Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1982)
September 27,1982 Page 3 SPILYAY TYMOO Salmon returns on Warm Springs River favorable by Marsha Shewczyk Despite problems and many unanswered questions the first return of hatchery raised chinook salmon to the Warm S p rin g s R iver is g ood. A pproxim ately 950 ad u lt chinook escaped nets, fishing lines and predators to return. T r ib a l b io lo g is ts a n d hatchery personnel questioned whether the returning salmon would go back to the hatchery where they were reared or would continue upstream to spawn. The question arose because unlike most hatcheries the brood stock used at the Warm Springs Hatchery were wild salmon. “ We’re, just trying to keep as close to wild as possible,” tribal biologist Gary Heckman explained. Salmon heading upstream were counted and then allowed to continue their journey. The hatchery-raised salmon seemed to-mingle well with their wild counterparts. The threat of a fatal kidney disease (Corynebacterium sp.) caused biologists to stay alert as the salmon began coming up river. Over 50 percent of hatchery salmon were affected by the disease. It was hoped that salmon on their way to spawn would not contract the disease. Some did. To avoid disaster and to assure the salmon’s living long enough to spawn, returning salmon were stopped at the hatchery until they were innoculated withan overall antibiotic which was effective for 30 days. Enough time was allowed, then, for the salmon to swim upstream and spawn. “The innoculation was likely to have in c re a se d sp aw n in g success,” estimates Heckman. The disease which is now under control may affect the number of returning salmon in 1984, says Heckman Any future bouts with the disease could have an impact on future runs. The disease is not totally understood. It is not known whether or not the disease is cyclical and will occur seriously again. It is still present in the system to a small degree at this time. Apparently the disease is harbored upstream from the h atchery. Both wild and hatchery-raised salmon are affected. Temperature of the water may have an effect in that risin g te m p e ra tu re s may increase activity of the disease. Little more than that is known at this time. Tribal biologists have been studying the disease and the movement of salmon on the Warm Springs River in an unusually way. By inserting radios in randomly selected fish biologists can track them. By this means the salmon’s holding areas can be found and checked for effects of the disease. Carcasses may indicate salmon had contracted kidney disease. At the same time biologists are able to ascertain the degree to which hatchery and wild salmon intermingle. Answers to these questions were only touched upon. Because of radio failures and the death of some of the radioed fish the experiment was not successful. T he S ta te o f O regon purchased some of the radios as they, too, were interested in the behavior of the wild-hatchery raised stock. W ith m ore efficient radios the use of radios in the future might be more successfully, Heckman feels. W ith o b se rv a tio n and experimentation, knowledge of the W arm Springs River system and its inhabitants is increasing. Many questions remain unanswered but that may not always be true. Learning about salmon and their behavior will hopefully help, someday, to increase the salmon population in the Warm Springs River. ABOVE Tribal biologist Gary Heckmen (left) and Terry Luther (right) insert a radio transmitter in a chinook salmon. With the radio biologists are able to track salmon in their natural environment for study. RIGHT After tracking salmon to a certain area examination for living and dead fish may answer come questions. Spilyay Tymoo photos by Shewczyk Knifing fatal to Charles Jack Tribes and PGE file On September 14, Charles Jack of Warm Springs died as the result of stab wounds. According to Jefferson County D is tr ic t A tto r n e y M ik e Sullivan, the Madras police were called to Jim ’s Minute Mart in south Madras for a disturbance at 1:28 a.m. Upon arriving at the market the police found Jack had suffered a number of stab wounds. He was transported to Mt. View Hospital where he died at 2 Surveys in the mail The T itle IV P a rt A parenting committee needs assessment will be in the mail soon and assistant superinten dent Phil Riley stresses the importance of the survey. The survey must be done each year in order for the committee to apply for federal funding. Time is of the essence as the assessments must be returned by October 6. Riley will make a re p o rt to the com m ittee October 12. The funding application must be in by November. Look for the survey in your mail box and be sure to complete and return it as soon as possible, Riley urges. a.m. Two suspects, Wayne Gene Tom, 24, and Anthony Ray Bryant, 27, both of Warm Springs, were arrested at the market. According to Sullivan, an autopsy was performed by the Oregon Medical Examiner and the cause of death was listed as a knife wound to the neck. Tom and B ryant were arraigned in Madras Circuit Court September 15 at which time they were charged with murder. Later that day they recieved c o u rt-a p p o in te d attorneys. No bail was set for the men. According to the District Attorney, the facts of the case will be heard by the Grand Jury at a later date. T h e m a tte r is u n d e r investigation by Jefferson County Sheriffs department and Madras City police. Vandalism less costly than originally thought Nearly a month has passed since the vandalism of a Hud house in West Hills, but according to housing manager Elton Greeley the restoration of the house is underway. The form er tenants, the Lydia C rane fam ily have been relocated in another HUD house. According to Greeley the estimates of the damage to the house haye been reevaluated and the cost will run in the neighborhood of $3,000 to replace the sheetrock and damaged tiles. This figure does n ot include any of the appliances, bathroom fixtures nor the personal property of the Crane family. “I have some good leads and the case is beginning to gel,” stated tribal investigator Dick Leber. At this time the incident is still considered td be in the stages of an investigation. law suits in US court The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have filed a suit ag ain st P o rtla n d G eneral Electric (PGE) through the U .S . a t t o r n e y ’s o f f ic e , contending that PGE owes the Tribes nearly $13 million for an adjustment to rental rates on Round Butte Dam, retroactive to August 1979. PGE has refused to pay the amount owed, says the suit, and the tribe is seeking enforcement of the arbitrators’ order with the aide of the U.S. attorneys office. The order was issued in March of this year. PGE filed a suit in May challenging new rental rates set by arbitrators in March. The suit, also pending in federal c o u r t , s t a t e s t h a t th e arbitrators had no authority and that the award should be vacated. Under the agreement made in 1955 with PGE, the Tribes granted PGE certain easements and rights to rent tribal land and water on the reservation so the dam could be built. PGE promised to pay the Tribes one rate for the first 10 years of operation beginning in 1964. This figure is subject to adjustment each five years thereafter. But PGE and the Tribes agreed that if they could not • agree on the periodic adjustments, the new rental rate would be set through arbitration. This dispute grows from the arbitration award made in March which covers the five- year period beginning August 6, 1979. A three-man panel, which was mutually agreed upon by PGE and the Tribes, entered a unanimous order February 7 establishing the new rate at 67.5 cents per month for each kilowatt of installed capacity. This is based on 300,000 kilowatts. The new rate was increased to 4’A times what it previously had been. At the same time, the arbitrators also established a new millage rate per kilowatt hour. This order, however, contained a mathematical error that substantially reduced the millage rate. So on March 11, the a rb ira to rs issued an amended order showing a millage rate that was 350% higher than the pre-arbitration rate.
