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Citizen Update

2003 Check-in

Agencies Report on Actions to Benefit

Salmon and Steelhead

October 2003 • Issue 11

A publication of the Federal Caucus, Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery

n every corner of the

This issue of the

Citizen Update summarizes

the 2003 Check-In Report

under the NOAA Fisheries

2000 Biological Opinion for

operation of the Federal

Columbia River Power

System for salmon and

steelhead. Besides BiOp

implementation actions,

this Citizen Update also

reports actions taken by

Federal Caucus agencies

under the more comprehensive Basinwide Salmon

Recovery Strategy. For

additional background on

the BiOp, the basinwide

strategy, and the region’s

other fish recovery programs, see Citizen Update

Issue 10 and other links at

www.salmonrecovery.gov.

You may also request

printed copies of past

Citizen Updates by calling

1-888-921-4886 or

e-mailing

federalcaucus@bpa.gov.

Collectively, these actions will

improve conditions for 12 species of salmon and steelhead and

two resident fish populations

listed under the Endangered

Species Act (ESA). Whether it’s

the installation of a single culvert

in a remote stream in the Salmon

River subbasin in Idaho, or major

modifications at several federal

dams, every action means a step

forward in what is possibly one

of the nation’s most ambitious

natural resource conservation

efforts.

The federal agencies involved

with fish recovery efforts include

the three agencies managing

dams in the Federal Columbia

River Power System (FCRPS)

Improved salmon and steelhead returns are encouraging as the

region continues its efforts for fish.(Photo courtesy of BPA)

underway to help threatened and

endangered fish. Fish passage

facilities at Columbia and Snake

River dams are being upgraded

to better protect salmon and

steelhead from rotating turbines.

Wilderness roads are being

removed and natural creeks

restored to re-open important

spawning beds. Hatchery operations are being revised to lessen

impacts of hatchery-bred fish on

wild salmon. Fishers are receiving cash for catching predators

and are being provided with

special nets to reduce the catch

of threatened fish.

IColumbia River Basin,

hundreds of activities are
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Efforts on track, despite challenges

and other federal agencies that

manage land or other natural

resources in the Columbia River

Basin. Under the Biological

Opinion (BiOp) issued by NOAA

Fisheries in 2000, the three

FCRPS Action Agencies—the

Bonneville Power Administration

(BPA), U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers (Corps), and Bureau

of Reclamation (Reclamation)—

are required to report their

progress annually. In addition,

they must provide more detailed

assessments of their progress as

part of formal “Check-Ins” in

2003, 2005 and 2008. In September 2003, the Action Agencies

completed a 2003 Check-In

Report discussing their threeyear progress implementing key

programs.

NOAA Fisheries will next

evaluate whether the agencies

Overall, the vast majority

 of actions called for

 under the BiOp are on

track and expected to meet 2003

benchmarks. In a “findings

letter” issued in May 2003 responding to the agencies’ reports

on progress through 2002, NOAA

Fisheries found that 192 of 199

specific actions listed in the

BiOp are being implemented as

expected or otherwise moving

forward satisfactorily. In particular, 117 of the 124 “reasonable

and prudent alternative” actions

required to be implemented by

the 2003 Check-In were found to

be on track or, if modifications

were required, still successfully

underway.

While the agencies have made

headway in many important

areas, implementation of fish

actions has not been without

challenges. For example, in 2001,

the first year of BiOp implementation, a record drought, energy

emergencies, and an unstable

power market threatened several

fish programs. Particular challenges were providing water for

fish migration and spilling water

over dams for juvenile salmon

passage, as the Action Agencies

struggled to balance electricity

needs with fish recovery goals.

Traffic Jam at Bonneville Dam adult fish ladder: Over 580,000 fall

chinook have passed Bonneville Dam this year, which sets a new record

since counts began in 1938. Last year’s run, the previous record, was

474,554. Coho and steelhead returns are also strong.

are “on track” meeting specific benchmarks. Results of NOAA Fisheries’ evaluation will be covered in the

next Citizen Update. The 2005 Check-In will again assess implementation progress, and also evaluate

whether listed fish are showing adequate progress toward recovery.

Challenges remain in the

seven actions flagged as “needing resolution” in NOAA’s last

findings letter. A key effort to

draft detailed habitat improvement plans in the region’s

priority subbasins (where listed

fish spawn) has taken longer

than expected because of the

complexities of coordinating

with multiple local and regional

groups. The BiOp anticipated

that subbasin plans under the

Northwest Power and Conservation Council Fish and Wildlife

Program would be complete for

certain priority subbasins by the

end of 2003. However, the
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extensive regional coordination

and initial organization required

for this effort took longer than

anticipated. In nine priority

subbasins, a work plan is now in

place and subbasin assessments

and plans are being developed.

Work is underway to complete

the plans in these and the other

subbasins in 2004. Absent completed subbasin plans, the Action

Agencies are focusing efforts on

the fish with the most immediate

needs, those at the greatest risk

of extinction, and on actions that

will provide more immediate

benefits such as removing

barriers in streams where fish

passage is hindered or blocked,

and getting more water back into

the streams.

In addition, funding has been

a factor, as with delayed construction of flow deflectors to

reduce gas supersaturation at

Chief Joseph Dam. Likewise,

development of performance

standards and measures—

needed yardsticks to accurately

evaluate the effectiveness of

recovery actions and ongoing

status of listed fish—is behind

schedule. Important studies to

evaluate the effectiveness of

tributary habitat improvements

have proven difficult to establish

because of disagreements in the

scientific community about study

design and other issues. Some

habitat work on federal lands has

been postponed because agencies had to divert resources to

fight multiple wildfires. The

federal agencies, as well as their

regional, state, tribal and local

group partners, are focused on

resolving these issues.

Highlights of Action Agencies’ Three-Year Progress

Still, given the breadth of the

 task—bringing together

diverse jurisdictions and

interest groups to restore fish

runs impacted by decades of

human activities—the amount of

progress made in three years is

considerable. Here are highlights

of fish recovery efforts to date by

the FCRPS Action Agencies and

other Federal Caucus agencies.

Because 2003 is not yet over and

information is incomplete for this

year, some highlights cover

activities only through 2002.

The following summarizes fish

recovery actions taken to meet

BiOp requirements as well as to

implement the broader

Basinwide Salmon Recovery

Strategy. The highlights are

organized by “H” strategies (see

shaded box). Collectively, the

Action Agencies are spending

about $400 million annually on

fish programs.

Hydro

system

actions

Fish passage improvements

at dams. In the past three years,

the Action Agencies have completed 17 reconfiguration

projects at federal dams to

improve fish passage and water

quality. Nine projects will improve passage conditions for

adult fish, or improve capability

to monitor adults as they move

upstream past dams to return to

spawning areas or hatcheries.

Juvenile fish heading downriver

will have less stressful trips

thanks to passage improvements

at Bonneville (see related story),

McNary, Lower Monumental and

Lower Granite dams.

Water management. In 2002

and 2003, the Action Agencies

were able to operate federal

reservoirs to supplement stream

flows for migrating fish as called

for in the BiOp. An environmental assessment was completed to

allow additional reservoir

storage and possible stream flow

improvements to begin on an

interim basis at Hungry Horse

Dam in 2002 and Libby Dam in

2003, while a more comprehensive study is completed.

Specified levels of spring and

summer spill to improve juvenile

fish passage and survival occurred at all Columbia and

Snake river dams, except Lower

The “All-H” strategy for fish recovery

To implement BiOp recommendations, the Action Agencies have

established key strategies based on the “Hs” that impact fish in the

basin: the hydropower system, habitat, hatcheries, and harvest.

Additional strategies outline studies (research, monitoring and

evaluation–RM&E) to improve our understanding of how certain

actions affect fish and guide future actions. A summary of strategies

in each area was published in Citizen Update Issue 8 (May 2002),

which can be viewed on the www.salmonrecovery.gov web site.
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Monumental in 2002 and McNary

and Ice Harbor dams in 2003. In

addition, the Corps continues to

transport juvenile salmon and

evaluate whether it improves

their survival chances, transporting some 14 to 22 million

annually from the lower Snake

and Columbia rivers to a destination below Bonneville Dam.

Habitat

actions

Tributary habitat improvements. Hundreds of projects to

improve habitat for listed fish

have been completed during the

past three years. In 2002, nearly

250 habitat projects were undertaken in 20 subbasins throughout

Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

In 2003, most existing projects

will continue and new projects

will be initiated throughout the

Columbia River Basin.

Reclamation has initiated

programs in nine priority

subbasins to improve flows and

fish passage and to screen irrigation systems to prevent fish from

being drawn into irrigation

diversions. These include the

upper Salmon, Little Salmon, and

Lemhi subbasins in Idaho; the

middle Fork John Day, North

Fork John Day, and Upper John

Day in Oregon; and the Methow,

Wenatchee and Entiat subbasins

in Washington. (See related story

on “push-up” dams.) BPA has

funded projects to acquire 165

cubic feet per second in additional stream flows for fish in

nine subbasins and removed or

improved passage barriers to reopen nearly 700 miles of stream

in 12 subbasins. The agencies

have also established an innovative, experimental “water brokerage” that will coordinate

state and local efforts to increase tributary flows.

In addition to in-stream

projects, the Action Agencies

have helped restore and protect

adjacent “riparian buffer” lands

around streams. In 2002, nearly

200 miles of important streamside habitat (more than 19,000

acres total) was protected from

future erosion or contamination.

Mainstem habitat improvements and related actions.

The Action Agencies are funding

studies and projects to improve

the lower Columbia and Snake

River environment, particularly

for spawning chum salmon.

Actions include restoring woody

riparian habitat in the lower

Snake River, reintroducing chum

into Duncan Creek near

Skamania, Washington, and

continuing to minimize the

impact of predators like Caspian

terns and northern pikeminnows

through various control measures.

Estuary habitat improvements. The Corps is planning

multiple estuary habitat restoration projects. When completed

by 2007, these projects will

restore and protect more than

1,500 acres of estuary habitat.

About 450 acres of tidal emergent marsh, swamp, slough and

riparian forest habitat on Crims

Island near Clatskanie, Oregon,

were acquired to benefit fish and

wildlife. In addition, the Corps

and BPA are working with

regional groups to develop an

overall plan addressing the

habitat needs of salmon and

steelhead in the estuary, to be

completed this year. To guide

future actions, research continUsing BPA funding, about 450 acres of wetland habitat were acquired for

protection and enhancement on Crims Island in the Columbia River

Estuary. BPA and the Corps are partnering with the Columbia Basin

Land Trust, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey and

others to accomplish habitat improvements.
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ues on where and how salmon

use the estuary for feeding and

rearing.

Hatchery

actions

Operations reforms. The

Action Agencies, working with

federal and regional partners,

including the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS), made

considerable progress developing new hatchery and genetic

management plans (HGMPs) to

guide hatchery reform and aid

recovery of listed fish. Draft

Phase I plans summarizing

current operations and reforms

needed to comply with the ESA

were completed for all 169

hatchery programs by July 2003.

Phase II HGMPs, covering

proposed improvement options,

are scheduled to be completed

by December 2003 and following

regional and technical review,

will culminate in Phase III (final)

plans in spring 2004.

Safety-net programs. The

four-step Safety-Net Artificial

Propagation Program (SNAPP),

to identify and aid the most

severely endangered fish populations, continues to gather steam.

A report analyzing the extinction

risk of some 77 populations will

be completed this year. The next

step will be development of

intervention options using

artificial propagation, e.g.,

rearing of captive broodstock at

hatcheries, and contingency

plans describing when intervention options would be

appropriate. In the meantime,

BPA continues to fund ongoing

artificial propagation programs

that serve as safety nets for

populations of Snake River

sockeye, spring/summer and fall

chinook, and mid- and lower

Columbia steelhead.

Marking plans. The Action

Agencies continue to fund

tagging, or marking, of key

populations of hatchery fish to

distinguish them from wild

salmon, making it possible for

commercial and recreational

fishers to harvest marked hatchery fish and release wild fish.

This also enables biologists to

keep better track of the status of

natural populations. Work on a

comprehensive marking plan

continues.

Harvest

actions

Wild fish harvest reduction. The Action Agencies

continued to fund the evaluation

of alternative fishing gear in nontribal fisheries and monitor the

use of larger mesh gill nets

provided to tribal commercial

fishers to reduce the incidental

catch of endangered steelhead

and salmon. The agencies funded

a tribal project that used sonar to

locate and remove eight submerged fishing nets that could

have posed risks to listed fish. In

addition, the agencies continued

support of a Columbia River

fisheries project for hatchery

chinook and coho salmon harvest in Youngs Bay and other

lower Columbia sites below

Bonneville Dam.

Research,

monitoring

and

evaluation

actions

Regional plan. The Action

Agencies continue to fund

studies to help improve our

understanding of how actions

affect fish survival, to fine-tune

future actions and to better

measure their results. A comprehensive draft federal RM&E Plan

NOAA Fisheries submits first status report

As reported in the last Citizen Update, Judge James A. Redden

of the Federal District Court of Oregon ruled in favor of a coalition

of environmental groups in National Wildlife Federation et al. v.

National Marine Fisheries Service et al. The judge remanded, or

handed back, to NOAA Fisheries its 2000 Biological Opinion on

operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System for salmon

and steelhead, to fix identified deficiencies. He subsequently ruled

that the BiOp remain in place during the year’s time allotted to

address deficiencies. The FCRPS Action Agencies continue to

implement the actions in the BiOp.

On October 1, 2003, NOAA Fisheries submitted the first of four

required 90-day status reports to the Court. That report and relevant documents are available at www.salmonrecovery.gov/

remand.shtml.
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jointly developed by the Action

Agencies and NOAA Fisheries is

undergoing extensive scientific

and regional review. This plan

represents a significant advancement in the region’s monitoring

and evaluation efforts because it

provides a means for the federal

agencies to synchronize their

approaches to salmon study,

especially for habitat-related

actions, and to work jointly with

states and tribes to develop

common monitoring methods

and study designs. Many of the

studies are on the cutting edge of

scientific inquiry and will require

multiple years of investigation to

provide definitive results.

Federal Caucus Agencies’ Fish Recovery Efforts

Bonneville Dam high-flow bypass speeds young fish past danger

Young salmon will take a 3,300-foot-long watery ride past Bonneville

Dam’s second powerhouse when a new fish bypass facility is completed later this year.

during downstream migration. By modifying the chute into a surface flow bypass system (corner

collector), biologists expect the number of juveniles guided into the corner collector can be increased

to 50–60 percent.

The corner collector will work in conjunction with the existing second powerhouse screened juvenile bypass system, which was improved to benefit juvenile survival in 1999. Together, the non-turbine

routes will pass about 90 percent of spring migrants and 75–80 percent of summer migrants at the

second powerhouse, with an estimated survival rate of greater than 95 percent.

Fish will enter the bypass facility at the southeastern corner of the second powerhouse, travel down

a 2,800-foot-long transportation channel and 500-foot-long outfall channel, and exit almost one-quarter

mile downstream, just beyond the westernmost tip of Cascades Island. A plunge pool excavated into

the river bottom will permit fish to re-enter the river safely.

When the Corps completes a

new high-flow bypass facility

for young salmon at Bonneville

Dam in December 2003, federal

biologists expect to see a 1–3

percent increase in juvenile fish

survival past the dam’s second

powerhouse.

In 1998, the Corps tested the

ice and trash chute at

Bonneville Dam to evaluate its

potential as a fish bypass

system. About 50 percent of

juvenile fish in the forebay

(area directly upstream) were

passing through the chute

Besides the FCRPS Action

Agencies, many other

federal agencies that

control natural resources in the

Columbia River Basin have taken

actions in the past three years to

improve conditions for fish.

Despite some funding challenges,

progress has been made to

implement many recovery

measures recommended in the

region’s collaborative Basinwide

Salmon Recovery Strategy.

Highlights of actions taken by

these six federal agencies follow

agency descriptions:
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 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest

Service (USFS) manage

about 60 percent of Columbia

River Basin habitat lands.

 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

(USFWS) operates and administers hatchery programs and

national wildlife refuges and

has jurisdiction over resident

fish under the ESA.

 National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, National Marine

Fisheries Service (NOAA

Fisheries) has ESA jurisdiction over anadromous fish and

a role regulating fisheries.

 Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

works with private landowners through local conservation

districts to protect soil, water

and other natural resources.

 Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) enforces the

Clean Water Act.

Actions to protect

habitat and water

quality

BLM, USFS, and USFWS

collectively devoted about $140

million to activities to protect

and restore key habitat for listed

fish during the federal

government’s 2001 and 2002

fiscal years. Although some

activities, particularly the restoration of high-priority

watersheds, have progressed

more slowly than expected (in

part due to high fire suppression

costs), many efforts are on target

and making a difference.

Activities by these three

agencies included purchasing

sensitive land, in-stream replacement of woody debris, working

with states to secure minimum

stream flows, improving or

removing roads and installing

culverts to reopen streams,

installing screens to keep fish

from dangerous diversions, and

other passage improvements.

(See related story on Ramsey

Creek improvements.)

To date, the USFS has completed watershed analyses in 80

percent of National Forest Lands

in this region (Region 6) to

identify future restoration actions. However, the level of detail

varies depending on the purpose

of the assessment. The USFS is

making significant progress

inventorying passage barriers in

all national forests in the Columbia River Basin.

2002 Snapshot: Agencies’ accomplishments by the numbers

BLM

 Riparian habitat: 375 miles restored or intensively managed to minimize impact on fish; 175 miles

improved as a part of abandoned mine reclamation, fire restoration, and other projects.

 Riparian/wetland habitat easements: Purchased along more than 25 stream reaches.

 In-stream flow: More than 50 stream flow studies, assessments, or feasibility surveys completed.

 In-stream passage: More than 125 diversions assessed to identify improvement needs.

USFS

 Riparian habitat: 66 miles (850 acres) restored.

 In-stream habitat: 89 miles restored.

 In-stream passage: 37 culverts upgraded and two passage barriers removed to provide access to

32 miles of stream.

 Water quality: 51.5 acres of wetlands restored or created; 423 miles of roads upgraded and 690

miles of road removed to reduce sediment input to adjacent streams.

USFWS

 Riparian habitat: 69.2 acres restored (plus 800 acres of upland habitat).

 In-stream habitat: Eight miles restored.

 In-stream passage: Removed nine passage barriers to provide access to 25 miles of stream.

NRCS

 Habitat restoration, stream protection, wetlands, and water quality: 1,289,000 acres of

private farm and ranch land enrolled in conservation programs.
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The Grant Soil and Water

Conservation District is ensuring

easier passage for threatened

and endangered fish in the John

Day River Basin in eastern

Oregon. The conservation district—together with state,

federal, tribal and local partners—has replaced 47 diversion

dams in John Day streams with

cost-effective, functional, and

fish-friendly diversion alternatives.

Temporary diversion dams—

also called “push-up dams”—

have long been a method used by

farmers and ranchers to divert

water from natural streams for

irrigation of crop land. These

dams must be built annually

using heavy equipment after high

stream flows have receded in

early summer. Depending on the

height and location of the pushup dam, passage for adult and

juvenile anadromous and resident fish species can be

impeded.

A partnership between the

conservation district and the

Bureau of Reclamation, initiated

in 1991 as a demonstration

project under the Northwest

Power and Conservation

Council’s Fish and Wildlife

Program, enabled the conservation district to provide technical

assistance to landowners to

formulate a variety of water

“Push-up” dams replaced with fish-friendly diversions

in John Day subbasin

conservation projects. One that

proved particularly successful

was a low-cost, permanently

installed diversion dam to replace push-up dams. Dubbed the

“lay-flat stanchion dam,” this

design has since become a

workhorse in the John Day

Basin.

So far the 47 diversion dams

removed have been replaced

with a combination of pump

stations, infiltration galleries,

and 22 lay-flat stanchion dams.

Landowners are pleased how

easily the lay-flat dams can be

installed every year, saving them

considerable labor and heavy

equipment costs. In addition,

they are able to maintain much

better control over the consistency and rate of flow into their

irrigation delivery systems.

Meanwhile, fish benefit yearround. During irrigation season,

a section of the dam is left open,

concentrating flow to create a

fishway for upstream and downstream passage. During the

off-season, the dam’s upright

braces (stanchions) can lay flat

on the stream bottom.

Nine additional stanchion

dams are scheduled for construction in the John Day Basin in

2004 with participation by

Reclamation under its tributary

habitat restoration program.

An original push-up dam

Lay-flat stanchion dam

During the irrigation off-season,

the dam’s upright components

are laid completely flat.

An original push-up dam is

removed and replaced with a

“lay-flat stanchion dam,” which

ensures fish passage both upstream and downstream during

the irrigation season.
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In 2002 and 2003, NOAA

Fisheries provided funding to

regional states and tribes under

the Pacific Coastal Salmon

Recovery Fund for recovery

efforts, stock enhancement,

research, and implementation of

the Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement. Additionally, NOAA

Fisheries continues to work with

subbasin planners to integrate

subbasin planning with ESA

recovery planning.

Meanwhile, NRCS continues

to help conserve and restore

habitat on farm, ranch and other

private lands by providing

technical and financial assistance. In the 2001 and 2002 fiscal

years, conservation programs

that help landowners install

riparian buffers, restore habitat,

stabilize and protect streams,

create and restore wetlands, and

conserve water were implemented on nearly 2 million acres.

Besides water quality improvements already

accomplished, work continues

on a regional water quality

improvement plan. EPA has been

working with the other federal

agencies, regional groups, states

and tribes to establish “total

maximum daily load” (TMDL)

measurements for dissolved gas

and temperatures in rivers and

tributary streams. These will

provide a technical foundation

for future water quality decisions

throughout the basin. In addition,

EPA provided funding or technical support to numerous

programs and entities to address

water quality issues. For example, it awarded $1 million in

2003 to the Clark Fork-Pend

Oreille program (a joint state,

tribe and local watershed effort)

to address nutrient pollution in

local waterways.

Another habitat issue—

predation by birds—is being

addressed by USFWS. Besides

publishing an in-depth technical

paper in 2002 on the abundance

and distribution of Caspian terns

in North America, the agency

conducted field reviews of 70

sites to study the potential for

alternative nesting sites in the

Columbia River estuary. Actions

already taken to entice tern

colonies to new locations have

saved millions of young salmon.

Actions to improve

hatchery management

USFWS has completed Phase

I of hatchery and genetic management plans (HGMPs–see

Hatchery actions on page 5)

for all hatchery programs it

operates or funds and is working

to complete Phase II plans to

guide hatchery reform. Reform is

needed to address concerns

about the impacts of hatchery

fish on wild fish, include disease

transmission, competition and

genetic impacts caused by

interbreeding. The agency has

also begun making important

improvements. For example, it

built an egg isolation unit and

designed a chiller system for the

Warm Springs National Fish

Hatchery, both of which will

reduce adverse impacts of

hatchery operations on listed

fish. To better understand how

hatchery and wild fish interact,

USFWS has initiated a study in

the Warm Springs River, Oregon;

another study is helping to

assess the health of wild and

hatchery fish in Oregon’s

Deschutes River to reduce

possible disease transmission.

NOAA Fisheries has also been

participating in hatchery management improvement activities.

Among other actions, the agency

worked with USFWS, state and

tribal co-managers to streamline

NOAA Fisheries approval process for HGMPs for all artificial

production facilities. NOAA

Fisheries also works with BPA

and USFWS on the safety-net

program (see page 5).

Actions to limit

harvest impacts

USFWS continues to work

closely with tribes and other

Columbia River harvest managers to evaluate the effects of

fishing strategies meant to

benefit listed fish. It is also

exploring how to increase

harvest in ways that do not harm

listed fish, such as through

development of more terminal

area and select fisheries.

As a participant in U.S. v.

Oregon, NOAA Fisheries continues to advocate harvest

management reforms designed to

limit the impact of fisheries on

ESA-listed fish. It also supports

tribal and state fisheries designed to harvest abundant

hatchery and healthy natural

runs when such fisheries can be

implemented consistent with

applicable ESA limits.

For more details about the

activities of various Federal

Caucus agencies, visit the

www.salmonrecovery.gov web

site.
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Ramsey Creek improvements benefit

wild winter steelhead

dominate and, unlike other

winter steelhead trout in the

vicinity, it is genetically similar

to interior redband trout. It is

also the easternmost run of wild

winter steelhead trout in the

Columbia River Basin and is

currently listed as threatened

under ESA.

A flood during the winter of

1997 severely degraded steelhead

spawning and rearing habitat. Instream restoration projects

began in 1999, and adjacent

riparian and upslope projects

were completed in 2000 and

2001. Accomplishments include:

• Logs or boulders were placed

within the stream channel and

flood plain at 79 sites. A total

of 1,400 logs were used.

• Thirty pools were excavated

adjacent to newly constructed

log and boulder structures.

Average depth was 2.5–3.5

feet. These pools provide

important, high quality–

rearing habitat for young and

adult steelhead.

• Three miles of road next to

the stream were converted

into a non-motorized vehicle

trail.

• Six acres were planted with

conifers and shrubs along the

trail and in nearby small

meadows.

• Some 950 acres were “under

burned” to improve forage

conditions, re-establish native

plants and reduce fire hazards.

• Surveys of spawning steelhead throughout the

Fifteenmile basin indicate the

relative density of spawners in

Ramsey Creek is consistently

among the highest in the

basin. Most of the steelhead

spawning occurring in

Ramsey Creek since 1997 has

been within a parcel of land

acquired from the Rocky

Mountain Elk Foundation in

the early 1990s, and includes

three miles of restored

stream.

Mt. Hood National Forest fish biologists Gary Asbridge and Dan Shively

pause during spawning ground surveys at Ramsey Creek, the site of

recent restoration efforts. The two vertical logs were installed as snags

for birds and other wildlife, while the large wood in the stream provides habitat cover for fish and protects streambanks from erosion.

Over the past three years,

extensive in-stream and

upslope restoration projects

have been completed in a

three-mile section of Ramsey

Creek, a tributary to

Fifteenmile Creek and the

Columbia River. The projects

are intended to improve habitat

conditions for a run of wild

winter steelhead. This run of

steelhead is unique in the

Columbia River Basin because

it is wild (no hatchery steelhead have been stocked), it is a

winter-run fish in an area

where summer-run fish pre-
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Fish Survival

Update

Overall, salmon and steel

 head populations in the

Columbia River Basin

have made a dramatic rebound

over the past three years. Many

of the runs in 2001, 2002 and

2003 were at record high levels

and several times greater than

their 10-year averages (1992–

2002). Early indications suggest

that strong spring and summer

runs are likely again in 2004.

A dominant cause of these

increasing returns appears to be

a turnaround in Pacific Ocean

conditions that is providing

cooler water temperatures,

favorable currents and more

food for salmon and steelhead.

This gift from Mother Nature

makes recovery actions taken

throughout the basin even more

effective. More fish make it to

the ocean due to improvements

in freshwater conditions, e.g.,

habitat and dam passage improvements, and thrive in the

better ocean conditions. These

fish then return in larger numbers to improved spawning areas

in tributaries, where they have

better chances of successfully

producing the next generation.

How to Get More Information

For more information on the All-H Salmon Recovery Strategy, the

Federal Caucus, or Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife recovery,

please visit the Federal Caucus Web site at www.salmonrecovery.gov.

This Web site also includes information about annual implementation

plans and progress. You can also find previous issues of Citizen

Update, internet links for related activities and documents, including

the NOAA Fisheries and USFWS Biological Opinions.

You can call the Federal Caucus toll free at 1-888-921-4886, or

e-mail them at federalcaucus@bpa.gov.

The mailing address is

Federal Caucus

c/o BPA-P

P.O. Box 3621

Portland, OR 97208

Conclusions and Next Steps

I

mproving fish returns have certainly been encouraging as the

region faces the sizeable task of recovering endangered fish runs.

 However, this does not mean the federal agencies are “resting on

their laurels.” The agencies and their many partners are committed to

doing their part to improve conditions for fish in rivers and streams, at

hatcheries, and on habitat lands as the region pulls together to establish a long-term recovery plan. Although a recent federal court ruling

invalidated NOAA Fisheries’ 2000 BiOp and has requested revisions by

June 2004, the court left the BiOp in place in the interim, and the

Action Agencies will continue implementing actions under the BiOp

and the Basinwide Recovery Strategy.

NOAA Fisheries will evaluate the Action Agencies’ three-year

progress implementing BiOp recommendations and issue an evaluation report this December. The next Citizen Update will report NOAA

Fisheries’ findings.
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