NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Near record-low returns of spring chinook to South Umpqua
real,” Huchko said.
Jeff Dose, a retired fish
biologist with the Umpqua
National Forest, said one
year’s return doesn’t neces-
sarily mean there’s going to
be 28 again next year.
“There could be 300 next
year,” Dose said. “We don’t
know what’s going to hap-
pen next year. There may
be none next year; we don’t
know.”
He said the numbers sug-
gest that the species may
hang on for a while at low
numbers.
Dose said the accounts
that point to thousands of
fish once being in the South
Umpqua in the early 1900s
are estimates based on har-
vest records.
Spring chinook salmon
return to their spawning
grounds from the ocean in
February and March. As
temperatures rise, the fish
start looking for pools to stay
in during the summer before
they spawn in September
and October.
Unlike their spring coun-
terparts, fall chinook start
entering the rivers in Sep-
tember and spawn shortly
after.
A study released by the
University of California
Davis last year was con-
firmation of what many
already knew — these fish
By SAPHARA HARRELL
The News-Review
ROSEBURG — His-
torically, spring chinook
have returned to the South
Umpqua River by the thou-
sands, spending time in deep,
cool pools in the summer
before spawning in the fall.
Greg Huchko, with the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife, said his depart-
ment has been doing snorkel
counts of the species for the
past 40 years.
This year they counted
28 fish that had returned to
their natal pools — the sec-
ond lowest since the depart-
ment started recording the
numbers.
“Obviously it’s been a red
flag for us,” Huchko said.
Loss of spawning habitat,
warming river temperatures,
predation and ocean acidifi-
cation are all contributing to
their decline.
Huchko said ODFW
would like to see the popu-
lation around 600, although
the species has been hover-
ing around 170 on average.
He said if there are suc-
cessive years of abys-
mally low numbers going
into the future, it could be
catastrophic.
“If that were to perpet-
uate, then the likelihood of
extinction is there and is
Robin Loznak/The News-Review via AP, File
In this June 11, 2008, file photo, spring chinook salmon pass through the Winchester
Dam fish ladder on the North Umpqua River near Roseburg.
are unique.
Stan Petrowski, president
of Umpqua Watersheds, said
the fundamental assumption
was that spring and summer
chinook were all one spe-
cies, but DNA testing proved
otherwise.
Through a DNA analy-
sis, the authors of the study
found that early-migrating
fish like spring chinook and
summer steelhead depend
on a single gene that makes
them head inland sooner than
their fall and winter counter-
parts. It also found that the
gene evolved once in each
species, meaning that if they
go extinct, they’re not likely
to re-evolve.
The findings could have
implications for future man-
agement of spring chinook,
which aren’t currently con-
sidered distinct from fall
chinook — a species that is
doing relatively well in the
North Umpqua River with
thousands returning each
year.
Petrowski said Umpqua
Watersheds is working with
the Forest Service to improve
habitat and retain spawning
gravel on the South Umpqua.
“If you give them half
a chance, they respond,”
Petrowski said. “We’ve seen
that with coho, and we’re
sure we can see it with the
spring chinook.”
While the “springers”
may not look different than
fall chinook, they have a
higher fat content and are
high in Omega 3 fatty acids.
The fish was an important
food source for native tribes,
which have gathered on the
South Umpqua River for
thousands of years.
Kelly Coates, a water and
environmental
resources
program manager with the
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua
Tribe of Indians, said salmon
were such a culturally sig-
nificant food source for her
ancestors that they had a
name for them in their native
language.
“Anytime an animal actu-
ally had a name you know
it was really important to
them,” Coates said.
Each year, Coates said the
tribe holds a first salmon cer-
emony on the South Umpqua
River that serves as a coming
of age for young men and
also honors the fish that feed
them.
“Part of the significance
of the ceremony is to put
some good out there in order
to have increased returns of
fish,” Coates said.
Coates is a fish biologist
by trade and said her passion
for fisheries came from the
tribe’s connection to natural
resources.
“The tribal connection to
natural resources was huge
for me growing up. I did a lot
of hunting and fishing with
my parents, and that was a
big influence,” Coates said.
For her, it’s important to
ensure that salmon are part
of her future and, also, her
children’s future.
“It would be really sad
and very disheartening if
I knew that my daughters
were not going to get to see
chinook salmon at South
Umpqua Falls like I have, or
that there were no returning
salmon for our salmon cere-
mony,” Coates said.
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Sunshine and
patchy clouds
Nice with clouds
and sun
Cloudy
Partly sunny with a
shower
Partly sunny
66° 46°
63° 43°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
65° 48°
65° 48°
65° 45°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
67° 45°
66° 42°
65° 49°
68° 48°
OREGON FORECAST
67° 43°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
58/48
67/44
67/36
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
66/49
Lewiston
60/48
67/44
Astoria
59/47
Pullman
Yakima 65/38
58/43
67/47
Portland
Hermiston
62/48
The Dalles 67/45
Salem
Corvallis
61/40
La Grande
Yesterday
Normals
Records
69/39
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
61/45
68/36
71/42
Ontario
70/41
Caldwell
Burns
63°
33°
62°
37°
79° (2003) 21° (1984)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
61/44
0.00"
1.14"
0.43"
6.29"
7.80"
6.99"
WINDS (in mph)
70/40
68/27
0.00"
1.39"
0.72"
7.91"
13.70"
9.66"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 65/39
60/45
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
66/46
66/45
63°
38°
61°
38°
80° (1982) 16° (1911)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
59/42
Aberdeen
65/43
64/43
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
59/49
Today
Medford
68/43
Wed.
SE 3-6
NW 4-8
Boardman
Pendleton
WSW 6-12
W 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
65/32
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
7:22 a.m.
5:56 p.m.
5:59 p.m.
6:00 a.m.
Last
New
Fox 12 Oregon via AP
This photo provided by Fox 12 Oregon shows a small kitten that was recently
found glued to a busy road near Silverton.
Kitten glued to busy road, rescued
SILVERTON (AP) — An Oregon man
says he found a 5-week-old kitten glued to
a busy road.
KPTV says Chuck Hawley rescued the
kitten, which had some sort of glue on its
paws, neck and tail.
Veterinarian Jenny Bate says it’s clear
the glue was intentionally put on the kit-
ten’s paws.
She was able to remove the glue using
mineral oil and the kitten should fully
recover.
BRIEFLY
First
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 91° in Thermal, Calif. Low 9° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
Oct 24
Oct 31
Nov 7
Nov 15
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
cold front
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
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60s
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
New climate change lawsuit
filed as youth suit halted
Sweet Cakes by Melissa
appeals to Supreme Court
PORTLAND (AP) — The Animal
Legal Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit to
compel the federal government to act on
climate change as a similar lawsuit filed by
young activists was placed on hold.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the
plaintiffs in the suit filed Monday in U.S.
District Court in Oregon include scientists,
nature enthusiasts and wildlife advocates
who say they fear for their safety because
of increased severity of wildfires, mud-
slides and other threats.
They contend they have a fundamen-
tal right to be left alone “free from human
interference” in the wilderness.
They’re asking a federal judge to
declare that the U.S. government is violat-
ing that right by contributing to a danger-
ous concentration of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere.
The new suit comes days after the U.S.
Supreme Court temporarily blocked a
high-profile climate change lawsuit that
young activists brought against the federal
government in Eugene.
PORTLAND (AP) — The owners of a
shuttered Oregon bakery, who were fined
for refusing to make a wedding cake for a
lesbian couple, are appealing to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports
lawyers for Melissa and Aaron Klein,
the former owners of Sweet Cakes by
Melissa, filed the petition Monday.
They’re asking the high court to over-
turn the state’s order to pay $135,000 in
emotional damages to the couple they
turned away.
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and
Industries imposed the damages in 2015
after finding the Kleins had violated state
anti-discrimination law. The Oregon
Court of Appeals upheld the order, and
the state Supreme Court declined to hear
the case.
The high court ruled in favor of a Col-
orado baker in a similar case but that
decision didn’t address whether a busi-
ness can invoke religious objections to
refuse service to lesbian and gay people.
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Hawley says it’s incredible the kitten
wasn’t hit by a car.
He saw several vehicles swerve around
it before he could rescue it.
Hawley tells KPTV he and his wife
will adopt the kitten. They have named it
Sticky.
Marion County Sheriff’s Lt. Chris
Baldridge says if Hawley files a crime
report, his agency will investigate.
The kitten now has a Facebook page,
Sticky the Kitty.
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