~h
Spilygy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Lamprey present complex issues
(Community members turned
out last week fo r the Warm
Springs premiere of T he L ost
Fish. The half hourfilm is pro
duced jointly by the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commis
sion and Freshwaters Illustrated.
J.P. of IFaraz Springs Natural
Resources made the following ob
servations about the film.).
by. J.P. Olney Patt Jr.
W.S. Natural Resources Branch
Warm Springs
Premiere!
Springs Reservation premiere
new film'The Lost Fish.' This
hour film produced jointly by the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission and Fresh waters
Illustrated explores the importance ot
lamprey to the Plateau tribes, now
their decline has affected tribal
cultural practices, and what the tribes
are doing to make sure these ancient
fish n
with tribal scientists working o
lamprey restoration projects.
E lm er Crow Jr., a N ez
Perce tribal member and an
employee o f that tribe’s fish
eries department, spent much
o f the past 40 years as a cru
sader for the lamprey eel.
In p articu lar; C row
worked for the réintroduction
o f lamprey into the waters o f
his hom eland in the upper
Snake River Basin. In one
scene in The Tost Fish, Crow
talks about seeing what he be
lieves was one o f the last lam
prey in one o f the Snake
tributaries.
The Tost Fish is a documen
tary about tribal efforts to
protect and enhance lamprey
populations in the Columbia
and Snake River systems.
T he video presentation,
shown at the Warm Springs
Community Center on M on
day, January 13, is also a last
tribute to Crow, who tragi
cally drowned in the Snake
River in July o f 2013 while
trying to rescue his young
grandson.
P acific lam p rey (Ento-
sphenus tridentatus) are best
know n to locals as simply
“eels,” though they are not
really eels. Eels are an ocean
species native to the eastern
seaboard. True eels have jaws
the juvenile stage, movement
downstream, the ocean stage,
and the spawning run.
Unlike salmon and steel
head, lamprey don’t necessar
ily re tu rn to th e ir n atal
streams.
W hat is n ot known are the
exact conditions necessary for
larval development. The lar
val phase o f the lamprey’s life
cycle takes place b en eath
river sediments. From three
to seven years lamprey larva,
or ammocoetes, live as'filter
feeders draw ing n u tritio n
from microorganisms and al
gae. This unknown makes it
difficult, if not impossible, to
replicate the conditions for
su ccessfu l re p ro d u c tio n ,
w h eth er in a h atch e ry or
natural setting.
The Tost Fish draws heavily
on th e experiences o f the
a n d a sk e leto n a n d live th eir
U m a tilla , Y ak am a a n d N e z
o f la m p r e y ju v e n ile s e a c h
entire life cycle in the ocean.
Lamprey have fio jaw, no
skeleton, and they are anâdro-
m o u s— m eaning they live
part o f their life in the fresh
water, migrate to the ocean,
then return to fresh water to
spawn.
Large gaps exist in the sci
entific knowledge o f the lam
prey life cycle. Much o f what
is known is associated with
the adult phase: metamorpho
sis from the larval stage to
Perce! fisheries aepartrrierits.
'WafnS Springs is drily meiri-
tio n ed in passing (W ilson
Wewa Jr. talks about the Cul
tural importance o f lamprey
in the diet and ceremonies o f
the tribes o f Warm Springs),
and that is because lamprey
are p resen t in harvestable
num bers in the D eschutes,
H ood and John Day Rivers.
The main reason for the
lack o f lam prey in u p p er
Columbia and Snake waters
year. 'And while lamprey a’re
capable o f "¿lim bing sheer
cliffs o f sm ooth rock at wa
terfalls, the sharp concrete
corners and high w ater ve
locities o f fish ladders at
dams are sometimes an im
passable barrier.
The effort to reintroduce
January 13. 2014
6pm
Page 5
January 22, 2014
Warm Springs
Community W ellness
Center
FREE
Pattie Tanewasha/Spilyay
The documentary made its W. S. premiere last week.
The Lost Fish
is a fin e tribute
to Ulmer Crowe
Jr. and his
tireless dedica
tion to the recov
ery o f lamprey.
is the presence o f hydroelec
tric dams.
D am s a c c o u n t fo r th e
lion’s share o f mortalities o f
downstream-migrating juve
niles and upstream-migrating
adults o f ALL species. But
lamprey in particular are vul
nerable to the hydroelectric
gaundet.
Screens m eant to divert
salmon and steelhead smolts
away from turbine intakes
trap and kill tens o f thousands
lamprey in upper basin wa
ters has thus far relied on
“translocation” o f adult lam
prey from lower in the sys
tem to rivers b ey o n d th e
dams. This means trapping
adult lamprey at Bonneville,
T he D alles and J o h n Day
Dams and transporting them
upstream to spawn, in some
cases as far as 300 miles.
This raises a num ber o f
concerns w ithin the Warm
Springs fisheries department:
1) T h a t tra p p in g and
tra n s p o rtin g th e lam p rey
from lower river dams may
ad v ersely im p a c t h ealth y
populations destined for wa
ters where Warm Springs fish
ers would have the opportu
nity to harvest them;
2) that “doing something
is better than doing nothing”
is n ot a good scientific basis
to conduct the removal;
3) that removal o f spawn
ing lamprey as part o f an ex
perimental exercise is simply
short-circuiting a natural pro
cess that has served the lam
p rey w ell fo r m illions o f
years.
The most significant action
on behalf o f lamprey in re
cent years was the prohibition
on harvest for all b ut food
purposes. Beginning in the
1970s, tons o f lamprey were
harvested each year for stur
geon bait. Testifying before
the Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Commission, such leaders as
D elb ert F rank Sr., Claude
Smith Sf., N athan Jim Sr., and
Eugene G reene Sr. led the
way for the eventual ban on
lamprey harvest for bait pur
poses.
The Tost Fish is a fine trib
ute to Elm er Crowe Jr. and
his tireless dedication to the
bf ecovert’ o f ' i am p re y .' T he
video highlights the plight o f
the resource and points to the
gains that have been made.
This article simply points out
that there are many complexi
ties yet to be sorted out be
fore a cltear path to recovery
can be chosen and followed.
The Muriel C. Suppah and Jackie Simtustus Memo
rial and Name Giving Ceremony is set for April 19,
2014 at the Simnasho Longhouse. 9 a.m. Washat,
noon lunch, name giving, giveaway.
Please give the gift of
life during blood drive .
A blood donation truly is a gift o f life. In one hour’s
time a person can donate one unit o f blood that can
be separated into four individual components. These r
can help save multiple lives.
F rom one unit o f blood, red blood cells can be
extracted for the use in trauma o f surgical patients.
Plasma, the liquid part o f blood, is administered to
patients with clotting problems. The third com ponent
o f blood, platelets, clot the blood when cuts or other
open wounds occur.
Blodd giving process
M ost places require you to weigh a minimum o f J
110 pounds,'be at least 16 years o f age, and be gener-
ally healthy.
First time donors are usually asked to present two
forms o f indentation, also you will be asked to fill out
a donor registration form.
An employee will perform a short health exam, tak- *
ing your pulse, temperature and blood pressure.
A drop o f blood from your finger will also be tested
to ensure that your blood iron level is sufficient to
donate.
All together this whole process will take 45 minutes
to an hour. The actual blood donation takes around 10
11
minutes.
Location for blood drive: The Warm Springs Health
Wellness Center.
Date: Wednesday January 29. Sign up sheet avail
able at the Warm Springs Health & Wellness Center
All information is kept confidential. Brought to you by
the Community Health Education Team (CH ET) Health
Informational Specialist, Anita Davis.
Senior Citizen Prom
Night on Valentine’s Day
The Senior Citizen Prom
N ig h t, “ S tro llin g D o w n
Memory Lane,” will happen
on February 14 at the Com
munity Center Social Hall.
D inner will be served at 5
p.m. D inner will include meat
loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy,
roll, some type o f vegetable,
dessert and juice.
Birth
A a ro n Jam es' J r . and
D o rth y Jam es o f W arm
Springs are pleased to an
n o u n ce the b irth o f th eir
d a u g h ter T atiyana N alan i
James, born on January 15,
2014.
T atiy ana joins b ro th e r
Quincy, 5; and sisters Riley,
9, Samantha, 6, Annalese, 6,
Open 24 hours
Gaming - Entertainment - Dining
Cash - Win up to $500
Oversize vehicle parking available.
Ask about our Free Fun Bus!
INDIAN HEAD
SATURDAY, FEB. 1, 2 0 1 4
WE’RE GIVING AWAY
Picture taking will be frofn
5-10 p.m. From 6-11 p.m. will
be dancing. Crowning o f tne
prom king and queen will be
at 8 p.m.
A dance contest, and bal
loon dance is at 9 p.m. D anc
in g fro m 9:30-11 p.mJ;
cleanup from 11 to midnight.
and Aalyssa James, 2.
G ra n d p a re n ts on th e
father’s side are the late Aardh
Jam es Sr, o f N esp elern ,
Wash., and Brenda Strom o f
Warm Springs.
G ra n d p a re n ts o n th e
mother’s side are LeiLani Polk
o f Warm Springs, and D on
H owtopat Jr. o f Yakama. v