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REGION THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 THE OBSERVER — A3 Return of the eels Nez Perce Tribe releases Pacific lamprey into Asotin Creek as part of program to help the ancient fish survive By ERIC BARKER Lewiston Tribune ASOTIN, Wash. — Charles “Chuck” Axtell rang a bell and Shannon Wheeler rapped a drum as part of an extended blessing and welcoming ceremony for about a dozen Pacifi c lamprey just upstream from the mouth of Asotin Creek. One by one, members of the Nez Perce Tribe and their guests delicately released the squirming fi sh into the cold rushing water. Moments earlier, Axtell sang the tribe’s “Circle of Life’’ song in the Nez Perce language. “That song is blessing them, that they will com- plete the circle,” he said. The fi sh, with some help from humans, are close to doing just that and helping ensure the species retains its fragile grip in the vast Snake River ecosystem. The eel-like fi sh with a toothy disc mouth, known as heésu, were once common. Nez Perce people came to the creek to catch lamprey, which were an important source of food and medicine. The creek and the town of Asotin would eventually take their name from a mispronun- ciation of Hesuutin, a Nez Perce word that means “place of the eels.” But the scaleless fi sh are now rare here and everywhere in the Snake River basin. Dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers make it nearly impossible for adult lamprey to reach spawning grounds. “Lamprey are an anad- romous fi sh. They migrate to the ocean and return,” said Samuel N. Penney, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Com- mittee. “At each of the dams, at least 50% are lost.” In 2007, the tribe began collecting lamprey at dams on the Columbia River and trucking them to Snake River tributaries for release. In all, about 6,000 of the fi sh have been moved upriver and released in places like Asotin Creek, the south fork of the Salmon River, the south fork of the Clearwater River and tribu- taries to the Grande Ronde River. “We just let them hitch a ride with us. We get them up past the barriers and then we release them to do their thing,” said Todd Sween, a lamprey biolo- gist with the tribe’s Depart- ment of Fisheries Resources Management. Jon Hess, a scientist with the Columbia River Inter- Tribal Fish Commission, of which the Nez Perce Austin Johnson/Lewiston Tribune Nez Perce tribal elder and spiritual leader Charles Axtell speaks words of admiration and encourage to a Pacifi c lamprey fi sh before release it into Asotin Creek in Asotin, Washington, on Thursday, April 14, 2022. Lamprey, an eel-like fi sh, hold a strong historic and medicinal reverence to the Nez Perce and other Native American tribes in the region, but their numbers have declined signifi cantly over recent decades. Outdoor school plans 50th session celebration East Oregonian PENDLETON — A celebration is in the works to mark the 50th session of the Pendleton Outdoor School Program. The event is Friday, April 29, at Buck Creek Cabins on the Umatilla National Forest and open to former ODS campers, counselors, fi eld study volunteers, teachers and community supporters. The planning committee is working to connect with these groups and individuals to invite them to the event. Since the early 1970s, Pendleton sixth graders have ventured to Buck Creek Cabins and the U.S. Forest Service’s Corpora- tion facility on the banks of the Umatilla River. There, students have applied skills developed in the classroom to real-life situations in the natural environment. The event includes ded- ication ceremonies to name three buildings in honor of individuals who contrib- uted their time, talents and skills to the program: the Cookhouse will honor Bob McMillan, the Bunkhouse Jim Christensen and the Ranger Cabin the late Vern Willcox. Due to limited parking at the ODS site, the Inter- mountain Education Ser- vice District is providing transportation via Mid Columbia Bus Com- pany from Pendleton for the event. The schedule for the day follows: 11:30 a.m. — Bus leaves Pendleton (from IMESD parking lot, 2001 SW Nye Ave.). 12:30 p.m. — Bus arrives at Outdoor School site. 12:30 p.m. — Hot dog lunch is served. 1:15 p.m. — Bus shut- tles visitors to Buck Creek area. 1:30 p.m. — Flagpole ceremony at Buck Creek. 1:50 p.m. — Bus shut- tles visitors back to Corporation. 2 p.m. — Building dedi- cations at Corporation. 3 p.m. — Bus departs ODS. 4 p.m. — Bus arrives back in Pendleton. Mobile Mobile Service Service Outstanding Computer Repair Fast & & Reliable Reliable Fast Open for all 24/7 your Call or Text Call or Text 24/7 Dale Bogardus 541-297-5831 Dale Bogardus 541-297-5831 Stay up-to-date Microsoft’ If your with computer is s most advanced operating system to date, in despair call Outstanding Windows 11 Computer Repair! Desktops and laptops in stock Austin Johnson/Lewiston Tribune Elder and spiritual leader Charles Axtell, left, sings alongside Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Vice-Chairman Shannon Wheeler and Treasurer Casey Mitchell during the opening ceremony of a Pacifi c lamprey release into Asotin Creek in Asotin, Washington, on Thursday, April 14, 2022. Tribe is a member, has used genetic testing to docu- ment that the translocated lamprey have successfully spawned and their off spring have migrated to the ocean. “Everywhere we have put them, everywhere we have released adults, we have documented suc- cessful reproduction,’’ Sween said. That is important because unlike salmon and steelhead, lamprey do not have fi delity to the partic- ular streams where they were hatched. Instead, mature adults key in on pheromones released by larval lamprey to fi nd suit- able spawning habitat. So while a lamprey from the Snake River basin could return to the river to spawn, it might also return to another Columbia River tributary or any river on the West Coast. Once a river becomes devoid of juvenile lam- prey, little remains to attract adults to spawning areas, no matter how pristine they may be. “That is the primary objective of our work — getting the adults up here, getting the young estab- lished so they can give off that pheromone plume,” Sween said. The fi sh released Thursday, which also included about 100 more that were placed farther upstream, are part of that stopgap program. “We understand this is a Band-Aid approach and there is a long-term fi x that needs to be done,” Penney said. The Army Corps of Engineers has exper- imented with ways to improve lamprey passage at dams but the work has just begun and yet to prove successful. Last year, only 31 lamprey were counted passing Lower Granite Dam. The 10-year average is 102. The tribe supports breaching the four lower Snake River dams as a means to saving lam- prey and threatened and endangered stocks of salmon and steelhead. The Snake River and its nearly pristine tributaries are viewed by scientists as an important stronghold for salmon and steelhead that could be unleashed through breaching. Sween said that same high-quality habitat could also be key to saving lam- prey. As juveniles, lamprey spend years fi lter feeding in the sand and silt of river beds. They are especially vulnerable to pollution and need clean water to survive. “Here in Nez Perce country,” he said, “we are blessed with just relatively pristine watersheds.” www.outstandingcomputerrepair.com Or upgrade yours today for the best security! 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