Meanwhile, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will decide this year or next whether to breach four federal dams on the lower Snake River in Washington. Salmon Life Cycle Adult Snake River fall chinook enter the Columbia River in July and migrate into the Snake River from August through October. Fall chinook salmon spawn in the Snake River below Hells Canyon Dam and the lower reaches of the Clearwater, Grande Ronde, Imnaha, Salmon and Tucannon rivers from October through November. Baby salmon emerge from March through April. Downstream migration generally begins within several weeks of emergence.
Juveniles rear in backwaters and shallow areas through mid-summer before migrating to the ocean.
There, they spend one to four years before beginning their spawning migration. Will Stelle is the Pacific Northwest Director of National Marine Fisheries Service. NMFS is the agency responsible for saving salmon under the federal Endangered Species Act. Stelle can order Idaho Power Co. to pass fish through its dams and recommend to Congress it breach four dams on the Snake River in Washington. It issues licenses for 30 to 50 years to companies and local governments to use the public's water for private gain.