Willamette Biological Opinion Hatchery Research 2011 Annual Report - Baseline Monitoring

Identification Information

Citation

Originator: ODFW

Publish Date: July 2013

Online Link: None

BPA Project #:

Contact Information

Agency: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Name: Jeremy Romer

Job Position: Assistant Project Leader

Telephone: 541-757-4113

E-Mail Address: jeremy.d.romer@odfw.oregon.gov

Description

Abstract: In the Willamette Basin upstream of Willamette Falls (Figure 1), there are four distinct spring Chinook salmon hatchery programs (i.e., North Santiam [Stock 21], South Santiam [Stock 24], McKenzie [Stock 23], and Middle Fork Willamette [Stock 22]) that are managed for integrated harvest augmentation as part of the WHMP. These hatchery stocks, as well as all naturally spawned spring Chinook salmon in the Upper Willamette Basin, are included in the Upper Willamette River Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU). The Upper Willamette Summer Steelhead Hatchery Program is managed to provide fish for sport fisheries and to replace loss of fisheries caused by habitat and passage loss/degradation in the Willamette Basin and other lower Columbia basins. Summer steelhead are not native to the Willamette Basin upstream of Willamette Falls. Summer steelhead were first brought into the South Santiam River as mitigation for lost winter steelhead production in areas inundated by Foster and Green Peter reservoirs. The hatchery program currently includes annual smolt releases into the North Santiam, McKenzie, and Middle Fork Willamette rivers. Because summer steelhead are not native to the upper Willamette Basin and could interact negatively with ESA-listed species, the Willamette Project Biological Opinion (BiOP; NMFS 2008) required the USACE to collect information to describe the nature and extent of these potential effects. This report fulfills a requirement under Task Order NWPPM-10-FH-06, covering activities of May 2011–June 2012 that were implemented by ODFW on behalf of the Corps to assist with meeting the requirements of the reasonable and prudent alternatives (RPAs) and measures prescribed in the Willamette Project Biological Opinion (BiOp) of July 2008 (NOAA 2008). The Corps provided funding to continue ongoing monitoring activities and initiate long-term planning. The relationship between spring Chinook salmon prioritized objectives, RPAs, and 2011 work tasks is depicted in Figure 2. A detailed list of tasks associated with the work is provided in Appendix 1.

Purpose: The objective of this project is to conduct baseline monitoring of returning adult fish and to evaluate the potential effects of hatchery programs on naturally spawning populations of spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead in the upper Willamette River Basin. Restoration of spring Chinook salmon under the ESA and the implementation of ODFW’s Native Fish Conservation Policy requires monitoring the number of hatchery and wild fish that comprise the spawning populations in the Willamette basin. The Willamette Project Biological Opinion identified the need to reduce hatchery fish spawning in the wild to “the lowest extent possible (0–10%)” (NOAA 2008).

Time Period of Content:

Geographic Extent: North Santiam, South Santiam, McKenzie, Fall Creek, North Fork Middle Fork and Middle Fork Willamette Rivers

Status: Final

Use Constraints:

Format: PDF

Data Quality Information

Lineage-Source: Task Order: W9127N-11-2-0002-0006 Work Completed for Compliance with the 2008 Willamette Project Biological Opinion, USACE funding: 2011

Data Information

No data information was supplied.

Entity and Attribute Information

Attributes Description: Field attribute information is available in the database table field descriptions.

Is a physical copy maintained for reference at Headquarters? Unknown