WRIA 13: Deschutes

DESCHUTES BASIN Water Resource Inventory Area 13 The Deschutes River system is the principal drainage within this basin. There are 143 identified streams pro viding over 256 linear miles of drainage. Three important small drainages enter Puget Sound independent of the Des chutes River, Woodward, Woodland, and Mdane creeks. Each contains accessible stream area and suitable spawning and rearing conditions for various species of anadromous and resident fishes. The Deschutes River heads in the foothill slopes of the Cascades approximately 12 miles southwest of Eatonville. Moving away from the relatively steep, forested slopes, the river flows generally northwest across a broad prairie-type valley floor. This flatland condition continues for approxi mately 40 miles to the river's confluence with the southern most extension of Puget Sound at Budd Inlet. The upper 11 miles of the Deschutes, river mile 41.0 to the headwaters, has moderately steep gradient and presents numerous small cascades and rapid areas with few good quality pool-riffle sections. The remaining river below contains considerable excellent quality pool-riffle streambed interspersed with oc casional rapid sections. The majority of the lower river area PHOTO 13-2. The second of three fishways located immediately is highly suitable for use by both anadromous and resident above Capitol Lake. fishes. Adjacent stream banks are mostly open farm land and are occasionally interspersed with dense thickets of mixed deciduous and coniferous growth. Only a few short tribu Mclane, Woodward, and Woodland creeks, three of the taries enter the Deschutes along this stretch, each contrib basin's larger independent drainages, flow over mostly uting some additional fish habitat. gentle gradient with the surrounding area containing inter mittent sections of cleared land, mixed deciduous and coni ferous thickets, and increasing urbanization. Throughout their accessible lengths these streams offer sections suitable for use by certain anadromous and resident fish species; however, human encroachment is rapidly altering and de stroying these fish producing areas. Independent streams add an additional 63.9 linear miles of stream length to the Des chutes basin, most of which is accessible. PHOTO 13-1. Capitol Lake and Dam (Budd Inlet in foreground). At Tumwater, southwest of Olympia, the Deschutes River flows over a series of falls. These barriers were lad dered by the Washington Department of Fisheries in 1954, opening the upper river to anadromous fish. Immediately below the falls the river flows through Capitol Lake, an arti ficial impoundment of 333 surface acres. Entering chis man aged, fish-producing lake from the southwest is Percival Creek, one of the Deschutes system's more important spawning and rearing tributaries. PHOTO 13-3. Upper Tumwater Falls with fishway in foreground. Deschutes - 01 Fish Inventory and Distribution year. In addition, it is estimated that Percival Creek chinook Three species of Pacific salmon, chinook, coho, and runs have averaged approximately 3,155 fish per year for the chum, currently utilize Deschutes basin drainages. A few same period. A large portion of adult returns stems from the sockeye have been recorded in the Deschutes River; how intensive planting and rearing program in Capitol Lake. ever, their numbers are presently insignificant. These fish migrate, spawn, and rear in approximately 103 miles of Coho Salmon - Virtually all accessible streams and Deschutes River, its tributaries, and independent basin tributaries draining the Deschutes basin are utilized by coho drainages. salmon. Spawning occurs in almost every stream area where suitable conditions permit, including many sections of the mainstem Deschutes River. Tributaries known to be of par ticular importance include Spurgeon and Percival creeks. The various independent basin drainages also receive rela tively good runs of coho. Juvenile coho rear throughout the accessible lengths of all basin streams, as well as in Capitol Lake. Additional important rearing also takes place in Puget Sound estuary and marine habitats. Adult coho begin entering Deschutes basin streams from early to mid-September and the run continues well into December. Spawning commences in mid-October and is generally completed by late December. Following incuba tion and emergence from the gravel, the juveniles generally remain in the system for more than a year, migrating sea ward early in their second year of freshwater life. The major portion of this out-migration occurs from late February to mid-April. Based on adult counts at the Tumwater ladder and on spawning ground information, it is estimated that coho es capements to the basin have ranged from 465 to 3,500 for PHOTO 13-4. Chinook spawn throughout the lower sections of the the period 1966 to 1971, averaging 1,500 annually. Deschutes River. Chum Salmon - The occurrence of chum salmon Chinook Salmon - In this basin chinook salmon uti spawning in the basin is confined principally to the indepen lize mainly the Deschutes River. These fish are principally dent drainages, primarily Woodward, Woodland-Himes, fall run chinook as distinguished from summer or spring and Mclane creeks. Some chum do utilize Percival Creek; chinook races. Spawners are known to use river sections however, as is characteristic of the species, they do not throughout the accessible length of the deschutes with major readily ascend fishways and thus do not often reach available spawning occurring between Tumwater and Vail, a distance spawning ground in the Deschutes River. of nearly twenty-five miles. Of the Deschutes tributaries, only Percival Creek is known to support significant numbers of spawning chinook. Use of independent basin drainages by this species is minimal since each of these streams exhibits very low flows during normal chinook migration and spawning periods. Juvenile chinook rear in the total accessible length of the mai~tem Deschutes, plus the tributary streams inhabited by spawning adults. Extensive rearing also takes place in Cap itol Lake. The adult chinook spawning migration begins in late July when the adults first appear at the Capitol Lake ladder. This migration is usually terminated by mid-November. Spawning commences in some areas in mid-September and is usually completed throughout the system by the end of November. Following incubation and subsequent emerg ence, the majority of chinook fry rear in the system about three months prior to seaward migration. Some chinook juveniles are known to remain for longer periods within the system; however, the major out-migration occurs between March and June during the higher spring runoff flows. Adult· chinook salmon counts at the Tumwater ladder show that the annual escapement has ranged from 3,900 to PHOTO 13-5. Mclane Creek drainages support a large run of chum 11,600 fish for the period 1966 to 1971, averaging 8,200 per (Swift Creek). Deschutes - 02 Timing of salmon fresh-water life phases in Deschutes Basin WRIA 13 Month Species Fresh-water Life Phase J F M A M J J A s 0 N D Summer- Upstream migration Fall Spawning Chinook lntragravel develop. Juvenile rearing Juv. out migration Coho Upstream migration Spawning lntragravel develop. Juvenile rearing - Juv. out migration Chum Upstream migration Spawning lntragravel develop. Juvenile rearing - Juv. out migration The quality of the basin's estuary and marine waters is outside the basin. For the period 1966 to 1971, chinook re the major factor in the successful early rearing of the young turns to the Tumwater Falls holding pond ranged from chum fry produced in basin streams as well as those pro 3,908 to 11,621 adults, averaging 8,219 annually. Coho re duced in important adjacent southern Puget Sound drain turns were allowed to ascend and spawn naturally in the ages. upper river. Between 1961 and 1966 a total of 18,264,239 Adult chum salmon enter the basin drainages beginning chinook and 2,019,872 coho were introduced, most of these in October with the run continuing well into November. directly into Capitol Lake. The average annual plants over Spawning occurs from mid-November through most of De this six year period were 5,309,319 chinook and 336,645 cember. Following incubation and subsequent fry emergence coho. Chinook plants from 1966 through 1971 have ranged the juveniles journey seaward. This migration occurs from from 3,600,000 to 7,220,000, averaging 5,467,000 annually. mid to late February into May. In 1971, a plant of 10,555,100 chinook fry (74,900 lbs.) was Based on spawning ground information it is estimated released in Capitol Lake to rear. 473,993 coho fry were re that annual chum escapements to the Deschutes basin have leased here in 1968, and 40,690 yearling coho of the 1969 ranged from 3,800 to 19,900 for the period 1966 to 1971, brood year in 1970. averaging about 11,500 annually. Salmon Production The Fisheries Department initiated a program of re leasing fall chinook salmon fingerlings into the Deschutes River estuary in 1964. Since the falls at the river mouth blocked migration into the river, returning adult chinook were trapped and trucked above the falls to spawn naturally. Capitol Lake, now occupying the former intertidal estuarial basin, was created in 1950 when an earth-fill dam was built. In 1954 a series of vertical-baffle fishways was completed affording free access for mature adult salmon to the upper river. The excellent present-day returns of chinook and coho to this river system originated entirely from plants made above the falls. Present production is maintained at a high level through intensive stocking of Capitol Lake, a managed salmon rearing area existing as an integral part of the Des chutes River system. Although no salmon hatcheries exist within the basin, eggs are obtained annually at the Deschutes River-Tum water Falls fishway, with incubation and early rearing taking place at Washington Department of Fisheries hatcheries PHOTO 13-6.

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