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RRipplesipples Fall 2005 in the Grande Ronde R I V E R S U N I T I N G N E I G H B O R S . Q U A R T E R L Y N E W S F R O M T H E G R A N D E R O N D E M O D E L W A T E R S H E D The first question one may ask is “Why is this Grande Ronde Basin fisheries managers feel it Catching necessary?” The second might be “What is an is imperative that the endemic fish stocks in the springspring endemic stock?” The answer to the second ques- Grande Ronde are maintained to preserve op- tion might help answer the first. A fish stock is tions for use of these stocks in future artificial defined as “a part of a fish population usually propagation programs and to rebuild the Grande with a particular migration pattern, specific Ronde chinook populations. chinookchinook spawning grounds, and subject to a distinct fish- ery.” An endemic stock is defined as “native to nake River spring chinook populations or limited to a specific region.” Maintaining a S have declined in both the Grande Ronde on the run native stock preserves the genetics of a popula- River Basin and in the entire Snake River Basin, by Lyle Kuchenbecker, GRMW tion that has evolved over many generations. A many to the point of extinction. The Grande native stock has unique characteristics that en- Ronde River Basin historically supported large he restoration of spring chinook in the able it to survive over the long term under con- populations of spring and fall chinook. The de- T Grande Ronde Basin involves both habi- ditions unique to a particular stream system. cline of chinook salmon was a result of the tat restoration and supplementation programs. Habitat restoration often takes years, even de- cades, to produce noticeable benefits. In the short term, supplementation programs are vital to main- taining the long-term viability of the chinook populations. What is supplementation? It is the release and management of artificially propagated fish in streams with the intent to increase or es- tablish wild fish populations while minimizing associated genetic and ecological risks. The Grande Ronde Basin Endemic Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation Program was initiated in 1995 to prevent the extinction of endemic spring chinook stocks in the Grande Ronde Basin. It is a cooperative effort among the Grande Ronde Basin fish co-managers – the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), the Nez Perce Tribe, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A 5-year-old spring chinook attempts to jump the weir (metal pickets blocking fish passage) at the upper Grande Ronde adult collection facility during the first year of collection at the site. Weir design has been modified to encourage fish to enter the trap instead of jumping over it. CTUIR combined effects of construction and operation mentation program was implemented in three Perce Tribe operates the facilities on the Lostine of mainstem Columbia and Snake River hydro- Grande Ronde River tributaries – the Lostine, River. ODFW also operates a similar facility on electric facilities, overfishing, and loss and degra- the upper Grande Ronde, and Catherine Creek. the Imnaha River. dation of critical spawning and rearing habitat. The supplementation program employs two Hatcheries were built in Oregon, Washington broodstock strategies utilizing captive and con- wo essential components of the Grande and Idaho under the Lower Snake River Com- ventional brood sources. The “captive” brood- T Ronde Endemic Spring Chinook Salmon pensation Plan (LSRCP) to compensate for stock program involves collecting juvenile fish Supplementation Program are the construction losses of anadromous salmonids due to the con- (parr) in headwater tributaries and raising them of (1) facilities to trap adults and (2) facilities to struction and operation of the four lower Snake in captivity for their entire life cycle. Upon ma- acclimate juveniles. Adult trapping required the River dams (Ice Harbor 1961, Little Goose turity, the adults are spawned (the mixing of the installation of channel-spanning weirs to collect 1970, Lower Granite 1975, and Lower Monu- sperm of a male fish and the eggs of a female adult chinook. Initially, temporary weirs were mental 1969). Lookingglass Fish Hatchery on fish), the eggs hatch, and the resulting juveniles installed in 1997 in Catherine Creek just above Lookingglass Creek, a tributary of the Grande (smolts) are released back into their natal the city of Union, in the upper Grande Ronde Ronde River, was completed under the LSRCP streams. Smolts then migrate to the ocean and River below Vey Meadows, and in the Lostine in 1982, and has served as the main incubation return three, four or five years later. The “con- River about one mile upstream from the mouth and rearing site for chinook salmon used in ventional” broodstock program involves trapping for the collection of adult broodstock for the supplementation programs throughout Oregon’s adult fish during their upstream migration, spawn- Grande Ronde and Imnaha rivers. Despite these ing those fish and then releasing the first genera- hatchery programs, natural spring chinook tion directly into their natal streams to migrate to populations continued to decline, resulting in the ocean and return. the National Marine Fisheries Service listing The captive broodstock program began in Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon as 1995 with the collection of spring chinook parr “threatened” under the federal Endangered Spe- from the three tributary streams. The conven- cies Act on April 22, 1992. tional broodstock component of the program Continuing poor returns (escapement levels) began in 1997 with the collection of natural of adult chinook to the Grande Ronde and de- adults returning to the tributaries. The Confed- clining population trends indicated that Grande erated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Ronde River Basin native spring chinook operate the facilities located on Catherine Creek salmon were in imminent danger of extinction. and the upper Grande Ronde River. The Nez Although Lookingglass Hatchery was available CTUIR as the primary production facility for spring chinook programs in the Grande Ronde Basin, there were never any adult or juvenile fish satel- lite facilities developed in the tributary streams to be supplemented. These continuing trends led fisheries co-managers to initiate the Grande Ronde Endemic Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation Program in 1995. The supple- Top: The Catherine Creek adult collection facility uses a hydraulically operated weir to block upstream passage of migrating adult chinook. Fish enter a concrete collection facility along the near streambank and are then processed by CTUIR personnel. A proportion of the fish are transported to Lookingglass Hatchery and incorporated into the captive or conventional broodstock programs. The remainder are allowed to continue their migration upstream to spawn naturally. Right: Mike McLean, CTUIR Project Leader- Production/Management, holds a 5-year-old Catherine Creek spring chinook trapped at the Catherine Creek adult collection facility, just upstream from Union. CTUIR 2 conventional component of the program. Later The Lostine River adult collection facility is print to the stream where they will be released. more permanent facilities were installed. located about one mile upstream from the Juvenile fish acclimation facilities were built in The Catherine Creek adult collection facility confluence with the Wallowa River. The facility 2000 for smolts produced by the captive and is located approximately two miles upstream is similar to the one on the Grande Ronde River. conventional broodstock programs. The facili- from Union. The facility consists of a hydrauli- ties are located above the adult collection sites cally operated weir that is attached to a concrete he weirs enable co-managers to collect all on each of the three streams. channel-spanning wall. Trapping of adult spring T adult migrants in each of the streams. Acclimation facilities vary with each site, but chinook salmon is accomplished by directing Broodstock collection at the facilities is based generally consist of raceways (tanks), pumps or adults into an off-channel trap through a one- on a sliding scale developed by the co-manag- gravity-feed pipes to provide stream water, and way opening (fyke) into a holding area that is ers. The sliding scale was developed to allow outlet pipes to return water to the stream and 25 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 6 feet deep. for increases and decreases in the number of re- release smolts. Fish are transported to the accli- The upper Grande Ronde adult collection fa- turning naturally produced and hatchery-pro- mation facilities from Lookingglass Hatchery cility is located along the Grande Ronde River duced fish, and to provide a basin-specific ap- by ODFW personnel in tanker trucks. The accli- Road 51, approximately 10 miles above the proach to broodstock and natural spawner man- mation period usually runs from the last week Starkey Store. The facility consists of a floating agement. The scale is based on pre-season of February to mid-April. The fish are fed once weir that spans the entire stream, effectively population estimates, and regulates the percent- per day at a variable rate depending on water blocking upstream passage. Trapping adult sum- age of natural and hatchery broodstock to be temperatures. Passive integrated transponder mer steelhead and spring chinook salmon is ac- retained and hatchery/wild ratios above the (PIT) tags are implanted into a proportion of the complished by directing adults into a trapbox weir. For example, in 2002 in Catherine Creek, fish to track downstream migration as well as (fyke opening) located in the main channel near one in every five wild adult chinook were trans- their return from the ocean as adults.