A6
LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Drought conditions could lead to fi sh management changes
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE
—
Drought conditions through-
out Oregon, including in Wal-
lowa County, could have an
impact on anglers this season
— especially if rain doesn’t
come during the early stages
of summer and temperatures
stay warm.
That was part of the mes-
sage in an update shared
recently by Kyle Bratcher,
the acting district fi sh biol-
ogist in the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife’s
Enterprise offi ce.
“Currently most of the
state is under drought sta-
tus and we’re expecting low
fl ows throughout much of the
summer,” Bratcher said in
an email. “We’re now warn-
ing of potential changes in
fi sh management to miti-
gate for warm conditions
and to protect vulnerable fi sh
populations.”
Bratcher, in an interview
with the Chieftain Friday,
June 4, said in most Wal-
lowa County rivers, fl ows
have been lower and pretty
moderate.
“It looks like we’re going
to hit base fl ows earlier than
we normally do,” he said. “I
think we’re going to be base
fl ows by late June to early
July.”
In 2020, he said, the base
fl ow wasn’t reached until
almost August.
“That means the fi sh is
spending like six weeks in
hotter temperatures (last
year) as opposed to 8-10
weeks,” which could be the
potential this year if tempera-
tures rise, he said.
Base fl ow, he said, is
“basically the lowest fl ow
you see.” At that point, snow-
melt from the mountains has
ceased and a river is no lon-
ger rising.
The biologist said that
warming water temperatures
have a major impact on fi sh,
especially if they are in hot
water for too long.
“Really what happens
(is) hot water holds less oxy-
gen,” he said. “Fish will tend
to move into faster-fl owing
areas. They are burning more
energy to stay in (these faster
and more) oxygenated areas.
It makes their immune sys-
tems a little more vulnera-
ble, and they’ll get attacked
by parasites. At certain times,
they’ll stop feeding alto-
gether,” if the heat is too high.
Hot water could
lead to actions
If the drought conditions
do worsen, there are a num-
ber of steps ODFW can take
at the state or local level when
it comes to fi sh management.
Bratcher said that changes
haven’t been implemented in
Wallowa County since 2015,
which he said was a very low
water year. That summer,
anglers were required to stop
fi shing by 2 p.m. daily.
The move, called “hoot-
owl regulations,” would
likely be the fi rst restriction
implemented this summer if
they are deemed necessary.
According to the ODFW
website, some of the other
options include bag limit
removal, early release of fi sh,
relocation of fi sh or trout
stocking changes.
Actions like removing
the bag limit would only be
implemented if there was an
increased likelihood of fi sh
dying in the water. He said,
though, there is likely just
one location that could hap-
pen in Wallowa County.
“The bag limit lifting is
typically in places where we
stock fi sh. It could occur at
Kinney Lake. If we know
those fi sh are going to die
up there, (we’ll do that),” he
said.
So far, Wallowa County is
in a better position than the
rest of the state, although the
situation is not ideal. Accord-
ing to the website drought-
monitor.unl.edu, about 60%
of Wallowa County is con-
sidered to be in a “moder-
ate drought,” or D1, while
the rest is step high at level
D2, considered “severe
drought.” The scale ranges
from no drought (two levels
below moderate drought) to
D4, which is an “exceptional
drought.” “Extreme” is level
D3.
The entire state is in at
least a moderate drought, and
more than 80% is in a severe
drought or worse.
The Wallowa Moun-
tains, which still have snow
on them, do off er the region
help in that there still will
be some meltoff . The water
fl owing from the mountains
is also colder, Bratcher said,
and fi sh can get upstream into
the colder water to fare better.
“There are areas for fi sh
to get away,” he said. “We’ll
probably fare these con-
ditions better than a lot of
places.”
Colder water in the depths
of Wallowa Lake is also a
benefi t.
Which means, for now,
regulation changes are on
hold.
“Right now we still have
cold water,” he said, adding
decisions on whether to put
restrictions in place will be on
a wait-and-see basis. “Maybe
nothing, but it could be some
version of those hoot-owl
regulations when water tem-
peratures get high.”
He said the best-case
scenario for the coming
months is for a milder, wet-
ter summer.
The worst option is if it
stays dry and temperatures
consistently reach triple
digits.
“Worst-case scenario is it
stays extremely hot and dry
all summer,” he said, “and
those fi sh have to stay in hot
water for 12-14 weeks.”
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