Mainstem Columbia River (Columbia Plateau Province)
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Draft Mainstem Columbia River Subbasin Summary March 2, 2001 Prepared for the Northwest Power Planning Council Subbasin Team Leader and Lead Writer David L. Ward, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Contributors Susan Barnes and Greg Rimbach, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Ken Bevis, Jeff Feen, Paul Hoffarth, John Jacobson, Don Larsen, Jim Tabor, Matt Vander Hagen, and Rod Woodin, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Melissa Gildersleeve, Washington Department of Ecology Heidi Brunkal and Greg Hughes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ken Tiffan, U.S. Geological Survey David Geist and Brett Tiller, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Joe Lukas, Utility District No. 2 of Grant County Catherine Macdonald and Mike Powelson, The Nature Conservancy DRAFT: This document has not yet been reviewed or approved by the Northwest Power Planning Council Columbia River Mainstem Subbasin Summary Table of Contents INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 1 SUBBASIN DESCRIPTION ..........................................................................................................1 Major Land Uses ......................................................................................................................... 6 Water Quality .............................................................................................................................. 9 FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES.........................................................................................11 Fish and Wildlife Status ............................................................................................................ 11 Fish........................................................................................................................................ 11 Wildlife ................................................................................................................................. 19 Birds ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Mammals...............................................................................................................................22 Reptiles and Amphibians ...................................................................................................... 23 Invertebrates.......................................................................................................................... 24 Habitat Areas and Quality......................................................................................................... 25 Watershed Assessment.............................................................................................................. 29 Major Limiting Factors ............................................................................................................. 31 Water Quality ............................................................................................................................ 33 Land Management Practices ..................................................................................................... 39 Artificial Production.................................................................................................................. 40 Existing and Past Efforts........................................................................................................... 41 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program ......................................................................... 41 Outside the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program...................................................... 44 SUBBASIN MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 48 Existing Plans, Policies, Guidelines.......................................................................................... 48 Federal Government..............................................................................................................48 State Government - Oregon................................................................................................... 52 State Government - Washington ........................................................................................... 53 Local Government................................................................................................................. 55 Existing Goals, Objectives, and Strategies................................................................................ 55 Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation...................................................................................... 66 Fish and Wildlife Needs............................................................................................................ 68 Habitat Areas and Quality......................................................................................................... 75 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................78 APPENDIX A ...............................................................................................................................91 Columbia River Mainstem Subbasin Summary Draft ii Columbia River Mainstem Subbasin Summary List of Figures Figure 1. Location of the Mainstem Columbia River Subbasin relative to other subbasins within the Columbia Plateau Province. .............................................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Current land cover, roads, and waterways in the Mainstem Columbia River Subbasin. 4 Figure 3. Historic land cover and waterways in the Mainstem Columbia River Subbasin............ 7 Figure 4. Land ownership in the Mainstem Columbia River Subbasin. ......................................... 8 Figure 5. Fall chinook salmon redds visible from the air during annual surveys of the Hanford Reach, 1948-99...................................................................................................................... 15 List of Tables Table 1. Characteristics of Columbia River dams and associated reservoirs in the Mainstem Subbasin.. ................................................................................................................................3 Table 2. Tributaries of the Columbia River within the Mainstem Subbasin. Location of confluence is given as Columbia River km............................................................................. 5 Table 3. Fish species reported from the Columbia River between Wanapum and the Dalles dams.. .................................................................................................................................... 13 Table 4. Mean annual counts of anadromous salmonids and American shad at Columbia River dams, 1990-99 ....................................................................................................................... 15 Table 5. Mean annual catch of anadromous salmonids, American shad, white sturgeon, and walleye between Bonneville and McNary dams, 1990-99.................................................... 18 Table 6. Wildlife species found in the Mainstem Subbasin designated by state or federal agencies as endangered or threatened. .................................................................................. 20 Table 7. Loss of wildlife habitat associated with federal hydropower facilities in the lower Columbia River.. ................................................................................................................... 37 Columbia River Mainstem Subbasin Summary Draft iii Columbia River Mainstem Subbasin Summary INTRODUCTION The Mainstem Columbia River Subbasin Summary was drafted to meet the interim need for a facilitated, subbasin project review by the Independent Scientific Review Panel. Termed the “Rolling Provincial Review”; this review and renewal process will establish budgets and approved activities for existing and new Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)-funded projects. This Summary is a substantial beginning towards developing the formal and final Mainstem Subbasin Plan – a comprehensive document meeting the objectives and standards set forth in the Northwest Power Planning Council’s (NWPPC) revised Fish and Wildlife Program (Program) and against which future proposed projects will be assessed. These plans will be a crucial program for implementation of BPA’s Endangered Species Act (ESA) responsibilities in its funding decisions. This Subbasin Summary addresses existing assessment and planning information for the Mainstem Columbia River Subbasin within the Columbia Plateau Province. This province includes the Mainstem Columbia River from Wanapum Dam downstream to The Dalles Dam. The subbasin also covers a number of small tributaries within the province not specifically covered in other subbasin summaries. Numerous agencies, entities, and individuals contributed to the development of this subbasin summary. It is important to note that not all mainstem fish and wildlife issues are covered in this summary. This summary is limited for the most part to issues away from dams such as habitat in and along reservoirs and free-flowing reaches within the subbasin. Similar issues in other provinces are covered in the mainstem summaries for those provinces. The Mainstem Columbia River will be addressed even more comprehensively in the System-wide/Mainstem Subbasin