Lower Columbia River and Columbia River Estuary Subbasin Summary May 17, 2002 Prepared for the Northwest Power Planning Council Subbasin Team Leader Debrah Marriott, Director Columbia River Estuary Partnership Contributors (in alphabetical order): Catriona Black, CRITFC Bruce Schmidt, Jeff Breckel, LCFRB StreamNet/PSAFC Craig Burly, WDFW John Serl, WDFW Ed Casillas, NWFSC/NMFS Joe Sheahan, ODFW Fred Dobler, WDFW Greg Sieglitz, ODFW Tod Jones, CEDC Fisheries Bruce Sutherland, LCREP Virginia Kelly, USFS Melody Tereski, LCFRB Kathi Larson, USFW Cathy Tortorci, NMFS Kim Larson, USACE Gary Wade, LCFRB Paul Lumley, CRITFC Robert Warren, Sea Rescuers Steve Manlow, WDFW Allan Whiting, Betty Sue Morris, Clark County CREST/LCREP Willa Nehlson, USFWS Robert Willis, USACE Terry Nelson, NRCS DRAFT: This document has not yet been reviewed or approved by the Northwest Power Planning Council Lower Columbia River and Columbia River Estuary Subbasin Summary Table of Contents Fish and Wildlife Resources.............................................................................................................. 1 Subbasin Description ................................................................................................................. 1 Major Land Uses........................................................................................................................ 5 Fish and Wildlife Resources and Status..................................................................................... 8 Habitat Areas and Quality........................................................................................................ 15 Watershed Assessment............................................................................................................. 27 Artificial Production ................................................................................................................ 31 Limiting Factors....................................................................................................................... 32 Existing and Past Efforts.......................................................................................................... 44 Existing Goals, Objectives and Strategies ............................................................................... 92 Present Subbasin Management ...................................................................................................... 115 Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Activities .................................................................. 115 Other Monitoring Efforts ....................................................................................................... 117 Statement of Fish and Wildlife Needs ................................................................................... 124 Lower Columbia/Columbia Estuary Subbasin Recommendations................................................ 145 Projects and Budgets.............................................................................................................. 145 References...................................................................................................................................... 209 Appendix A. - Bonneville Tributaries Sub-Basin Stock Summary And Habitat Priorities Appendix B. - Elochoman/Skamokawa Sub-Basin Stock Summary And Habitat Priorities Appendix C. - Lake River Sub-Basin Stock Summary And Habitat Priorities Appendix D - Mill/Abernathy/Germany Sub-Basin Stock Summary And Habitat Priorities Appendix E - Chinook River Sub-Basin Stock Summary And Habitat Priorities Appendix F - Summary Of Ongoing Data Collection And Monitoring Activities In The Columbia River Basin Appendix G. - Monitoring Strategy Components Lower Columbia River and Columbia River ii DRAFT May 17, 2001 Estuary Subbasin Summary List of Figures Figure 1. Lower Columbia River & Estuary...................................................................................... 2 List of Tables Table 1. Cities along the Lower Columbia River Estuary Program Study Area and 1998 population.................................................................................................................................. 7 Table 2. Counties along the Lower Columbia River Estuary Program Study Area and 1997 population.................................................................................................................................. 8 Table 3. Species of Fish taken in the Columbia River Estuary between February 1980 and July 1981......................................................................................................................................... 10 Table 4. Endangered and Threatened Species of the Lower Columbia River................................ 14 Table 5. Areas of Special Biological Significance in the Lower Columbia River Estuary Program study area................................................................................................................................. 16 Table 6. Name of each botanically significant site, its acreage, ownership and significance........ 22 Table 7. Significant Natural Areas name, acreage, ownership and significance............................ 23 Table 8. Performance and Results Measurement System Summary for Selected Performance Items in FY2000 for the Willamette Basin1 ...................................................................................... 77 Table 9. Sources of Data and Information on the Lower Columbia River................................... 123 Lower Columbia River and Columbia River iii DRAFT May 17, 2001 Estuary Subbasin Summary Lower Columbia River and Columbia River Estuary Subbasin Summary Fish and Wildlife Resources Subbasin Description Introduction This summary of information covers two ecological provinces as defined by the Northwest Power Planning Council: • Lower Columbia River—Bonneville Dam to RM 34 near Skamokawa • Columbia River Estuary—RM 34 to the ocean including near-coastal waters, as far as the plume extends The summary includes descriptive information about the mainstem of the Columbia River and the tidally influenced sections of its tributaries. Also included with this summary is information about Youngs Bay. Basin summary information covering the Cowlitz, Washougal, Willamette and Sandy Rivers are included in separate documents. General Information In the Lower Columbia River and Columbia River Estuary provinces, the Columbia River runs a varied course along the 146 river miles from Bonneville Dam (RM 146) to the Pacific Ocean. The Willamette River, by far, is the largest tributary to the lower Columbia River. Other major tributaries originating in the Cascades include the Sandy River in Oregon and the Washougal, Lewis, Kalama and Cowlitz Rivers in Washington. Major Coast Range tributaries include the Elochoman and Grays Rivers in Washington and the Lewis and Clark, Youngs and Clatskanie Rivers in Oregon. Other numerous minor tributaries drain small watersheds. Many of the Columbia’s major tributaries (Willamette, Sandy, Cowlitz, Lewis, Skamokawa, Kalama, Elochoman and Washougal rivers) are covered in more detail in other subbasin summaries. For this reason, this document will mention and reference, but not focus on these. Flows in the lower Columbia River average 273,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the mouth, with a former, unregulated minimum of 79,000 cfs and maximum flood flows of over 1 million cfs. Peak flows occur during winter storm events. Spring freshets, once a major source of flooding, are now controlled by upriver dams and occur for longer periods with a lower peak. Late summer and fall flows are generally higher and slower due to regulation, and river water is a few degrees warmer. Lower Columbia River and Columbia River 1 DRAFT May 17, 2001 Estuary Subbasin Summary Figure 1. Lower Columbia River & Estuary Highlights: From Bonneville to the Ocean The river is relatively narrow at the Bonneville Dam—as little as 0.2 miles wide directly below the dam. It emerges from the steep-walled Columbia Gorge about 20 miles east of Portland. Below Washougal and Troutdale, the river valley widens to include a broad floodplain. Elongated islands divide the river and form sloughs and side channels in the formerly marshy lowlands. The floodplain expands around the Columbia River’s confluence with the Willamette River, where they form the sloughs and lakes of North Portland, Sauvie Island, and the Vancouver lowlands. These regions contain the metropolitan area’s last major remnants of the swamp riparian system which were nourished by annual flooding of the free-flowing rivers before dams were constructed. Downstream from the town of St. Helens, the Columbia cuts through the Coast Range, a passage marked by steep-shouldered bluffs and broad alluvial floodplains. The river channel, dotted with low islands of deposited sediments throughout its lower reaches, opens out as it approaches the Pacific Ocean. Below Skamokawa, the river channel splits into several broad bays that extend more than 30 miles to the Pacific Ocean. Lower Columbia River and Columbia River 2 DRAFT May 17, 2001 Estuary Subbasin Summary This area includes the brackish-oligohaline region above the open expanse of the main estuary (upstream from 18.6 to 34.1 miles from the entrance), as well as the broad, euryhaline region in the lower 18.6 miles of the estuary. This estuary area is a drowned river valley but, unlike most estuaries, it is primarily freshwater in nature due to the tremendous influence of