Sandy River Fisheries Management Update

Todd Alsbury District Fish Biologist (Cascade Unit) Presentaon Outline

• Remembering Marmot Dam • Sandy River Populaon Esmates • Sandy Spring Chinook Stray Control Program • Willamee Spring Chinook 2015

Marmot Dam Little Sandy Dam

• Marmot Dam removed during the summer of 2007 (complete in October) • Little Sandy Dam removed in 2008 Pre-dam removal Post-dam removal 10-19-07 10-21-07

View upstream of Post-dam removal footbridge 12-11-07 Marmot Dam

• The former Marmot Dam caused delay of upstream migrants (stress) and diversion of juveniles ( StW fry in parcular) • The Marmot Acclimaon pond was developed to enhance fisheries at the base of and below the dam • The dam and associated fish ladder provided the ability to count, sort, and remove hatchery fish • The removal of Marmot reduced the ability to effecvely manage hatchery fish that “stray” from their point of release • No issues with winter/summer steelhead and coho compared to spring Chinook with regard to “stray” Sandy Winter Steelhead

• Increasing trend in abundance over the past 5 years – >4,500 wild adults in 2015 • Very popular hatchery StW program with limited hatchery influence in the wild – 3,000-4,000 hatchery adults return annually – Proporon of hatchery origin spawners (pHOS) <10% and typically <5% • Small reintroduced populaon upstream of Sandy Hatchery beginning to contribute Sandy Winter Steelhead 5,000 100%

4,500 90%

4,000 80%

3,500 70%

3,000 60%

2,500 50% StW

# of Adults % Hatchery 2,000 40%

1,500 30%

1,000 20%

500 10%

0 0% 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Winter Steelhead Harvest 2003-2013 7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013

Hood River Clackamas River Sandy River Wilson River Siletz River N Fk Nehalem Sandy Coho

• Largest return of wild adults in over 15 years in 2014 – 5,942 adults (1,200 ave. over 10 previous years) – Poor return in 2015 (data not available) • Hatchery returns ~5,000 annually – Historically >12,000 adults per year prior to program reducon in 2011 – Sport fishery not what it used to be… • Reintroducon program upstream of Sandy Hatchery contribung significantly to producon – Smolt trap counts confirm Sandy Coho 7000 60%

6000 50%

5000 40%

4000

30% Co

#of Adults 3000 % Hatchery

20% 2000

10% 1000

0 0% 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Sandy Spring Chinook

• Increasing trend in abundance with over 1,500 adults 6 of the last 10 years (average 1,800) – 2,447 wild adults in 2015 • Historically popular hatchery ChS program that now only returns ~1,000 adults compared to >5,000 prior to 2010. – Difficult accessing fish now that release is lower in river and fish do not “stray” – Boang is challenging where fish now hold through summer months (gorge secon below Bull Run) Sandy Spring Chinook 3,500 100%

90% 3,000 80%

2,500 70%

60% 2,000

50% ChS

# of Adults 1,500 % Hatchery 40%

1,000 30%

20% 500 10%

0 0% 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 5,000 Clackamas wild Sandy Wild Sandy Hatchery 4,500

4,000 Marmot Dam 3,500 Removed

3,000

2,500 Adult Chinook Chinook Adult

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Run Year

Number of spring Chinook salmon in the Sandy River basin (hatchery and wild), and in the Clackamas Basin upstream of North Fork Dam (wild), 2002–2015. Number of fish in the Sandy River basin in 2008–2013 was esmated from redd counts. For 2002– 2006, the number of fish was esmated with the relaonship of counts at Marmot Dam to redd counts. The proporon of wild and hatchery fish was esmated from recovery of carcasses.

Sandy ChS “Stray” Control Program Percentage of hatchery-origin spring Chinook salmon in the spawning populaon of Sandy River basin upstream of the Marmot Dam site, 2002– 2015.

100%

80% Marmot Dam Removed

60%

Hatchery Origin 40%

20%

0% 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Run Year Sandy River spring Chinook stray reducon program 2015

• Weirs operated in Salmon, Zigzag, and Bull Run rivers to control hatchery stray – Rigid picket weirs in Salmon and Zigzag – Resistance board weir in Bull Run River • Goal to operate from July 1 through mid-October • Acclimaon in the Bull Run River starng in 2011

Adult ChS inside trap box Sandy Spring Chinook 2015

Bull Run Salmon Zig Zag Trap Totals Hatchery Hatchery Hatchery Total Hatchery Chinook 137 Chinook 64 Chinook 36 Chinook 237

Wild Chinook 63 Wild Chinook 904 Wild Chinook 538 Total Wild Chinook 1505 Total Wild Wild Steelhead 59 Wild Steelhead 3 Wild Steelhead 3 Steelhead 65 Hatchery Hatchery Hatchery Total Hatchery Steelhead 4 Steelhead 1 Steelhead 27 Steelhead 32 Coho 20 Coho 0 Coho 16 Total Coho 36

Bull Run Salmon River Zig Zag River Hatchery rate 0.685 Hatchery rate 0.066116 Hatchery rate 0.062718 Salmon River weir Bull Run Resistance Board Weir Bull Run RBW – 9/29/13 Spring Chinook Acclimaon in the Sandy Basin • Bull Run River – Spring chinook program reduced from ~450,000 in late 90’s to 132,000 since 2013. – Started acclimang smolts in the Bull Run River in 2012 – Acclimated and released 132,000 smolts in 2013-2016 – Esmate ~1,000 adults returning to Bull Run in the future – Reduce number of fish available for harvest at mouth of Cedar Creek and upstream above former Marmot Dam – Full-spanning (resistance-type) weir operang July- November near mouth of Bull Run to sort returning adults Bull Run Acclimaon Pond Percentage of fin-clipped spring Chinook salmon in the Zigzag (A) and Salmon (B) rivers, and in the upper Sandy River basin (C) with and without traps, 2011-2015

The 10% line represents the conservaon and recovery objecve for the proporon of hatchery-origin spawners (pHOS) Willamee Spring Chinook 2015

• 51,046 adult ChS passed over Willamee Falls (82.4% hatchery fish=42,062) • 4,608 hatchery ChS returned to Clackamas • Final run size not complete but expected to be > than pre-season forecast • Severe mortality event occurred in late June due to high temperature (>75 deg) • Water temperature reached 75 on June 12th, peaked at 82 on July 11th Willamee Spring Chinook 2015

• Started seeing dead fish in Willamee then Clackamas. • High temperature not the lead cause of death – Columnaris bacteria bloomed in warm water and aaches to fish on gills, eyes, fins. – Fish eventually succumb to bacteria since they can not respire normally. Willamee Spring Chinook 2015

• Clackamas River – 657 pre-spawn mortalies – Majority of fish found from Carver downstream to Riverside Park • Willamee (downstream of falls) – 478 pre-spawn mortalies • 85% hatchery fish/15% wild fish (same as falls counts) • 64 of 66 (97%) CWT+ fish were from Upper Willamee hatcheries Clackamas River adjacent to Barton Park Boat Ramp 6/19/15

Chrome…Notice beer cans look a little like dead fish… Clackamas River near Carver 6/19/15

Notice bacterial growth near fins, mouth, and gills… Clackamas River upstream of Riverside Park 6/19/15 Johnson Creek near Milwaukie 7/14/15

Thank you! Todd Alsbury District Fish Biologist Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife 971-673-6011 503-781-8286