SpilyayTymoo Warm Springs, Oregon December I6,i988 Page 3
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The abundance of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River has declined in recent decades. Subbasin planning involves efforts to increase
fish runs throughout the entire Columbia River basin.
Special projects outlined for Deschutes River
Subbasin planning for the
Deschutes River basin focuses on
hatchery and tributary enhance
ment projects for increased pro
duction of spring and fall chinook
and steelhead.
Spring chinook
Spring chinook salmon are pro
duced at Round Butte Hatchery
and the Warm Springs national
Fish Hatchery. The average run
size of hatchery spring chinook for
the Deschutes basin is 2,500 from
1982-1987.
Wild spring chinook salmon are
produced in the Warm Springs
River and Shtike Creek. The Warm
Springs River above the hatchery
and Shtike Creek are managed for
wild fish only. The average run size
for the subbasin is 2,265 between
1977-1987.
A tribal and recreational fishery
occurs in a one-mile section of the
Deschutes River from Sherar's Falls
downstream to the mouth of Buck
Hollow Creek from April to June.
Approximately 30 percent of the
harvested fish are taken by tribal fisher
while 70 percent is taken by
recreational fishermen. Twenty-nine
percent of the take is wild.
Two objectives have been listed
. for Deschutes River subbasin plan
j ning: Return 8,500 to 12,000 spring
chinook salmon to the Deschutes
j River to provide 5,500 to 8,000 fish
available for harvest and an escape
i ment of 1, 400 to 2,500 wild fish and
? 1,600 to 2,000 hatchery fish; 2.
i Increase harvest opportunities for
j spring chinook salmon in the
I Deschutes River.
Strategies to achieve Objective 1
I :
include enhancement measures, ex-
! pansion of natural production areas,
and hatchery production increases,
t Objective 2 strategies focus on
S extending the bait fishing area.
I Proposals to achieve the above
objectives include the following
i activities. Shitike Creek habitat en
hancement would include riparian
; projects and projects to improve
I holding areas and upstream pas
j sage.
' Another activity involves Warm
Springs River habitat enhancement
; which would call for riparian and
instream projects in 20 miles of the
stream.
White River Falls Passage improve
ment would provide access to 100
' miles of spawning and rearing hab
itat that is currently unavailable.
The preferred method for passage
is a trap and haul facility located
below the lower falls.
Round Butte Hatchery produc
tion increases are included in action
steps. Biologists are looking at
increasing spring chinook salmon
smolt releases from 200,000-500,000
to 470,000-770,000. Pelton ladder
Warm Springs National Fish
Hatchery production could be in-
creased. Released smolts of 1 .200,000
would be consistent with the opcr-
ational plan developed by the Tribes
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
An additional proposal involves a
unHv tn Hf tprminc the fpasihilitv nf
providing passage for spring chi- aged 3,879 hatchery steelhead from
nook salmon adults and juveniles s.heraJr s .Fal,!j to the mouth of the
river during that period.
Please return deer tags
The return of all reservation and State deer and elk
tags is requested by the Warm Springs Natural
Resources Department. The tags are used to update
harvest information on the reservation and state lands.
State tags must be returned to the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife. Please bring your unused tags to
the Natural Resources Department.
past the Pelton-Round Butte hydro
electric project. Passage would
provide access to historic spawning
and rearing habitat.
Action for Objective 2 involves
allowing bait from Shcrar's Falls
to Pine Tree.
Fall chinook salmon
Deschutes subbasin fall chinook
salmon are managed for wild fish
only. No hatchery fall chinook are
released. No harvest or escapement
objectives are in effect for the
Deschutes River.
I his run may be composed of
both summer and fall runs. Thei
stock enters the subbasin from late
June to October. It is managed!
currently as one run of fall chi
nook. Different management ac
tions may be appropriate for eachi
run.
The run size of fall chinook in
the lower Deschutes River subbasin
for 1977-87 averaged 9,557 fish
annually. Escapement figures aver
aged 3,002-3,630 jacks and adults.
Harvest of fall chinook averaged
2,925 fish between 1977-87. Ap
proximately 60 percent is taken by
tribal fishermen and 40 percent by
recreational fishermen.
Production of fall chinook occurs
in the main stem of the Deschutes
River, limited by quality and quan
tity of spawning gravel.
Objectives for fall chinook are
aimed at increasing the run. Objec
tive 1 calls for returning 10,000
12,000 fall chinook salmon in the
Deschutes River to provide 4,000
5,000 fish for harvest and a 6,000
7,000 escapement.
Objective 2 is determination of
whether or not the run is com
prised of summer chinook and fall
rhinnnk
Actions to achieve Objective I !
inHllHf Hifffrpflt Hporppc rf rirmr. I
ian enhancement and spawning!
giavci ciitiaiiicuicm.
Achievement of Objective 2 in-
eludes determining time and loca- .
tion of spawning. Activities include
tagging, redd counts and surveys, J ,
determination of life history char-1
acteristics and study of genetic j
characteristics of each run. j '
Summer steelhead ! '
All summer steelhead currently j
released in the subbasin are pro- i
duced at Round Butte Fish j
Hatchery. The hatchery releases 1
162,000 smolts annually to meet I
the mitigation request of 1,800 J
summer steelhead.
Steelhead from other subbasins j
enter the Deschutes River and either j
stay or continue up the Columbia i
River to another subbasin. j
The current escapement goal of i
10,000 wild steelhead above Sher- j
ar's Falls has not been met between j
1977-87. Recreational harvest was
restricted in 1979 and has been S
prohibited since 1979 because the J 3. How many different tribes and people fished at Celilo, on
escapement goal has not been met Mhe reservation on ceded area rivers?
and to protect visiting wild steel
head from other Columbia River
subbasins. .
Warm Springs tribal harvest
averaged 933 wild steelhead and
1,818 hatchery steelhead during
1977 - 87. Recreational harvest aver
Objectives lor steelhead manage
ment include: I. Return l6.(KX)-22,000
summer steelhead to the Deschutes
River to provide 5.000-1 1,000 fish
available for harvest and an es
capement of 10,000 wild fish and
600-1 ,000 hatchery fish. 2. Maxim
ize harvest of hatchery steelhead in
the lower Deschutes River subbasin.
3. Minimize the potential impact of
hatchery summer steelhead on wild
steelhead.
Strategies to achieve the objec
tives relics on enhancement of nat
ural production in Trout Creek,
Shitike Creek and the Warm Springs
River. Hachcry production levels
at Round Butte Hatchery and nat
ural production levels would be
maintained or increased.
Proposals to achieve the objec
tives include Trout Creek. Bakeoven
Creek, Warm Springs River, Buck
Hollow Creek and Shitike Creek
enhancement. Work would also
need to occur at Round Butte
Hatchery to increase production
Subbasin
In 1980, Congress passed the
Northwest Power Planning Act that
requires program development to
protect and restore fish resources
in the Columbia Basin. This is to
replace fish losses caused by hydro
power development. The Northw
est Power Planning Council esti
mates that six million to 1 1 million
fish are lost per year.
The Power Council consulted
Topics for Tribal members
1. How did you learn your fishing techniques and from
niiuui.
, , - , .
2. How different is today s fishing
-
4. Are you passing down what you know about fishing to
your children and grandchildren?
and at White River Falls and
Pelton-Round Butte hydroelectric
facility to allow passage.
Proposals for achieving Objec
tive 2 includes incorporating angler-caught
steelhead into the brood
stock at Round Butte hatchery,
allowing use of bait from Shcrar's
Falls to Pine Tree, year-round ang
ling for summer steelhead in the
Deschutes River, incorporating wild
fish into the steelhead broodstock
at Round Butte Hatchery and exam-,
ining existing data regarding time
of steelhead passage past Shcrar's
Falls and time of entry into the
Peltonb Trap along with modify
ing hatchery broodstock selection.
To achieve Objective 3 action
calls for limiting the release of
hatchery steelhead smolts to im
mediately below Pclton Reregulat
ing Dam, limitiong the recycling of
hatchery steelhead from Pelton
Trap and incorporating wild fish
into the steelhead broodstock at
Round Butte Hatchery.
planning involves tribal
with Columbia Basin Fish and
Wildlife agencies and Indian tribes.
A goal is set to double fish runs to
the Columbia from 2.5 million fish
to 5 million adult fish. The produc
tion increases will be spread
throughout tributaries of the
Columbia including rivers and
streams of the Warm Springs reser
vation and ceded areas such as the
Deschutes, Hood River, John Day
and Fifteen Mile Creek.
to consider:
"
... . n
compared to Celilo days?
Tribes, state to submit
final subbasin plan
Salmon at one time were abund
ant in the Columbia River. Many
were caught and used to carry on
spiritual, cultural, economic and
social activities as well as to sustain
life.
Today salmon are still valuable
to the Indian people. Ihe spring
chinook salmon continues to be
used in religious ceremonies and
social gatherings. The stories of
salmon fishing on the Columbia
River are still told. The spiritual
values are passed on to each gener
ation. And for some, salmon re
mains a way to make a living.
Salmon were almost destroyed
over the past few decades. Devel
opment and exploitation of the
rcsurce has decreased numbers by
an estimated 5-1 1 million adult fish
annually. The current Columbia
River run is approximatlcy 2.5 mil
lion adult salmon and steelhead a
year.
Since 1980 when the Northwest
Power Act was passed which in
cluded developing a program work
ing with fisheries agencies, tribes
and hydroelectric developers to pro
tect and restore fish and wildlife
damaged by hydropower develop
ment, many projects have been
aimed at increasing the salmon and
steelhead runs. Fish restoration pro
jects by the Yakima, Nez Perce,
Umatilla and Warm Springs Tribes
have been important.
However, a more large-scale plan,
involving the subbasin which pro
vides water to the Columbia River,
is being analyzed for increased fish
production. The Northwest Power
Planning Council has set a goal of
doubling fish runs in the Columbia
River Basin.
The system planning to rebuild
fish runs involves the integration of
31 subbasin plans. The system plan
ning group is guided by representa
tives from the Idaho Department
of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon De
partment of Fish and Wildlife,
Washington Department of Fish
eries, Washington Department of
Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Columbia River Intertri
bal Fish Commision and the Col
ville and Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
Three committees are gathering
input from the interested public
and involved agencies. The Public
The Natural Resources Depart
ment is reviewing information about
the streams to draft a plan to set
goals for salmon and steelhead
production and fishery objectives.
Tribal member involvement is
requested to discuss what fishing
was like a few years back and a
long time ago. And what kind of
future fisheries do tribal members
want. Inbal members are also
5. What are your concerns about current fishing issues?
6. Where were your favorite old
used today? If not, why?
7. On what rivers and at what
fishing take place?
Please answer the questions if you
juui icsciriuuii anu iiucu it
please attach a piece of paper with
each with the number of the question. Ple.se submit question
naire to the Natural Resources Department by October 14.
Advisory Committee, representing
non-ticuty user groups and in
terested members of the commun
ity at large, arc helping ODhW in
identifying a range of options and
objectives for each subbasin.
The Technical Committee is
composed of state and federal
fishery agencies, land and Mater
management and utility represen
tatives. 1 his committee will develp
specific information and describe
and asses potential options.
The Fish Management Commit
tee, composed of state fisheries
agencies and tribes, will work to
select the range of objectives and
options.
The primary goal of ihccommit
tccs is to provide the opportunity
for input during preparation of the
subbasin plan. Local meetings will
allow public input during the data
collection stage of the proccs.
The planning process for the 21
subbasins above Bonneville Dam
was started in the fall of 1987 with
(he collection of existing data on
fish stocks, harvest levels and hydro-power-caused
fish losses. Biologists
are writing reports regarding on
rescrvation and ceded area river
basins which will include informa
tion on spawning grounds, fish
hatcheries, water quality and other
habitat conditions.
The 10 subbasins below Bonne
ville Dam will be reviewed towards
the end of the process.
All subbasins will be analyzed to
determine how the plans for one
river basin will affect other subbas
ins. Alternate draft plans for res
toring fish runs in each subbasin
will be developed.
Tribes will be asking members
what kinds of salmon they want
and where and when they would
like to fish. Biologists will develop
goals to achieve these options.
Ultimately, a systemwide plan
will be developed. Activities such
as ocean harvests and fish losses
due to hydroelectric development
will also be considered.
By July 1990, the Tribes and
states will submit a final subbasin
plan to the Northwest Power Plan
ning Council for project funding.
The cost for the projects will be
paid by ratepayers utilizing elccric
ity produced by power companies.
members
encouraged to attend a meeting
scheduled for December 19 at 7
p.m. at the Agency Longhouse to
talk about Columbia Basin Sub
Basin planning for fisheries.
Meeting results will help Tribal
Council with tishery management.
For information contact 553-1 161,
ext. 233, Natural Resources, Gene
Greene, Director or Mark Fritsch,
Fish Biologist.
fishing sites? Can they be
i
i
i
places would you like to see !
are interested in fisheries on S
uuiuuiiai space IS needed
your response, numbering