8.4.2 John Day River Steelhead

John Day River steelhead are currently managed entirely as an wild populations. No hatchery production or supplementation occurs within the John Day River Basin.

Program History

The John Day River has historically been managed for wild summer steelhead (ODFW 1990). No records exist regarding the intended purpose for releases of hatchery steelhead prior to 1966. Hatchery steelhead released between 1966 and 1969 were for experimental use only and were not meant for production purposes (ODFW 1990, Olsen et al 1994). Unfortunately, no records or documentation are available regarding the outcome of the claimed experiments.

Hatchery releases of summer and winter run steelhead have occurred historically in the John Day River basin between 1925 and 1969 (Table 8-41). Rainbow trout make up the majority of all hatchery fish species released into the John Day basin (Table 8-42). The mean annual stocking rate of hatchery O. mykiss in the John Day basin between 1925 and 1997 was 71,402 fish and ranged between 5,000 and 612,668 fish. Concern over competition for resources with wild stocks and potential hybridization with wild stocks ended all hatchery stocking of O. mykiss in rivers and streams of the John Day River basin in 1997. Stocking of steelhead ended in the John Day River basin in 1969.

Table 8-41. Year, run (W-winter, S-summer, U-unknown), number, tributary, and subbasin of release for all known hatchery steelhead released into the John Day River Basin from 1925 - 1969.

Year Run Number Tributary Subbasin 1925 U 16,080 Canyon Creek Upper Mainstem 1941 U 8,760 Canyon Creek Upper Mainstem 1947 U 7,600 Rock Creek Lower Mainstem 1947 U 7,520 Thirtymile Creek Lower Mainstem 1962 W 200,000 Camas Creek North Fork 1962 W 375,000 Granite Creek North Fork 1963 U 10,667 Mainstem Mainstem 1964 W 10,198 Upper Mainstem Upper Mainstem 1965 W 27,860 South Fork South Fork 1966 S 55,518 Middle Fork Middle Fork 1967 S 98,090 Upper Mainstem Upper Mainstem 1967 S 71,500 Camas Creek North Fork 1969 S 22,375 Bridge Creek Middle Fork Table 8-42. Summary of all known stocking records for hatchery salmonids released into the John Day River Basin from 1925-1997. Species include rainbow trout (RbT), steelhead of unknown run (Sthd), winter steelhead (StW), summer steelhead (StS), brook trout (BkT), and west slope cutthroat trout (WcT).

Year RbT Sthd StW StS Coho BkT WcT Total releases 1925 77,000 16,080 25,000 118,080 1926 25,680 45,000 42,745 113,425 1927 6,000 6,000 1928 43,000 27,530 70,530 1929 29,3000 293,000 1930 50,000 50,000 1931 5,000 10,000 15,000 1932 0 1933 70,000 8,050 78,050 1934 31,000 31,000 1935 0 1936 0 1937 0 1938 0 1939 0 1940 92,206 50,268 142,474 1941 66,930 8,760 75,690 1942 36,632 36,632 1943 16,763 16,763 1944 31,050 31,050 1945 16,080 16,080 1946 36,960 36,960 1947 254,025 15,120 269,145 1948 66,025 66,025 1949 10,290 10,290 1950 52,343 52,343 1951 14,560 14,560 1952 21,808 21,808 1953 24,376 24,376 1954 36,946 36,946 1955 58,783 58,783 1956 57,297 57,297 1957 43,206 43,206 1958 71,272 71,272 1959 41,727 41,727 1960 41,498 41,498 1961 29,980 29,980 1962 37,668 57,5000 612,668 1963 38,931 10,667 49,598 1964 17,508 10,200 27,708 1965 72,598 27,860 199 100,657 1966 17,4305 55,518 325,793 59,425 615,041 1967 141,210 170,500 311,710 1968 24,493 24,493 1969 325,185 22,375 347,560 1970 184,227 184,227 Table 8-42 continued. Summary of all known stocking records for hatchery salmonids released into the John Day River Basin from 1925-1997. Species include rainbow trout (RbT), steelhead of unknown run (Sthd), winter steelhead (StW), summer steelhead (StS), brook trout (BkT), and west slope cutthroat trout (WcT).

Year RbT Sthd StW StS Coho BkT WcT Total releases 1971 31,547 31,547 1972 60,093 60,093 1973 141,758 141,758 1974 84,809 84,809 1975 87,850 87,850 1976 84,121 84,121 1977 85,173 85,173 1978 110,521 110,521 1979 148,294 148,294 1980 95,565 95,565 1981 87,480 87,480 1982 106,053 106,053 1983 111,964 111,964 1984 46,567 46,567 1985 57,715 57,715 1986 64,226 64,226 1987 8,997 8,997 1988 43,572 43,572 1989 29,369 29,369 1990 32,987 32,987 1991 21,036 21,036 1992 21,043 21,043 1993 8,004 8,004 1994 22,525 22,525 1995 7,993 7,993 1996 6,988 6,988 1997 6,479 6,479

Run Composition

Hatchery steelhead coded wire tag (CWT) recoveries in the basin from 1986 to 2003 (378 recoveries) identify 18 separate hatcheries as the source of strays. The majority of CWT recoveries were located downstream of Tumwater Falls in the John Day Arm (316 recoveries) and may not represent fish that strayed and spawned within the John Day River basin. Data indicates Dworshak National Hatchery as the predominate source of hatchery steelhead strays in this portion of the basin (97 CWT recoveries; 31%). Between Tumwater Falls and Cottonwood Bridge (rm 40) fifty-five hatchery CWT recoveries have been reported with many recoveries (26 CWT recoveries; 47%) in this area identifying Irrigon Hatchery (fish released in the Grande Ronde or Imnaha River basins) as the source of strays. Limited information is available upstream of Cottonwood Bridge with only seven hatchery CWT recoveries reported. Irrigon hatchery was the source of two hatchery steelhead strays in this area. It should be noted that the prevalence of strays in the John Day River from any particular hatchery stock is dependent on both the stray rate of that stock and the number of individuals tagged from the stock. Different hatchery stocks are not tagged at the same rate.

Table 8-43. Hatchery source, stock, number recovered, recovery period, and release agency for hatchery steelhead with coded wire tags in the John Day River ABV ARM (Tumwater Falls upstream to Cottonwood Bridge) from 1996-2003. Data were compiled from the Pacific States Marine Fishery Commission Regional Mark Information System.

Number Release Recovery Period Hatchery Source Stock Recovered Agency Irrigon Wallowa R., Imnaha R. & tributaries 25 10/10 - 05/07 ODFW Cottonwood Creek Pond Wallowa R. 10 10/11 - 05/23 WDFW Pahsimeroi R. 'A' run, Dworshak 'B' Magic Valley run, 5 10/27 - 01/31 IDFG East Fork Salmon R. 'B' run Pahsimeroi R. 'A' run, Hells Canyon Niagara Springs ‘A’ run 5 10/20 - 01/24 IDFG Clearwater Dworshak 'B' run 2 01/09 - 02/10 IDFG Dworshak National Dworshak 'B' run 2 10/17 - 02/09 FWS Umatilla Umatilla R. 2 10/09 - 11/11 ODFW

Table 8-44. Hatchery source, release location, recovery location, number recovered, and recovery year for hatchery steelhead with coded wire tags in the John Day River above Cottonwood Bridge (rkm 64) from 1988-2003. Data were compiled from archives in the John Day Field Office and Wilson et al. (2004).

Number Recovery Hatchery Source Release Location Recovery Location Recovered Year Big Canyon Unknown Lower North Fork 1 1994 Spring Creek of Wallowa R., Irrigon OR Kahler Creek, Lower Mainstem 1 2003 Big Canyon Creek of Service Creek, Lower Irrigon Wallowa R., OR Mainstem 1 2003 Cottonwood Creek Service Creek, Lower Pond Grande Ronde R., OR Mainstem 1 2003 Unknown Service Creek, Lower Washington Hatchery Unknown Mainstem 1 2003 Cottonwood Bridge to Little Upper Columbia Unknown Ferry Canyon 1 1988 Wallowa Unknown Lower North Fork 1 1992 Table 8-45. Hatchery source, recovery year, number recovered, and recovery location of hatchery steelhead with coded wire tags in the John Day River Basin. Data were compiled from archives in the John Day Field Office.

Hatchery Recovery Number Recovered Recovery Location Source Year Rounde Butte 1986 1 Tumwater Falls to Cottonwood Bridge Irrigon 1996 1 Tumwater Falls to Cottonwood Bridge Hells Canyon 1996 1 Tumwater Falls to Cottonwood Bridge Little Sheep 1996 1 Tumwater Falls to Cottonwood Bridge Upper Columbia 1988 1 Cottonwood Bridge to Little Ferry Canyon Wallowa 1992 1 Lower North Fork Big Canyon 1994 1 Lower North Fork

Broodstock Source, Collection and Spawning

No hatchery releases of steelhead have occurred in the John Day River since 1969. There is no broodstock collection in the basin.

Distribution of Hatchery and Natural Adults

Most observations of hatchery adults in the John Day have occurred in the Lower Mainstem, below the confluence with the North Fork (Wiley et al. 2004). However, several reports have noted observations of fin-clipped fish in the North Fork and South Fork drainages. These observations come from both spawning ground surveys and creel programs.

Claire and Gray (1992a) reported 17 (23%) adipose fin clipped steelhead of 75 caught upstream of Kimberly (rkm 296) during the 1992 steelhead fishery. Within the 1992 Zone 3 summer steelhead fishery (Kimberly to Indian Creek), 16% (6 of 37) of the fish reported by anglers were of hatchery origin (Claire and Gray 1992a). Within the 1992 lower North Fork summer steelhead fishery, 29% (11 of 37 reported) of steelhead reported by anglers were of hatchery origin. Claire and Gray (1992a) did not provide an explanation for the high stray rates observed during the 1992 fishery. Wilson et al. (2001) reported observing thirteen adipose fin-clipped adult summer steelhead (46%, both live and as carcasses) of twenty-eight steelhead observed while seining for smolts in the Mainstem John Day River between Kimberly (rkm 298) and Spray (rkm 274).

Wiley et al. (2004) observed 50, live adult steelhead and sampled five carcasses on spawner surveys conducted during 2004. Of the ten sites where live fish were observed they were able to identify 34 fish as hatchery or wild at six of those sites based upon the presence (hatchery) or absence (wild) of an adipose fin clip (fin mark). Hatchery steelhead (13 fish) comprised 38% of live fish observations and were found at two of the six sites where identifications could be made. The majority of live hatchery steelhead observed (12 fish; 92%) and hatchery carcasses sampled (3 fish; 100%) during spawner surveys came from one stream (Service Creek) located in the Lower Mainstem at rkm 245. An additional live hatchery steelhead was also observed in the Lower Mainstem in Rock Creek. They estimated 3,726 wild and 2,284 hatchery steelhead were present during the spawning season based upon the wild:hatchery ratio of live fish observed during spawner surveys.

Similarity Between Hatchery-Origin and Natural-Origin Fish

Wiley et al. (2004) have observed fin-clipped adults paired with wild adults on redds during 2004. Others have also observed hatchery origin fish paired with wild fish during spawning (Wilson et al. 2004).

Smolt releases and acclimation sites No hatchery releases of steelhead have occurred in the John Day River since 1969.

Juvenile migration timing Natural and hatchery steelhead show similar trends in outmigration timing,

Residualism No hatchery releases of steelhead have occurred in the John Day River since 1969.

Other fish releases in the John Day Subbasin Besides summer steelhead, hatchery salmonid species released into the John Day River Basin included coho salmon, brook trout, and west slope cutthroat trout (Table 8-42). Data regarding the stocking of lakes and ponds is not included.

Program Performance

No hatchery releases of steelhead have occurred in the John Day River since 1969.

Potential Limiting Factors Influencing Viability

Historically, the John Day River basin has been managed exclusively for wild steelhead and low hatchery fractions have been reported (4% - 8%; ODFW 1990). In recent years, however, with additional observations, data indicates that there may be a stronger hatchery influence in the basin than once reported. Observations of pairings between hatchery and wild fish on spawning grounds indicates introgression. No evidence is available for any negative impacts resulting from interactions between hatchery and natural steelhead in the John Day River Basin.