Vital Role of the Willamette River for Chinook Salmon
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Between the Gravel and the Sea: Vital Role of the Willamette River for Chinook Salmon “The Willamette River from a Mountain” Paul Kane, 1847 Willamette Riverkeepers Kirk Schroeder Luke Whitman Brian Cannon Paul Olmsted Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife USFWS – Sport Fish Restoration Funds Army Corps of Engineers Willamette Basin: Columbia River Largest watershed in Oregon 70% of Oregon Portland population Willamette Falls Largest urban areas in Oregon Dams block access to upper reaches of Salem Spring Chinook North Santiam River rivers Albany Corvallis South Santiam River Spring Chinook ‘threatened” species 1999 Harrisburg Recovery Plan 2011 Eugene-Springfield Between the Gravel and the Sea Building Your Conceptual Model I. Willamette as II. Willamette River within Migration Corridor Connected Landscape Reductionist Reservoir Complexity releases Dams control River Life History Expression Spawning Hatcheries control Fish Area Seasonal habitats Production Flows & Temperature Single Life History Access to Floodplains Legacy of Pollution Willamette Cold Water Refugia River = Bad Neighborhood River Restoring Channel Complexity & Connectivity Flow Management = Flushing Flows Columbia River Pacific Ocean Life History Diversity Wild Juvenile Chinook in McKenzie at Leaburg Dam Migration from Spawning Areas Migration of Wild Juvenile Chinook past Willamette Falls Tagged at Leaburg Dam in fall or spring Most Fall migrants overwinter in Willamette Spring migrants spend < 1 month – 3 months in Willamette Fry Dispersal & Rearing Santiam basin – early migration Influence of dams McKenzie – later migration Colder water Migration to lower Willamette & Columbia Fry dispersed throughout Willamette by late February to early March Most migrate as smolts in June & July March 2011 (37 – 72 mm) Long Distance Fry Dispersal – What’s up with that? Hypothesis: Adaptation to access productive rearing habitat in Willamette Fall Chinook absent upstream of Willamette Falls Visualization of upper Willamette River downstream of McKenzie confluence - 1850 Hulse et al. 2004. Ecological Applications 14: 325–341 Length of spring Chinook salmon captured as fry ( ) or juveniles ( ) Willamette and upper McKenzie rivers 2012 Willamette Juvenile Chinook Diversity (Bet-Hedging) Spawning Tributary Precocial Male Fall Spring Fry Fingerling 2-year Migrant Migrant Lower Tributary & Willamette River Winter-Spring Spring-Summer Summer Fall-Winter Spring Non-natal Streams Fall Fry Subyearling Feb- Migrant May Spring Migrant Mar- May- Jun- Oct- Nov- Feb- Jan- ? (Aug-Sep) Jun Jun Jul Dec Jan Apr Columbia River May- Mar- Apr- Apr- Jul May May Jun Ocean Life History Diversity – Spreading the Risks Spawning Fry Migration Subyearling Dave Herasimtschuk © FI Willamette Rearing Yearling Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Poor freshwater conditions Subyearling Yearling Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Poor ocean conditions Brian Franklin Life History Diversity Provides Stability to Populations Proportion of returning adult Chinook that migrated as subyearling or yearling smolts 1998 – 2006 brood years McKenzie North Santiam South Santiam Clackamas 1998 2000 2003 2005 McKenzie River Return of Wild Spring Chinook Salmon CV = 48% CV = 55% Temperature Density Flow Floods WillametteIncubation ChinookSpawners Challenge Incubation or Model TimingThis! Rearing Fry Rearing Magnitude Migration Subyearlings Migration Connectivity Fry Movers Stayers Jan–Jun Apr–Jul Oct–Dec Feb–May Upper Willamette Upper Willamette Mid Willamette Autumn/Winter of Mid Willamette first year Summer of first year Spring of second year Apr–Jul Feb–Jun Subyearling Smolt Yearling Dynamic Rivers provide Diverse Habitats that support Diverse Life Histories Pools for larger fish Refuge areas during floods Productive riffles Narrow channels with shade New gravel bars & Small side channels islands Cold water pockets Shallow edges for fry Willamette River downstream of McKenzie confluence – Green Island David Hulse, U of O, Landscape Architecture & River Design Group Measuring Progress—Biological & Social Connections Life History Diversity Channel complexity Water Quality Native Species Richness Working Farms & Conservation Connect People to River Historic Trajectory Future Trajectory? Historical Willamette River Channel Change - S. Gregory, L. Ashkenas, D. Oetter, P. Minear, K. Wildman In honor of Jim Sedell (1944 – 2012) Within the time scale of a person’s lifetime and the lifetimes of his or her children and grandchildren, entire ecosystems change. Ironically, however, it is within this time scale that people are most blind to changes occurring around them. .