content from the regions leading scientists, policy makers and advocates including for the first time, a British Columbia issue.

But the battle continues, and we need your continued support to speak up against the critical threats to steelhead and salmon.

The Osprey is a committee of the Federation of Fly Fishers a 501 (c)3 nonprofit, meaning your donation is tax deductible. Please take a minute to visit our website and support our mission. With your support you will receive a subscription to our hard copy journal and a years worth of good fishing karma. Thank you!

http://www.ospreysteelhead.org/subscribe.htm

Washington Department of Ecology Won't Allow Ban on Fin Fish Aquaculture

2011-12-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

This year, citing concerns over the effect of salmon farms on wild salmon Jefferson County sought to become the first county in Washington State with a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). With ever more evidence coming out of Canada that open containment salmon farms spread parasites and disease to wild fish you'd think state resource managers would have applauded the counties decision. Except they didn't. Instead the Washington Department of Ecology demanded that the ban on fin fish aqua culture be removed from the SMP before it could be approved by the state. Jefferson County then compiled a bibliography of over 120 cited resources pertaining to fin fish aquaculture and revised their SMP, however despite these efforts Ecology has indicated that it will not support the SMP so long as it contains a ban on fin fish aquaculture.

Anyone else think it's time for a statewide ban on open net pen salmon farms? Better to get ahead of the curve than to live with the consequences of opening this pandora's box.

More information at the Jefferson County website:

http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/commdevelopment/Shoreline_StateApproval.htm#Ecology_Feedback_on_Finfish_Aquaculture

New Study Tracks Rapid Hatchery Domestication

2011-12-21T11:21:00.001-08:00

A new study by Oregon State researchers is shedding some light on hatchery domestication, and calling into question the practice of using hatcheries as a means of recovering wild populations. While it is not the first study to document reduced fitness in hatchery fish and it certainly will not be the last, it does shed important light on the process by which hatcheries reduce the fitness of wild stocks. The authors reconstructed a multi-generational pedigree using genetic tools - basically a family tree - for a wild broodstock hatchery program in the Hood River. They found that the offspring of wild fish brought into captivity had significantly lower survival in the hatchery environment, however domestication occured rapidly and the offspring of first generation hatchery fish survived almost twice as well in the hatchery as offspring of wild fish.

More importantly the authors found that traits which confer success in the hatchery lead to poor performance in the wild. With so many hatchery programs around the region shifting their production to wild brood, these results highlight the fact that regardless of which broodstock a hatchery selects, domestication and a loss of fitness in hatchery populations is unavoidable. The hatchery environment itself imposes a profoundly different set of conditions, selecting for traits which are harmful in the wild. If managers are serious about recovery of wild salmon we need to start asking hard questions about just how necessary hatcheries are in that process. The long held dogma among hatchery proponents is that wild populations had been depressed to a point of no return and without hatchery intervention there could be no recovery. However, the more we learn the more that notion appears at odds with reality.

Check out this article in the Oregonian on the study:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/12/study_of_hood_river_steelhead.html

A copy of the research paper here:

Christie et al - Genetic adaptation to captivity can occur in a single generation

Wrapping up the Cohen Commission

2011-12-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

The three day emergency session of the Cohen Commission will wrap up today bringing the year long inquiry to an end, and the first two days have brought some interesting and unfortunate facts to light. Internal emails within the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have revealed explicitly what most spectators already knew, agency biologists are more concerned with winning a PR battle against salmon farming detractors than protecting wild fish by maintaining a high standard of objectivity in their science.

Furthermore,while CFIA officials very publically reported that follow up testing of samples which had tested positive for ISAv at the international reference lab in Prince Edward Island were negative" for ISAv, CFIA testing had actually revealed a weak, positive signal in seriously degraded samples. The result however was dismissed when it could not be duplicated and rather than stating the truth, that ISAv's presence in BC was unknown and yet to be confirmed fully, they reported that it was unequivocally not in BC. Now, just a few short weeks later yet more fish have tested positive for the disease and testing by DFO's own lab indicates that ISAv has been in BC at least since the 1980's.

Kristina Miller, DFO's resident disease expert also testified that while they have not been given access to testing farmed salmon since April 2010, a disease known as Heart and Skeletal Muscular Inflamation is now known to present in fish farms in BC, particularly those within the Clayoquot Sound Region. Clayoquot sounds is a UNESCO world heritage biosphere, and is home to some of the most pristine rivers on Vancouver Island, however some runs of wild salmon have hit rock bottom in the last few years dropping more than 20 fold in abundance from their recent average.

More information in the Common Sense Canadian:

http://thecanadian.org/k2/item/1226-winning-salmon-pr-war-cohen-commission-gillis

Flies For Fins Raising Money for the Thompson

2011-12-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

Flies for fins is raising money for habitat restoration on the Thompson River. Specifically, for habitat improvements on Spius Creek an important spawning tributary for Thompson River Steelhead. The Thompson is revered as one of the greatest steelhead rivers on the planet however in recent years the river has seen record low returns prompting serious concerns about the future of the Thompson's storied steelhead. Flies for fins is asking for help from the angling community to meet their goal of raising $12,000 for habitat restoration. Visit their website to buy and/or donate flies, guided trips and a variety of other fishing tackle.

http://flies4fins.com/

More about their mission:

Over the past 10 years there has been considerable attention paid to the Thompson River and its declining steelhead stocks. In 2010 the Thompson River remained closed to fishing for the steelhead season as a result of an anticipated low return (final estimates indicate that just over 500 steelhead returned to the Thompson to spawn in 2010). This is a troubling circumstance which has resulted in a general cry for help from the angling community and other stakeholders to restore the Thompson River steelhead population to sustainable numbers.

The Steelhead Society of British Columbia (SSBC) has been actively engaging regulatory agency staff and other regional fisheries experts in an effort to determine how we can make a difference for Thompson River steelhead stocks.

During a recent conversation with a Fisheries and Oceans Canada biologist, we were advised of bank stabilization issues on Spius Creek, a tributary to the Nicola River, which is the largest steelhead spawning tributary of the Thompson River.

Restoring and improving spawning and rearing habitat is key to preservation and enhancement of Thompson River steelhead. Unstable and eroding banks are often a natural occurrence; however, severe bank erosion can also result from human activities such as deforestation, as well as from riverbank trampling by domestic range animals.

In the case of Spius Creek, excessive bank erosion has resulted in the infill of important fish habitat such as pools, runs, and viable spawning habitat.

The SSBC contacted an expert to visit this particular site and provide an estimate of costs. The assessment found that the project costs to stabilize and enhance the three sites on the Spius Creek tributary would be $40,000.

The SSBC Directors have approved a motion to support the Spius Creek Bank Stabilization Project with a commitment of $10,000 and we are working hard to achieve the remaining $30,000. Flies for Fins has set a goal of raising $12,000 to contribute to this effort.

Oregonian Story Highlights Nez Perce Hatchery

2011-12-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

A very interesting article from last weekend in the Oregonian explored efforts by the Nez Perce tribe to recover Snake River chinook salmon using hatchery programs. Today more than 6 million juvenile chinook are released into the Snake system annually. Returns of chinook to the basin have skyrocketed over the last decade and a half from a low of 400 in 1990 to almost 43,000 in 2010. Wild returns have also increased and now make up about a quarter of the total return.

While hatchery advocates are quick to point at the Snake as evidence that hatchery releases can help rebuild struggling wild populations, federal fisheries managers are more cautious, fearful over the genetic and ecological consequences of massive hatchery production. Recent improvements in chinook abundance have come during a period when good ocean conditions and court mandated spill have led dramatic improvements in many populations throughout the Snake and Columbia, including those which do not have hatchery programs.Undoubtedly, releasing 6 million hatchery smolts each year will serve to increase the number of fish spawning in the Snake, however that may mask the long term erosion of local adaptation and reproductive fitness in the wild population. True recovery cannot be achieved until wild populations are capable of sustaining themselves at levels above NOAA's recovery goals, something which is masked and likely hindered by the huge numbers of hatchery fish returning to the basin each year.

More information in the Oregonian:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/12/nez_perce_hatchery_strategy_pa.html

Cohen Commission Resumes Over ISAv

2011-12-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Cohen Commission Inquiry into the decline of Fraser River sockeye resumed this week amid concerns about the presence of Infectious Salmon Anemia virus (ISAv) in British Columbia. Earlier this fall researchers at Simon Fraser University discovered ISAv in two juvenile sockeye from River's Inlet, triggering a media furor, and denials by the aquaculture industry and the government agencies responsible for managing salmon in BC. Since then more salmon have tested positive for ISAv and an unpublished DFO manuscript has emerged which indicates that Canadian Authorities have known about the presence of ISAv in the province for at least 8 years.

Today the commission heard from DFO's leading disease researcher Kristina Miller that samples dating back more than 25 years have tested positive for ISAv, suggesting that the disease may in fact be endemic in the Pacific and was simply undocumented. It appears to be asymptomatic in Pacific Salmon. While both sides of the debate will be relieved if this strain of ISAv proves to be an endemic disease unrelated to the aquaculture industry the controversy highlights two VERY important facts. First, DFO's dual mandate to protect wild salmon and promote salmon aquaculture has created a very dangerous conflict of interest, one which has led to the suppression of important research and obstructed further scientific inquiry into the disease risks posed by fish farms. Second, we know very little about disease ecology in wild salmon populations. The fact that ISAv could have existed all along, undetected is evidence that we are doing far too little testing for disease in wild populations, and that we have almost zero understanding of how disease impacts the survival and productivity of wild salmon.

More from the CBC:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/12/15/bc-salmon-virus-claims.html

The Cohen Commission Website:
http://cohencommission.ca/en/NewsReleases/HoldThreeDaysOfHearingsOnISAv.php

Comment on Proposed Coos Bay Natural Gas Terminal

2011-12-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

A proposal to build a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in Oregon's Coos Bay has been approved by the US Department of Energy. The State of Oregon had previously requested that the permit be denied citing concerns that the environmental risks outweigh the economic benefit generated by the export of natural gas. Of particular concern is the dredging that will be needed to allow tanker ships access to the natural gas terminal. Coos bay is an important estuary for Oregon's coastal ecosystem and provides critical rearing habitat for juvenile salmon. The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) is expected to make a determination on the dredging by the end of this week. Please take a minute to tell Governor John Kitzhaber not to approve the dredging until a more thorough environmental review can be conducted.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5632/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9044

More information at We Agree No LNG's website:

http://weagreenolng.org/

Floodplain Restoration on the Lower Sandy

2011-12-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

A coalition of local and federal agencies are working together on a plan to restore over a mile of floodplain habitat at the mouth of the Sandy River. Confined by a dike to a single channel at its mouth since 1938 the delta of the Sandy will once again be allowed to migrate and braid naturally, forming valuable habitat for rearing and migrating juvenile salmon from the Sandy as well as other Columbia River tributaries. The project is set to start next July and estimates of the cost range from $500,000 to $2 million making it the largest habitat restoration project to date in the lower Columbia. More information in the Oregonian:

http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2011/11/a_dike-removal_plan_on_the_san.html

Statement from Simon Fraser Disease Think Tank

2011-12-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Last week, Simon Fraser's Centre for Coastal Studies convened a multidisciplinary panel of scientists from all around the world to discuss the issue of disease and the threats it poses to wild salmon populations. Recently salmon from several populations have tested positive for Infectious Salmon Anemia virus (ISAv), a disease which devastated the Chilean fish farming industry, and work on the Fraser River has linked high prespawn mortality in Sockeye salmon with a viral pathogen. Having identified some of the challenges and data gaps which limit our ability to understand the impact of disease on wild salmon populations the panel produced a consensus statement with some recommendations and ideas, however because the group represented a broad swath of the science community and included individuals with a variety of perspectives on aquaculture and industry finding a consensus limited the group to some fairly general, albeit important statements.

Perhaps more interesting from a conservation standpoint are the convener's recommendations. While the recommendations may not please the aquaculture industry, they are fair, scientifically defensible and rooted in the best available science and the precautionary principle. It is important to note that while a number of individuals from DFO were invited they were not permitted to attend, barred from speaking publicly about disease, aquaculture and Fraser Sockeye. See those recommendations by clicking the link below:

http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/resources/1323375388.pdf

Fall 2011 Edition of Strong Runs

2011-12-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

The latest edition of the Native Fish Society's quarterly newsletter Strong Runs is now available online and includes a variety of content including:

The Sandy River campaign and the effort to reign in hatcheries there.

A Q&A with writer, angler and advocate Jeff Mishler

An update on the Klickitat DEIS and a proposed expansion of hatchery operations

Snider Creek Success, WDFW's decision to make the Sol Duc a wild refuge

click on the image above to read the newsletter

Lower Columbia Chum Getting a Boost

2011-12-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Listed Chum Salmon in the Lower Columbia River are seeing better than average returns this year. The fish which spawn in tributaries and a few mainstem areas of the Columbia River below Bonneville are wrapping up spawning and WDFW's counts of fish in the area have been encouraging. Check out this article from the Columbia Basin Bulletin on Chum counts this year and some restoration projects that are starting to pay dividends:

http://www.cbbulletin.com/414470.aspx

Congress Calls for Real Solutions on Columbia

2011-12-01T08:33:00.001-08:00

Press Release from Save our Wild Salmon:

Congress Calls on Obama To Convene Wild Salmon Solutions Table

Bipartisan group of lawmakers join U.S. businesses and conservation groups in calling for a new approach to salmon restoration

WASHINGTON, DC -- In a letter sent this week, 52 Members of Congress called on President Obama to convene a “solutions table” to help protect and restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River basins of the Pacific Northwest.

With bipartisan support from lawmakers representing 23 states and territories, Congressmen Jim McDermott (D-WA), Tom Petri (R-WI), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) spearheaded the letter to bring together all parties with a stake in salmon restoration to create a broad-based, collaborative process that explores and identifies real salmon recovery solutions. The House letter follows a recent letter from nearly 1,200 American businesses calling for a new approach to salmon restoration by setting up such a collaborative process. The letter also follows a request from seven of the nation’s leading conservation groups seeking a meeting with the new Commerce Secretary, John Bryson, to discuss a similar approach.

“Discussion and open debate are critical to creating a successful salmon restoration plan," said Congressman McDermott. "The previous four plans did not consider all stakeholder views, and were unsurprisingly struck down in federal court. Now is the time to act. By convening a stakeholder’s solutions table that gives all affected parties a voice, we can ensure a thoughtful and successful salmon plan that not only saves taxpayer dollars, but can truly protect this cherished resource.”

Spanning seven western states (Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Utah), the Columbia-Snake River Basin was once home to the world's most abundant salmon runs, with as many as 30 million fish returning annually. Unfortunately, the Basin now sustains less than one percent of that historic number. Thirteen stocks of Columbia-Snake River salmon and steelhead, including all four remaining Snake River stocks, are listed under the Endangered Species Act.

In August, a U.S. District Court ruled the current Columbia Basin federal salmon plan illegal. It’s the fourth salmon plan to be invalidated by the courts over three administrations. Two decades of illegal plans have done little for salmon, and have cost U.S. taxpayers billions in failed efforts.

“For years I have strongly supported the notion that all scientifically credible options to restore historic Columbia-Snake River salmon runs should be thoroughly evaluated," said Congressman Blumenauer. "Had we done this before, we might have avoided years of legal uncertainty and taxpayer expense. The Administration has a significant opportunity to convene the region’s sovereigns and stakeholders and begin having a comprehensive discussion. It may be the key that moves us beyond the courtroom and towards solutions that finally satisfy endangered species requirements, support sovereign treaty rights, create sustainable jobs for local economies, and restore wild fish runs in the Columbia-Snake Basin.”

"Federal agencies have an obligation to American taxpayers to craft a salmon plan that makes fiscal and scientific sense before billions more in federal dollars are spent on ineffective efforts," Congressman Petri said. “To date, we’ve failed the American public on that front, and have instead thrown good money after bad on practices that simply haven’t worked. But by changing course and bringing stakeholders together, we can achieve a plan that works for salmon and federal taxpayers.”

"Genuine, durable salmon recovery in the Columbia-Snake River Basin will only come from bringing all the parties together to craft a comprehensive solution that everyone can live with - including fishermen, farmers, and energy consumers," said Zeke Grader of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations in California. "We thank the Congressional members who have signed this letter calling on the Obama administration to convene this process."

"We’ve spent $10 billion in taxpayer and ratepayer money, and wild salmon are still in trouble. We need a new approach, one that’s truly inclusive. Businesses like mine, along with other interests who are affected by the future of salmon in the Columbia Basin, we all deserve seats at the table," said Paul Fish, President and CEO of Mountain Gear, based in Spokane, WA.

###

Save Our Wild Salmon is a nationwide coalition of conservation organizations, river groups, fishing associations, businesses, and taxpayer and clean energy advocates working collectively to restore abundant, sustainable wild salmon to the rivers, streams and oceans of the Western salmon states.

Leaked Report: DFO Knew of ISAv in 2004

2011-11-30T09:56:00.001-08:00

A Map of Salmon Farms in Southern BC and Washington

Research by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans dating back to 2004 has emerged which suggests the department knew of Infecious Salmon Anemia virus (ISAv) in British Columbia as early as 2004. The research which tested several species of salmon found the disease in 117 fish but was never published. Despite the importance of the work, DFO has not allowed researchers to publish their findings.

Recently researchers at Simon Fraser University and the Raincoast Research Society have documented ISAv in salmon in the Lower Fraser River and as far north as River's Inlet, prompting international concern and US agencies have initiated comprehensive testing in Puget Sound and Southeast Alaska. Canadian agencies however, have maintained that ISAv is not confirmed in British Columbia raising questions about their credibility and their cozy relationship with international fish farming corporations operating in British Columbia.

More information in the Seattle PI:

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/connelly/article/A-Smoking-Salmon-report-Was-deadly-fish-virus-2309866.php#page-1

Read the leaked report here:

http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/fishyleaks

Speaking For the Salmon Tackling Disease Issue

2011-11-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

Since 1998 Simon Fraser University has hosted Speaking for the Salmon workshops, bringing together the foremost experts in the field to address the issues facing wild salmon populations in the Province and throughout the North Pacific. The latest seminar titled, Managing for Uncertainty: Pathogens and Diseases in Pacific Salmon is being hosted this week and will focus on recent developments surrounding disease in British Columbia and its effect on salmon population dynamics. The meeting will bring together experts from a variety of backgrounds including some of the central figures in salmon research and policy in BC and will culminate with a free public presentation Thursday December 1st at 9:00 PM in Room 1900, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings, Vancouver. Seating is limited so reservations are required. Visit SFU's website to make reservations for what is sure to be a fascinating discussion:

http://cgi.sfu.ca/~hccweb/cgi-bin/OnlineRegistration/site/event/

Changing Landsape for the Columbia BiOp

2011-11-28T14:37:00.001-08:00

Last week Judge James Redden, who has long presided over the lawsuit surrounding the Columbia Biological Opinion (BiOp), announced that he will step down before 2014 when the next Biological Opinion is due. The State of Oregon, The Nez Perce Tribe and a coalition of conservation and fishing groups have been locked in a legal battle with the federal government since 2001 over the legality of the Columbia BiOp, winning three court decisions which found federal authorities in violation of the Endangered Species Act. As a result of the litigation, court mandated spill and other operational guidelines have led to improved survival for outmigrating smolts, and the BPA and federal government have invested millions of dollars in habitat restoration and hatchery reform. Yet the feds have fallen woefully short of their mandate to recover wild salmon in the Columbia and Snake, something which many believe will require the breaching of the four Lower Columbia Dams.

Also coming out last week was Trout Unlimited's announcement that they will be withdrawing as plantiffs on the Columbia BiOp marking a major change in course for the organization. The decision is somewhat puzzling given what is at stake on the Columbia, the track record for success through the courts and the Federal government's unwillingness to convene stakeholder meetings to decide the future of the four Lower Snake Dams. Departing the lawsuit Trout Unlimited states that they will focus instead on bringing stakeholders together to work out a management plan everyone can live with. Trout Unlimited has a long track record of working collaboratively with government and stakeholders to address conservation challenges, however given the intractability of the Columbia BiOp and the fundamental differences in the position of stakeholders and the government such a consensus may prove difficult to find.

An article from the Oregonian on Redden's departure:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/11/federal_judge_james_a_redden_t.html

An article from OPB on TU's decision:

http://earthfix.opb.org/communities/article/conservation-group-decides-to-leave-salmon-managem/

Elwha In Science Magazine

2011-11-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Last week Science Magazine, a leading publisher of science journalism printed an excellent article on the Elwha Dam removal. The article discusses some of the specific research that is ongoing in the Elwha with quotes from many of the scientists involved about their expectations for the recovery of fish populations and the Elwha ecosystem, and places the project within the larger context of dam removals around the country. The author also touches on the issue of hatcheries with a great quote from Jack Stanford on the way that managers have used concerns over high sediment loads as a justification for hatchery intervention.

Dam removal is ongoing on the Elwha, and the FFF Steelhead Committee has joined with the Wild Fish Conservancy, the Wild Steelhead Coalition and the Conservation Angler in a lawsuit seeking a more robust scientific review can objectively examine the role of hatcheries in the recovery and develop an adaptive management plan which includes measurable recovery objectives and a time line for ending hatchery supplementation in the basin. The Elwha affords a unique opportunity to allow for a natural recovery of wild salmon in a pristine ecosystem, setting the bar for other recovery projects throughout the region.

SSBC Thompson Fundraiser This Week

2011-11-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday in Vancouver, BC the Steelhead Society of BC is hosting a fundraiser to benefit Thompson River Steelhead. Money raised will go directly to habitat projects on Spius Creek an important spawning tributary if you live in the area come out and support a great organization and cause.

Feds "Staying the Course" Towards Extinction on Snake River Salmon

2011-11-17T22:54:00.000-08:00

A map from the Oregonian depicting the status of listed Columbia Salmon

Yesterday the federal government responded to a request for settlement by plantifs in the lawsuit against the Columbia River Biological Opinion (BiOp). Opponents of the Columbia River BiOp which include the Nez Perce Tribe, the State of Oregon, and a broad coalition of conservation and fishing groups have called on the Federal Government to convene discussions with stakeholders to craft a lasting solution for the Snake River and it's four lower dams. In their response the Federal Government indicated that they are uninterested in such a process and that instead they plan to "stay the course" with the controversial plan to recover Snake and Columbia salmon.

This begs the question though, what kind of future are we staying the course towards? Salmon populations in the Snake and Columbia have been buoyed by favorable ocean conditions which are cyclical in nature. Every year the federal government and the BPA spend millions of dollars on salmon recovery projects with questionable benefit, seeking to meet their legal obligations under the ESA and protect the status quo. This despite the fact that leading researchers at the American Fisheries Society, the worlds largest organization of fisheries professionals have stated unequivocally that the only way to ensure recovery of ESA listed salmon and steelhead in the Snake over the long term is to remove the four Lower Snake Dams.

Even under the most optimistic scenarios salmon and steelhead in the Snake and Columbia will not even reach "recovery" goals laid out by NOAA, but instead will continue to fluctuate around the same levels of abundance we've seen over the past decade. Even with massive investments by the BPA the federal government we're reaching the point of declining returns. Passage can only be improved so much at each of the 8 dams fish must navigate migrating from the pristine headwaters of the Snake, and at the end of the day the undeniable fact is that dams have turned a mighty river into several hundred miles of stagnating, predator infested lakes.

Looming on the horizon is the true elephant in the room, climate change. Interior basins of the Columbia and Snake may be some of the hardest hit by a warming climate, yet bureaucrats at NMFS refuse to even entertain the notion of proactively removing four antiquated dams that never should have been built in the first place. The federal government is living on borrowed time, begging a federal judge to let them "stay the course" to extinction. So as we approach the twenty years mark since the first illegal BiOp, it's back to court for another round in the never ending saga.

More from Save our Wild Salmon:

http://www.wildsalmon.org/

Klamath Dam Removal Legislation Introduced in Congress

2011-11-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

Bills introduced last week in the House and Senate seek federal authorization and funding for the removal of four dams in the Klamath Basin. Sponsored by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkely in the Senate and California Congressman Mike Thompson in the House, the bills would authorize $536 million in federal funding for the project, authorizing the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, commonly called the Klamath Accords.

This fall the Department of the Interior released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) indicating that they supported the removal of the four Klamath dams and that they total cost of the project might be significantly lower than previously projected. Still, Republican lawmakers who last year sought to kill Klamath Dam removal with riders attached to the House Appropriations bill remain adamantly opposed to the project meaning it faces an uphill battle in Congress.

Without authorization by 2012 the Klamath Settlement is nullified, something which could be a major setback to dam removal efforts.

More information from OPB's earthfix blog:

http://earthfix.opb.org/water/article/merkley-senate-bill-would-authorize-klamath-dam-re/

NOAA's Technical Recovery Draft for Puget Sound Steelhead Available Online

2011-11-14T14:33:00.000-08:00

Since the listing of Puget Sound Steelhead in 2007, NOAA has been actively working to develop historical baselines which will allow for the evaluation of extinction risk and recovery planning in the Puget Sound Distinct Population Segment (DPS). Central to completing that task was the formation of the Technical Recovery Team (TRT) a group of scientists representing many of the state, local and federal agencies involved in steelhead management in Puget Sound.

Their draft titled, Identifying Historical Populations of Steelhead Within the Puget Sound Distinct Population Segment, attempts to identify demographically independent populations within the Puget Sound and will provide the foundation for recovery planning. Demographically independent populations are basically populations of steelhead with shared traits such as georgraphic distribution, entry timing, etc. So for example, Deer Creek summer run steelhead may be considered a demographically independent population for the purpose of the TRT.

It's a long document which brings together a wealth of information on steelhead life histories, population and genetic structure, migration timing, habitat use and historic documentation and is well worth the read. Check it out at NOAA's website:

http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Recovery-Planning/Recovery-Domains/Puget-Sound/upload/PS-stlhd-draft.pdf

WSC Film Premier Raising Money for Wild Fish

2011-11-13T16:33:00.001-08:00

The Wild Steelhead Coalition is hosting the Washington premier of Connect, a fly fishing film by Confluence Films. The film documents the experiences of traveling anglers around the world, from the Yukon to Tanzania, Africa. If it's anything like other productions by the Confluence Films crew it should be visually stunning and well worth the price of admission. It's a win win that the event will serve as a fundraiser for the Wild Steelhead Coalition and our efforts to protect the future of the Elwha River from the harmful impact of hatcheries.

Advanced Ticket Sales:

http://www.ticketriver.com/event/2399/

Confluence Films website:

http://www.confluencefilms.tv/

Canadian Officials, "no confirmed cases of infectious salmon anaemia in wild or farmed salmon in BC."

2011-11-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

A press release last week from the Canadian Food Inspection (CFI) agency stated unequivocally that ISA is not in BC, this despite previous tests both at the world reference laboratory for ISA and at an independent lab in Norway had confirmed the presence of the disease in two juvenile salmon from Rivers Inlet, BC. Since the two individuals tested positive for ISA in Rivers Inlet, independent testing on coho and chum sampled in the Lower Fraser has also confirmed the presence of ISA in BC. Yet the agencies responsible for the well being of wild salmon in British Columbia remain woefully behind the eight ball, happy to continue denying the presence of the disease.

Canadian officials have long had a close relationship with the fish farming industry but the latest turn is an egregious affront to the precautionary principle that should be guiding the management of wild salmon and aquaculture in BC, and its only a matter of time before they are exposed. The sad truth is, there is almost 100% certainty that ISA is in BC. The PCR tests administered on the samples at the world reference lab amplifies particular parts of the viral genome making false positives extremely unlikely. Until now the disease has never before been documented in the Pacific and there is literally only one place it could have come from...farmed salmon.

Indeed, US officials are so concerned about the inability of Canadian authorities to act responsibly that federal agencies are being tasked with undertaking independent sampling, expressing concerns that the Canadian government may, " have a motive to misrepresent its findings". In light of the response by the Canadian government it appears that these concerns are more than valid and it is unfortunate that there has not been an honest attempt to get ahead of the disease by rigorously sampling farmed and wild salmon around BC.

More information from a savvy Canadian blogger:

http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/positively-negative-how-cfia-failed-defuse-isa-bc

Article from the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016719649_salmonvirus09.html

Support a Wild Elwha

2011-11-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

The FFF Steelhead Committee has teamed up with the Wild Steelhead Coalition and Wild Fish Conservancy to challenge the legality of the Elwha Fish Recovery Plan. We believe that dam removal on the Elwha is a momentous opportunity to recover wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest, a chance to allow natural recovery of healthy wild populations in a largely pristine watershed. Given this opportunity we cannot sit by and allow a plan which calls for the release of nearly 4 million hatchery salmon and steelhead to go forward, particularly when that plan was never subject to formal public review or any independent scientific review. We cannot do this without your support, and the Wild Fish Conservancy is in the midst of a campaign to raise funds to support the lawsuit. Please visit their website today and support the cause, the future of the Elwha hangs in the balance.

http://wildfishconservancy.org/carousel/protect-wild-steelhead-help-wfc-stop-the-release-of-non-native-hatchery-fish-on-the-elwha

White Salmon Dam Removal Highlights Weaknesses in Elwha Recovery Plan

2011-11-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

Dam removal is proceeding at Glines Canyon and Elwha Dams

For fish and river lovers this has been a monumental fall. In late September, work began to remove two dams on the Elwha River in what will eventually be the largest river restoration project in our history. As many of you have undoubtedly read, removing these two dams will restore access to more than 90 miles of habitat in the Elwha, much of which is pristine and protected within the Olympic National Park. With access to that much pristine habitat, wild salmon and steelhead populations are poised to recover to levels not seen in the Elwha in a century. Unfortunately, state and federal agencies in cooperation with the Elwha Klallam Tribe have agreed on a fish recovery plan that will release close to 4 million hatchery salmon and steelhead into the river each year, threatening the recovery of wild fish in the basin.

The argument for the hatchery is that the habitat in the lower river will be so compromised by the sediment trapped behind the two dams that the hatchery program is necessary to keep the fish from going extinct. That may seem like a logical argument until you consider two facts. First, the magnitude of hatchery releases is completely out of scale with the supposed need. Under the current plan hatchery fish will continue to outnumber wild by an order of magnitude in the Elwha for the foreseeable future, reducing the productivity and fitness of the wild population. The ecological effects of the hatchery are also considerable and will serve to reduce the survival of wild juveniles in the river, and as they migrate to sea.

Second, in light of what we know about hatcheries and their impacts on wild populations what are the alternatives? Surely a number of alternatives were considered by the Elwha Recovery Team, but because the federal government never issued an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Fish Recovery Plan we have no idea what they considered. Nor did we have the opportunity to suggest that perhaps a massive production hatchery is incompatible with the goal of the dam removal, recovering healthy wild populations in the Elwha Basin.

Even without a formal list of alternatives for the Elwha Recovery, we don’t have to look far for examples of dam removal projects where managers have opted not to rely on hatchery intervention. This fall in preparation for the removal of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, biologists with the USFWS captured nearly 700 adult Chinook and passed them above the dam. Like the Elwha, the removal of Condit unleashed massive amounts of trapped sediment which would have resulted in extremely high mortality for any juvenile Chinook incubating in the Lower River after the dam removal. Since the ultimate goal of the dam removal was to have Chinook colonize newly available habitats above condit dam, the biologists have solved two problems with one simple, inexpensive action. These fish will emerge next spring and migrate to sea and by the time they return Condit Dam will be gone. Given the existence of Chinook, coho and steelhead in the Lower Elwha the same type of recovery plan could have been implemented, instead the majority of returning adults will be taken into captivity, reducing the fitness of their progeny and delaying the natural process of colonization in the Elwha.

Both rivers are also home to healthy populations of rainbow trout, the resident life history of steelhead, and in both rivers these trout continue to produce substantial numbers of ocean going smolts each year. In both systems, a handful of these smolts survive to adulthood and upon returning to the river have been blocked from their spawning grounds, until now. Knowing this, managers on the White Salmon have had the wisdom to allow the fish to recover on their own, and they are optimistic that in a few generations steelhead will thrive again in the Upper White Salmon.

Contrast that with the $16 million the federal government spent on a hatchery on the Elwha. Despite assurances by NOAA’s regional administrator Will Stelle that hatchery operations are only temporary, no formal timetable for discontinuing hatchery releases has been set and no goals for wild recovery that would prompt reductions or outright elimination of hatchery releases are in place. Instead we have a blank check for permanent, massive hatchery supplementation in a river that in the absence of hatchery supplementation would likely be among the most productive in the region.

Given time the Elwha can again support robust fisheries for wild salmon, but by adopting a recovery plan which hinges on a production hatchery; managers are placing the cart before the horse. The Elwha is the project of a lifetime and given all the blood, sweat, tears and dollars that have gone into making it a reality, we need a fish recovery plan that works. One that will not only ensure harvest in the coming years but which will allow wild salmon to recover the diversity and abundance that once sustained the Elwha ecosystem. That dream can be a reality, but as long as the hatchery plan remains in place we won’t get there.

US Senators Taking ISA Very Seriously

2011-11-04T10:13:00.001-07:00

Since news of the detection of ISA in wild sockeye salmon came to light in October the disease has been confirmed in three more species almost 400 miles away in the lower Fraser prompting concern that ISA may be wide spread in Southern BC. In response to the findings, a group of US Senators including Washington's Maria Cantwell and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich have sponsored a resolution calling for federal agencies to immediately begin testing in US waters for ISA. The US federal government has taken the threat of ISA very seriously and a letter sent by the three Senators expressed skepticism at ability of the fish farming industry and the Canadian Government to objectively monitor fish farms for disease saying,

"We should not rely on another government -- particularly one that may have a motive to misrepresent its findings -- to determine how we assess the risk ISA may pose to American fishery jobs,"

Pesticide Ruling Good News for Fish

2011-11-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

This week a federal judge upheld a decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) which placed limits on pesticide use in close proximity to rivers and streams. Agriculture has encroached on many watersheds in the Pacific Northwest and the ruling was a major win for salmon and steelhead. Pesticide use can cause significant harm to both juvenile and adult salmonids, eroding water quality, killing terrestrial and aquatic insects which provide food and in some instances killing the fish directly. The effort to overturn the rule had been financed by agricultural chemical manufacturing companies.

More information in the Oregonian:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/10/federal_judge_backs_rules_that.html

Crooked River Salmon Recovery Hinges on Flows

2011-11-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

From the Bend Bulletin, an editorial by Native Fish Society River Steward Tom Davis calling for environmentally sound water allocation in Prineville Reservoir on the Crooked River which give recovering salmon populations adequate in stream flow to ensure recovery. HR 2060 guarantee's only 17 cfs for fish in the crooked at least ten times less than what is needed trout and salmon.

The reality is recovery of ESA listed salmon and steelhead in the Upper Deschutes will eventually require more water. For the time being NMFS has given Upper Deschutes salmonids an "experimental" designation, which does not come with the same stringent requirements that a normal ESA listing might. This wont last forever and when the time comes it is better for the fish to be on their way to recovery and for water management and use to be in balance with both agricultural and ecological demands of the system. Otherwise it will be up to the courts to decide for Central Oregon how they should best manage their water.

Here's Tom's Editorial

Solutions for Fish Reintroduction

For more than 40 years, the Upper Deschutes habitat was closed to steelhead, spring Chinook and sockeye. The first adult salmon of one of the most ambitious reintroduction efforts in U.S. history are now returning to Pelton Round Butte Dam.

The relicensing agreement for the dam included a temperature-management and fish collection/passage structure. The total reintroduction cost is expected to exceed $300 million. The threats include low flows, water quality, passage and politics.

Recent OSU research on Whychus Creek concludes “an estimated four steelhead trout adults would be expected to return.” Low flows that are too warm and inadequate state flow targets mean low potential for steelhead, so the Crooked River watershed is exceptionally important.

The steelhead fry released were twice the number of Chinook fry released above the dam through 2009. The Chinook smolts that arrived in 2010 at the dam's fish collection facility were five times the number of steelhead smolts and this may portend poor steelhead success. Hopefully the outmigration of steelhead will improve, since Chinook typically smolt in their first year, but steelhead can smolt in their first, second or third year.

The Crooked River below Prineville and many tributaries have flows that are too low and too warm. The good news is that the problems appear to have feasible solutions.

The total storage capacity of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Prineville Reservoir is 150,200 acre-feet, with 148,600 acre-feet of active/usable space. Of that, 70,282 acre-feet of Prineville Reservoir storage space is for irrigation and other storage accounts, with 82,000 acre-feet uncommitted.

This suggests that Crooked River flows can be adequate for Chinook, redbands and steelhead, without compromising irrigation or other needs. In drought years, some small, proportional reduction of flows for fish and irrigation may be needed. The actual flow augmentation releases would depend on credible flow targets and adaptive management decisions made as-needed by the responsible fish managers.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife recently analyzed a 2001 best-available-science study performed by a consultant for the USBR. Flow recommendations for steelhead spawning below Bowman Dam ranged from 140 to 160 cfs in the 2001 study.

The ODFW analysis emphasized flat-water boating and fishing in Prineville Reservoir. The impact of adequate flow releases on flat-water recreation during the infrequent low water years would usually be minor and mitigation is possible by extending/lowering the launch areas.

More than 100 large reservoirs and lakes exist in Oregon for such recreation. There are four large reservoirs and at least six large lakes within a one-hour radius of Redmond that provide flat-water recreation.

Reintroducing ESA-listed steelhead into hundreds of miles of habitat is a rare opportunity and should be a high economic, biological and ESA priority.

Flow augmentation for steelhead and Chinook will be needed for only three or four months during most years, and 70,000 acre-feet of reservoir space would accomplish that. The USBR supported “providing some of the now unallocated space in the reservoir for fish and wildlife.”

HR 2060 authorizes 17 cfs for downstream flows, which is way below best-available-science flows. It contains a “First Fill” provision so in the occasional dry years irrigation would get the water it would in a normal year and steelhead, Chinook and redbands would take the loss. The USBR testified that first fill presents an “increased possibility for conflict.”

Legislation should allocate 70,000 acre-feet of the available 82,000 acre-feet of unallocated Prineville Reservoir space to downstream flows and 5,100 acre-feet for City of Prineville mitigation. The full 70,000 acre-feet would seldom be needed. The flow release decisions must be by fish professionals and should vary by season, life stage, run characteristics and flows otherwise in the river. The flow objectives must be the 2001 best-available-science recommendations for steelhead and Chinook. For public transparency, these flows must be noted in the bill that eventually passes as objectives of the adaptive management process. —

- Tom Davis, PE, is a volunteer with the Deschutes Reintroduction Network, an informal group working on fish reintroduction in the Upper Deschutes.

The Senate is considering a bill (HR 2060) which will have important implications for the future of the Upper Deschutes. If you live in Oregon please take this opportunity to weigh in on these issues. Here's a list of talking points drafted by the Deshutes Recovery Network:

· 82,000 acre-feet of Prineville Reservoir storage space is uncommitted, and therefore available. 70,000 acre-feet must be allocated to downstream flows for Chinook, steelhead and redbands. The actual water available in the 70,000 acre feet of space will vary according to year and season.

· The flows needed from Prineville Reservoir storage specifically for fish would vary over the year. The amount released must be based on adaptive management decisions by professionals from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTWS) and US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR).

· The flexible objectives of the ODFW-NMFS-CTWS-USBR adaptive management decisions must be the best available science (BAS) regarding optimum flows for steelhead and Chinook. The BAS is the 2001 Hardin-Davis evaluation prepared for the US Bureau of Reclamation. For public transparency these flows must be listed in the bill that eventually passes as objectives of the adaptive management decisions. The optimum, minimum steelhead flow needs below Bowman are 140 to 160 cfs for spawning and 160 to 180 cfs for juvenile habitat. The Chinook needs are similar.

· Dry-year proportional reduction of reservoir space for salmonid flows and irrigation is essential. First fill as requested by irrigation interests is unacceptable.

· The relocation of the Wild and Scenic River boundary downstream for a hydropower generator must avoid disturbing redband-spawning beds and the new location justified.

Contact the offices of Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley with your concerns.

Senator Wyden:

· To – Wayne Kinney - - wayne_kinney@wyden.senate.gov
· cc – Dave Berick - - Dave_Berick@wyden.senate.gov

Senator Merkley:

· To – Susanna Julber - - Susanna_Julber@merkley.senate.gov
· cc – Adrian Deveny - - Adrian_Deveny@merkley.senate.gov

Chum Fishery on Fraser Threatens Thompson Steelhead

2011-10-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

Trends in Thompson River abundance. From the Thompson Fisheries Blog

The Thompson River is home to one of the most revered runs of steelhead in the world. Known for their impressive size and tremendous strength, Thompson steelhead are considered by many to be the hardest fighting race of fish on the planet. Unfortunately, the last decade has been hard on the Big T and during each of the last three years the river has broken it's previous low water mark for steelhead returns with 690, 590, 500 fish respectively. For a river the size of the Thompson that is abysmal, particularly when compared to run sizes in from the 1980s to the mid 1990s when more than 3500 fish commonly returned.

Bycatch of Thompson River steelhead in gill net fisheries targeting chum have long been a major concern for the conservation of the run (check out total runsize v. escapement through the 1990s), but with the run clinging to it's very existence DFO has recently sought to rein in bycatch significantly. This year however, the department has changed course and opening the Johnstone Strait chum fishery for a total of 164 hours, posing a sigficant threat to the Thompsons imperiled run. Now, the DFO is planning to open the Fraser River for a gill net fishery targeting chum salmon, RIGHT when Thompson steelhead are migrating through the river. There is absolutely no justification for such a fishery and in opening the Fraser for a gill net fishery the department is all but admitting, openly that the extirpation of Thompson steelhead is not of any concern to them.

Give DFO's Lower Fraser Resource Manager Barbara Mueller a call (604)666-2370 and let her know how you feel about Thompson steelhead and this fishery.

Here's the fishery announcement:

Category(s): COMMERCIAL - Salmon: Gill Net Fishery Notice - Fisheries and Oceans Canada Subject: FN1072-COMMERCIAL - Salmon: Gill net - Area E - Area 29 - Fraser River Chum

Update Chum Test Fishery results at Albion are used to generate an in-season Fraser River terminal chum return. The current in-season estimate is 972,000 chum and a commercial surplus has been identified. Currently a commercial Area E Gill net chum opening in Area 29 is under discussion with the Area E Harvest Committee. An update outlining a fishery schedule and details for this opening will be announced by fishery notice as soon as possible.

Albion test fishery catch updates are available on the Lower Fraser Test Fishing Information line at 604-666-6182.

Recorded updates for Area E fleet are available on the Fisheries & Oceans Information line at 604) 666-2828.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Barbara Mueller, Resource Manager, Lower Fraser Area (604)666-2370 Fisheries and Oceans Canada Operations Center - FN1072 Sent October 31, 2011 at 15:34 Visit us on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Awesome Time Lapse of Condit Dam Removal

2011-10-31T10:01:00.001-07:00

Explosive Breach of Condit Dam from Andy Maser on Vimeo.

Check out this fantastic time lapse video from last weeks dam removal on the White Salmon. The Video was put together by Andy Maser who's been providing regular updates on the progress at the White Salmon Timelapse blog. The video highlights the amazing erosive power of water and gravity. Only a matter of hours after the dam removal the river had transported a tremendous amount of the trapped sediment seeking its original channel. The river has alot of work to do before the sediment supply and the transport capacity of the stream are in equilibrium and until then the lower White Salmon will be a very muddy place but the coming winter rains will go a long way towards moving all the trapped silt out, and chances are by spring the river will really be starting to take shape immediately above the dam.

Two years ago Hemlock Dam was removed from nearby Trout Creek, a tributary of the Wind River. Today the creek looks remarkably natural in the reach that just two years ago was a lake.
This photo was taken in June 2010 less than one year after dam removal was completed.

Photo from the Columbia River Fisheries Program

Seattle Times Editorial Board: Protect Wild Salmon From Fish Farms

2011-10-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

With all the news coming out of British Columbia on ISA and other diseases, and the links being drawn between fish farms and disease in wild populations, the concerns over the salmon farming seem to have finally started to break through into the conversation about wild salmon and sustainability at the national level. Yesterday, the Seattle Time's editorial board weighed in a proposal by Oregon based Pacific Seafood that would nearly double Washington State's production of farmed salmon by building a massive fish farm in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just west of the Elwha River. It's good to see the Time's taking a stand on the issue and bringing it to the attention of it's readers in Washington State and throughout the region. While fish farms have not taken hold in Washington the same way they have in BC, the possibility that increasing scrutiny of the industry in Canada will lead to expanded operations in US waters is very real. It is critical that Washington residents are vigilant against this possibility in the coming years. From the Times:

Protect wild salmon stocks from industrial fish farms

Efforts to promote and sustain the recovery of Northwest salmon stocks are undercut by a proposal for a huge new farmed fish operation, and fears among scientists after the discovery of a potentially devastating virus.

PUGET Sound does not need another giant fish farm to produce Atlantic salmon as the region nurtures the return of wild salmon and worries about a nascent salmon virus.

Seattle Times reporter Craig Welch laid out plans by an Oregon company, Pacific Seafood, to more than double the amount of farmed fish grown in local waters. The proposal would produce 10 million pounds of salmon a year in cages in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The news comes as two Canadian researchers found two wild sockeye smolts were carrying a highly contagious virus, one related to a catastrophic outbreak in Chile among farmed fish.

The timing could not be any more disturbing. Billions have been spent in the Northwest to preserve and restore wild salmon runs, with the latest outlay of money and optimism invested in the removal of dams on the Elwha and White Salmon rivers.

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, along with Alaska's two senators, have asked Congress to require federal agencies to investigate the hazards from the latest revelations of a virus risk and report back in six months.

The threat to Pacific Northwest jobs and local economies makes the research a priority.

Efforts to convert marine aquaculture into a giant export business should not be done at the risk of harming — devastating — the restoration of healthy wild fisheries.

Industrial fish farms have a legacy of trouble around the world: diseases, pollution, escaping nonnative farmed fish in the wild population, antibiotics, and the consumption of wild stocks to feed farmed fish.

Organizations, such as the Mangrove Action Project of Port Angeles, have worked for years to sound the alarm about the hazards of using aquaculture to replace, not supplement, wild fisheries.

Based on hard lessons, these concerns are indeed global. Recent commentary in the Scottish Daily Mail describes farmed fish as second only to Scotch whisky as an export earner, but a government proposal under review would ban fish farms from areas that are important to wild fish stocks.

Scotland is looking at a law already in place in Norway that would require publication of levels of sea lice associated with specific fish farms.

One developing option to vast marine farms are recirculating aquaculture systems. These closed operations allow filtration of water for reuse. Better ways to deal with waste, antibiotics and other chemicals without the potential for contaminating wild stocks.

The shock expressed by regional scientists at the discovery of a potentially deadly virus with a devastating history among Atlantic salmon has to be respected.

Cantwell is right to demand a federal investigation into the hazards. Protect the wild stocks of Northwest salmon as they get a fighting chance to make a healthy recovery.

ISA found in Fraser Coho

2011-10-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

The New York Times reported today that documents released on Friday show that Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) a disease brought to the Pacific Coast by the salmon farming industry, has been detected in a coho salmon sampled in the Fraser River. This after it was revealed last week that two juvenile sockeye from rivers inlet had tested positive for the disease, the first time ISA has ever been documented in the Pacific Ocean.

While this development isn't particularly surprising it means that ISA has very likely spread throughout the Georgia Basin, and perhaps further, already. Canadian officials and the fish farming industry have been in denial for the last week about the validity of the two samples tested from Rivers Inlet, even asserting falsely that the samples had been destroyed and therefore could not be retested by a Canadian government lab. The industry has also been denying that the disease could have come from salmon salmon farms despite the fact that ISA has never been present in the Pacific before and that the strain of ISA detected in the two rivers inlet Sockeye was a European strain. Wild fish advocates have lobbied for years to stop the import of eggs from European hatcheries, citing concerns about disease and now their fears appear to have been realized.

The US government appears to be taking the threat of ISA on the Pacific Coast relatively seriously and last week Maria Cantwell, joined by Senators from Alaska has asked government agencies to undertake a comprehensive assessment of ISA and the threat it poses to American salmon populations.

At this point damage control for the salmon farming industry may be pointless, the disease has very likely already spread throughout the region a grim reminder the risk that open net pen salmon farming poses to wild populations. The only long term solution to this problem is moving salmon farm production onto land in its entirety ensuring that wild fish are not exposed to the many parasites and pathogens present on salmon farms.

Check out this article in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/science/pacific-salmon-virus-raises-worries-about-industry.html?_r=1

More from Alexandra Morton's blog:

http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/

Today's the Day Condit Dam Comes Down. Watch the Live Feed at Noon Pacific Time

2011-10-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today the long awaited removal of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River will finally come to fruition. The dam removal, delayed since 2006 will open up nearly 33 miles of habitat for listed steelhead and 15 miles for Chinook and coho. Friends of the White Salmon is hosting a free live feed on their website so that members of the public can watch the dam removal today at 12 PM Pacific Standard Time. Check it out:

http://www.whitesalmonriver.org/live_feed.php

Huge Fish Farm Proposed Near Elwha in Strait of Juan de Fuca

2011-10-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Time's ran a story last week on a proposal to build Washington State's largest open containment fish farm in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just west of the Elwha River. The proposal from Oregon based Pacific Seafood would be to raise more than 10 million pounds of farmed Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead, almost doubling the amount of farmed salmon raised in Washington.

This is a terrible idea and must be fought tooth and nail. Salmon farming in British Columbia has been implicated in the decline of wild salmon populations, spreading parasites to outmigrating juveniles. The recent discovery of Infectious Salmon Anemia (a disease brought into BC by the salmon farming industry) has prompted significant concern throughout the region and another disease known as Salmon Leukemia in wild populations have raised questions about the role fish farms are playing in spreading diseases to wild populations. Citing these concerns Jefferson County tried to ban fish farming outright but was blocked by the Washington Department of Ecology.

While the article does cite concerns from the local community, and some of the potential biological impacts of salmon farming it also gave the company and NOAA aquaculture boosters the opportunity to spread a little bit of misinformation to the public. Two quotes in particular should raise eyebrows the first being from NOAA aquaculture manager Michael Rubino who claimed that much of the concern over fish farming is based on science that is out of date saying,

"There's a huge amount we've learned about what to do and what not to do"

and from John Bielka the general manager of Pacific Seafoods,

"the science is behind us 100 percent."

Simply stating that the science supports your position doesn't make it true, and these quotes represent an intentional effort to mislead the public about the true impact of salmon farming. Apparently Mr. Rubino and Mr. Bielka haven't been paying attention because in the last few years research has only continued to add to our certainty that open net pen fish farms are extremely dangerous for wild salmon. That's to be expected from an industry spokesperson but for a NOAA program manager to be so woefully unaware is unacceptable.

How about this paper on the role of salmon farms in Coho salmon declines

Or this one that models salmon lice infestations in comparison to pink and coho survival and finds that in some years almost 90% of the mortality is attributable to sea lice...from salmon farms.

Or this one that shows that salmon leukemia is responsible for extremely high rates of prespawn mortality in Fraser Sockeye. While salmon farms have yet to be implicated in this disease outbreak, the farms have refused to do voluntary testing and high rates of prespawn mortality overlap conspicuously with the expansion of fish farming in British Columbia.

Salmon farms should be a major concern for Washingtonians who care about wild salmon, even before this proposal came to light. The prospect of putting 10 million more pounds of disease and parasite spreading farmed salmon into Washington's waters should be a non-starter, particularly with the enormous amount of resources and energy that have been invested in the nearby Elwha. The last thing the Elwha and the rest of Puget Sound needs are fish farms spreading into Washington State.

To ensure that we don't repeat British Columbia's mistakes we need a statewide ban on new salmon aquaculture as soon as possible. Stay tuned for more updates on the proposal and how you can help fight it.

Article from the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016565085_fishfarms21m.html

Condit Dam Coming Down this Week

2011-10-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Dam removal is underway on the White Salmon River and the dam will be "officially" removed on Wednesday when the dam is blasted away in a final ceremony. An interesting article in the Oregonian today examines the dam removal from the perspective of three of the individuals involved, Tony Washines a Yakama Trial elder, Susan Hollingsworth a local kayaker and Rob Engle a biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The USFWS has transported close to 700 fall chinook above Condit Dam this fall, giving the fish access to the river above Northwestern Lake for the first time since 1913.

More from the Oregonian:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/10/for_a_tribal_elder_a_kayaker_a.html

The Wild Fish Conservancy's Wild Elwha Campaign

2011-10-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

From the Wild Fish Conservancy:

Protect Wild Elwha Steelhead & Salmon

We need your help at this critical time to protect wild steelhead and salmon and stop the release of non-native steelhead on the Elwha River!

The long-awaited dam removal on the Elwha River is finally underway, marking the culmination of a two-decade effort toward restoring salmon and steelhead to one of Washington’s most pristine rivers. The Elwha dam removal will open up about 70 miles of protected river for spawning fish. Given the amount and quality of the habitat, biologists predict tens of thousands of wild salmon and steelhead could eventually return to the Elwha River above the dams within our childrens’ lifetimes. These are exciting times and we should all celebrate!

But dam removal is only the first step to complete recovery and an all-wild Elwha.The recovery will reach its full potential only if hatchery fish are removed.

The plan of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is to continue releasing non-native Chambers Creek winter steelhead into the Elwha despite written requests from every responsible agency asking that they discontinue the program. A five-year fishing moratorium will be in place during the dam removal period, so none of these fish will be caught in tribal or sport fisheries; yet some will return to the Elwha, possibly spawning with one of the few hundred wild steelhead that remain. That would effectively nullify the reproductive investment of the wild fish, which are the backbone of the river’s recovery.

An overwhelming demonstrates that hatchery fish will produce fewer offspring, undermine the genetic integrity of wild populations, compete for resources, attract predators, and spread disease to their wild counterparts.

We need your help to ensure a wild future for the Elwha and Olympic National Park! Over the next 30 days, we need to raise $20,000.00 to support our on-going efforts to stop the release of non-native Chambers Creek steelhead into the restored Elwha.

To date we have engaged with state and federal agencies on the issues of concern and on Friday, September 16^th, served legal notice that we would file suit against the Olympic National Park, NOAA Fisheries Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife under the federal Endangered Species Act. It's our belief that the fish hatchery plan that the agencies are allowing for the Elwha River violates the ESA by harming Puget Sound Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout without the proper authorization.

Right now the momentum is on our side. We’ve had an overwhelming outpouring of support and the negotiations continue. But we can’t succeed without your help. New challenges and difficult decisions arise every day, but I am confident that with your help, we can continue to meet those challenges.

The time to act is NOW. Please consider making a gift to help us continue this important work. A donation of $5 or $10 would be great. $500 or $1000 would put us that much closer to reaching our goal. Any amount will help. Together we can get this done. Together we can ensure an all-wild Elwha future.

Visit their website to support the Wild Elwha:

http://wildfishconservancy.org/carousel/protect-wild-steelhead-help-wfc-stop-the-release-of-non-native-hatchery-fish-on-the-elwha

ISA in the New York Times

2011-10-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Monday's announcement that Infectious Salmon Anemia had been detected in British Columbia sent a shockwave through the region that has prompted concern throughout the Pacific Northwest. The implications of ISA on the west coast are potentially profound and while there is no other possible culprit but open net pen fish farms, the industry has been quick to cast doubt on the credibility of the science in a floundering attempt to protect their financial interests.

Coverage of the issue has been extensive, highlighted by an article in Monday's edition of the New York Times. Jim Winton, a fish pathologist with the US Geological Survey in Washington State has long been at the forefront of research on ISA and is quoted in the article saying that ISA in the North Pacific needs to be treated as a "disease emergency." This is absolutely correct, there is a tremendous need for research immediately and there needs to be a change in the way the issue of disease is managed by DFO. The salmon farming industry must be held accountable for the disease and parasites that have wrought havoc on wild populations in BC. Not testing is not an option and the burden of proof must be shifted to the industry and away from the wild fish and those that would come to their defense.

ISA on the west coast is bad news, but with an appropriate response it doesn't have to be catastrophic. Hopefully this will serve as a wake up call to the Canadian government and prompt legislation mandating that all salmon farms be moved onto land as soon as possible.

Article in the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/science/18salmon.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=lethal%20virus&st=cse

Transplanted Bull Trout Spawning in the Clackamas

2011-10-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

This fall Bull Trout are spawning in the Clackamas River for the first time in more than 50 year. A reintroduction effort is underway, transplanting modest numbers of fish from a healthy population in the Metolius River into the Upper Clackamas, and last week scientists observed transplanted individuals spawning in a small tributary. Bull Trout were extirpated from the Clackamas in the early 1960s. More information in the Columbia Basin Bulletin:

http://www.cbbulletin.com/413270.aspx

Infectious Salmon Aneima (ISA) is in BC

2011-10-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Map of BC Fish Farm Tenures with Rivers Inlet Shown to the North

This week it was announced by Simon Fraser University researcher Rick Routledge that juvenile sockeye from Rivers Inlet had tested positive for Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA). ISA is the same virus that led to the collapse of the Chilean salmon farming industry with upwards of 70% mortality in farmed salmon however it had not previously been documented in the North Pacific. For years advocates, concerned about the spread of the deadly virus had been lobbying the BC government and DFO to ban the import of eggs however their requests were met by inaction. Now because of this gross negligence, wild salmon throughout the North Pacific are threatened with a potentially catastrophic disease.

The only possible vector for the disease are farmed salmon however Rivers Inlet is approximately 100 kilometers by water from the nearest fish farm. Diseases such as ISA can be transmitted from adult salmon to other adults, from adults to juveniles of from adults to their offspring via vertical transmission and the fact that it was found in juvenile salmon and that it was found in an area which does not have fish farms in the immediate vicinity suggests that ISV has been in British Columbia for some time. While these findings are very new, it is essential that comprehensive testing be done area the region on both farmed and wild populations to determine the potentially sources of the disease and its consequences for wild salmon and steelhead.

This development only adds to the weight of damning evidence piling up against open containment fish farms. It's time for fish farms to be moved on land. Fish farming companies are opposed to such regulations, arguing it would cost to much. Unfortunately, wild salmon and the society and economy which depends on them are currently paying the price of salmon aquaculture and it's time for that to change.

Again, if this disease has spread wild salmon in Washington and Alaska could be effected and it is essential that we understand the extent to which the disease has spread and do whatever possible to contain it.

Check out this article in the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Wild+sockeye+salmon+test+positive+potentially+devastating+virus/5562482/story.html

Learn more and support research on disease in the wild populations by visiting Alexandra Morton's website:

http://www.salmonaresacred.org/

Osprey Vol. 70

2011-10-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Osprey volume 70, our first ever BC issue is out in mailboxes and flyshops everywhere. The issue is full of great content and photography showcasing British Columbia's salmon and steelhead and some of the pressing conservation challenges they face.

In this issue:

Skeena River Update.

BC steelhead under siege, the fight against open net pen fish farms and enbridge will shape the future for BC's wild salmon.

Run of River Hydropower, taking water out of as many as 800 rivers throughout the province.

Thompson River Collapse.

By-catch Blues for the Dean, Skeena and Fraser

Keogh River steelhead research

To get your copy of the issue visit our website and subscribe today:

http://www.ospreysteelhead.org/subscribe.htm

Submit Comments on the Enbridge Pipeline

2011-10-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Government is accepting comments on the Enbridge Pipeline proposal which would carry oil and bitumen from the Alberta Tar Sands to Kitimat on the Douglas Channel on BC's northern coast. The pipeline would cross the Fraser, Skeena and several important tributaries before being loaded into oil tankers at Kitimat.

The proposal has drawn heated criticism because the risk it poses to the Fraser and Skeena, two of BC's most productive salmon rivers and to the Central Coast ecosystem, one of the largest tracts of roadless coastal wilderness in the world. Eighty percent of BC residents oppose the pipeline and despite millions of dollars offered by Enbridge, first nations bands have rejected allowing the pipeline through their territory.

Whether or not you are a Canadian it is criticall important you make your voice heard. Tell the Canadian Government why the Fraser, Skeena and Central Coast are important to you and how the pipeline would adversely affect British Columbia.

Comments can be submitted online:
http://gatewaypanel.review-examen.gc.ca/efile/LetterOfComment.aspx

or by mail:

Secretary to the Joint Review Panel
Enbridge Northern Gateway Project
444 Seventh Avenue S.W. Calgary, AB T2P 0X8
Fax: 403-292-5503; toll free fax: 1-877-288-8803

and must also be emailed to Enbridge and it's counsel:

kenneth.macdonald@enbridge.com
abby.dorval@enbridge.com
richard.neufeld@fmc-law.com

Nez Perce ask Idaho Senator Crapo to Bring Together Stakeholders on the Snake River

2011-10-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Nez Perce tribe of Idaho sent Senator Mark Crapo a letter last week asking for his help in bringing together stakeholders to find an enduring solution based on the best available science. The federal government has never produced a Biological Opinion (BiOp) that met it's legal obligation to recover Snake and Columbia salmon and most experts agree, the only way to recovery Snake River salmon is to remove the four lower Snake dams.

Still, the latest BiOp produced by the Obama administration did not seriously consider dam removal and relied instead on a series of proposed habitat improvements in tributaries and the estuary with questionable survival benefits to wild salmon and steelhead. The Nez Perce have joined a lawsuit which also includes the state of Oregon, as well as commercial fishing and environmental groups, that challenges the legality of the BiOp.

Their Letter:

Re: Issues surrounding_ mainstem hydro litigation (National Wildlife Federation et a/ v. National Marine Fisheries Service, District of Oregon) Dear Senator Crapo: I write to you on behalf of the Nez Perce Tribe (Tribe). The Tribe would like to emphasize the timely opportunity that exists to explore- carefully and comprehensively - solutions to the ongoing litigation over the operation of the federal dams• in the Columbia River Basin.

The Tribe believes that among the lessons learned in the most recent round of this longstanding litigation are two that should strike all parties, on all sides -- and perhaps collaborative political leaders such as you even more - as particularly significant. First, partial collaborations- operational plans that address the concerns of only a segment of stakeholders in a complex matter of litigation - do not work. In the end, the rule of law is intended to be applied by the courts disinterestedly, even if its application were demanded by only one entity.

Second, the long-term certainty that was the apparent intention ofthe accords signed by many state and tribal sovereigns does not exist. The Oregon District Court's recent ruling concludes that the present plan of operations for the lower Snake River and mainstem hydro system does not satisfy the law, and offers at most the Court's allowance of an interim period of operation, with injunctive spill, while NOAA Fisheries faces again its legal obligations with respect to the listed species.

There may be people and entities that are satisfied with this form of uncertainty. If they were to constitute the prevailing view, the Tribe and, it is confident, the State of Oregon and the fishing and conservation groups that make up the NWF plaintiffs, are prepared to continue their demand for compliance with federal law as long as needed. But the Tribe believes this type of uncertainty will be unacceptable to people and entities that prefer comprehensive problem-solving and long-range planning. They•will recognize the simultaneous opportunity presented by this litigation to carefully craft a solution that is more far-reaching, and beneficial to the entire Northwest region, than mere 10-year operational actions and biological opinions.

The Tribe believes that you possess a broader and more long-term view of these issues, and may see the opportunity presented here. The Tribe believes that among the key immediate needs, in order to even begin to take advantage of this situation, is the engagement and understanding of the relevant federal agencies at a Washington, DC level, and that you can assist with that effort.

In conjunction with the legal discussions that would be necessary between NWF, the State of Oregon, the Tribe and the United States, the Tribe believes there will be value in establishing a stakeholder "solutions table" to explore all scientifically-sound options and to help develop recommendations to the Administration and Congress that could lead to the recovery of imperiled populations of salmon and steelhead while simultaneously providing new opportunities that accommodate and even enhance the social and economic needs of affected communities and of the region at large. Again, the Tribe believes that you can assist with this concept.

None of us can predict whether such an exploration would be successful. But continuing the interim approaches of the past should be seen as risky, and the failure to even make an effort at truly long-term planning and problem-solving should be seen as unacceptable . Thank you for your time and consideration of these issues. Please• contact me by any means and at any time with thoughts or questions.

Very truly yours,
Brooklyn D. Baptiste
Chairman

WDFW Gets it Right on the Sol Duc

2011-10-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

After reviewing public comments on the renewal of the Snider Creek hatchery, WDFW announced this week that starting in 2014 the Sol Duc will be designated as a Wild Steelhead Genebank. The Snider program, which takes early timed wild steelhead from the Sol Duc and rears their offspring in a hatchery run by the Olympic Peninsula Guides Association will be moved from the Sol Duc, with the Bogachiel or Calawah as likely destinations.

The Sol Duc is home to what is arguably the healthiest population of wild steelhead in the state and it's designation as a wild steelhead refuge marks a major step forward in the implementation of the Statewide Steelhead Management Plan. Thanks to everyone who took time to stand up for the Sol Duc and submit comments.

Hood Canal Recovery Project Impeded by Harvest

2011-10-11T12:44:00.001-07:00

Tarboo Creek, a tributary of the Hood Canal's Dabob bay, has been the subject of substantial restoration investment with more than 20 million dollars spent to protect and restore habitat in the creek and estuary. Given these investments and the relatively good quality of habitat in Tarboo Creek wild coho and chum should be thriving in the watershed. Unfortunately, short sighted harvest has taken a toll on Tarboo Creek salmon. During fall, when Coho are staging to enter the creek, they school en mass in Dabob Bay. With tribal fisheries targeting large numbers of hatchery fish in the area and a fishing boundary that allows fishing in the estuary of Tarboo Creek, wild coho have been decimated in recent years while staging off the mouth of the creek.

This year, citing concerns over extremely high harvest rates on wild coho returning to Tarboo Creek, WDFW proposed extending the fishing boundary out from the mouth of the creek. The plan which would have protected wild fish returning to Tarboo Creek while still allowing fishing in much of Dabob Bay was approved by other local tribes but rejected by the Skokomish.

More information in the Kitsap Sun:

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/aug/25/concerns-raised-over-tarboo-creek-salmon/

and a write up by Doug Rose:

http://dougroseflyfishing.com/blog/?p=429#more-429

100,000 Dead Sockeye in the Fraser

2011-10-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

This year an alarming trend of extremely high prespawn mortality for Fraser River Sockeye has continued and since August local biologists estimate as many as 100,000 Harrison River sockeye have died before spawning. Large numbers of Coho and Pink salmon have also been found dead, having failed to successfully spawn. Prespawn mortality is a fact of life in salmon and steelhead populations however the number of fish which make it back to the Fraser only to die before spawning is an order of magnitude higher than it should be and there is strong evidence to suggest that salmon on the Fraser are dying from disease.

This year DFO biologist Kristina Miller identified a viral pathogen as the likely cause of recent spikes in prespawn mortality on the Fraser. Most believe the disease to be Salmon Leukemia yet she took the witness stand earlier this summer for the Cohen commission, Miller had not been allowed to speak publicly about her findings. Despite the huge implications of Millers work she has not been funded to test fish farms for the disease and managers appear unwilling to explore the link between aquaculture and disease in Fraser salmon.

More information on Alex Morton's blog:

http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/

Upper Deschutes Salmon and Steelhead Have Passage, Now they Need Water

2011-10-06T10:36:00.001-07:00

Two years ago Portland General Electric completed construction on state of the art fish passage facilities at their Pelton Round Butte facility, giving salmon and steelhead passage into the upper Deschutes for the first time since the 1960s. Now congress is preparing to pass legislation that will guide flow management and water allocation in the Upper Deschutes, Crooked River and tributaries into the foreseeable future. Passage to the upper watershed was achieved through considerable effort and expense, 300 million dollars to be exact, and it would be a terrible waste for recovery to flounder because congress fails to provide biologically sound minimum instream flows for salmon and steelhead.

It is critical that Oregon's Senators understand the importance of guaranteed minimum instream flows for wild salmon and steelhead in the Crooked River. If you're an Oregon resident please email them at:

Senator Wyden:

· To – Wayne Kinney - - wayne_kinney@wyden.senate.gov

· cc – Dave Berick - - Dave_Berick@wyden.senate.gov

Senator Merkley:

· To – Susanna Julber - - Susanna_Julber@merkley.senate.gov

· cc – Adrian Deveny - - Adrian_Deveny@merkley.senate.gov

The essential points to make to the staff of Senators Merkley and Wyden are:

The legislation passed by Congress must provide for adequate flows in the Crooked River for the ESA listed steelhead and Chinook being reintroduced above the Pelton Round Butte Dams.

82,000 acre-feet of Prineville Reservoir storage space is uncommitted, and therefore available. 70,000 acre-feet of reservoir storage space should be allocated to downstream flows for Chinook, steelhead and redbands. The actual water available in the 70,000 acre feet of space, and the water released for anadromous fish, will vary according to year and season.

The flows released from Prineville Reservoir storage specifically for fish would vary over the year. The amount released must be based on adaptive management decisions by ODFW, NMFS, CTWS and USBR professionals. The flexible objectives must be the best available science (BAS) regarding optimum flows for steelhead and Chinook, which is the 2001 Hardin-Davis evaluation for the US Bureau of Reclamation. For public transparency these flows should be noted in the bill that eventually passes as objectives of the adaptive management decisions.

Dry-year proportional reduction of reservoir space for salmonid flows and irrigation is essential. First fill as requested by irrigation interests is unacceptable.

Also check out this article about the issue originally published by H. Tom Davis the Native Fish Society's Deschutes River steward in Salmon Trout Steelheader:

Deschutes River Reintroduction

Dam Removal Getting Underway on White Salmon

2011-10-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

photo from The Columbian

Change is underway on the White Salmon River. Salmon are spawning above Condit Dam for the first time in 100 years and engineers are busy demolishing the dam in prep for October 26th, when the final 15 feet of Condit dam will be blasted away finally removing the antiquated dam. The Chinook are spawning above the dam thanks to an effort by US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists who rounded up a dozen pairs of fall chinook staging in the Lower White Salmon.

For salmon in the White Salmon passage the fish above the dam is a win win, providing natural colonization opportunities above the dam and ensuring that their offspring are not subject to the harsh conditions in the lower White Salmon as stored sediment quickly works its way out of the system.

Biologists hope to capture at least 500 of the estimated 2000 fall chinook which return to the Lower White salmon and pass the fish above the dam. Check out this article in the Columbian for more information detailing the capture effort and why biologists opted to allow salmon and steelhead to colonize the river naturally. Biologically, the situation on the White Salmon is very similar to that on the Elwha; small populations of wild salmon persist below the dam, fish which given access to the upper watershed will colonize and thrive. Unfortunately the management of the two systems couldn't be more different and currently the plan on the Elwha is to release nearly 4 million hatchery fish throughout the period following dam removal.

Also check out the White Salmon Time Lapse blog. It provides alot of coverage of the dam removal including frequent updates, lots of photos, videos and historical perspective.

More Budget Cuts Could be Coming for WDFW

2011-10-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

With Washington State's expected budget shortfall rising to 2 billion for the upcoming year, the state is looking everywhere for cuts and budget savings. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has already weathered major cuts to their budget and staff but may, once again be on the cutting block as the legislature and governor look to balance the state's budget. While the final budget has yet to shake out budget cuts at WDFW would likely mean even less funding for monitoring, enforcement and the planning and implementation of recovery projects for listed salmon and steelhead.

The state is also considering significant cuts to its most sacred cow, hatchery production. Pre-recession WDFW spent approximately $52 million each year on hatcheries, while that number will undoubtedly come down with reduced funding, the state should be looking at the recession as an opportunity to shift salmon management in our state towards a more holistic approach of allowing wild salmon and steelhead to recover naturally, without the hindrance of expensive hatchery programs that depress the productivity and resilience of wild stocks.

Long term the state needs to look at funding WDFW at least partly through revenue from license sales. Most anglers in Washington would likely be willing to shell out another $20-40 a year for a license if they knew it was going into the management of their local fisheries, rather than into the general fund.

More in an article from the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2016379517_massive_cuts_proposed_by_state.html

Take Action to Protect the Klickitat River

2011-10-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

The Klickitat River in southern Washington is among the crowned jewels of the Pacific Northwest. Long revered for its large native steelhead and spring Chinook, the river has some of the most intact habitat for fish and wildlife in the Middle Columbia Region.

Unfortunately, decades of hatchery released non-native Coho, Skamania steelhead and fall Chinook threaten the survival of Klickitat native salmon and steelhead. Since 1999, native Klickitat winter and summer steelhead have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Similarly, the native run of wild spring Chinook which once numbered in the thousands has a thirty year average of 300 fish.

Potential expansion of hatchery operations in the Klickitat basin, detailed in the July of 2011 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) released by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the Yakama Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) will further imperil the river’s wild native salmon and steelhead.

The actions within the DEIS do not rely upon the best available science to recover wild native fish, jeopardizing wild runs by continuing most releases of non-native hatchery fish at or above their current numbers.

BPA and YKFP are required to solicit and respond to public comments during the DEIS process. This means that before anything is changed on the Klickitat BPA and YKFP must respond to the concerns raised during the public comment process.

This is where you come in. Please take 2 minutes to read over the comments below, personalize the letter and send your message to BPA.

Comment period ends October 10th. Please take a few moments to visit the Native Fish Society's website to submit comments.

http://alerts.nativefishsociety.org/campaign/5-klickitat

Skeena Steelhead by Bob Hooton

2011-09-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Bob Hooton, long among the preeminent salmon and steelhead biologists in British Columbia has authored a new book set for release this November. The book titled simply, Skeena Steelhead: Unknown Past, Uncertain Future, is not an angling guide but rather a study of Skeena steelhead and the many cultural and ecological challenges they face. Hooton is uniquely qualified to write on the subject and the book should be a must read. More information at the Amato books website:

http://www.amatobooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AmatobooksCom&Product_Code=9781571884756&Category_Code=NEWRELEASES

An Important Year for Klamath Dam Removal

2011-09-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Last week the Department of the Interior released a preliminary Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the effects of dam removal in the Klamath. The EIS comes to several conclusions which are favorable for dam removal. Not surprisingly it predicts improved abundance of salmon in the Klamath in the event of dam removal however more surprising and positive is the conclusion by the Department of the Interior that dam removal would likely cost significantly less than previously projected with the estimated price tag dropping from $450 million to $290 million. While the EIS appears to be indication that the department is in favor of supporting the deal ironed out among the states, fishermen, irrigators and the owner of the dams PacifiCorp the deal would still have to be authorized by Congress.

While money for the dam removal would come from ratepayers and state governments, the federal government would likely have to contribute some to the post removal restoration and monitoring and Congressional authorization could be a tough sell in an ideologically polarized environment like the House. Should Congress fail to authorize by March of 2012 the parties to the deal will have to go back to the drawing board and hope that eventually, national politics can catch up with the regional consensus.

More on the EIS from the E&E greenwire:

http://www.nwra.org/content/articles/removing-klamath-dams-will-cost-less-than-expected/

and from OPB:

http://earthfix.opb.org/energy/article/congress-must-approve-klamath-dam-deal-by-march/

New Net Pens Proposed for Strait of Juan de Fuca

2011-09-27T13:47:00.001-07:00

Recently, a proposal by Pacific Seafood has come forward which hopes to win approval for two new salmon netpens holding up to 1.7 million farmed near the mouths of the Twin and Lyre Rivers in Washington's Strait of Juan de Fuca. The proposal is in its early stages and is far from a sure thing, however bringing more net pen aquaculture to Washington's coastal waters could deal a crippling blow to already depressed populations of wild salmon. Throughout BC where open net pen salmon farms are prolific, scientists have documented their often severe impacts on local populations of wild salmon. The proposal comes at an interesting time as Clallam county is in the process of preparing its new Shoreline Management Plan and must be stopped or the floodgates of salmon farm development may open into Washington's water ways. More information in the Olympic Peninsula Environmental News:

http://olyopen.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/new-net-pen-aquaculture-proposed-on-strait-near-twin-lyre-rivers/

Bad Year for Bycatch in BC Fisheries

2011-09-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

A recently announced commercial opening for chum salmon in the Johnstone Strait marks the latest in a series of commercial salmon fisheries with potentially catastrophic bycatch of migrating steelhead. This summer the duration and intensity of sockeye fisheries in the Skeena and Nass region as well as salmon fisheries in the Dean channel have raised alarm among steelhead advocates in British Columbia. Perhaps more perilous though are commercial fisheries targeting pink and chum salmon in the Georgia Basin which often intercept steelhead bound for the Thompson and other Fraser River tributaries. In recent years these stocks have declined precipitously and at present are depressed at record low numbers and last year only 500 steelhead returned to the Thompson River. Here's a press release from the Steelhead Society of BC regarding the latest chum opening:

Click Here to Read the Press Release

Seattle Times Special on Elwha Dam Removal

2011-09-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

A nice video feature from the Seattle Times on the Elwha Dam removal discussing the project and efforts to monitor the recovery of the ecosystem following dam removal. Also some great underwater footage and video of biologists in the field on the Elwha.

Also, check out the Times full Elwha section for all their coverage of the dam removal including some great photo galleries and articles:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/specialreports/elwha/?spotlightname=elwha&spotlightquery=elwha

AGENCIES WARNED OVER ELWHA RIVER FISH HATCHERY “Restoration” Includes An Increase In Production Of Non-Native Steelhead

2011-09-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

A press release jointly issued from the Wildfish Conservancy, Wild Steelhead Coalition, Conservation angler and our organization:

A sixty-day notice letter mailed today to federal and state agencies charges that these agencies are violating the Endangered Species Act by ignoring best available science and the needs of killer whales and native steelhead by funding a fish hatchery that will impede the recovery of the Elwha River ecosystem. Wild Fish Conservancy, The Conservation Angler, the Federation of Fly Fishers Steelhead Committee, and the Wild Steelhead Coalition served legal notice that they would file suit against the Olympic National Park, NOAA Fisheries Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife under the federal Endangered Species Act. The groups allege that the fish hatchery plan that the agencies are implementing for the Elwha River violates the ESA by harming Puget Sound Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout without the proper authorization.

The federal government has already taken steps to remove Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam and open up miles of pristine riverine habitat in Olympic National Park, with actual demolition scheduled to begin this fall. But instead of relying on colonization of the habitat by wild salmonids, however, the federal and state agencies are going ahead with a plan that includes a new $16 million fish hatchery that will increase production of steelhead not native to the basin.

“This is the world’s largest river restoration project and the wild salmon deserve a chance to come back to the Elwha without having to compete with millions of hatchery fish,” said Kurt Beardslee, Executive Director of Wild Fish Conservancy. “The habitat is excellent and the wild fish would colonize it quickly if left alone.”

Will Atlas, chair of the FFF Steelhead Committee, said “The reality is that the annual release of four million hatchery fish means that the Elwha will not reach its potential. In the rush to harvest the abundant hatchery fish we will be repeating the mistakes of the past, depressing the productivity of the habitat we fought so hard to restore.”

Rich Simms, president of the Wild Steelhead Coalition said that the Coalition “hopes that the issue can be resolved for the benefit of wild, not hatchery, steelhead."

"This is a first time opportunity, unlike other dam removals, because the habitat is pristine,” said Pete Soverel, president of The Conservation Angler. “But we are going to compromise the recovery efforts by out-of-basin, Chambers Creek steelhead stock which NOAA's own scientists say is unsuitable for Elwha recovery."

The groups believe that dam removal is a giant step forward to restore the ecosystem but relying on artificial production is counter-productive. The agencies’ plan gives no timetable for ceasing the hatchery production.

###

Wild Fish Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the recovery and conservation of the Northwest region’s wild-fish ecosystems, with about 2,400 members. Wild Fish Conservancy’s staff of over 20 professional scientists, advocates, and educators works to promote technically and socially responsible habitat, hatchery, and harvest management to better sustain the region’s wild fish heritage. For more information, visit us at wildfishconservancy.org or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/wildfishconservancy.

Demolition is Underway on Elwha Dams

2011-09-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

Nearly 20 years after congress first authorized the Elwha River ecosystem restoration act demolition started this week on Glines Canyon dam. The removal of both Elwha dams is expected to take a year or more but will ultimately open more than 90 miles of habitat which has been blocked for more than 100 years.

Here's a video preview of a story the Seattle Times are doing:

A video of the dam removal getting underway can be seen here:

http://vimeo.com/29117360

Watch the progress on the dam removal unfold via live webcam:

http://www.video-monitoring.com/construction/olympic/js.htm

A story by Lynda Mapes in the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016222879_dams16m.html

NOAA Administrator Weighs in on the Elwha

2011-09-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

Will Stelle, the regional administrator for NOAA weighed in on the Elwha situation with an editorial of his own yesterday in the Seattle Times, in which he defends hatchery programs on the Elwha as a necessary part of the recovery. While Stelle states that there will be not be "hatcheries forever" he neglects to mention that there will be an ongoing release of non-native Chambers Creek steelhead during the recovery and the fishing moratorium. That simply cannot be defended biologically. While hatcheries will apparently be phased out as the population recovers, the reality is the recovery plan is entirely lacking in specific quantifiable recovery goals to guide when/how hatchery operations will be decommissioned. The editorial does not add any new detail stating ambiguously,"If the productivity of a restored Elwha is as strong as we expect, there likely will be little need for continued hatchery programs following restoration." This ignores the basic reality that until the hatchery is no longer releasing 4 million fish annually wild populations in the Elwha will be nowhere near their productive potential and in the rush to harvest the abundant hatchery fish we will be repeating the mistakes of the past, depressing the productivity of the habitat we fought so hard to restore.

From the Seattle Times:

Restoration of the Elwha's wild runs will need a careful jump-start

The removal of the two Elwha River dams begins this weekend. Guest columnist Will Stelle argues that restoring the river's salmon runs will take active intervention by releasing fish to jump-start the rebuilding. Hatcheries will be a tool of the process, if only temporarily.

REMOVAL of the two dormant Elwha River dams on the Olympic Peninsula will unleash a powerful, free-flowing river and once again open the entire watershed to the salmon runs that have been knocking at the base of the dams for a century now. Over the next decade, the transformation of the Elwha River we will witness is difficult to overstate.

That we are at this point, where the first blocks of concrete are to be removed this weekend, is a tribute to the vision and tenacity of the local community, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and the other federal and state leaders who have made this their mission.

The restoration of the Elwha has its complexities, including how to rebuild its legendary salmon and steelhead runs. The spectrum of opinion runs from a passive "hands-off" strategy to one of active intervention by releasing fish to jump-start the rebuilding effort. After a decade of work, endless public process and three independent science reviews, the agencies and tribes devised a fish-restoration plan built on an active reseeding strategy that is well-grounded conceptually and open to further refinement as we proceed. Here is why.

The dams' harm to fish will last longer than the structures themselves. Upon removal, mountains of sediment behind the dams will be swept downstream and reshape the lower end of the river and the shoreline/estuarine habitats at its mouth. While efforts have been made to create safe fish refuge and top scientists believe the floodplain may attenuate some of the impacts, entire populations of the remaining wild salmon and steelhead could disappear in this tumultuous period of transformation. Not our desired outcome.

In order to provide a safe harbor for these fish populations through the next few years, the restoration plan calls for hatcheries to protect the remnants of these wild runs in clear, clean water. The use of hatcheries to restore the Elwha's wild runs does seem odd, to be sure, but the risk hatcheries pose are dwarfed by the very real, near-term concern that without them we could lose the Elwha's wild fish for generations.

Some suggest that the populations would survive the onslaught of sediment, that hatcheries are unnecessary and harmful, and that the Elwha would be successfully recolonized without intervention. Perhaps, if we're lucky and patient. But science strongly suggests that any natural recolonization would take decades because the Elwha is relatively isolated from other fish-bearing streams that might provide "stray" fish to the Elwha for repopulation.

Instead, the restoration plan calls for increasing the natural production of fish as quickly as the river allows and phasing out hatchery fish as the wild populations gain strength. Skeptics question the commitment to this trajectory, surmising it masks a "hatcheries forever" approach. Not so.

Federal, state and tribal fisheries managers and other interested parties must spell out this transition strategy with measurable, verifiable metrics under the Endangered Species Act that will be subject to scientific and public review. If the productivity of a restored Elwha is as strong as we expect, there likely will be little need for continued hatchery programs following restoration.

What's the rush? Amid the concerns and consequences of dam removal, we must not lose sight of the severe effects to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in the near-term and its treaty-protected fishing right. NOAA Fisheries strongly supports the tribe's treaty right and knows that the right means fishing to the tribe, not just the mere existence of fish.

NOAA Fisheries shares in the tribe's pride and excitement about the restoration plan and looks forward to working with them and others on an acceptable hatchery transition that allows the tribe to be fishing as soon as possible on strong, abundant, wild Elwha River salmon and steelhead populations.

Join the effort, hold our feet to the fire and commit to success in rebuilding the wild runs of the Elwha.

Will Stelle is Northwest administrator of NOAA Fisheries Service in Seattle.

Puget Sound Fishermen Turning to Ancient Selective Gear

2011-09-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Seattle Times Photo

The ancient practice of reefnetting, a method of seining fish using two boats targeting groups of moving fish is booming this year in Puget Sound. For the fishermen the obvious benefit is, the fish come to the boat without the damage that a purse seine or gill net can inflict, but wild fish benefit too. Typically unharmed by the nets, wild fish and non-target species are released quickly giving them a high probability of recovery. Fishermen get a higher price for their product and the fisheries can potentially remain open longer with less bycatch. Throughout the state selective fisheries are increasingly viewed as an important step towards harvest reform that can protect wild stocks while ensuring a future for our commercial fishing sector and it is extremely encouraging to see the practice of reefnetting still hanging on in parts of the commercial salmon fleet. More information in the Crosscut:

http://crosscut.com/2011/09/09/food/21280/An-ancient-way-to-fish%2C-and-a-better-one-/

Unconquering the Last Frontier. An Elwha Documentary

2011-09-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Unconquering the Last Frontier from Robert Lundahl on Vimeo.

With removal of the Elwha dams set to start this weekend it seems a fitting time to reflect on the history of the dams and the impact they've had on the fate of Port Angeles, The Klallam Tribe and the river itself. Unconquering the Last Frontier is a documentary about the Elwha dams and the hard work done by the Klallam tribe, Park Service and local residents to push for dam removal. Not surprisingly, there was significant resistance to idea of removing the two dams. Many of the people interviewed in the film still play an important role on the Elwha including Brian Winter and Pat Crain of the National Park Service and Mike McHenry, Elwha Tribal biologist. The film is long but well worth watching for its historic perspective on the Elwha recovery and as a testament to all that has been accomplished in the watershed.

No doubt we have a long way to go towards ensuring that wild fish are allowed to recover free from the impediment of industrial scale hatcheries but that should not take away from the triumph that is dam removal on the Elwha and the blood, sweat and tears that have been shed to bring the project this far.

Cantwell Stands Up for Bristol Bay

2011-09-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell announced today that she has asked the EPA to use provisions the Clean Water Act, if necessary, to stop the development of Pebble Mine. The mine which could be one of the largest open pit mines in the world would be cited in the headwaters of the Kvichak and Nushagak Rivers which drain into Bristol Bay. Fully half of the worlds sockeye harvest comes from Bristol Bay and opponents of the mine which include local native groups, commercial fishermen, sports fishing groups, and environmental groups say the mine would have potentially catastrophic impact on the health of the watershed. The EPA is currently undertaking a thorough scientific review which will examine the potential impacts of the mine on the Bristol Bay. More information in the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2016180120_goldmine12.html

First Nations Reject Pipeline Ownership

2011-09-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

Enbridge is meeting strong resistance from local First Nations groups in their attempt to run a pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat, a route that threatens the Fraser, Skeena and Central Coast with a catastrophic oil spill. So far, few if any First Nations groups have been receptive to their advances and in perhaps the most bold rejection yet, the Yinka Dene Alliance a group of five First Nations bands whose traditional territory spans much have the Northern BC section of the pipeline have rejected an offer of 10% ownership in the pipeline. That rejection could spell doom for the pipeline since the proposed route goes directly through much of their territory however the battle is far from over and the decisions made on the Enbridge pipeline will undoubtedly shape the future fortunes of BCs greatest salmon bearing ecosystems. More information in the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/First+nations+group+rejects+pipeline+ownership+offer/5374046/story.html

Willamette Fish Passage in the Oregonian

2011-09-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

A good article last week in the Oregonian on plans to pass adult salmon above dams on the Willamette system. Both steelhead and spring chinook are ESA listed in the Willamette and dam construction is the primary culprit in their decline. More than 400 miles of habitat has been lost to dam construction in the basin and spring chinook have plummeted from an estimated pre-dam abundance of more than 300,000 to about 10,000 fish. The large flood control dams present a challenge in terms of engineering passage for juveniles downstream however a number of projects in the region may provide some insights on how to get fish moving downstream.

Read the article here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/09/detroit_dam_to_restore_wild_ru.html

Two Video's on the Elwha Recovery

2011-09-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

Two interesting videos on the Elwha Recovery.

The first is a short film describing the operations at the new lower Elwha weir. The weir is the largest of its kind south of Alaska and will provide biologists the opportunity to closely monitor the recovery of salmon and steelhead in the system.

Elwha River Fish Weir from John Gussman on Vimeo.

The second is a trailer for an upcoming film called "The Opus of Dick Goin". Goin is a long time Olympic Peninsula resident and is one of the few surviving resident's of the area who remembers the Elwha and its fish in the years immediately following the dam construction and before hatchery programs began. In those days the Elwha was still remarkably productive, even with 90% of it's habitat blocked by the dams. Since then the long term effects of the dams on habitat in the Lower River and hatchery programs intended to mitigate for the lost habitat have led to a decline in the abundance and diversity of wild salmon in the watershed. Remarkably all five species of salmon as well as winter and summer steelhead remain in the river, poised to recovery once they're given the opportunity. Dam removal starts this month, and it can't happen soon enough.

Elwha Unplugged: The Opus of Dick Goin from Greg OToole on Vimeo.

American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting This Week in Seattle

2011-09-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

Starting today the American Fisheries Society (AFS) will hold its annual meeting at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. AFS is the foremost organization of professional fisheries biologists in the world and the conference promises to be fascinating. Featuring literally hundreds of talks by biologists from around the globe, this meeting has a healthy dose of salmon and steelhead research ranging from the effect of marine derived nutrients (salmon carcasses) on freshwater ecosystems to role of disease in salmon population dynamics. Of particular interest is a session called "Colonization and Reintroduction of Anadromous Salmonids" which runs from 8:00Am to 3:00Pm Tuesday and has several talks related to the Elwha Dam Removal. Check out the full schedule at the AFS website, I'll try to post an update towards the end of the details of a few of the more interesting talks.

Letter to the Editor in the Columbian Takes on Klickitat's Misguided Hatchery Program

2011-09-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

Taken from the Columbian

I was disappointed that the Aug. 15 story, “Klickitat fishway project is nearing completion,” did not discuss the importance of waterfalls to salmon diversity and the danger to indigenous stocks of wild salmon posed by the creation of artificial fish passage. Though the river now has lots of hatchery coho and fall chinook that were once excluded from areas above the falls, ever since the Washington Department of Fisheries violated Lyle and Castile Falls on the Klickitat 50 years ago, the wild spring chinook and summer steelhead that were able to leap these waterfalls have been in serious decline.

Left out of the story as well is that the new trapping facility will be used to mine wild salmon and steelhead for yet another Klickitat hatchery complex planned by the Yakama Nation and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, to be built and funded by the Bonneville Power Administration. While talk of integrating wild fish into their hatchery program is good propaganda; ultimately, it reduces the last of the best to the same status as the generic inbred stocks of salmon that can only thrive in cement ponds. This is just hatchery politics with the usual generous handouts of millions of federal dollars. Please don’t call it salmon recovery.

John Sowinski

Washougal

The BPA is currently accepting comments on the proposed expansion of the Klickitat Hatchery and has agreed to extend the comment period to October 10th to allow a more thorough review of the proposal. More information on the Klickitat Hatchery proposal:

http://ospreysteelheadnews.blogspot.com/2011/08/public-meeting-on-klickitat-hatchery.html

This is an extremely important opportunity for public input on the management of one of Washington's most extraordinary rivers. Stay tuned for a list of talking points on the Klickitat in the next several days.

Submit Comments:

http://www.bpa.gov/applications/publiccomments/CommentEntry.aspx?ID=135

NOAA Releases Willamette Recovery Plan

2011-09-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last week NOAA released its recovery plan for ESA listed Spring Chinook and Winter Steelhead in the Willamette Basin. The plan, which is estimated to cost more than $250 million will seek to recovery depressed wild populations in the basin by improving habitat, reducing the impact of hatcheries and, perhaps most interestingly, providing passage above dams on the North and South Santiam, McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette. Dams on those systems currently block passage to more than 50% of the available spawning habtiat and reduce the quality of downstream spawning areas. Providing passage into watersheds above dams could provide a major boost to salmon and steelhead populations provided they are able to effectively trap outmigrating juvniles and pass them downstream of the dams. More information in the Columbia Basin Bulletin:

http://www.cbbulletin.com/411454.aspx

Aquaculture's Connection with Wild Salmon Declines Becoming Clearer

2011-08-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

The veil of secrecy which has long shrouded the salmon farming industry in BC has begun to lift, and while there is still much to learn the story that is unfolding is providing vindication for the concerns of wild salmon advocates, who have long argued that salmon farms are responsible for declining salmon populations Southern British Columbia. Last winter BC Ministry of Environment scientist Gary Marty published a controversial paper, using never before released sea lice data from salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago. The paper established a connection between sea lice abundance in fish farms and their loading on wild juveniles, but concluded that salmon farms were not responsible for the collapse in pink salmon stocks observed in the Broughton. More disconcerting Marty stated emphatically that management actions such as closed containment and fallowing were unnecessary. However a paper published by Marty Krkosek and a group of colleagues in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the Nation Academy of Sciences (PNAS) came to a very different conclusion. Saying Marty's findings,

"are based on a statistically nonsignificant result of a correlation test between pink salmon spawner–recruit data and L. salmonis abundance on salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago."

Using the newly available sea lice data published with Marty's work, Krkosek's group used a more robust modelling framework to confirm their previous conclusion that sea lice from salmon farms pose a serious threat to wild pink and coho salmon. They conclude that mortality from sea lice has depressed wild populations and in some years upwards of of 88% of pink and 92% of coho mortality was attributable to sea lice.

Then yesterday at the Cohen commission wild fish advocates made a major breakthrough. After years of demanding that salmon farm disease records be released the BC government at last made disease records public. While the records represent a limited number of samples they suggest that Salmon Leukemia, the disease associated with high mortality in Fraser Sockeye is present on fish farms in the Georgia Basin. Perhaps more frightening though, hundreds of cases of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) have been observed over the last several years, all the while the farming industry and government insisting that ISA was not present in British Columbia.

Read the latest post on Alexandra Morton's blog for more information

The light of public scrutiny is finally starting to shine on the reality of salmon aquaculture in British Columbia and not surprisingly what we're seeing isn't pretty. Now we're left to hope that the public will demand more accountability out of their government and the corporations who do business in BC. Otherwise the future looks bleak for Fraser Sockeye and other Georgia Basin salmonids.

Condit Dam Removal in the Oregonian

2011-08-27T17:09:00.003-07:00

An excellent story last week in the Oregonian on the long struggle to remove Condit Dam on the White Salmon River. Facing an expensive and unpopular relicensing, Condit Dam's owner PacifiCorp agreed to remove it however the dam removal, which was originally supposed to have started in 2006 has faced a number of hurdles. The article outlines the process by which PafiCorp and convinced Klickitat and Skamania county to support dam removal.

Most recently concerns about elevated levels of heavy metals in the sediment at the bottom Northwestern Lake required approval from the Washington Department of Ecology, which was granted. Then this year an administrative error nearly delayed the dam removal for another year. Facing a massive public outcry the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission corrected the problem and dam removal whih will reopen 15 miles of habitat for salmon and 33 for steelhead will proceed as planned, starting October 26th.

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/08/when_the_condit_dam_is_breache.html

2011-08-27T17:09:00.001-07:00

Telling Quote From Seattle Times Elwha Story

2011-08-26T16:10:00.001-07:00

Re-reading Lynda Mapes' story from yesterday's Seattle Times on the Elwha Hatcheries one particular quote by tribal hatchery manager Larry Ward stands out. It reads,

"There is this whole philosophy of the Elwha being a living laboratory, when in reality, it is the home of the Elwha tribe. After waiting 100 years for the dams to come out, they are not willing to wait another 100 years for the fish to recover"

It begs this question though: after watching wild salmon populations dwindle for 100 years are we willing to squander the greatest recovery project of our generation over the desire to have harvest opportunities in the near term? In the absence of the hatchery it would likely take wild populations only a few generations to recover to levels that could sustain some level of harvest. Instead managers and the tribe appear willing to abandon the notion that wild fish, in a pristine watershed can support sustainable well managed fisheries.

No doubt the Lower Elwha Klallams, like other tribes in our region have long been given the short end of the stick when it comes to the management of their home river, but the Elwha belongs to us all and as such we all have a stake in it's future. One that is jeopardized by our societies blind faith in hatcheries and a connection between a healthy watershed and wild salmon that we seem to have forgotten long ago.

Cohen Commission Disease Hearings Underway

2011-08-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked day four in the Cohen commissions inquiry into the impact of disease on Fraser River sockeye. As expected there have been some fireworks, starting on Wednesday when DFO researcher Kristina Miller took the stand for questions related to her research on disease and prespawn mortality in Fraser Sockeye. Last winter Miller and colleagues published a paper in SCIENCE which exposed the role of a viral pathogen in high rates of prespawn mortality in Fraser Sockeye.

Since then, many have drawn connections between the persistent disease and the millions of salmon raised in net pens in BC's coastal waters. Miller has not been allowed to speak with the media and many have accused DFO of muzzling her to protect the fish farming industry. With the Cohen Commission finally turning its attention to the disease issue and aquaculture, the public is getting a glimpse into potential threat posed by fish farms and the diseases they harbor.

Alexandra Morton has been updating her blog daily with coverage from the hearings.

A few key developments from the last few days...

DFO doesn't appear to be taking the disease threat very seriously, and may actually be downplaying it in an attempt to limit public concern.
Miller has had problems getting agency approval to analyze the pathogen afflicting Georgia Basin salmonids.
Miller has thus far been unable to get approval or funding to test whether farmed salmon carry the same pathogen as Fraser Sockeye.

All this has huge implications for salmon not only in the Fraser but throughout the Georgia Basin and Puget Sound where populations have experienced a steady decline since the 1990's. That decline overlaps conspicuously with the expansion of fish farming in the region. Given the impact that salmon farms are known to have to wild salmon populations it is critical that we understand the degree to which disease is present in populations throughout the region and to what degree fish farms are involved.

Seattle Times Article on Elwha Hatcheries

2011-08-25T20:35:00.001-07:00

Photo by Chris DeLeone

An excellent article published today in the Seattle Times on the Elwha dam removal and concerns over the plan to use hatcheries as a part of the restoration strategy. The article highlights the issues our organization and others have had with the recovery plan and its reliance on hatchery fish to "reseed" the Elwha watershed after dam removal, which is a common mis-characterization of the process of recolonization.

While there is some legitimate concern about high sediment loads and their impact on the survival of remaining wild fish in the Lower River, however the fact of the matter is the upper watershed is pristine and will be unaffected by high sediment loads. The hatchery plan will require the domestication of a major proportion of the remaining wild populations, reducing the fitness and productivity of populations in the system. By releasing more than 3 million hatchery fish each year throughout the recovery managers will swamp the Elwha's pristine habitat with hatchery fish undermining the ability of populations to colonize and become locally adapted in the upper river.

The article also tackles the complexity of managing the recovery with the competing interests of wild recovery and tribal harvest opportunity both in play. The tribe for its part has supported plans to use hatchery fish during the recovery period, including the controversial plan to continue releasing non-native Chambers Creek steelhead during the recovery despite opposition by NOAA, WDFW and USFWS.

Read at the Seattle Time's website:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016005701_hatchery25m.html

Salmon Stronghold Bill in the Senate

2011-08-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Last month a bill titled "The Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act" was brought to the floor of the Senate, cosponsored by Senators Maria Cantwell D-WA, and Lisa Murkowski R-AK. The bill seeks to better protect remaining populations of wild salmon by establishing, "a new, proactive U.S. policy that recognizes the need for conservation of salmon strongholds as a complement to ongoing efforts to recover federally-listed salmon population."

The Wild Salmon Center, long proponents of the idea of salmon strongholds has worked collaboratively to support the legislation saying, "The legislation aims to get ahead of continued
salmon declines by supporting the protection and, if necessary, the restoration of ecosystem
processes within currently healthy salmon-bearing watersheds."

More information in a press release from the WSC's website:
http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/pdf/Salmon%20Stronhold%20Introduction_7-22-11.pdf

Snake Dams Living on Borrowed Time

2011-08-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

In the wake of the latest court decision against the Columbia River BiOp, federal officials and regional politicians with a strong, entrenched interest in preserving the status quo have sought to interpret Judge Reddens rejection as tacit acceptance of the plan with a few minor tweaks. While federal officials may be slow to accept reality, the fact of the matter is, until we have an open stakeholder process to decide the fate of the Snake River dams, we will continue treading water as wild salmon populations slowly decline towards extinction.

In the late 1990's when many Columbia and Snake River populations hovered on the brink of extinction the prognosis was grim, many scientists believed extinction was inevitable saying,

"If we cannot improve mainstem passage survival and increase natural productivity so that progeny-to-parent ratios consistently exceed 1.0, recovery will never occur. Natural populations will go extinct and only hatchery fish will remain."

The problem with the Columbia then, and now is 14 mainstem dams on the Columbia and Snake which have turned what was once the greatest salmon bearing ecosystems in the world into a thousand mile long, warm, stagnating lake. Over the last decade salmon have been mercifully spared from extinction by period of good ocean conditions, and a strong willed federal judge who has ordered that water be spilled at dams during the juvenile outmigration. But the reality is wild fish remain extremely depressed. NOAA confirmed that fact this week, releasing their latest status review for the 13 listed stocks of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia. The review came to the conclusion that all 13 should remain listed under their current designation. Simply put, they aren't recovering.

While things may seem good relative to the dark days of the 90's we're actually bouncing around the same long term average. That means, when ocean conditions turn south, or the BPA gets its way and stops spring spill, populations of wild salmon will plummet right back to where they were.

In the decade and a half since the ESA listings began on the Columbia we've hovered in limbo, never escaping the cycle of inadequate, overtly political recovery plan. Unfortunately that won't cut it and the federal government has wasted valuable time, perhaps the best ocean conditions we've seen in three decades, not to mention billions of dollars fighting to protect the status quo on the Columbia.

Climate change is coming, and while the effects may be imperceptible in the short term, the high desert rivers of the Snake and interior Columbia will eventually be some of the hardest hit in the region. Compounding the situation are hundreds of miles of slack water between the Sawtooth Range and the Pacific, which already serve to warm the Snake and Columbia to water temperatures that can be lethal to migrating salmon. A future with warmer summers, and lower snow pack does not bode well for wild salmon and steelhead, particularly if the Snake Dams remain in place.

Recognizing the inadequacy of federal efforts so far, many, including Marc Crapo Idaho's Republican Senator have proposed wiping the slate clean and coming at the problem of the Snake River with a new approach; one that actually includes the citizens of the region, one that weighs the long term costs and benefits of keeping the Snake Dams in place rather than simply protecting the entrenched interests of the BPA and barging companies. If there is the political courage to support such a process they will find it remarkably difficult to justify keeping the four lower Snake dams in place.

For all the billions of dollars we spend on failing mitigation efforts we are getting nowhere. A heavily subsidized barging industry, the main beneficiary of the Snake River dams could be readily replaced with modest improvements to already existing rail and highway infrastructure. And no matter how many times the federal BiOp insists that dam removal is not essential to recovering wild fish, they will eventually be forced to butt heads with this reality: wild salmon thrive in free flowing rivers, not stagnant man made impoundments. We've wasted the last 15 years squabbling over a plan that is destined to fail and it's time to change the conversation. Dam removal on the Lower Snake is crucial to the future of wild salmon in the region. Failing to take action would be a travesty of the highest order, joining the long list of pork barrel boondoggles, protected by the cushy relationship between a powerfully self-serving lobby and our "representative government".

The 15 million salmon and steelhead which once returned to the Columbia River each year are a centerpiece of our regions vast natural wealth, perhaps the single greatest self sustaining natural resource on the planet. A century of overzealous hydro development has left wild salmon teetering on the brink, and it's time for the conversation to change. The Snake Dams will come down, its just a matter of when, and whether it will be too late. That's why 1100 business owners from around the region have called on the federal government to convene an open stakeholder process to decide the future of our great rivers. Anything less would be a crime.

Elwha Hatcheries on OPB

2011-08-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Lower Elwha Hatchery to restore fish stock from EarthFix on Vimeo.

A interesting story today by Oregon Public Broadcasting on the Elwha dam removal and the plan to use hatcheries as part of the restoration strategy. While the article has some of the run of the mill feel good back patting on how hatcheries will "reseed" the upper watershed above the dams it also highlights a philosphical divide that exists even within the tribe. The article quotes Mike McHenry of Elwha Fisheries as saying that Chambers Creek Steelhead; a non-native stock which will continue to be released throughout the dam removal, are poorly suited to recolonizing the watershed. However those who want harvest opportunities in the short term following dam removal have thus far managed to keep the Chambers Creek program in place.

It also quotes Fred Utter, a poineering fisheries geneticist at UW as saying of the Chambers Creek stock, "by no means should ever be used as a fish to restore natural populations in the Elwha. I think that would be a serious mistake."

NOAA, WDFW and the other agencies involved have echoed the sentiment of Utter in letters written to the Elwha tribe but have thus far gotten little traction. Read the article here:

http://earthfix.opb.org/water/article/un-damming-the-elwha-part-iii/

Cohen Commission Takes on Aquaculture

2011-08-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, hearings resumed in the Cohen Commissions inquiry into the decline of Fraser River Sockeye. With this round of hears slated to review the impact of aquaculture and disease, many hope it will be a critical turning point in the fight against open net pen salmon farms. Among those giving testimony is Kristi Miller, the DFO researcher who last winter published a paper in science documenting the presence of a viral pathogen in Fraser Sockeye and was subsequently muzzled by the agency. The potential link between aquaculture and disease is only now coming to light and the timing couldn't be more interesting. To date government agencies and the fish farming industry have refused to allow comprehensive testing of salmon farms to determine the origin and prevalence of the disease. More information in the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/Sockeye+hearings+shift+focus+aquaculture/5258992/story.html

Seattle Times Editorial: Judge still riding feds to restore dwindling Columbia River salmon

2011-08-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Map depicting ESA listed stocks in the Columbia Basin from the Oregonian

On the heels of Judge Redden's ruling against the latest iteration of the Columbia River BiOp, Steven Hawley - author of Restoring a Lost River - published an illuminating editorial in the Seattle Times, examining the road ahead for the Columbia and Snake Rivers and the tepid response thus far from federal agencies. Hawley also points to the problematic relationship between NOAA fisheries and the BPA and the conflict of interest it creates on the Columbia system. Hawley advocates for a more good faith effort on the Columbia that does more than simply protect the status quo and the entrenched interests in the basin. Billions of public dollars have already been spent on recovery, yet arguable the most effective tool (short of dam removal) available to managers, happened because of a court order.

Judge still riding feds to restore dwindling Columbia River salmon

Guest columnist Steven Hawley considers the implications of the recent federal court ruling against federal agencies' salmon-management plan on the Columbia River.

By Steven Hawley

Special to The Times

THE feds have struck out again in trying to come up with a legal plan to restore dwindling Columbia River salmon.

U.S. District Judge James Redden ruled against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its sister federal agencies' salmon-management plan on the Columbia River. His 24-page decision cited federal defendants' "lack of, or at best, marginal compliance" with Endangered Species Act law, their "history of abruptly changing course, abandoning previous bi-ops [biological opinions] and failing to follow through with their commitments."

Redden gave yet another last chance, in 2014, to come up with a workable plan.

But the comments of NOAA-Fisheries Northwest Regional Administrator Will Stelle last week may have Redden already regretting the forbearance granted: "I think it is fundamentally encouraging that the heart of his opinion was to find that the (recovery) plan is sound," Stelle told The Seattle Times.

A similarly obtuse statement was jointly issued by the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration.

"We're encouraged by the court's basic conclusion that the biological opinion should remain in place through the end of 2013, that it is providing 'adequate protection for listed species' and that we should tighten up on the habitat program beginning in 2014."

This fantasy-league reading of Redden's decision, which feds and industry shills are promoting, is another cynical exercise in slick public relations. Redden declared the federal opinion invalid for the entire 10-year period, ending in 2018, covered by the biological opinion. He ordered the feds to implement habitat work through 2013 because those were the only plans the feds had listed and funded that meet the standards the law requires.

Most important, Redden continues to be deeply skeptical of the federal approach to salmon recovery. The issue before the court has been to determine the level of harm done to salmon runs by the dams. The feds continue to defer an honest answer to that question by conniving and coercing stakeholders into signing onto the curious concept that building hatcheries plus habitat work in the tributaries will somehow overcome the damage done by thoroughly plugging the mainstem river. This ruse persists, even in the face of growing scientific evidence that actions taken at the dams — more spill, and a serious look at dam removal — will produce the most dramatic and immediate results.

So why would an agency charged with protecting salmon engage the delusion that Redden declared the bi-op sound? One source of trouble might be in the way NOAA gets its money.

Over the decadelong course of this case, three-quarters of NOAA-Fisheries Northwest's budget — $90.2 million — has been paid by the Bonneville Power Administration and the Corps of Engineers. NOAA's "independent" biological opinion, in other words, is funded primarily by their co-defendants in Redden's court.

The federal defendants also have a problem with a revolving door between industry and the agencies. NOAA deputy regional administrator Bruce Suzumoto is a former BPA and utility industry scientist. BPA's president of Fish and Wildlife Affairs is Lori Bodi, a former NOAA attorney in its general counsel office. NOAA has a long history of hiring key scientists from the BPA or the Army Corps of Engineers.

We've spent $10 billion on a salmon-recovery program that's failing badly. Overall Columbia River salmon runs are half what they were when the recovery effort began 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, the Columbia Basin hydrosystem has racked up a $17 billion debt, gained mostly through ill-fated ventures with other utility interests. As taxpayers and ratepayers obligingly foot the bill for both fish and wildlife and utility programs that reliably betray the public interest, we might do well to scrutinize federal fisheries lawyers, scientists and administrators as closely as we have the fish.

Steven Hawley is the author of "Recovering a Lost River: Rewilding Salmon, Re-vitalizing Communities, Removing Dams" (Beacon Press). He lives in Hood River, Ore.

Billy Frank Jr. on Puget Sound Habitat

2011-08-16T10:22:00.001-07:00

Last week, pioneering Indian rights advocate Billy Frank Jr. wrote an editorial in the Seattle Times highlighting the threat habitat loss poses to recovery efforts in Puget Sound. Mr. Frank is absolutely correct, habitat loss has played a tremendous role in the decline of salmon and steehead in the Puget Sound. Thoughtless logging practices sloughed sediment into spawning habitat, diking and agriculture channelized rivers and destroyed floodplain areas and urban sprawl has now consumed a large proportion of the river valleys in Puget Sound. To top it all off more than 90% of the estuarine habitat, critical for ESA listed Chinook has been lost in the last century.

While habitat loss should provide the backdrop to our conversations about salmon recovery in the region, we cannot proceed effectively without recognition of the other factors which continue to depress wild salmon populations in the Puget Sound. Chiefly, declining marine survival in Puget Sound which remains poorly understood, and the proliferation of hatcheries which now release millions of less fit competitors into our waters each year.

Frank argues that shifting responsibility for habitat protection and recovery to the federal government will improve the outcome for wild salmon in Puget Sound. While that is subject to debate one thing is certain, more needs to be done to protect Puget Sound's remaining salmon habitat. With 150 years of habitat degradation we face an uphill battle to recovery, but more can be done. While we may never reach historic abundance we could be getting alot more bang for our habitat buck. As most populations in the Sound hover between 1% and 5% of their historic abundance we need to increase research that expands our understanding of the processes that drive marine survival in the Sound. And as hatchery programs are proving to be a limiting factor for struggling wild populations, it is critical that measures be taken to reduce the ecological effects of hatcheries in Puget Sound.

Unfortunately, as wild stocks have declined, Native fisheries have increasingly turned to hatcheries to sustain themselves, and in the past Mr. Frank has been a proponent of hatchery expansion efforts in the region. Given the weight of evidence suggesting hatcheries are a problem rather than a solution, one hopes that tribal fishermen, long advocates for wild salmon will put their considerable political weight behind hatchery reform as well as habitat protection.

Read Frank's editorial in the Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2015822689_guest05frank.html
Map of State hatchery programs which currently release more than 10,000 fish annually

Lower Deschutes Water Temperatures Causing Concern

2011-08-15T16:06:00.001-07:00

Anglers on the Lower Deschutes Rivers have been raising concerns recently over what they perceive as elevated temperatures in the river below Round Butte Dam. The problem first arose in 2010 when PGE started operating a multimillion dollar fish collection tower which, rather than releasing water only from the bottom of Lake Billy Chinook, took in some warmer surface water in an attempt to collect downstream migrating smolts. As a result water temperatures increased slightly, alarming some members of the fishing community. With its water typically a few degrees cooler than the stagnant mainstem Columbia, the Deschutes has long served as an important thermal refuge for migrating salmon and steelhead.

Increasing water temperatures from changes in flow releases at Lake Billy Chinook have reduced the number of "dip ins" and occasionally lead to water temperatures in the Lower Deshcutes which can be stressful for salmon and steelhead. Addressing the concerns, PGE has sought to improve their flow management in the Lower Deschutes and ensure that temperatures remain below 70 F, however anglers continue to complain that the warm water is hurting their fishing as this year has seen unusually late runoff and cooler than normal summer temperatures meaning fewer fish are dipping into the Deschutes.

While cool water in the Columbia may hurt fishing on one of the state's most popular rivers, it's a boon to Columbia salmon and steelhead which can more readily migrate to their natal rivers, avoiding thermal blocks, stress and elevated prespawn mortality. More information in the Oregonian:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/08/portland_general_electrics_mas.html

NY Times Editorial on Columbia BiOp

2011-08-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

The Salmon Deserve Better
Published: August 11, 2011

Last week, for the third time in nearly a decade, Judge James Redden of the United States District Court in Portland, Ore., rejected as inadequate a federal plan claiming to save imperiled salmon species in the Columbia River basin. These fish have been listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act since the early 1990s, their once-remarkable annual runs reduced to a trickle by habitat destruction and by the hydroelectric dams that impede their passage to the sea.

Three different administrations have offered survival plans. All three have been found wanting. Judge Redden, who has shown a great deal of patience and sagacity on this issue, tossed out a Clinton administration plan as too vague and a plan from the administration of George W. Bush as essentially illegal. The law requires the recovery of a species; the Bush plan promised little more than allowing the fish to go extinct at a slower rate.

The Obama administration added improvements, including lofty promises to restore spawning streams and estuaries. Not enough, Judge Redden said, noting that the plans did not extend beyond 2013 and, in any case, depended on Congressional appropriations that may or may not occur. He told the government to return with a more plausible and aggressive scheme in three years. Significantly, he left all recovery options on the table, including breaching four dams on the lower Snake River, an idea we have long supported.

It's time now for the stakeholders in this dispute to sit down at the same table, something they have never done. They include the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bonneville Power Administration, two federal agencies that have offered only incremental steps toward fish recovery. They also include environmental groups, fishing and farming interests, Indian tribes and two state governments with differing views, Oregon favoring more aggressive actions than Washington.

Jane Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the fisheries service, should convene such a group, with White House backing, to reconcile differences and devise an acceptable plan. Otherwise, it's back to the legal wars, which benefit no one, least of all the fish.

The Four Lower Snake Dams Impede Recovery of Listed Salmon and Steelhead

Skeena Gill Netting By-catch Continues Unchecked

2011-08-11T08:52:00.001-07:00

With Sockeye numbers above expectations on the Skeena this summer, the commercial fishery has ramped up to take advantage of the opportunity. Despite years of concern over bycatch of steelhead and other non-target species in the gill net fishery, and a world class independent scientific review which recommended moving towards selective gear, regional DFO managers remain unmoved. Instead they contend that short set gill nets can serve as "selective gear" as non-target species are removed and released when the net is collected. The data however is unequivocal, short term mortality rates in fish released from gill nets are exceedingly high and over the long term the injuries and stress the fish sustain will lead to increased susceptibility to infection and elevated prespawn mortality. A quote from the Skeena Fisheries Blog:

"As of July 22 we are 1/3 of our 2010 numbers. No selective fishing measures being taken and seine fishery every day of the week. This all makes us wonder whether we have made any progress in this battle or whether we just get more meetings. On a positive note the Province has taken a stand for steelhead. No matter how progressive DFO is at higher levels the changes never seem to make it past the Rupert office. It is time to take off the gloves and focus on the real problem...North Coast DFO. "

Visit their website for the latest updates on the Skeena and surrounding area.

http://skeenafisheriesblog.blogspot.com/

Public Meeting on the Klickitat Hatchery

2011-08-08T22:19:00.001-07:00

The BPA is proposing to build another hatchery facility on the Klickitat designed to "increase the abundance of spring chinook and steelhead natural spawning," and "decrease the impacts of non-native fall Chinook and coho programs". While the projects purported benefits are to reduce the impacts of hatchery propagation on native spring chinook and summer steelhead it would also build two new hatchery facilities in the klickitat basin to accomplish that goal, a concerning contradiction given the already out of control nature of hatchery supplementation in the basin.

Spring Chinook and steelhead are native to the klickitat however the construction of a fishway at Lyle falls and misguided hatchery programs have led to introduction two non-native species (fall Chinook and coho) into the upper watershed creating a situation which poses a significant threat to wild salmon in the basin. A recent report by the Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Commission (CRITFC) identified genetic introgression between introduced fall chinook and native spring chinook and revealed that at present wild steelhead are outnumbered by their hatchery counterparts approximately 5:1 in the Klickitat. Both situations are extremely disconcerting and do not bode well for the genetic integrity or productivity of the river's wild stocks.

The proposal to reduce the number of non-native smolts released into the Klickitat is a tiny step in the right direction however the idea of releasing non-native species into the river at all is lunacy, particularly when it has been established that fall Chinook are swamping the indigenous genetic material of the native spring Chinook stock. At an absolute minimum all fall Chinook and hatchery coho should be sorted out of the upriver population at the Lyle Falls fishway, making them available for tribal harvest and eliminating any risk that they spawn in the wild.

Policy makers at the Yakama nation appear fixated on hatchery reform as a cure all to the well known ills of hatchery supplementation, however their hope that moving the steelhead program to a "state of the art" integrated program will somehow reduce the risks posed by the hatchery program is not rooted in reality. Instead it's another expensive hatchery program that doesn't address the problem of the hatchery fish being there in the first place. Furthermore it would likely increase the total number of steelhead being released in the basin by 80,000 fish and increase the number of spring chinook released by 200,000, implementing a production hatchery using broodstock taken from an ESA listed population of wild fish. This is a terrible idea and frankly might be a step back from the current conditions on the Klickitat. Furthermore, despite the assertion that the new program would address the threat posed by fall chinook the plan calls for the continued release of 4 million non-native fall chinook into the Klickitat each year.

The proposed hatchery upgrades on the Klickitat are nothing more than an expansion of hatchery operations in the watershed, veiled in the misleading language of its purported and clearly farcical "conservation benefits". None of the 3 options on the table lead to a reduction in the overall number of hatchery fish released into the Klickitat.

A public meeting on the draft EIS is being held this Weds August 10th from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
at the Lyle Community Center. 5th Street and State Highway Lyle, WA 98635

If you fish the Klickitat or live in the area please turn out and tell the BPA not to fund any new hatchery facilties in the Klickitat until the underlying problems are fully addressed. This plan is an abomination against wild fish in the basin and highlights the BPA and YKFP's singular focus on hatchery production and lack of interest in instituting policy that will lead to real recovery of wild fish in the watershed.

The BPA is accepting comments on the Klickitat EIS, place let BPA know that we wont tolerate the wild and scenic Klickitat being managed as yet another hatchery raceway.

Comment at:
http://www.bpa.gov/comment

Clean Water Act Exemption for Logging Threatens Wild Salmon

2011-08-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

An new bill proposed by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden would exempt logging roads and the sediment they pour into watersheds throughout the west from regulation under the Clean Water Act, posing a threat to the recovery of depressed salmon populations throughout the region. Logging and the attendant road construction has been a major factor in the degradation of freshwater habitat critical to the survival of wild salmon and any path towards salmon recover in the Northwest MUST include more sustainable logging and road building practices. Erosion from logging and logging roads dramatically increases the quantity of fine sediment in watersheds, smothering incubating salmon eggs, reducing habitat diversity as well as pool depth and frequency and increasing water temperatures. Logging has been implicated in salmon declines for decades and some of our most tragic case studies of decline; from Oregon's coastal coho to the utter collapse of the Deer Creek summer run on Washington's North Fork Stillaguamish were driven largely by terrible logging practices. More information in a letter to the editor by a group of preeminent Oregon fish conservationists.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/08/salmon_habitat_and_water_quali.html

Take Action at Oregon Wild's website:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1780/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=7488