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NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Thursday, February 3, 2022 Salmon are no longer kings of the Columbia By ELI FRANCOVICH Columbia Insight THE DALLES — In 1957, the steel gates closed on The Dalles Dam, upstream from Hood River, and one of North America’s largest waterfalls was inundated with water. With that, an important Indigenous cultural gather- ing place was flooded and an unforeseen ecological cascade triggered. Now, 77 years later, often the most common fish found flopping up Bonneville Dam’s fish ladders are nonnative shad, a silvery member of the herring family and the unlikely beneficiary of the flooding of Celilo Falls. “The shad are, even though they run out to the ocean and come back, they are not great swimmers like salmon are,” said John Epifa- nio, lead author of a newly published report examining the proliferation of shad in the Columbia River system. Some years shad, which were introduced to the West Coast in the 1880s, make up more than 90% of recorded upstream migrants, accord- ing to an Independent Scien- tific Advisory Board report to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council published in November. What impact these fish are having on native ocean-going The Museum at Warm Springs/Contributed Photo An array of cables, scaffolds and platforms at Celilo Falls enabled access to fishing grounds until The Dalles Dam began operating in 1957. species like salmon and steel- head still isn’t clear. While the report doesn’t offer any defin- itive answers, it does show how ecological disruptions, whether from hydroelec- tric development or climate change, can hurt one species while benefiting another. T he for mer hor se - shoe-shaped Celilo Falls is a prime example. Before the dam began operating, the falls dropped 40 feet. Migrating steelhead and salmon battled up and over the falls during their yearly migration. But, for the nonnative shad the falls proved to be an unnavigable obstacle. Now that the falls are submerged that’s no longer the case. ‘We’re salmon people, not shad people’ Prior to 1960, there were fewer than 20,000 adult shad per year at Bonneville Dam, which is downstream of Celilo Falls. After The Dalles Dam was built, that number rose to 1 million a year, and shad numbers have increased on average 5% each year. That means the shad popu- Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY FRIDAY | Go to AccuWeather.com SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY lation is nearly doubling every decade, Epifanio said. In addition to the removal of the physical barrier, the hydroelectric system also slowed the downstream flow of water, which raised overall water temperature. It’s possi- ble shad, which can survive a wider range of temperatures than salmon, have capitalized on that, too. “There have been a lot of changes. It just seems to have favored these guys and they’ve taken advantage,” said Epifanio. Regardless of the cause, shad numbers have increased. What’s more, they’re making it farther upstream and into the Snake River above Lower Granite Dam, said Jay Hesse, director of biological services for the Nez Perce Tribe’s Depart- ment of Fisheries Resources Management. The tribe was not involved in the study. “Their abundance is increasing to really notable levels,” he said. “And their distribution at those higher levels is also expanding.” That’s concerned Nez Perce biologists who worry shad may hurt their already struggling steelhead and salmon populations. The report doesn’t estab- lish any direct link between the shad increase and the salmon and steelhead decrease. However, it does offer a few theories on how shad may negatively impact salmon. For example, high- er-than-normal shad numbers may be supporting a larger avian predator population and shad may be competing for food sources and nursery habitat. Such a large-scale change in the Columbia Basin’s migratory fish population is alarming ecologically. And for people and cultures that venerate salmon, steelhead and lamprey, it also highlights the loss of a way of life, said Anthony Capetillo, aquatic invasive species biol- ogist for the Nez Perce tribe. “We’re a salmon people, not a shad people,” he said. What’s the problem? Developing a commercial and recreational fishery in the West may be one way manag- ers can control the prolifera- tion of shad, said Stuart Ellis, harvest management biolo- gist for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commis- sion. “It’s a huge amount of protein, perfectly good protein,” he said. “There is no reason not to catch these fish — we don’t need them in the system.” The Wild Fish Conser- vancy also is examining experimental trapping meth- ods that could trap shad while not accidentally trapping salmon, steelhead or other unintended species. Epifanio and other researchers involved in the study hope their report prompts further investiga- tion, particularly into how, or if, shad are hurting native species. “At the very least, we just need to continue to monitor what these populations are doing in the basin,” he said. “We hope that we don’t just monitor. We want to have some solutions.” Dean attorney disputes resignation By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain Clearing and milder Turning cloudy 47° 32° 45° 40° Times of clouds and sun Mostly sunny Partly sunny PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 51° 31° 53° 36° 46° 32° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 50° 32° 49° 41° 55° 33° 55° 38° 47° 32° OREGON FORECAST 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 48/43 33/29 39/27 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 40/30 Lewiston 47/39 42/31 Astoria 49/40 Pullman Yakima 34/26 49/41 39/31 Portland Hermiston 47/36 The Dalles 50/32 Salem Corvallis 50/33 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 39/27 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 50/35 51/31 41/28 Ontario 35/22 Caldwell Burns 39° 27° 46° 29° 64° (1934) -28° (1950) 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 50/31 0.00" 0.00" 0.07" 0.93" 0.66" 1.21" WINDS (in mph) 39/24 41/18 0.02" 0.02" 0.09" 1.55" 0.98" 1.63" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 36/21 51/35 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 47/32 49/36 37° 24° 44° 29° 66° (1934) -18° (1950) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 46/38 Aberdeen 30/26 28/24 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 46/42 Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 56/29 Fri. W 6-12 WSW 6-12 SW 6-12 SSW 7-14 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 47/20 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 7:14 a.m. 5:04 p.m. 9:01 a.m. 8:16 p.m. First Full Last New Feb 8 Feb 16 Feb 23 Mar 2 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 85° in Zapata, Texas Low -27° in Willow City, N.D. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY WALLOWA COUNTY — An attorney for the Bob Dean Oregon Ranches reached out Monday, Jan. 31, to dispute the circum- stances by which former ranch manager B.J. Warnock left his job there, saying Warnock’s departure was a “dismissal.” Attorney J. Logan Joseph, of the Joseph Law Firm in La Grande, confirmed in an email that Katie Romero, who comes from New Mexico according to her website, is the new manager “of all Dean family cattle operations in Wallowa County,” and said that Warnock’s “dismissal” was “on or about Jan. 17 of this year.” Warnock has not returned a request for clarification on the matter. Romero has stated that her boss, Bob Dean’s wife, Karen Dean, has forbidden her from speaking to the press. Bob Dean is suffering mental trauma following a surgery in June, Karen Dean said in early January, so she is speaking for him. Joseph said he knows nothing of Wallowa County Sheriff Joel Fish’s investi- gation for possible animal neglect other than the inves- tigation is ongoing. Fish confirmed Jan. 31 that he still is investigating. T he ca se i nvolve s hundreds of cattle that were trapped in heavy snows in the Upper Imnaha area late Anna Butterfield/Contributed Photo, File Calves rescued from the deep snows in the Upper Imnaha get some refreshment Jan. 2, 2022, at the Joseph-area ranch of Mark and Anna Butterfield. They are among many rescued in late 2021. last fall, and the cows were unable to get themselves or their calves to safety. It is believed at least two dozen mother cows died, some of which “literally ‘milked themselves to death,’ in an attempt to provide for their calves,” Wallowa County Stockgrowers President Tom Birkmaier said Jan. 19. Numerous rescued calves were taken in by area ranch- ers and cared for. It is still uncertain how many cattle were involved, but Warnock originally said there were more than 1,500 on summer pasture that they were trying to bring out last fall. Birkmaier and others rallied fellow ranchers to try to rescue the cows and calves over the past month. The effort included taking hay to the animals by snowmobile or dropping it by helicopter. It also included bringing cattle out on a trailer pulled by a tracked vehicle that was able to get into the animals after private and public efforts to open backcountry roads. Joseph added in his email the Dean family’s appreci- ation for the help of locals in rescuing the cattle and calves. “The Dean family would like to thank all of the local ranchers and any other persons that assisted in the location and retrieval of these cattle,” Joseph wrote. “It is truly encouraging to see a community come together in such a fashion under such circumstances.” IN BRIEF 5 train cars derail, spill grain BAKER CITY — Five cars on a west- bound freight train derailed Friday afternoon, Jan. 28, near Baker City, spilling grain. The incident happened about 4 p.m. near Old Highway 30 about 1 mile south of the Milepost 306 interchange in south Baker City, said Susan Stevens, manager of communica- tions for Union Pacific Railroad. The train crew was not injured, and the railroad resumed normal operations after several hours. The case of the derailment is under inves- tigation, Stevens said. — EO Media Group 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 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 70s East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2022, EO Media Group 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low Circulation Dept. 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