Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan
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Tribal Pacific Lamprey Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Restorationfor the Columbia River Plan Basin Commission December 19, 2011 Nez Perce · Umatilla · Yakama · Warm Springs Acknowledgements This Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan for the Columbia River Basin (Plan) is a product of the efforts of many tribal and non-tribal biologists, policy representatives, and independent scientists throughout the Pacific Northwest. The tribes acknowledge the collective contributions of many that offered their time and expertise to improve this tribal plan. In particular, we thank Casey Justice and Starla Roels for their extensive review of the Plan. The Plan addresses many regional comments on the draft tribal lamprey restoration plan from tribes, public utilities, federal, state and county agencies, independent scientists and the general public. These comments have greatly improved this Plan. This Plan is a living document that will be periodically updated as new information becomes available through adaptive management practices. Figure 1. Pacific lamprey spawning in an Idaho tributary. Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan for the Columbia River Basin i Executive Summary The Creator told the people that the eels would always return as long as the people took care of them, but if the people failed to take care of them, they would disappear. —Ron Suppah, Vice Chair, Warm Springs Tribes Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) Pacific lamprey are just as important to abundance and distribution in the tribal peoples as salmon. For over 10,000 Columbia River basin and throughout years the people of the Nez Perce, the Pacific Northwest is declining Umatilla, Yakama and Warm Springs precipitously, bringing the species tribes depended on lamprey (commonly dangerously close to regional extinction. referred to as “eels”), salmon, roots and The loss of lamprey, the basin’s most berries. The tribal people used the eel for ancient and foundational species, is food and medicine, and many stories and jeopardizing the ecological balance in legends surrounding the eel were passed the basin. Populations continue to down from generation to generation. decline despite or, in some cases, due to Before the construction The Dalles Dam measures taken to protect and restore in 1957, the river at Celilo Falls was salmonid species. Counts of adult Pacific often black with eels. Tribal members lamprey at Bonneville dam have declined took just what their families needed for a from an estimated 1,000,000 in the year. Eels were plentiful in many 1960’s and 1970’s to approximately Columbia basin waters including the 20,000 in current years. In the 1960’s Walla Walla River, Asotin Creek, and 1970’s total Bonneville Dam counts Clearwater River tributaries, the South were estimated at 1,000,000 million Fork of the Salmon River, Swan Falls, adults, but in the last three years total the upper portions of the Yakima River Bonneville Dam counts number only and the tributaries of the upper about 20,000 adults. The plight of the Columbia. Pacific lamprey has garnered some Now many of these great rivers have no attention, but limited effective action. eels or at best remnant numbers. The eel has nearly vanished from tribal Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan for the Columbia River Basin iii longhouse tables. As eels disappear, accommodate adult lamprey passage. younger tribal members are losing their These modifications are possible, critical elders’ collective memory for the species and should be undertaken immediately. and the culture that surrounds the eel. They include the use of 24-hour adult counting, installation of lamprey passage The tribes propose this Plan for the systems, modifying existing fishway restoration of Pacific lamprey in the structures to prevent trapping, reducing Columbia River basin to numbers velocity barriers, and reducing and/or adequate for the basin’s ecological health eliminating juvenile impingement and and tribal cultural use. The tribes believe mortality on screens and various bypass aggressive action must be taken now, system components. despite gaps of information about the species’ life history and population Tributary Passage dynamics. Another key factor limiting lamprey The goals of the plan are to immediately productivity in certain portions of the halt the decline of Pacific lamprey and Columbia River basin is poor tributary ultimately restore them throughout their passage. Screens at irrigation and historic range in numbers that provide municipal diversions are either lacking or for ecological integrity and sustainable cause juvenile lamprey impingement or tribal harvest. The objectives of this Plan entrainment and passage into blocked include addressing key uncertainties and areas causing mortality. Dams in identified threats with focused and tributaries also inhibit both juvenile and expedited actions. adult access to spawning, rearing and migratory habitat. Lamprey passage Mainstem Passage structures (LPS) should continue to be Achieving substantive successful developed, installed and evaluated to improvements in dam passage improve adult passage. The Plan efficiencies and survival is of primary recommends development and importance as only about 50% of adult installation of devices to prevent lamprey successfully pass a single dam. entrainment of juveniles into irrigation Evidence also exists that thousands of canals and tributary water diversion. juvenile lamprey are likely lost either Effective juvenile and adult tagging directly or indirectly at various dam technology should continue to be systems such as turbine cooling strainers, implemented to evaluate and resolve trashracks and dam screen-bypass tributary passage problems. systems designed for salmon but not Habitat lamprey. Other known impact areas include excessive bird, fish and marine Improving tributary, mainstem and mammal predation at dam outfalls, estuarine habitat for lamprey forebays and tailrace areas below ammocoetes and macropthalmia is also powerhouses. Improving dam passage important. Restoration of a more natural and survival in a timely manner requires peaking hydrograph that will aid a set of operational and structural migration and enhance habitat quantity modifications to all existing dams to and quality is an essential action under iv Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission this objective. Floodplain restoration Contaminants and Water Quality actions taken to improve salmon habitat, Until recently, the role of legacy and such as establishing conservation emerging contaminants as a threat to easements, are likely beneficial for lamprey has been largely disregarded. lamprey and should continue to be Emerging data from tribal and other accelerated as a priority. This Plan studies worldwide indicate that lamprey contains and appendix with each tribe’s carry excessive concentrations of toxins ceded area plan for achieving habitat and that these may pose a significant objectives within each tributary. threat to their survival and productivity. Additionally, key uncertainties and Additional work is needed in this area to limiting factors in the marine further define the effects of toxins to environment with respect to lamprey lamprey life histories and productivity. migration, habitat, distribution and Actions are needed to improve water predator/prey relationships require quality and reduce contaminant loading focused research. into lamprey habitats. Supplementation/Augmentation Outreach and Education Considering the rapidly declining adult A chief challenge requires educating and lamprey numbers, especially in the mobilizing agencies, institutions and interior basin watersheds, and the individual citizens in the restoration existing passage problems and other effort. Implementation of the Plan threats that may take decades to resolve, cannot succeed without consistent, natural recolonization and restoration coordinated public education and will not be enough to halt the lamprey’s outreach programs to communicate: 1) decline. The likely relationship of adult the plight of lamprey and its vital role in lamprey attraction to juvenile lamprey the ecosystem, 2) the need for public pheromones also supports the Plan’s infrastructure investments at all recommended use of multiple government levels for restoration actions management strategies including and 3) the consequences of failing to act. translocation, propagation, reintroduction and Research, Monitoring and Evaluation supplementation/augmentation for short and long-term preservation of this There must be a basin-wide, coordinated species in the Columbia basin. The Plan effort to continue to fund and emphasizes actively and carefully implement restoration actions while developing a regional conducting priority research, monitoring supplementation/augmentation plan and evaluation on all lamprey life history containing translocation and artificial phases. This effort must include and propagation protocols, while integrate marine and climate change concurrently developing pilot investigations. Prioritization and aquaculture facilities. implementation of research projects is important and results need to be transparent and widely accessible. Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan for the Columbia River Basin v Regional Coordination and Plan objectives also contain specific Collaboration actions to address known limiting factors and threats such as impaired adult The extreme challenge to restoring passage at mainstem dams and juvenile Pacific lamprey in the Columbia River impingement on irrigation