PART II – TYPE OF REARING PROJECT AND OBJECTIVE Fish Species to be Reared: Fall Chinook Intent of Rearing Project (check only one): Type 1. Increase fishing and harvest opportunities Type 2. Enhance existing natural production Type 3. Restore fish to vacant habitat Type 4. Develop broodstock Note: OAR 635-009-0125 defines STEP fish propagation projects as the following: Supplementation – A project involving continued planting to maintain or increase fish abundance where natural production is insufficient to meet management objectives (Type 1 above). Rehabilitation – A project in which fish are released to rebuild a currently depressed run (Type 2 and 3 above). Broodstock Development – A project in which reared fish are released and the resulting adults return to a recapture facility to provide an egg source for management program (Type 4 above). Project Start Date: 6/16/16 Project End Date: 6/15/21 Project Duration: If Type 1 (see above): If Type 2,3, or 4 (see above): 5 years Coho salmon 3 years Chum salmon 4 years Chinook salmon 5 years Steelhead 4 years Trout 4 years Note: Projects that continue beyond the above-listed time periods must apply for renewal at the end of that time period. Describe how the proposed project (please answer all that apply): (a) Addresses ODFW fish management needs as outlined in subbasin fish management, species, recovery or conservation, or other plans (please cite specific plan, goal, objective, etc). The main objective of this proposal is to raise 100,000 fall Chinook salmon pre-smolts at the Millicoma Interpretive Center and release these fish into Pony Slough. The purpose of all hatchery fall Chinook releases into the Coos Basin are for harvest augmentation. According to the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan (CMP), hatchery programs, consistent with their original intent, are vital to providing fishing opportunity and supplementing harvest of wild fish. Under the CMP, Management Areas have been defined for the coastal river systems and the level of hatchery fish releases for each Management Area has been identified. The Coos Bay estuary, defined as the Coos Bay Frontal Management Area in the CMP, is allowed to release up to approximately 2.1 million hatchery fall Chinook annually. STEP Fish Propagation Project Application - 2 - May 2005 Under House Bill 3489 – Plan to Reform Department Operated Fish Hatcheries on the Oregon Coast, the harvest goal for the Coos Basin is 4,000 adult fall Chinook annually. Another objective of the project is to provide educational opportunities to hundreds of students each year. This facility provides valuable “hands on” teaching techniques that are unique to this region. Student groups are involved in all aspects of the operations of the facility. Will contribute to fisheries. Identify the fisheries and note any current special regulations such as “adipose fin-clipped only” that would affect the proposed project operation. The resulting Chinook from this proposal will contribute to both ocean and in-river recreational fisheries. The in-river recreational fishery for this release group will be concentrated in the lower Coos Bay estuary especially near the mouth of Pony Slough. The current goal is to fin mark 100% of all hatchery fish releases within the Coos Basin. Currently there is no mark-selective Chinook fishery in the Coos Basin. Because virtually all hatchery Chinook released into the Coos Basin are 100% fin marked, fish produced by this project would be available for harvest in times of restricted wild Chinook harvest, as may occur under the CMP. Addresses the factors limiting adequate natural production in the basin (lack of spawning habitat, poor rearing habitat). Also, please cite any information that supports that determination. The history of the Coos River watershed is that the three main rivers were systematically splash- dammed starting in 1887 and occurred until 1958. During this era over 4,000 logs, root wads, and boulders were removed from the South Coos River channel by dynamite (Jim Sedell, USFS). Splash- damming was very detrimental to the stream bed and riparian destroying the spawning habitat in the basin to the point that the Oregon Fish Commission biologists believed that the fall Chinook in the basin went extinct. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists now believe that a small number of Chinook survived to founder the current population. The Coos Estuary is approximately 10,000 acres and is the largest estuary in Oregon. Estuarine habitat in the basin has been altered by dredging, filling, and diking that has occurred since the late 1800s, with salt marshes suffering the most serious losses (Coos Basin Plan, 1990). Even with the loss of some estuarine habitat, the Coos estuary is believed to still have a tremendous potential to rear juvenile salmonid and marine fishes. Because of past splash dams, Chinook spawning habitat is limited in the watershed. This project does not address the loss of spawning or estuarine habitat but it does provide hatchery Chinook for harvest in ocean and in-river fisheries. (b) Contributes to other STEP, OPSW, and salmon and/or watershed recovery needs (education, citizen participation, other social benefit, etc). This project also addresses the goal of the STEP program as outlined in the OARS (635-009- 0100 2a): Provide the greatest possible opportunity for citizen involvement in achieving the Department's fish management objectives. This project also addresses goal 2d of the same OAR by conducting educational programs. Student groups and the general public are an integral part STEP Fish Propagation Project Application - 3 - May 2005 of the operation of the Millicoma Interpretive Center rearing project each year. Outreach and education is a key component of these programs (c) Is addressed under an existing Hatchery Genetic Management Plan or Hatchery Management Plan. The Millicoma Interpretive Center rearing program is addressed in the completed Coos Fall Chinook HGMP, submitted to NOAA in November, 2014 and currently being updated (June 2016). (d) Is consistent with the goals of the Hatchery Management Policy and the NFCP (please answer all that apply): a. Fosters and sustains opportunities for sport, commercial, and tribal fishers consistent with the conservation of naturally produced native fish. Hatchery Chinook produced from this rearing program have contributed well to ocean and in-river fisheries. Ocean contribution is based on coded-wire tag recoveries while contribution to the in-river recreational fishery is based on creel surveys conducted in 2009-2013. b. Contributes toward the sustainability of naturally produced native fish through the responsible use of hatcheries and hatchery-produced fish. The Millicoma Interpretive Center is located on the West Fork Millicoma River. The West Fork Millicoma has the smallest population of wild Chinook of the three main river forks entering the Coos Bay estuary. Due to concerns of hatchery Chinook released from Millicoma Interpretive Center straying throughout the Coos Basin, the decision was made through the CMP process to continue to rear these fish on site but acclimate and release the Chinook pre-smolts into Pony Slough. c. Maintains genetic resources of native fish spawned or reared in captivity. The naturally produced Chinook population is robust and in recent years has been above average levels. The genetic resources of the naturally produced Chinook in the basin have been and will continue to be maintained. Due to the objectives of the program, certain behavioral/physical differences may exist between hatchery and wild smolts. Fish size and timing at migration for hatchery smolts is more uniform than that observed for wild smolts. Other behaviors, such as surface feeding and aggression may be different between hatchery and wild smolts. Since the inception of the broodstock development program for Chinook in the basin, efforts have been made to mimic the naturally produced Chinook in the basin. This has been accomplished through incorporation of wild brood fish each generation. The program strives to incorporate 30% wild broodstock into each year’s egg take but most years end up short of the goal. Hatchery (trapped in river and some hauled from Morgan Creek Hatchery) and wild Chinook (trapped in the river) are spawned throughout the entire run to maintain diverse genetic aspects of the population that may be associated with run timing. STEP Fish Propagation Project Application - 4 - May 2005 d. Minimizes adverse ecological impacts to watersheds caused by hatchery facilities and operations. The proposed number of pounds of fish reared in this proposal is small and should have minimal impacts to the West Fork Millicoma River. A total of 1,333 pounds of Chinook are produced at this rearing facility. Programs that exceed 20,000 pounds are subject to NPDES permits. Pre-smolts from this program are released at an average fork length of 7 cm. This is approximately 2 cm larger than the majority of wild Chinook in the basin at the time of release. However, there is little known difference in size between hatchery and wild Chinook once they reach the lower estuary. Most years, district staff conduct estuary monitoring from May through September, tracking wild and hatchery Chinook from upper tidewater to ocean entrance. Releasing pre-smolts is also done to minimize interaction with listed coho. The hatchery-produced fall Chinook are released into a tidewater slough during the late spring and summer when coho rearing in the