THE OSPREY the International Journal of Salmon and Steelhead Conservation

THE OSPREY The International Journal of Salmon and Steelhead Conservation

Issue No. 97 September 2020 Rewilding the White Salmon River State of wild ﬁsh since dam removal

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: CANADA’S BROKEN FISHERIES AGENCY • MELTING GLACIERS, CHANGING FISH HABITAT • REFLECTIONS ON COLD WATER REFUGIA • KEEPING POLITICS OUT OF SALMON AND STEELHEAD RECOVERY Contents THE OSPREY Chair Pete Soverel Columns & News Editor 3 From the Perch — Editor’s Message Jim Yuskavitch Editorial Committee Hits and Misses — Chair’s Corner Pete Soverel • Dave Peterson 4 Bruce McNae • Greg Knox Ralf Kroning • Rich Simms Letters to the Editor 5 Kurt Beardslee Scientific Advisors 21 Fish Watch: Wild Fish News, Issues and Initiatives Rick Williams • Jack Stanford Jim Lichatowich • Bill McMillan Bill Bakke • Michael Price

Features Design & Layout Jim Yuskavitch Rewilding the White Salmon River Letters To The Editor 6 The Osprey welcomes letters to the By Jeanette Burkhardt editor. Article submissions are welcome but queries in advance are preferred.

12 Hear No Evil: Canada’s Broken Department of The Osprey Fisheries and Oceans 69278 Lariat Sisters, OR 97759 By Jesse Zeman and Harvey Andrusak [email protected] The Osprey is a joint publication of not-for-proﬁt organizations concerned with the conservation and sustainable management of wild Paciﬁc salmon and As Glaciers Melt, Salmon Impacts Complicated steelhead and their habitat throughout their native 15 and introduced ranges. This unique partnership includes The Conservation Angler, Fly Fishers Inter- By Ramona DeNies national, Steelhead Society of British Columbia, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, World Salmon Forum Wild Salmon Center, Wild Fish Conser- vancy, Trout Unlimited and Wild Steelhead Coali- 18 Reflections on Fishing Coldwater Refugia tion. Financial support is provided by partner organizations, individuals, clubs and corporations. The Osprey is published three times a year in Jan- By Bill McMillan uary, May and September. All materials are copy- righted and require permission prior to reprinting or other use. 20 Don’t Let Politics Drive Salmon and Steelhead into Extinction

By Rick Williams and Don Chapman

Cover Photo Courtesy NASA

by Jim Yuskavitch

ometimes it seemed as if the entire West Coast was on fire this summer. As of late September, about 4 million acres had burned in California, more than a million in Oregon and 626,000 in Washington. As of this writing, California wildfires have destroyed Smore than 8,000 structures and killed at least 26 people. In Oregon, those numbers are 3,000 and 10, respectively. Wash- ington State has fared a little better with just under 400 build- ings destroyed and one reported death. Driven by a combination of excess fuel in the forests, high winds, and most importantly, increasingly drier environmental conditions resulting from climate change, these fires erupted into conflagrations that in many cases were unstop- pable by humans. Here in Oregon, major fires raced down Cascade Mountains canyons including the North Santiam, McKenzie and North Umpqua — all important salmon, steelhead and trout watersheds. Wildfires may both hurt and help fish populations. Photo by When the smoke clears — literally and figuratively —thor- Jim Yuskavitch ough damage assessments will need to be made to fish and wildlife habitat along with human structures and property. Interestingly, recent research comparing riparian areas While wildfire’s destructive properties are emphasized in that experienced high severity fires over more moderate news reports, surprisingly these fires can be a mixed bag for fires have found that the former sites show an increase in fish, with both negative and positives impacts. The tradi- the emergence of adult aquatic insects, suggesting there may tional view has been that wildfires destroy fish habitat and be a kind of “fire pulse” that boosts insect productivity. kill fish, yet wildfires are a natural-occurring phenomenon A critical aspect for fish to survive wildfire is the need to and fish have been persisting in spite of fires for millenia. have options when fires erupt, such as the availability of Wildfires certainly do damage habitat, including destroying coldwater refugia and other high quality habitat. riparian trees that provide shade and denuding slopes result- Researchers are only beginning to study and understand ing in landslides and siltation of streambeds. the relationship between fish and fire. But as fires increase But those landslides will also dump rocks, logs, stumps and in numbers and severity, as they are expected to do, espe- other natural debris into streams to begin the proces habitat cially in salmon and steelhead country, wild fish managers rebirth. Warmer water temperatures in the aftermath of and conservationists are going to need a full understanding fires can cause trout, salmon and steelhead to grow faster of these dynamics if fish are able to continue to survive this and mature earlier, although population densities may be natural processes that humans are making much worse. lower. How The Osprey Helps Wild Fish The Osprey has been bringing the lat- So when you subscribe/donate to The est science, policy, opinion and news Osprey, you not only receive a subscrip- stories to its readers supporting wild tion yourself, but you also help us put Pacific salmon and steelhead conserva- Sending The Osprey to The Osprey into the hands of the people tion and management for 31 years. But we need bring to our side to save our we are much more than a publication decision makers is wild fish. that you subscribe to because of your key to our wild ﬁsh Please go to the subscription/donation own interest in wild fish conservation. form on page 23 or on-line at The funds we receive from our sub- conservation advocacy. http://www.theconservationangler.com scribers allows us send The Osprey to and donate whatever you are able. wild fish conservation decision-makers Your support makes Thank you. and influencers including scientists, fisheries managers, politicians and wild that possible. Jim Yuskavitch fish advocates. Editor, The Osprey

September 2020 • Issue No. 97 3 HITS & MISSES — CHAIR’S CORNER Kamchatka Steelhead Anti-Poaching Project and Wildﬁre Destruction in Steelhead Country

By Pete Soverel n the midst of the Covid panic, will post periodic field reports which it’s often difficult to find good With donations from may be viewed on its blog: news. At the top of my list is an theconservationangler.wordpress.com. angler-financed anti-poaching previous Kamchatka The local jungle music from the program in Kamchatka in the poachers: “How long are you guys IRussian Far East. As many readers are going to be guarding the river?” Re- Steelhead Project well aware, The Conservation Angler sponse: “Till ice up,” resulting in sad and Moscow State University have di- supporters, the faces on the poachers. rected a long-term study — now going fully-funded steelhead on 26 years — of steelhead populations MISSES in several western Kamchatka Rivers. anti-poaching team I’ll pass on posting my usual litany of A MISS, THEN A HIT departed for the management missteps to be resumed in the future in favor of pausing to con- This program, The Kamchatka Steel- Utkholok River on sider the catastrophe that has befallen head Project (KSP), is sanctioned under our friends and steelhead pioneers the US-Russia Agreement on the Envi- September 20. crushed by the Archie Creek fire, ronment and has contributed to new which ravaged the North Fork Umpqua levels of understanding of O. mykiss — our conservation gains and (2) continu- River valley. Our hearts go out to our life history strategies, evolutionary ing our important scientific monitoring many friends and supporters there. legacy, recovery dynamics, relation- and evaluation. Senior Scientist Kirill Miraculously, the historic Steamboat ships between resident and anadro- Kuzishchin organized a skilled field Inn survived mostly intact. Less fortu- mous population segments. Our KSP team: two Moscow State University nate were Umpqua legends Frank and field presence also eliminated large- (MGU) scientists; four armed fisheries Jeanne Moore, and Pat and Keith Lee, scale illegal harvest, which helps facil- inspectors including two senior, who lost their homes to the blaze. itate recovery of native salmonid Moscow-based inspectors with arrest Everyone in steelheadom loved and ad- populations. With these protections in authority and; a dedicated ATV with a mired these families whether known in place for the past 25-plus years, wild three-man crew to patrol these rivers person or by reputation. steelhead populations in the study from mid-September to late October ice The same Archie Creek fire largely rivers have exploded from lows of up. The anti-poaching program budget leveled the Rock Creek Hatchery, near 1,500-2,000 spawners per river to 8,000- was $36,000. Glide, killing most fish there. Hope- 30,000 annually. The Conservation Angler and The Fly These dramatic conservation gains Shop reached out Continued on next page were suddenly at risk when COVID to prior KSP spon- travel restrictions forced KSP partners sors seeking fiscal to cancel the planned 2020 field season. support for the Twice in the past, the KSP was unable emergency pro- to secure the necessary permits to con- gram. The re- duct the annual field work. In both sponse was cases, commercial level poachers de- immediate and scended on the study rivers, syphoning overwhelming. off 12 to15 tons of steelhead from each Fully funded, the of the study rivers. To prevent a repeat anti-poaching of these earlier setbacks on currently team departed larger steelhead populations, KSP co-di- Esso, Kamchatka rectors — The Conservation Angler and on September 20, Moscow State University with support 2020 for the three from partners outfitter Kamchatka Tro- day cross country phy Hunts and principal booking agent ATV trip to the and guides The Fly Shop — developed Utkholok River Umpqua steelhead conservation legends Frank and Jeanne an emergency anti-poaching/scientific camp. The Con- Moore, along with Pat and Keith Lee, lost their homes to this data collection program to (1) protect servation Angler summer’s wildfires. Photo by Jim Yuskavitch

4 The Osprey Continued from previous page Letters to the Editor fully, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will take time to carefully assess whether or not rebuilding and Manage Salmonids Utilizing Basic Principles resumption of this hatchery operation is a wise option. Dear Editor:

In Memoriam Professional management of salmonid resources is relatively simple. We had enough information to correctly manage these resources when I started my career Art Tautz, Ph.D. as a fisheries biologist in the 1950s in Alaska and we certainly do today. Every life history stage of every species has both positive and negative forces. Large Chi- Art Tautz, Ph.D.; retired BC fisheries nook are more effective spawners but have a longer period for natural mortality. (Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Re- Steelhead spawn in the spring to avoid winter flood events but miss the first part sources and Rural Development collo- of the juvenile growing season. quially known as BC Fisheries). Art Whenever you stop or modify the natural selection process there will be a neg- died after a long battle with brain can- ative impact on fish populations. The most obvious is when you take fish into a cer on September 13. Steelhead lost a hatchery or for controlled juvenile rearing. Less obvious was when bird control champion who sought to conserve BC’s yielded more juvenile Atlantic salmon in streams but this was cancelled out by steelhead fisheries by protecting the lower survival. fish while moderating angling related There is always competition and predation within and between species. Any in- mortalities. crease in hatchery production will always have a negative impact on wild fish. I first met Art as a newly installed Di- Forget about having to study or prove things that have been basic principles for rector of the Steelhead Society of BC many decades. Manage fisheries to provide adequate spawning escapements and over 30 years ago as BC was crafting move hatchery production out of systems with significant wild fish populations. new regulations to limit angling pres- For details, please visit www.fishmanagementadvocates.org sure on BC’s premier steelhead waters — constraining guide licenses, estab- Sam Wright lishing daily recreational licenses and Olympia, WA restricting non-resident angling pres- sure. These regulations were strongly Time to Watch (or Re-Watch) “Our Two Hands” supported by the guide community and resident anglers. They were less Dear Editor: warmly received by many local busi- nesses and opposed, even resented, by I just finished re-watching the movie, “Our Two Hands”, a story about salmon, non-resident anglers. More importantly, steelhead and those who love them. Most of The Osprey staff and readers are de- the complex of resulting regulations voted to salmon and steelhead recovery, and we understand that means advocacy, have significantly contributed to pro- personal involvement, and “doing something.” This movie covers completely how tecting BC steelhead resources from we got where we are, where we need to go, and who needs to do it. over-exploitation by anglers while pro- As an active swing-fishing steelheader, I found the movie both compelling about viding a fair system of allocating an- our sport, as well as providing direction on what is needed to ensure we have fish gling opportunity. available for future generations. Art’s example was key to the evolution The movie focuses on many of the leaders of our sport — Dec Hogan, Jim Licha- of my own thinking and approach to towich, Bill Bakke, Trey Combs, and many others — and their insights into what steelhead management and was a guide action is needed to make sure we have salmon and steelhead 100 years from now. star to how The Conservation Angler This is not a simple act or policy change. It involves a substantial change in think- approaches fish management: the fish ing and cultural shifts, and the time to act is now. come first. Anglers are, of course, part After my 20 years of advocacy for these fish, I have come to realize that many of steelhead management, but the fish, of us who care are not sure what to do. This film will answer that question. not people, come first. Lots of fish man- We need all of us to be involved — doing something! One thing we know for agers never seem to get this key point. sure is that human activity has not been as supportive of the natural world as it People management is a key element of should be. We can start with shifting our thinking to realize that the natural world steelhead conservation. around us is what we must have to survive. It supports both us and the fish we We need a leader of his stature, com- love. Fact is,- it supports all life. Degrading the natural world has to stop. Of mitment and insight to guide the course, there is more, but that shift of thinking comes first. Province, Federal Government, com- Watch the film and join with your fishing brothers to make the world a better mercial fishers and First Nations out of place — for ourselves, our families and generations to come. “Our Two Hands” is the current wilderness where fish do “must see” for all who love salmon and steelhead and the world they live in. not come first. Absent near-term change in this failed paradigm, we can Mark Rockwell stop worrying about wild fish in the fu- Santa Barbara, CA ture — there may not be any.

Editor’s Note: Mark Rockwell authored “Klamath River Dams: Where are we Today?” for the May 2020 issue of The Osprey.

September 2020 • Issue No. 97 5 Rewilding the White Salmon River The view from nine years after the removal of Condit Dam

By Jeanette Burkhardt

ine years ago, the process passage was a primary consideration. tions, can affect various life stages of of re-wilding a river After over a decade of planning, per- different fish species and influence kicked off with a blast: mitting, and wrangling, the current population variability independent of Condit Dam on the White owner, PacifiCorp Energy, opted to de- spawning levels (USGS, written Salmon River was commission the dam. By summer 2012, comm.). Nbreached, reopening a watershed to less than a year after breach and a cen- The upland landscape is also evolving. anadromous fish after nearly a century tury after its completion, the dam had PacifiCorp re-worked and re-seeded of blockage, restoring constrained been dismantled, the majority of sedi- sediments, and replanted the former physical processes, and initiating the ments accumulated in the former reser- reservoir with thousands of trees. Na- recovery of riverine habitat. The voir flushed downstream, and the tive vegetation is recruiting onto for- largest dam removal attempted in the stabilization and revegetation of the merly submerged sediments. U.S. up to that point: how is it unfold- reservoir sediments initiated. The Grant-funded restoration work contin- ing? river’s re-wilding had begun. ues apace, such as barrier removals on tributary streams (Indian Creek, Mill The Backdrop Cr., Buck Cr.), upland habitat work The White Salmon (mainstem and tributaries) and a The White Salmon River, in south-cen- restoration project at the mouth of the tral Washington, flows southward 45 River continues to be a river at the historic Native American miles (72 km) from Mt. Adams to the Underwood village, where reservoir Columbia River, 179 miles (288 km) dynamic environment, sediments had inundated a Columbia from the Pacific Ocean, a watershed River tribal treaty fishing-access site spanning 12,000 feet (3657m) of eleva- where natural and created homogenous, shallow, tion carved through basalt, straddling processes delivering stranding-prone habitat for juvenile the climatic divide between the temper- salmonids. Yakama Nation (YN) has ate coast and arid interior. The canyon- large wood and been actively restoring the site since bound river is punctuated by several 2018, re-activating the navigation chan- significant cascades, some barriers to sediments to the lower nel and recreating deltaic island habitat fish, on its way to the Columbia. The by re-working the sediments, and White Salmon drains a diverse land- river have been restoring native vegetation to improve scape of forests, meadows, agricultural fish and wildlife habitat. lands and small communities. Abun- restored. The YN, City of White Salmon and dant seeps and springs release cap- other organizations are investigating tured rainfall, glacial and snow melt the feasibility of moving the city’s mu- into the river, ensuring sufficient base nicipal water source to the mainstem flows, cold water and dissolved oxygen Physical Restoration White Salmon River from Buck Creek concentrations favorable for salmonids to protect aquatic resources in this im- year-round, and gaining the river recog- The White Salmon River continues to portant, flow-limited tributary. Pacifi- nition as a coldwater refuge (US EPA be a dynamic environment following Corp and the YN have signed a Right of 2019). the removal of Condit Dam, where nat- First Offer agreement for PacifiCorp A hydroelectric dam was built at river ural river processes delivering large lands between the former dam site and mile (RM) 2.2 (river kilometer [rkm] wood and sediments to the lower river the confluence, opening the possibility 5.3) in 1912-1913, blocking passage for have been restored. After the breach, of tribal ownership of traditional lands native migratory salmonids that called the river in the reservoir reach found of high conservation value along the it home: the river’s namesake “Tule” its old channel, while an estimated 1.8 river. fall Chinook, spring Chinook, chum and million m3 (2.4 million yd3) of silt, sand Meanwhile, local stakeholder groups coho salmon; steelhead, coastal cut- and gravel, impounded in the reservoir, are working to steward river resources, throat and bull trout; and Pacific lam- recreated missing gravel bars in the ensuring that the river community pro- prey. Without fish passage, the dam also lower river and a delta at the Columbia tects the instream and riparian ecology blocked the livelihood of Native Amer- River confluence. The basin experi- and upholds conservation values. How- ican communities along its banks. When enced a drought in summer 2015, fol- ever, models of future climate scenar- dam relicensing started in 1999, in the lowed by flooding in December of that ios suggest a changing hydrograph, context of the Endangered Species Act year, and sustained high flows in the while increasing residential develop- (ESA) listing of most of the river’s spring and early summer of 2017, all of ment — including riparian vegetation anadromous fish populations, lack of which, in addition to out-of-basin condi- Continued on next page 6 The Osprey Continued from previous page onizing available habitats, both those portion of hatchery-origin spawners newly accessible due to barrier re- has varied by year, but was highest for removal, groundwater development moval and those where the restoration spring Chinook salmon (considered and other impacts—is stressing the of natural processes improved for- “functionally extirpated” in the basin), ecology of the system. The recreational merly degraded habitat, such as areas constituted the majority of Brights, and carrying capacity of this increasingly below the former dam site that were de- was lowest for Tules. Temporal distri- popular whitewater river is unknown. prived of gravels necessary for spawn- bution for Brights spawning (late Octo- Health of uplands is being challenged ing and juvenile rearing. ber - early December) overlaps by legacy impacts, conversion, frag- somewhat with that of Tules (generally mentation, changes to precipitation and Adult Spring and Fall Chinook mid-September - late October). Spatial related stressors. Land managers and Spawner Surveys (WDFW) distribution also overlaps, with un- restoration practitioners are investigat- known impacts from redd superimposi- ing ways to increase resilience of up- WDFW has monitored native adult tion and genetic introgression. These land habitats to buffer impacts to the Tule Fall Chinook salmon abundance in interactions merit more study. Chinook river, such as restoring hydrologic the White Salmon basin since 1965, and salmon returns to the White Salmon processes to headwater systems to re- (non-native) Bright Fall Chinook generally track trends in the remainder tain water and deliver flow when pre- salmon abundance since 1989, more re- of the Columbia Basin. cipitation is scant. Will all these efforts cently documenting recolonization be enough to sustain an historic restoration experiment represented by Condit Dam removal?

Monitoring Fish Recolonization of the White Salmon River 2012-2019

A multi-agency working group met for several years before the breach to consider options for restoring the river’s native salmonids. The working group recommended allowing the basin’s salmonids to recolonize natu- rally, and to assess efficacy after 5 years. Rainbow Trout PIT-tagged upstream of Condit prior to dam removal had been detected downstream in the Columbia, indicating that those fish iso- lated above the dam were still express- ing an anadromous life-history. The Yakama Nation and Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) share co- management authorities over the White Salmon fishery. The YN has opted for a 15-year window to assess recolonization to inform future tribal fishery Figure 1. Spring Chinook salmon spawning abundance by origin (HOS=hatchery-origin management considerations. Despite spawner, NOS=natural-origin spawner) in the White Salmon River, 2013-2019 (WDFW). concurrence of ESA recovery plans and Steelhead and Coho assessments that monitoring was cru- post-dam removal by Chinook salmon. cial to the evaluation of the dam re- Spawning ground surveys took place Spawning Surveys (YN) moval’s success, fisheries agencies weekly during 2013-2019 from BZ Falls have had inadequate funding to fully (RM 12.34/km 19.86) to the mouth for The YN Fisheries program conducted evaluate the recolonization of the White spring Chinook salmon, and from steelhead spawning surveys to docu- Salmon River. Husum Falls (RM 7.8/km 12.55) to the ment recolonization in anadromous-ac- Monitoring recolonization has been fo- mouth for fall Chinook salmon during cessible tributaries downstream of cused on determining adult abundance, their respective spawning periods (Fig- barriers (lowermost sections of Rat- spatial distribution, diversity, and pro- ures 1-3). tlesnake, Indian, Buck, Mill and Spring ductivity of returning fish runs. It has Spawning occurred mainly below the creeks, Figure 4) using wading surveys primarily consisted of spawning sur- former dam site, with over half of and redd counts (2012-2019). Steelhead veys for Chinook salmon (by WDFW), spring Chinook, and all but a very small spawning survey limitations arise from steelhead (by YN), and juvenile percentage of Tules and Brights (in steelhead’s prolonged spawning period salmonid monitoring by tributary elec- some years) spawning below the dam. during generally high flows and turbid- trofishing and operation of a rotary However, spawning opportunities even ity, the propensity to repeat-spawn, and screw trap in the lower river by U.S. in previously accessible areas below the confined, high-gradient nature of Geological Survey (USGS). Data col- the dam has increased due to the influx the White Salmon River mainstem. lected thus far show that fish are recol- of gravel post-dam-removal. The pro- Continued on next page September 2020 • Issue No. 97 7 Continued from previous page Possible origins of these steelhead include strays from other rivers or hatcheries, large migratory rainbow trout from the White Salmon River, or returning steelhead from previously-resident rainbow trout populations in these tributary streams. Minimal analysis of genetic material from O. mykiss (steelhead) from the USGS smolt trap and analyzed by the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) genetics lab suggests a mix of source populations, including a native White Salmon population and those of other nearby rivers (Hood, Klickitat, De- schutes) (YN, pers. comm.). Prelimi- nary genetic analysis also confirms both summer and winter runs of steelhead, as in the nearby Hood River (OR) and Klickitat River (WA). Genetic analysis could help assess if and how White Salmon steelhead are related to other local populations, to inform ESA recovery of these fish. Coho spawner surveys have been Figure 2. Tule Fall Chinook salmon spawning abundance by origin (HOS=hatchery-origin more limited, and no data have been spawner, NOS=natural-origin spawner) in the White Salmon River, 2010-2019 (WDFW). published to date. Indications are that coho are present in unknown, but appa- rently low to moderate numbers in all the major anadromous-accessible tributaries (YN, pers. comm.). Status of Chum salmon populations is unknown, but presumed to be low to non-existent.

Juvenile Salmonid Monitoring (USGS)

Several studies occurred in the basin both upstream and downstream of the former dam site prior to dam decom- missioning that allow comparison to post-dam conditions, including rainbow trout/steelhead population and habitat assessments in Rattlesnake Creek (2001-2005, USGS) and Buck Creek (2009-2010, USGS and YN). USGS operated a rotary screw trap at RM 1/ rkm 1.4 to assess juvenile species composition and abundance downstream of Con- dit Dam (2006-2009). Limited monitoring of salmon and steelhead Figure 3. Bright Fall Chinook salmon spawning abundance by origin (HOS=hatchery-ori- spawning has occurred since the gin spawner, NOS=natural-origin spawner) in the White Salmon River, 2010-2019 breach of Condit Dam in 2011. Because (WDFW). of the difficulties of generating adult estimates for coho salmon and steel- The first years of these surveys pro- these streams (fewer than 12 identified head in the White Salmon, researchers vided the first known documentation of redds per tributary per season) to date. agreed that juvenile monitoring could steelhead spawners returning to White There were increasing numbers of play a role in assessing efficacy of nat- Salmon River tributaries; adult steel- redds in the first few years after dam ural recolonization. head were observed in the mainstem removal, followed by a general down- From 2016-2019, USGS operated a ro- beginning in summer 2012. Survey re- ward trend in more recent years, simi- tary screw trap at RM 1.4/rkm 2.3 (1.8 sults indicate that steelhead are recolo- lar to that in nearby rivers and mi/3 km downstream of the former dam nizing most accessible streams in the Columbia Basin-wide. Results from site) during spring to assess salmonid subbasin. They also suggest a moder- these surveys likely represent a mini- ately low level of recolonization in mum spawner abundance level. Continued on next page 8 The Osprey Continued from previous page smolt and juvenile migrant production upstream of the trap. In concert with the screw trap, USGS conducted backpack electrofishing in summer to assess juvenile salmonid distribution in tributaries and abundance in a reach of each Rattlesnake Creek and Buck Creek, both of which were sampled prior to dam removal (Figure 5). Fish are tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags for mark-recap- ture estimates; future recaptures or de- tections of these marked fish, as juvenile or adults, will contribute data about the life-history diversity of natu- rally produced salmonids in the White Salmon basin (USGS, pers. comm.) Ge- netic material was collected to investi- gate stock origin of fish captured during electrofishing or in the rotary screw trap. Juvenile monitoring efforts to date confirm: production of natural-origin steelhead and coho smolts from upstream of the Condit Dam site, including Buck, Rattlesnake, and Mill Creeks; production of natural-origin Chinook salmon fry upstream of the screw trap; coho salmon smolt estimates have increased from 2016 – 2019; adult returns to Bonneville Dam of PIT-tagged White Salmon-origin steelhead and coho salmon from the screw trap and tributaries; juvenile salmonid abundance at a sample site in Buck Creek has exceeded that found at the same site during pre-dam removal sampling each year; juvenile salmonid abundance at a sample site in Rattlesnake Creek has exceeded that found at the same site during pre-dam removal sampling in some of the post-removal years. All of Figure 4. Observed steelhead redd distribution in White Salmon River tributaries 2013- the juvenile coho salmon or steelhead 2019. All redds observed (possible, probable, and definite) are shown (YN). caught in the screw trap appear to be of natural origin (based on adipose fin dam removal. Juvenile monitoring has June 2019; both exhibited smolt charac- presence). One steelhead kelt was cap- been funded by grants from the Wash- teristics. Both bull trout were PIT- tured in 2016 that lacked an adipose fin. ington State Salmon Recovery Funding tagged and the fish caught in 2018 was Fish PIT-tagged as part of this study Board and Clark-Skamania Flyfishers, detected at Bonneville Dam a couple have been detected at downstream lo- both administered through Mid-Colum- days after capture in the White Salmon cations such as Bonneville Dam, estu- bia Fisheries Enhancement Group, and (Figure 6; USGS, pers. comm.), con- ary trawl PIT arrays and estuary island by Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery firming use of the White Salmon by this bird colonies. Fund, administered through YN, which species, and the first confirmed in the Continued monitoring to build a has also funded steelhead spawning basin since 1988 (surveys in interven- longer, more robust data set would help surveys. ing years had detected no bull trout). fisheries agencies better understand No systematic sampling or surveying trends in abundance, distribution, ge- Bull Trout for bull trout is currently occurring. netic diversity and life history patterns The White Salmon basin also has a pop- of salmon and steelhead recolonizing A fishery biologist angled a bull trout ulation of Coastal cutthroat trout, which the White Salmon River, and to assess upstream of the former dam site in the may also exhibit an anadromous life the effectiveness of natural recoloniza- first few years after dam removal. Two history, though they are not being sur- tion to inform management decisions, bull trout have been captured at the veyed currently. while also contributing to a growing screw trap, one in June 2018 and one in body of science focused on effects of Continued on next page September 2020 • Issue No. 97 9 Continued from previous page that the most upstream known distribu- The human community has witnessed tion of Pacific lamprey is currently rkm the unleashing of a tamed river, and Pacific Lamprey 9.4, 3.5 km upstream of the former dam now, its re-wilding. Questions and chal- site. Lamprey species may benefit from lenges persist, including: can we stay Anadromous Pacific lamprey make the redistribution of reservoir sedi- out of the river’s way and let it heal? significant ecological contributions to ments, and the return of more norma- river systems in the Pacific Northwest, tive river processes in the White and have cultural significance for many Salmon River downstream of the for- Jeanette Burkhardt is a watershed Native American tribes. Pacific lam- mer dam site. planner for Yakama Nation Fisheries. prey response to dam removals is To learn more about the Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation visit: www.yakama-nsm.gov.

Acknowledgments

Big thanks to Ian Jezorek and Jill Hardiman with USGS, Elise Olk and Kari Dammerman with WDFW, Joe Zendt and Ralph Lampman with YN, and Joe Skalicky with the USFWS for providing information and reports for this article.

References

Allen, M.B., and Connolly, P.J., 2011, Composition and relative abundance of fish species in the lower White Salmon River, Washington, prior to the removal of Condit Dam: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1087, 32 p.

Allen, M.B., Connolly, P.J., Jezorek, I.G., Munz, C., and Charrier, J.C., 2006, As- sess current and potential salmonid production in Rattlesnake Creek in as- Figure 5. Schematic of the White Salmon River watershed accessible to anadromous sociation with restoration efforts: U.S. salmonids showing locations of rotary screw trapping and electrofishing surveys 2017-2019 Geological Survey 2004–2005 Annual and the former location of Condit Dam, which was breached in 2011 (USGS). Report, Project No. 200102500, BPA Re- largely unknown. The US Fish and port DOE/BP-00005068-4, 101 p., ac- Wildlife Service (USFWS, 2007-2015) Conclusion cessed November 28, 2016. at and YN (2012-2019) have studied the re- Since Condit Dam removal, the White https://www.cbfish.org/Document.mvc/ colonization of the White Salmon River Salmon River has continued to evolve Viewer/00005068-4. by Pacific lamprey since Condit Dam and change, recovering from a century was removed. The USFWS estimated of human impediment. In-channel river Allen, M.B., Munz, C., Burkhardt, J., abundance of larval Pacific lamprey processes came roaring back, and the and Connolly, P.J., 2012, Fish Population using backpack or deep-water elec- system has gotten a hard re-set. Upland and habitat analysis in Buck Creek, trofishing. Before the dam removal, habitats and processes affected by pro- Washington, prior to recolonization by USFWS had found Pacific lamprey in longed inundation and lack of soil-build- anadromous salmonids after the re- areas downstream, but not upstream, of ing are slower to recover, but are moval of Condit Dam: U.S. Geological the dam. After dam removal, Pacific re-vegetating. Migratory fish popula- Survey Open-File Report 2012-1270, 38 lamprey larvae were collected from tions are taking advantage of a newly pp. four reaches of the mainstem White free-flowing river, returning to spawn, Salmon River upstream of the former occupying habitats that have been in- Allen, M. B., Engle, R. O., Zendt, J. S., dam site. No Pacific lamprey were de- hospitable or off-limits for a century, Shrier, F. C., Wilson, J. T., & Connolly, P. tected at the mouth of the White Salmon rearing and sending progeny out of the J. (2016). Salmon and steelhead in the prior to dam removal, but were de- basin. And the human community has White Salmon River after the removal tected afterward in improved habitat been bearing witness to the evolution. of Condit Dam—Planning efforts and where sediments mobilized by the Fisheries agencies have been monitor- recolonization results. Fisheries, 41, breach had deposited. This indicates ing the recolonization of the river by 190–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/ that Pacific lamprey had quickly recol- anadromous fish with sparse funding, 03632415.2016.1150839 onized the White Salmon River after collecting valuable information to in- Condit Dam removal. form management. Research and mon- Beals, T. & Lampman, R. 2018. Distribu- Yakama Nation Pacific Lamprey Proj- itoring are raising questions as they ect and CRITFC sampling confirmed attempt to answer others. Continued on next page 10 The Osprey Continued from previous page Lands Rivers and Streams in 2018. In Yakama Nation Pacific Lamprey Proj- Bellmore, J.R., Duda, J.J., Craig, L.S., tion and occupancy of Pacific Lamprey ect annual report 2019 (Appendix L1, Greene, S.L., Torgersen, C.E., Collins, in six major Columbia River subbasins Project No. 2008-470-00). Prepared for M.J., and Vittum, K., 2017, Status and within the Yakama Nation Ceded Lands: the U.S. Department of Energy, Bon- trends of dam removal research in the Summary from 2009-2017 surveys. In neville Power Administration, Portland, United States: WIREs Water 2017, v. 4, Yakama Nation Pacific Lamprey Proj- OR. 60 pp. p. e1164, doi:10.1002/wat2.1164. ect 2017 annual report (Appendix C7, Project No. 2008-470-00). Prepared for Olk, E. and Wilson, J., 2019. 2018 White Lane and Lane Associates, 1981, White the U.S. Department of Energy, Bon- Salmon Chinook Memo. Washington Salmon River Indian fisheries and Con- neville Power Administration, Portland, Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Vancouver, dit Dam: Portland, Oregon, Lane and OR. 27 pp. WA. 11 pp. Lane Associates with Douglas Nash, prepared for Bureau of Indian Affairs. Jezorek, I. G., and Hardiman, J. M., Olk, E. and Dammerman, K., 2020. 2019 National Marine Fisheries Service, 2017, Juvenile salmonid monitoring in White Salmon Chinook Memo. Washing- 2009, Middle Columbia River steelhead the White Salmon River, Washington, ton Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Vancou- distinct population segment ESA recov- post-Condit Dam removal, 2016: U.S. ver, WA. 11 pp. ery plan: Prepared by National Marine Geological Survey Open-File Report Fisheries Service Northwest Region, 2017-1070, 34 p., accessed January 18, Silver, B. P., Hudson, J. M., & Whitesel, 260 p., accessed November 28, 2016, at 2018, at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publi- T. A. (2011). White Salmon River bull http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.go cation/ofr20171070. trout: Patches, occupancy and distribu- v/publications/recovery_planning/salm tion. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Co- on_steelhead/domains/interior_colum- Jezorek, I. G., and Hardiman, J. M., lumbia River Fisheries Program Office: bia/middle_columbia/mid-c-plan.pdf. 2018, Juvenile salmonid monitoring fol- Vancouver. lowing removal of Condit Dam in the National Marine Fisheries Service, White Salmon River watershed, Wash- US Environmental Protection Agency, 2013, ESA recovery plan for Lower Co- ington, 2017: U.S. Geological Survey 2019, Draft Columbia River Cold Water lumbia River coho salmon, Lower Co- Open-File Report 2018-1106, 31 p. Refuges Plan, prepared by USEPA Re- lumbia River Chinook salmon, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181106. gion 10, Seattle, WA, 187 pp., accessed Columbia River chum salmon, and Jolley J. C., Silver G. S., Harris J. E., 9/2/20 at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/pro- Lower Columbia River steelhead: Pre- Whitesel TA. Pacific lamprey recolo- duction/files/2019-10/documents/colum- pared by National Marine Fisheries nization of a Pacific Northwest river bia-river-cwr-plan-draft-october-2019.p Service Northwest Region, 503 p., ac- following dam removal. River Res Ap- df cessed November 28, 2016, at plic. 2018;34:44–51. http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.go https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3221 Wilcox, A. C., O’Connor, J. E., & Major, v/publications/recovery_planning/salm J. J. (2014). Rapid reservoir erosion, hy- on_steelhead/domains/willamette_low- Jolley, J. C., Silver, G. S., Whitesel, T. A. perconcentrated flow, and downstream ercol/lower_columbia/final_plan_docu- (2012). Occurrence, detection, and habi- deposition triggered by breaching of 38 ments/final_lcr_plan_june_2013_-corre tat use of larval lamprey in the White m tall Condit Dam, White Salmon River, cted.pdf. Salmon River Basin: Pre Condit Dam Washington. Journal of Geophysical Re- Removal. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv- search Earth Surface, 119, 1376–1394. National Marine Fisheries Service, ice, Columbia River Fisheries Program https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jf003073 2013, ESA recovery plan for the White Office: Vancouver. Salmon River watershed: Prepared by Wilson, J., 2017. 2016 White Salmon Chi- National Marine Fisheries Service Jolley, J. C., Silver, G. S., & Whitesel, T. nook Memo. Washington Dept. of Fish Northwest Region, 186 p., accessed No- A. (2013). Occurrence, detection, and and Wildlife, Vancouver, WA. 11 pp. vember 28, 2016, at http://www.west- habitat use of larval lamprey in the coast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/re Lower White Salmon River and mouth: Wilson, J., 2018. 2017 White Salmon Chi- covery_planning/salmon_steelhead/do- Post Condit Dam removal. Vancouver: nook Memo. Washington Dept. of Fish mains/willamette_lowercol/lower_co- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. and Wildlife, Vancouver, WA. 13 pp. lumbia/final_plan_documents/white_sal mon_recovery_plan__june_2013.pdf. Lumley, D., Beals, T., & Lampman, R. Zendt, J., 2020. White Salmon Subbasin 2020. Distribution and Occupancy of Steelhead Spawner Survey Summary, Northwest Power and Conservation Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus triden- 2012-2019. Prepared for White Salmon Council, 2004, White Salmon subbasin tatus) in Nine Major Columbia River Technical Workgroup. 6 pp. (Yakama plan: Portland, Oregon, Northwest Subbasins within the Yakama Nation Nation Fisheries, unpublished). Power and Conservation Council, 248 p., Ceded Lands: Summary from 2009-2019 accessed December 12, 2016, at, Surveys. Prepared for the U.S. Depart- Other background infomation https://www.nwcouncil.org/media/11677 ment of Energy, Bonneville Power Ad- n article about the dam removal shortly 7/EntirePlan.pdf. ministration, Portland, OR. 45 pp. after it took place was published in Issue No. 82 September 2015 edition of Silver, G. S., Jolley, J. C., & Whitesel, T. Lumley, D., Beals, T., & Lampman, R. The Osprey entitled: “The White Salmon A. (2010). White Salmon River Basin: 2020. Using Environmental DNA to de- River, Condit Dam Removal and Steel- Lamprey project. U.S. Vancouver: Fish tect Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tri- head Recolonization” by Jeannette and Wildlife Service, Columbia River dentatus) within Yakama Nation Ceded Burkhardt. Fisheries Program Office. September 2020 • Issue No. 97 11 Hear No Evil Canada’s broken Department of Fisheries and Oceans

By Jesse Zeman and Harvey Andrusak

he news that Interior Fraser tion feedback indicates that 42 experts was not a conservation measure, and no steelhead (IFS) are spawn- and managers vetted it. This document account was made of any steelhead ing at near-historic low has never been released to the public. caught. numbers is alarming. The After a recovery potential assessment DFO again used its model, which was iconic and world-renowned (RPA) was completed, correspondence found to be invalid, to justify opening TThompson River steelhead that num- was obtained from the province, going this fishery. The BCWF had to file an bered in the low thousands a few to DFO, which stated the DFO summary Access to Information and Privacy decades ago now number less than 300. was no longer scientifically defensible. (ATIP) request to find out what had The Chilcotin River steelhead numbers The BCWF found, through freedom of gone on behind the scenes inside DFO in 2020 are less than 50. How has this information requests, that the peer-re- for the entire two-year process. It took happened? viewed science document findings had two and a half months to get our ATIP The Thompson and Chilcotin steel- been edited in a science advisory report back from the federal government, and head fishery was historically catch-and- ostensibly to downplay the effects of it will take two years to find out what kill, later catch-and-release, and today, nets on steelhead went on behind closed doors. there is no fishing at all. The trouble is In 2020, the plan is the same: The that these fish co-migrate with pink and steelhead experts say you need 77 days chum salmon, and in the worst years, without nets, and DFO’s plan is to take steelhead experts estimate that half of There is little the nets off for only 27 days. That these fish were caught in gillnets as by- means we are pushing these fish into catch, and up to half of those died. argument that DFO extinction. These populations were considered in and the province are At this point, the science advisory re- severe decline by the late 1990s and port is the only document available. The were trending downward but still pro- responsible for the peer-reviewed science is still not out, ducing 2,000 to 3,000 returning spawn- and we still don’t have our ATIP. That is ers. decline of interior the DFO that informed people in B.C. By 2017, the alarm bells were going know. There are dozens of structural off when the numbers declined below Fraser steelhead and cultural issues within DFO that 500 spawners, and a true crisis was in have resulted in a failed ministry and the making. Despite this, Fisheries and populations. agency. Oceans Canada (DFO) still permitted Steelhead are not the only victims. In- net fisheries on the lower Fraser. The terior Fraser coho were put on life sup- B.C. Wildlife Federation (BCWF) and In 2019, the federal and provincial port in the 1990s, and a number of our other environmental non-governmental governments created a recovery plan. Chinook and sockeye salmon runs are organizations pushed for an emergency B.C. recommended that protecting 95 headed for the same place now. In late assessment under the independent percent of these fish would require a summer 2020, a permitted Chinook fish- Committee on the Status of Endangered period of 84 days without nets on the ery on the river yielded more sockeye Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), which Fraser. DFO committed only to a 27-day than Chinook, and the sockeye were re- was undertaken. In 2018, COSEWIC an- moving window. In September 2019, tained despite the predicted worse nounced that these two populations DFO killed its first two steelhead in its sockeye run in history. DFO’s response were at imminent risk of extinction. test fishery. On September 16, the has been to fiddle around with fisheries The main threats include poor ocean Province of B.C. closed its statistically regulations while knowingly managing conditions and by-catch of adults by net insignificant trout fishery on the weak stocks towards zero. The DFO fisheries targeting Pacific salmon. Fraser, likely as a quid pro quo with strategy to sustain the commercial fish- Such low spawner numbers during the DFO, only to find the next day that DFO ery has failed our fish and the people last few years triggered the Species at had opened an economic opportunity who care about them. Risk Act process. As part of this fishery for pinks using beach seines There is only one measure that can be process, a science advice document was and allowing chum salmon to be re- implemented immediately to ensure put together by three scientists: one tained. It should be noted that at that that greater numbers of adult steelhead from the province of British Columbia, tim, DFO had calculated a one percent reach the spawning grounds on the one independent, and one from DFO. It probability of meeting its escapement Chilcotin and Thompson rivers next went through the Canadian Science Ad- target of 800,000 chum in the Fraser, year (2021). Governments should an- visory Secretariat’s peer review yet it still allowed chum retention. This process, and later freedom of informa- Continued on next page 12 The Osprey Continued from previous page have become alarmed at our salmon the culprits—this is called deflection. and steelhead stocks’ status. One only Despite the monumental investments nounce a moratorium on the 2020 chum has to look at DFO’s mandate to realize in planning processes and addiction to salmon gillnet fishery that incidentally that conservation is not the primary in- hatchery “solutions,” we find ourselves catch and kill these steelhead as they terest—commercial harvest is. The with an ever-growing list of salmon migrate upstream during October and- Fraser and Skeena systems cry out for stocks that are in serious peril of be- November. better management in the future. coming extinct. Hatcheries and the in- There is little argument that DFO and Salmon managers need to immedi- discriminately mixed-stock fisheries the province are responsible for the de- ately pull back from their antiquated they have created are the crowning ex- cline in interior Fraser steelhead popu- goal of trying to manage stocks to max- amples of failed management. lations. Ineffective measures have been imum sustained yield. We must signifi- The B.C. Wildlife Federation’s call for in place for over a decade in an attempt cantly reduce harvest now so that our a moratorium on the chum salmon gill- to mitigate for the chum salmon gillnet by-catch of Interior Fraser steelhead. Mitigative measures touted by DFO for the last decade or so, such as rolling clo- sures, soak times etc. have been abject failures as evidenced by the continuing downward numbers of steelhead. The time has come for the responsible parties to get serious about steelhead conservation, which is the mandate of both levels of government. Conservation groups have sent numer- ous letters and have had meetings with governments over the last number of years to express concerns. These concerns have been ignored, and most often, there has not even been a reply to such communications! An expert, independent from the government, is re- quired to review the chum salmon fishery’s efficacy. The BC Wildlife Federation and other fish conservation organizations have The Thompson River is one of a number of tributary streams in the Interior Fraser observed for decades that commercial River watershed whose wild steelhead numbers are plummeting. Photo by cog- harvest interests have driven salmon dogblog. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. Converted to black management in B.C. Only in more re- and white. cent years have the constitutional rights of Indigenous people been salmon runs can demonstrate their re- net fishery is one not taken lightly! The brought into the allocation equation. covery potential and restore abundance BCWF has offered positive solutions to There are four main reasons for the to levels that meet conservation and avoid Interior Fraser Steelhead (IFS) continual decline of most salmon and First Nation food, social and ceremonial extinction while allowing the continua- steelhead stocks: Ocean survival; pin- requirements and provide harvest option of chum salmon harvest. The net niped predatio;, climate change and; portunities. It clearly entails immediate fishery needs to be moved from the harvest. Yes, freshwater habitat deteri- pain for all in order to achieve longer- main stem river and replaced with oration is an issue in some instances. term gains. Is there any political will to chum salmon harvest in the lower Still, there are many examples through- take this on? So far, the answer is no. Fraser tributary streams where most out British Columbia where pristine To achieve the desired outcome, we chum salmon spawn. Moving the nets habitat lies vacant because no fish are need to change how and where we catch would be a win-win solution that has not left to use it. Of the four main factors salmon. Non-selective net fisheries been dismissed, yet both government we can only control harvest, yet collec- need to be eliminated, not just levels have so far ignored this proposed tively, we have failed to manage intelli- “tweaked”. Terminal fisheries need to solution. gently to ensure various stocks’ be emphasized, and First Nations-led Selective fishing methods on the main conservation. Why? There is no other selective fishing methods need to take river have also been proposed to reduce way of saying it: greed and fear of on a far more significant role. To date, IFS by-catch. These have also been re- change. Politicians of all stripes have senior DFO staff with single authority buffed and turned down by both gov- been complicit in ignoring individual have ignored their scientists and the ernment levels seemingly intent on the weak stocks’ demise by permitting har- public by marginalizing conservation status quo, outdated fishing methods. vest to trump conservation. concerns to satisfy commercial inter- Despite pleas from the Steelhead Soci- DFO has relegated conservation to a ests. This systemic failure has been ev- ety of B.C., the B.C. Federation of Fly secondary concern, so it is little wonder ident for nearly a century. DFO has Fishers, the Outdoor Recreation Coun- that First Nations, the angling public squandered yesteryears’ abundance of cil, the BCWF and other conservation and, increasingly, the general public wild salmon and increasingly pointed to groups, DFO has continued to permit climate change and ocean survival as Continued on next page September 2020 • Issue No. 97 13 Continued from previous page the chum salmon fishery knowing that the few remaining iconic steelhead are killed in the gillnets each year. It is time for governments and the involved commercial fishers to step up to the plate and show the much-needed leadership in IFS conservation and do the right thing for the fish. Here are some things that can be done to stop the downward spiral of B.C.’s wild fish species.

1. Support science-based decision making.

2. Move to selective fishing methods. Not only are steelhead a victim of nets on the Fraser; so are salmon, and we predict over the next year we’ll find that sturgeon are being driven into a decline that is largely attributed to nets. Nets need to go. Wild Interior Fraser River steelhead, along with other salmon species, are caught and killed as bycatch during the commercial chum (pictured) and pink salmon net 3. On poaching, there are pictures of en- fisheries. Photo by K. King/USFWS. Attribution-Non Commercial 2.0 Generic Li- dangered Chinook and steelhead and at- cense. Converted to black and white. risk coho in illegal nets that surface fish and habitat populations to identify the situation we find ourselves in, but it almost daily. They are reported to DFO, threats and barriers, and establish the means lowered expectations, and de- and no one even calls us back. Charges allowable catch. That is not manage- clining revenues and opportunities are rarely pursued. Fisheries officers ment’s function; that is a science func- across all sectors. Is there a politician have become experts in cutting gillnets tion. out there prepared to champion conser- out of the Fraser instead of protecting Finally, there’s social support. The vation over all else? The current situa- salmon from poachers. agency needs to be accountable and tion speaks volumes of failure. Change transparent and make decisions based needs to take place immediately. Many 4. Fisheries monitoring must be im- on evidence, and those who care about well-informed people with strong fish- proved for all sectors. There is no ille- the resource have to see themselves as eries backgrounds both within and out- gal harvest accounted for in-run part of the process. That is what DFO side the B.C. Wildlife Federation echo reconstruction models, and we are should look like, and currently couldn’t these sentiments. Far greater involve- aware that fisheries-related induced be any further from. ment by First Nations and the public in mortality of Fraser Chinook is not even DFO is culturally and structurally the decision-making process is re- included in the river. That means there broken. It is a fishing management quired. If we want a future for our are thousands of fish, if not tens of agency that is not accountable to the salmon, conservation must trump all thousands, that are killed in the Fraser public. Getting data from them is al- other interests. every single year, which, according to most impossible. We are constantly re- To sign the B.C. Wildlife Federation DFO, never even existed. ferred to Access to Information and petition please visit Privacy because people are worried https://bcwf.bc.ca/initiatives/bcwf-calls- We can deal with fish farms, we can they will lose their job if they share for-a-moratorium-on-lower-fraser- deal with pinniped predation, we can data with the public that was paid for chum-gillnet-fishery/ deal with fish passage, and internation- by the public. Scientists, habitat staff ally we can deal with ocean ranching to and enforcement staff are rarely lis- reduce the number of hatchery pink tened to. The prescription of the day is and chum fish that are being dumped fishing, fishing, fishing. into the Pacific on an annual basis. The public needs to understand the Jesse Zeman is British Columbia These are all things that can be done. dire situation the iconic steelhead and Wildlife Federation Director of Fish and Now, on the broader picture around salmon species are in. There needs to Wildlife Restoration, and Harvey An- natural resource management, whether be the political will to make the neces- drusak MSc, is BCWF past President it’s water, air or fish, you need three sary changes to the fishery. The public and Chair, Inland Interior Fisheries things. You need funding, science and is encouraged to write or call their Committe. For more information on the social support. Members of Parliament and Members British Columbia Wildlife Federation’s First, funding has to be dedicated, fa- of Legislative Assembly and express work check out their website at cilitating leveraging, line of sight for their disbelief that steelhead conserva- bcwf.bc.ca. ratepayers, and planning on annual, tion is not a concern or priority for the five-year and 10-year basis. federal and provincial governments. Science’s role is to set objectives for There are some quick-fix solutions to 14 The Osprey As Galciers Melt, Impacts on Salmon Complex A new study takes stock of whether salmonids might beneﬁt—and how humans can help By Ramona DeNies

cross the North Pacific, highlighted one insight in particular: populations are changing.” glaciers are melting. that if salmon are to weather climate According to the study, glacier retreat Eighty percent of today’s change, we should expand today’s map will likely manifest a wide range of glacier cover will be lost of salmon strongholds to include those impacts on salmon productivity. In by 2100, according to that might emerge in the future. addition to increased risk of heat and Acurrent scientific consensus. Now, a drought in some watersheds, new study, “Glacier Retreat and Pacific downstream effects could include Salmon” from 14 leading Pacific salmon While some salmon changes in sediment transport, experts suggest that loss will have hydrology, and biogeochemical fluxes. significant impacts on the region’s systems will be While some salmon systems will be salmon ecosystems —some 85 percent challenged by glacier loss, evolving of which have at least some glacier challenged by glacier downstream conditions will not coverage. necessarily disadvantage all salmon What exactly does glacier retreat loss, evolving populations: warmer temperatures, for mean for wild salmon? As with all downstream conditions example, could in some circumstances climate change tales, it’s complicated. benefit juvenile salmon growth. Adding to climate effects from will not necessarily Conversely, while examples already warming ocean water and extreme exist of successful salmon colonization temperatures, disappearing glaciers hurt all populations. of new habitat in areas of glacier will leave some North Pacific salmon retreat—in Glacier Bay, Alaska, for systems more vulnerable to heat and example—not all new areas made drought. But retreating ice will also “Managers will have to make careful accessible by glacier retreat will prove likely create thousands of miles of choices,” says Pitman. “We recommend hospitable to salmonids. potential new salmon habitat. they consider the future state of “This is a sober assessment of The revelation of a possible silver salmon, how habitat might change, by predicted changes to the salmon lining to climate change made waves integrating longer-term predictive landscape,” says Dr. Matt Sloat, a study following the study’s debut, this past modeling for glacier retreat and March, on the cover of Bioscience. keeping pace with how salmon Continued on next page According to co-author Dr. Jonathan Moore, Professor of Aquatic Ecology and Conservation at British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University, the study serves as a reminder that now, more than ever, policies aimed at ensuring the long-term success of Pacific salmon must be forward-thinking. “Glaciers are a real in-your-face example of climate change, so that really captivates people,” says Dr. Moore. “Oftentimes when we think about climate change, it’s about how everything is going to hell. But climate change poses potential short-term benefits in some situations, and it’s good to point that out, too. Across their range, Pacific salmon runs are in decline, and some salmon managers and conservationists are recognizing the need to adjust approaches. Study lead author Kara Pitman, an SFU doctoral candidate, said Retreating glaciers will have a wide range of impacts on downstream salmon habi- the research team’s findings can help tat. While some populations will suffer others may see benefits. Photo Courtesy inform those adjustments. She National Park Service.

September 2020 • Issue No. 97 15 Continued from previous page ages and floods and scores of natural direction. Some more northerly salmon disasters. But human-caused climate systems may benefit from a slight co-author and Science Director at the change is happening fast. We need to uptick in stream temperatures as Wild Salmon Center. “Change is make sure that any productive new meltwater wanes and new habitats inevitable. But it is also the case that habitat isn’t lost through short-sighted appear, says lead author Pitman. But salmon can continue to thrive, development.” toward Pacific salmon’s southern especially if we give them room to As an example of how human range, the study’s authors predict that move into new habitat.” development could preempt any gains over the next 80 years, the coastal Over time, Pitman and her colleagues for salmon, the study points to mines rivers of the Olympic Peninsula will say that salmon can and will find their recently approved in heavily glaciated lose much of the beneficial way to many of the new streams, rivers, regions of British Columbia. Ice retreat summertime refrigeration and flow and lakes created through glacial melt could open new river valleys for regulation afforded by meltwater. and retreat. Their optimism stems in salmon—or new sites for resource “The communities we work with are large part from the fact that wild extraction and development. For really interested in these findings, salmon are proven survivors. In the salmon managers looking to because they’re watching their glaciers study, the authors point to salmon’s long substantively participate in those shrink,” says Dr. Moore. “People who history—dating back to the Miocene, conversations, the study’s fusion of two live close to the land not only see the also characterized by warmer fields of research—large scale glaciers change, they see the rivers temperatures and higher sea levels—of watershed change and salmon change. Up and down the coast, people evolution and adaptation. Wild salmon ecology—offers a way for decision want to know what will happen.” are hardy, endowed with genetic makers to better understand and Predicting what will happen is a communicate how complicated calculation. For salmon, deglaciated areas the benefits and challenges of glacier might affect a retreat are mediated not just by fishery, or even geographic location, but also by factors create the including lakes, watershed size, and conditions for new river valley form. The evolving impacts ones. According to vary further by the phase of retreat for Dr Moore, the each glacier: from short river systems study can help beheaded by glaciers to complete inform efforts to glacier loss. To better assess these protect areas of impacts, the study breaks glacier glacier retreat retreat and its associated watershed that hold promise changes into four phases: ice- as future salmon dominated watersheds, rivers and lakes spawning or fed by ice, high-elevation glaciers with rearing habitat. downstream effects, and watersheds “These are without permanent ice (see sidebar). places that might Despite the complexity of these be the future mediating factors, the study’s authors salmon hotspots, assert that tools exist to help scientists so investing in and fishery managers pivot toward the them now might future, and adapt policies and practices make the most to maximize positive outcomes. These sense,” says Dr. tools include predictive modeling, Moore. “It’s not an establishing more responsive either/or between escapement and fishing targets, and fisheries and prioritizing process-based river development, but restoration (e.g., floodplain there can be reconnection, repairing incised trade-offs. Some channels) over engineering and mining practices infrastructure approaches. are very According to Pitman, Dr. Sloat, and Human-caused climate change is happening rapidly, with environmentally Dr. Moore, the research team is now melting glaciers among the most wide ranging responses. harmful, and there working with climate change and Photo Courtesy National Park Service are things that can glacier retreat models to identify those be done to make future salmon hotspots. The results of diversity that expresses itself in a things safer and more responsible. this work will be the foundation of a range of behaviors, including the There are a lot of ways to decrease second study that will map phased fraction of salmon that “stray”—seek environmental harm.” glacial melt—and potential high-quality out new spawning rivers instead of Precisely where and when glacier new salmon habitat—across a number returning to where they were born. retreat might create future salmon of currently glacierized watershed. “Salmon have been dealing with an habitat is the subject of a forthcoming With that knowledge in hand, says Dr. evolving landscape for a long time,” paper from the team, he says. In the Moore, it will fall on salmon managers says Dr. Sloat. “They’ve outlasted ice meantime, the 2020 study offers some Continued on next page 16 The Osprey Continued from previous page Glaciers and Salmon in Four Acts and policy makers to consider how to quickly evolve escapement goals and sustainable fishing levels as salmon Phase One populations respond to changing conditions. If rapid glacier retreat is In phase one, high glacier coverage means that salmon populations are rela- lowering salmon productivity, tively low. At this stage, the new rivers formed by glacial melt theoretically managers may need to increase do represent new habitat for salmon to colonize. Yet their conditions are often escapement and reduce harvests; by inhospitable, characterized by unstable channels and river banks, high sedi- the same coin, if salmon are colonizing ment loads, frigid temperatures, and a vegetation-free landscape. Lake new habitat, allowing higher moraines often breach and drain, adding a transitory quality to emerging habi- escapement might expedite the tats. Nevertheless, salmon’s wide-ranging life-history traits mean that some establishment of that population in the species can still persist in these frigid, heavily glacierized streams; the study system, for future sustainable harvest. gives the example of Alaska’s Stonefly Creek, colonized by pink salmon fol- “We’re suggesting a longer-term lowing early deglaciation. management strategy,” says Dr. Moore. “The world is changing so fast. Phase Two Investing in the future is an important point.” In phase two, valley floors open up, shaped by natural processes that produce Perhaps the wisest investment that canyons, lakes, and gravel-bedded floodplains. Ice grinding against rock pro- salmon managers can make right now, duces fine silt and glacier flour; those sediment loads, combined with peak- he says, is in proactive habitat water flow in warm weather, can create volatile, braided river channels—risky conservation and process-based river habitat for spawning salmon. The high turbidity of these young rivers also lim- conservation and restoration. The its food resources for rearing salmon, meaning that calmer, warmer, ground- study’s authors caution against water-fed side channels provide critical habitat during this phase of glacial engineering and infrastructure retreat. Case in point: the significantly glacierized Taku River of Alaska and strategies to mitigate for lost glaciers: British Columbia, where juvenile Chinook, sockeye, and coho were found to be for example, current proposals to build largely absent from the mainstem during summer. The presence of a mosaic reservoirs in the fast-deglaciating of habitat is critical for salmon in this phase: from side channels to tributaries European Alps. and lakes. “We’re proposing letting rivers do their thing,” says Dr. Moore. “Climate Phase Three change and glacier retreat is posing a threat, but if we take restoration In phase three, glaciers have retreated to steep terrain—too steep for salmon activity to allow rivers to move back to reach. At this phase, all the system’s available river habitat is ice-free, yet and forth across valleys, that can to glacial melt continues to shape downstream river conditions. Riparian forests some extent take the place of glaciers. are now mature enough to both stabilize stream banks and influence habitats, How we help salmon thrive in a time as wood accumulates in streams, slowing water flows and trapping gravel. of rapid climate change, he says, will Food resources diversify. Dissolved carbon accumulates downstream. Melt- depend in part on our success in water levels are lower, and downstream temperatures are higher. At this phase, preserving and restoring rivers across summertime glacial runoff plays an important role in regulating seasonal the North Pacific. It will take water temperatures. Other research has shown that every 10 percent increase agreement across many jurisdictions; in glacier coverage cools summer water temperatures by about 1°C. The in- collectively, we must commit to being verse—warmer stream temperatures as glacier coverage reduces—has mixed better neighbors; to clean up where we effects on salmon. Higher temperatures can speed up embryo development, can and then step back, giving salmon linked with smaller size among adults. But they can also speed up juvenile space to find their own way. growth rates in freshwater, which might improve survival rates in the ocean. “These actions will likely not only At this phase, a diverse and complex mosaic of habitats supports a wide range come from the top down, from of species and salmon life histories. governments, but from local communities managing their Phase Four resources,” says Dr. Moore. “It will be the watershed councils and Indigenous In phase four, glacier loss is complete, likely resulting in fundamental groups with roles in salmon changes to a watershed’s hydrology and temperatures. Downstream habitat is stewardship and habitat: people who no longer insulated from high temperatures by an influx of glacier meltwater. know what salmon need.” In summer, lower water levels may impede the ability of home-migrating salmon to reach spawning grounds, and higher temperatures could lead to more hypoxic events. An example of this is found in Alaska’s glacier-free Bris- tol Bay, where record summer heat in 2019 resulted in significant fish die-offs Ramona DeNies is Senior Writer for The through suffocation. In winter, meanwhile, precipitation shifts from snow to Wild Salmon Center. Learn more about rainfall could exacerbate flooding risks for juvenile salmon. And because the the organization’s work at very presence of glaciers themselves can influence microclimates, their ab- www.wildsalmoncenter.org. sence may over time contribute to changes in local rainfall and temperatures.

September 2020 • Issue No. 97 17 Reﬂections on Fishing Coldwater Refugia And why more need to be protected

By Bill McMillan

Note: This personal essay from Bill Wind’s mouth remained sufficient for contingency of his fellow flyfishers had McMillan was sent to Bill Bakke in re- the greased line method, but not fast decamped from fishing for Chinook at sponse to Bakke’s note to a small group enough for fishing a waked surface fly. the mouth of California’s Eel and of activists that “no angling sanctuary” That day still stands out, fishing a Salmon rivers with their prams, to the regulations to protect migrating wild greased line with a low-water Lady Car- mouth of the Little White Salmon steelhead in the Columbia River had oline — the long gradually building (Drano Lake) where they were catching been established by Oregon’s Fish and weight of a steelhead moving away with dozens of steelhead each day. “You the fly and then “Fish on!” They were ought to try what we found,” he said. Wildlife Department — after 20 years of not large fish, all A-run specimens of 4- “No one else seems to know about how persistent advocacy — first initiated by 6 pounds, those landed all wild but for good the fly fishing is with all those fish Bakke in 1998, and finally secured via one hatchery. They were not Wind moving in there. Everyone else is permanent rules by The Conservation River fish at all, plainly differing in trolling with gear. We use flies of sizes Angler in 2020. The essay perfectly cap- morphological and phenotypic charac- 14-16 and sinking lines. Great sport.” I tures one angler’s keen observations teristics. Between releases, I would sit just smiled and said I’d heard about that and conscious choice to spend more for a moment and marvel at the last fishing. Nothing more. time caring for wild fish than fishing for light leaving the water from hill on the By the late-1990s, an increasingly them. For that, all should be grateful. large group of fly anglers had con- verged on Drano Lake in their own David Moskowitz, Executive Director, Fishing can lead to a lineup of prams. By that time I had The Conservation Angler gladly moved north, away from the dis- life that progresses couragement of watching the hopes of first fished the mouth of the Lit- the mid-1980s collapse into the reality tle White Salmon while trolling from fishing for carp to of ESA listings resulting from the col- for steelhead with a U-20 Flat- lapse of the Columbia salmon and steel- fish with my father in early Sep- increasingly letting go head during the 1990s. My memory of tember of 1958. It was already the fishing off the mouth of Wind wellI known as a place where upriver of fishing to better River remained pure. I saw it as it bound steelhead congregated. I did not could be at its best. I decided to leave fully understand the reasons for this understand what fish it be, a bright pure memory, as some- until almost 30 years later. I was fish- thing that would all too soon be discov- ing at the mouth of the Wind River in need for their survival. ered by many — exploited and 1985 and saw several pods of 10-30 corrupted — to the detriment of the steelhead laying near the surface in the west side of the river. I came to under- fish, as well as to the fishing — miles calm backwater where the Wind stand that these pods of steelhead, in and miles distant in eastern Washington River current slowly gave way to Bon- the shadows of evening light, were and Oregon and deep into Idaho. neville Pool. 1985-1987 were those gathered there to weather out the hot In mid-September of 2015 my son and years of hope when Columbia returns summer days and nights…and no one I were invited to participate in one of seemed to be en route to a beginning of else knew about them but me (or at the full-basin Wind River snorkel sur- recovery for steelhead, with the largest least so it seemed)… and it was up to me veys that was to occur during a 2-day returns since the 1960s. It had been a to keep them hidden. weekend. I had not seen Wind River for particularly warm July for that era. Several days later I returned to the over 20 years. I could no longer snorkel News was that the mouth of the Big mouth after doing a snorkel survey of survey, my 70-something body too brit- White Salmon and Little White Salmon the upper Wind with several Clark-Ska- tle for such surveys. But I did look for- were fishing well as steelhead sought mania Flyfishers. I didn’t breathe a ward to seeing the full length of Wind out colder tributaries. I knew that the word about my intentions to anyone. River once more. I hiked for the first Wind provided a cold flow into the Co- The return to the river mouth was a vir- time into the Trapper Creek Wilderness lumbia, and thought they might hold tual repeat of the earlier experience — Area, and also hiked into the McClellan there as well. I was not about to be part this time using a low-water Silver Doc- Meadows headwaters of Wind River. I of the crowds trying to cast among the tor. I returned no more. It was enough had not seen it since about 1968. I also densely packed boats at the other for memory and remains so. drove down the winding grade to the rivers. Some years later, while working at a mouth of Wind River where I first Indeed, I was completely alone that fly shop in downtown Portland, a Cali- fished with my father in the fall of late-afternoon in August after fishing fornia angler I had met several years 1956. Just above the Bonneville back- earlier in the day in the Wind before came in. He told me he and a River canyon. The current at the Continued on next page 18 The Osprey Continued from previous page waters, I caught my first adult steelhead on a fly in July 1961. And of course, I waded across the river to see once again the backwater entry where in 1986 I had found the greased line fishing Shangri-La. Back at the White Salmon Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife office, where all snorkelers met the first morning to learn the survey logistics, I was invited to provide a historical background for the Wind River snorkel surveys which I had initiated in August of 1983 with two other willing volunteers – Randy Stetzer and Kerry Burkheimer (yes, that Burkheimer of CF Burkheimer rods). During those surveys, we had counted only 4 steelhead in 4 miles of river surveyed. WDFW personnel became part of our volunteer snorkel surveys in 1985, and in 1987 WDFW took over and expanded it into full-river surveys. I continued to be part of those surveys until moving away in 1996. The Wind River snorkel Tributary streams provide critical coldwater refugia along the Columbia River. surveys remain the basic method by Pictured here is the Underwood navigation and restoration site at the mouth of which it is now managed entirely for the While Salmon River. See article beginning on page 6 for more information. wild steelhead escapement and angling Photo Courtesy Yakama Nation Fisheries strictly regulated — only allowed for a month or so if sufficient escapement and Conservation Advisor with The flows of river and creek mouths in their has been met in autumn as all rivers Conservation Angler) showed me a way vulnerability to wait out conditions for should be managed. out of years of depression after I real- continued upriver migrations. Climate Fishing can lead to a life that ever pro- ized that I could not be a part of the Uni- change at the time was still little con- gresses — from that of fishing for carp versity of Washington Fisheries School, sidered except by a few lead scientists with rod propped in a forked stick in a a program that excluded conservation in that field. By the 1990s it became in- Columbia River slough clogged with and was entirely focused on hatchery creasingly evident. Today there is no paper mill log rafts, to that of fishing production. Bakke showed that fish- excuse for fishery mangers to deny its for steelhead with surface flies, to that eries science can continue to occur at impacts on salmon and steelhead trying of increasingly letting go of fishing to the independent, voluntary, hobby level to adapt to an altered Columbia River — better learn and understand what the with complete purity of one’s own find- leaving it to the angling community to fish I had come to pursue actually ings. It was and remains my vision of voluntarily restrict themselves to pro- needed for their survival. what science should be — something tect the fish of their interests or to oth- Bill Bakke (founder of Oregon Trout, pure outside the deadly clutch of bu- erwise deny doing so. The latter has Native Fish Society and now Science reaucracy and moneyed professional- never worked and is the very reason for ism. the creation of fish and wildlife manag- In 2020, the state of ing agencies. Oregon adopted meas- Washington has yet to accept its man- ures to prohibit angling agement responsibility to protect in cold water refugia in salmon and steelhead increasingly con- the Columbia River, thus fined for long periods in the Columbia’s giving passing steelhead cold water refugia. Oregon has shown and salmon a cool, safe the way with a beginning that Bill resting area as they Bakke well understood and advocated make their way east. As long ago. of this writing, the state of Washington has failed to do similarly, leaving my Wind River memo- Bill McMillan is a fisheries biologist, ries bitter-sweet. There long-time wild fish advocate and had been some intuitive Archivist for The Conservation Angler. Steelhead and salmon thrive in areas of coldwater refu- wisdom at the time to To learn more about The Conservation gia, and so do the angling opportinities. Photo by Bill leave steelhead pro- Angler, visit their website at McMillan tected at the colder out- www.theconservationangler.com. September 2020 • Issue No. 97 19 Don’t Let Politics Drive Salmon and Steelhead into Extinction By Rick Williams and Don Chapman

almon recovery efforts on the fish mitigation. They are willing to rivers remains nearly unoccupied by Columbia and Snake rivers watch wild salmon and steelhead runs adults. Twenty years of research has over the last several decades drop into the dark night of extinction. provided estimates of Middle Fork have tried unsuccessfully to We do not believe Idahoans or Ameri- Salmon River spawner capacity of balance fish recovery with cans in general, agree with this ap- 48,000 fish. In 2019, only 322 Chinook Shydrosystem operation, energy produc- proach. returned to the Middle Fork of the tion, and barge transportation among Restoration of wild fish requires Salmon River. Passage of wild other services. These federal efforts smolt-to-adult returns (SARs) assessed spring/summer Chinook salmon des- represent a kind of ‘salmon triage.’ at Lower Granite Dam of 2 to 4 percent tined for all tributaries upstream from Medically, triage is the sorting and allo- (mean of 4%). That range has been at- Lower Granite Dam in 2019 totaled cation of treatments to patients accord- tained only three times in the last two 4,723 fish. The trajectory of returns of ing to a system of priorities designed to decades. Pristine spawning habitat in wild spring Chinook and steelhead is to- maximize the number of survivors. the Middle and South Fork Salmon wards extinction, not recovery. Issued by the U.S. Army Corps of En- The federal agency “Preferred Alter- gineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and native” is simply a politically driven Bonneville Power, the latest federal The federal agencies triage decision for extinction of wild guidance for these efforts — the 2020 salmon and steelhead in Idaho. version of salmon triage — was re- will do anything to leased in March 2020 as a draft Envi- ronmental Impact Statement (EIS) for protect the four lower Rick Williams is a research associate in Columbia River system operations. the Department of Biology at the Col- Once again, the EIS selects a “Pre- Snake River dams and lege of Idaho, and a scientific adviser to ferred Alternative” that clearly, al- The Osprey. He has worked on Colum- though implicitly, abandons Idaho’s have slanted the bia River salmon recovery for 30 years. iconic ESA-listed wild spring Chinook Don Chapman is a seminal scientist on and steelhead as a lost cause. They are “Preferred Alternatve” Columbia River and Snake River the patient chosen not to survive! salmon and steelhead issues and has The federal agency alternative pro- to do so. worked on their interactions with the tects barge traffic, a sightseeing cruise hydrosystem for more than 40 years. company and slack-water recreation, but ignores the consensus of fishery scientists who overwhelmingly em- brace another alternative that includes breaching of the four dams on the lower Snake River. The “Preferred Alterna- tive” merely extends river management measures that have not worked to restore wild fish over the last 25 years. These failures have been well docu- mented. Wild Snake River salmon and steelhead listed under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act represent less than 2% of predevelopment numbers. Each species contains over two dozen unique sets of genes that resulted from thousands of years of adaptation. Are they worth saving? The federal agencies do not think so, saying “it would be too expensive.” The federal agencies will do anything to protect the four lower Snake River dams and have slanted the “Preferred Removing the four lower Snake River dams is considered key by scientists and Alternative” to do so. They have al- conservationists to successfully recover Snake River salmon and steelhead. ready sunk 17 billion dollars into failed Photo by David G. Rigg, US Army Corps of Engineers 20 The Osprey FISH WATCH — WILD FISH NEWS, ISSUES AND INITIATIVES

Oregon Legislators Pass Major • Requires the development of a Habitat Conservation Plan for protecting native fish and wildlife on non-federal tim- Forestry Reform Law ber lands.

Forestry practices on non-federal timberlands in Oregon Two Dams Removed in Washington State will see significant improvement as the result of the passage of Senate Bill 1602, the Forest Aerial Spray Bill, on June 26, Over the course of this summer, two dams in Washington 2020, by the Oregon State Legislature. The bill sets the stage State were removed, opening up 53 miles of habitat to salmon for forestry reforms along with a directive that the state es- and steelhead. tablish a mediation process to create comprehensive protec- With work beginning on June 13, 2020, the Middle Fork tions for salmon streams on private and state timberlands. Nooksack Dam, on the Middle Fork Nooksack River, has been The bill is a result of months of negotiations between 13 con- demolished, opening 16 miles of previously inaccessible up- servation organizations and 13 timber companies. stream fish habitat. The new law provides for larger buffers around homes, schools, small streams and drinking water intakes during aerial spraying operations. It allows people in areas scheduled for aerial spraying to be notified in advance, and sets up larger buffers for many salmon streams in the Rogue- Siskiyou region.

The new law’s key components include:

• Requiring 50-foot buffer zones on all tributary and headwater streams where aerial spraying is prohibited.

• Expands no-spray buffer zones to 75 feet on fish-bearing streams and streams that provide drinking water.

• Spraying is prohibited for 300 feet around drinking water intakes.

Removal of the Middle Fork Nooksack Dam has opened 16 • Expands no-spray zones around homes and schools from miles of previously inaccessible habitat to salmon and steel- 60 feet to 300 feet. head. Photo by April McEwen/American Rivers

• Requires 24-hour advance notice to people living in areas scheduled to be sprayed. Located in northwestern Washington and into British Co- lumbia, the Nooksack River watershed consists of the North • Improves the accuracy of timber spraying notifications Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork. It encompasses more than and allows other state agencies to access files for research 830 square miles and has over 1,000 miles of streams. purposes. The dam was constructed in 1961 to provide drinking water for the city of Bellingham. However, it did not have a fish ladder, and blocked upstream passage for its native populations of bull trout, spring Chinook salmon and steelhead, all now listed as Threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Removing the Middle Fork Nooksack Dam was also a high priority for NOAA Fisheries to help boost spring Chinook populations to benefit declining numbers of South- ern Resident orcas. It is estimated that with the dam gone, Chinook salmon populations in the Nooksack River system should eventually increase by 30 percent. In addition to removing the dam, the intake for providing drinking water is being relocated to negate the need for a dam, channel restoration is planned and diversions will be screened to keep fish from straying. This was a cooperative project of the City of Bellingham, American Rivers, Nooksack Tribe, Lummi Nation and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The recently-passed Forest Aerial Spray Bill will better pro- Also this summer, the Pilchuck Dam, on the Pilchuck River, tect Oregon salmon and steelhead streams. Photo by Jim a tributary of the Snohomish River, was removed, which Yuskavitch Continued on next page September 2020 • Issue No. 97 21 Continued from previous page recommendation by the end of September 2020 for the Gov- ernor and Washington State Legislature to consider in early opens 37 miles of upstream river habitat to salmon and steel- 2021. head. Located near Granite Falls, the Pilchuck Dam was built in Fish Cannon Operational at Big Bar Slide 1912 and was owned by the City of Snohomish. The dam’s original purpose was to supply drinking water to the city. Eventually the City of Snohomish switched to the Sultan Fisheries managers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada River for its drinking water, which is both a more reliable (DFO) have been at work addressing the Big Bar landslide and less expensive source. In addition, the Pilchuk Dam was on a remote stretch of the Fraser River in British Columbia. beginning to require frequent, expensive maintenance with- The slide was discovered in June 2019, which dumped some out providing any benefit to the city. The new habitat now available on the upper river consists of much higher quality fish habitat than the reach below the dam. In addition, removing the Pilchuck Dam was a priority for the Southern Resident Orca Task Force to help increase runs of spring Chinook salmon.

Chehalis Dam Plan Put on Hold

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has paused work on an En- vironmental Impact Statement until January 2021 for a proposed dam on the Chehalis River asking instead that alternative solutions for flood control be investigated. The Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District has proposed construction of a 250-foot tall dam and temporary reservoir on the upper Chehalis River, near Pe Ell, Washing-

Passage portal construction at the Big Bar landslide site, Fraser River. Photo Courtesy Peter Kiewit Sons, ULC/Province of British Columbia. Attribution Non-Comer- cial 2.0 Generic License Converted to black and white

75,000 cubic meters of boulders and other debris into the river and formed a five-meter waterfall that created a significant obstacle to upstream migrating salmon. The slide is located about 375 kilometers from the river’s mouth. Unfor- tunately, some salmon spawning runs had been ongoing for at least a month before the slide was discovered, causing a some mortality. DFO staff moved tens of thousands of fish around the blockage by truck and helicopter after the slide was discovered. This summer, DFO constructed a fish ladder at the slide in conjunction with a pneumatic pump system consisting of six 160-meter tubes. The fish are attracted to the tubes, which Artist rendition of the proposed 250-foot-tall flood control are suspended along the canyon, by the fish ladder. Upon en- dam on the Chehalis River in Washington. Illustration Cour- tering the tubes, the fish are “shot” through the tubes into tesy Washington Department of Ecology the river above the slide. The contraption, manufactured by a Seattle company, has been dubbed “the fish cannon.” ton. The purpose of the development is to reduce flooding In addition, the Canadian government is contracting to have damage, which is sometimes severe enough to close Inter- the slide cleared at a cost of more than $52 million. state 5, by storing floodwater in the reservoir, then slowly releasing it downstream. While the proposal would include fish passage facilities, the project has been opposed by con- Pebble Mine Surprise Development servationists, wild fish advocates and Native American tribes due to potential damage to wild salmon and steelhead This summer, the Environmental Protection Agency an- populations, especially wild spring Chinook, and water qual- nounced the results of its environmental review process for ity. the proposed Pebble Mine at Alaska’s Bristol Bay by North- Governor Inslee is requesting a process and timeline for ern Dynasty that the mine would have no serious environ- developing and evaluating an alternative to reducing flood mental impacts. Then, in early September, in a move that damage in the basin without constructing a dam; continue to came as a great surprise to conservationists and wild fish ad- evaluate concerns about the flood reduction project’s poten- vocates, the EPA notified Northern Dynasty that it now must tial negative impacts and develop strategies to avoid, mini- mize or mitigate for these impacts and; make a Continued on next page

22 The Osprey Continued from previous page first determine how to mitigate for “all direct and indirect” impacts to Bristol Bay watershed rivers. The 20-square-mile mining complex proposed for development on land owned by the State of Alaska would extract cop- per, gold and molybdenum. The open pit mine would be over a mile long and up to 1,700 feet deep. The containment pond would be 10 square miles in size and hold up to 10 billion tons of mining waste. The commercial salmon fishery in Bristol Bay is valued at $1.5 billion and provides 14,000 jobs, along with supporting a major recreational fishery of about 30,000 fishing trips annually. The Obama Administration vetoed the project in 2014 by invoking the federal government’s authority under the Clean Water Act. In 2018, the Trump Administration reversed that decision and put the mine on a fast-track environmental re- Beavers are an important keystone species that improve ri- view. Now, unexpectedly, another monkey wrench has been parian habitat. Photo by Kent Miller, National Park Service thrown into Northern Dynasty’s plans. However, mining interests have not given up and are ex- The groups note that federal and state agencies, watershed pected to continue to push for the project’s development. councils, utility companies, conservation groups, and private landowners spend countless hours and millions of dollars every year to restore Oregon’s waterways, mimicking the ODFW Petitioned to End Beaver natural behavior of beavers and say that ODFW’s beaver Trapping on Federal Lands in Oregon trapping regulations are outdated and directly undermine the extensive, ongoing restoration of water resources and efforts to recover imperiled salmon populations. Eight conservation groups have filed a petition asking the Beavers are a keystone species and offer widely recognized Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to permanently close ecological, economic, and social benefits, the petition notes. commercial and recreational beaver trapping and hunting on Beaver-created and maintained habitat improves water qual- the state’s federally managed public lands and the waters ity, decreases the impacts of floods, and restores natural that flow through them. Beavers are a furbearing species and water flows. This benefits humans and a wide variety of fish can currently be legally trapped in Oregon. and wildlife, including highly endangered coho salmon. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission discussed this The conservation groups argue that trapping has signifi- request in June as part of its review of the state’s furbearer cant negative effects on beaver populations and their corre- regulations. But it was rejected then as being outside the sponding social, economic and ecological benefits. The scope of that rulemaking notice. The current petition initi- petition’s requested changes wouldn’t affect beaver trapping ates a new rulemaking process for the Commission’s consid- elsewhere but would protect beaver populations on federally eration. managed public lands in Oregon. SUPPORT THE OSPREY To receive The Osprey three times per year, January, May and September, please ﬁll out Yes, I will help protect wild salmon and steelhead this coupon with your check made out to The Osprey - The Conservation Angler and ❏ $15 Basic Donation/Subscription mail to: The Osprey/The Conservation Angler ❏ $25 Dedicated Angler Level 4034 NE Davis Street ❏ $50 For Future Generations of Anglers Portland, OR 97232 ❏ $100 So There Will Always Be Wild Fish Or donate at: www.theconservationangler.org ❏ $ Other

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September 2020 • Issue No. 97 23 THE OSPREY

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