Washington State of Salmon Report: ‘Too Many Salmon Remain On Brink Of Extinction, Time Running Out’
Of the seven species of salmon and steelhead that inhabit Washington state’s waters — and are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act as at risk of extinction– Hood Canal summer chum salmon and Snake River fall Chinook salmon are approaching their recovery goals, according to a biennial report soon to be released by the Washington Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office.
However, populations of Puget Sound Chinook and upper Columbia River spring Chinook continue to fall further behind and are in crisis, the report’s Executive Summary says.
“Too many salmon remain on the brink of extinction,” the report says. “And time is running out. The climate is changing, rivers are warming, habitat is diminishing, and the natural systems that support salmon in the Pacific Northwest need help now more than ever.”
The report, “State of Salmon in Watersheds 2022,” can be found soon here.
Progress towards recovery of these fish is being made, but too many species are still at risk and one reason is funding, according to Eli Asher, policy specialist in Governor Jay Inslee’s Salmon Recovery Office.
“For the most part we have stable funding, but it’s not enough to turn the tide for the fish populations,” he told members of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife Committee at a Portland meeting this week.
He cited a 2011 study that determined it would require $4.7 billion through 2020 to implement habitat projects identified in regional salmon recovery plans (2010-2019), but that just $1 billion had been invested during that period. He said that was just 22 percent of the need and added that it is a funding rate that will not achieve recovery.
However, with the federal infrastructure bill, more funding will soon arrive. “Some of that federal money is already hitting the ground,” Asher said. “The fact that we’re seeing substantial federal funding is very helpful.”
With the low level of funding so far, many of the smaller and easier projects are done, the 2020 report says, but larger projects that affect bigger landscapes are still in the pipeline, as are “the harder projects that change people’s behavior, and the more complex projects that require fundamental changes in how a growing population is accommodated.”
Only Columbia River chum salmon is exceeding its recovery goals, Asher said in his report to the Council. Lower Columbia River coho salmon, lower Columbia River Chinook, Hood Canal summer chum and lower Columbia River steelhead are all near their recovery goals.
Others are not doing as well. While Snake River fall Chinook are approaching the recovery goal, middle Columbia River steelhead, upper Columbia River steelhead, Snake River basin steelhead are all at about 50 percent of their recovery goals and labeled by the state as “Not Keeping Pace.”
Labeled “In Crisis,” are Snake River spring/summer Chinook, Upper Columbia River spring chinook at about 25 percent of its goal, while Puget Sound steelhead and Puget Sound Chinook are below 10 percent of goals. Ozette Lake Sockeye is even lower on the scale and Snake River sockeye is at about 1 percent of its recovery goal.
For more information on salmon and steelhead recovery goals in Washington, see the Jan. 6 Council Memorandum here.
Salmon recovery in the state focuses on factors that have led to their decline: habitat (20,013 acres of riparian areas and 12,008 acres of estuary habitat in the state have been treated), harvest, hydropower and hatcheries are the usual culprits, but the state has also recognizes climate change, fish passage barriers and predation by pinnipeds, sea birds and other fish to its list of threats and challenges to salmon recovery.
Climate Change threatens clean and cold water in the state that salmon and steelhead need to thrive. It has resulted in a 0.15 degree Fahrenheit rise in average temperature in the state every decade for the past 100 years. That trend is expected to continue and to accelerate, reaching as much as 5.3 degrees F every decade by 2090. There is less water in streams during the summer (snow melt has decline by 21 percent during the period 1955-2016). Snake River temperature has risen 1.4 degrees, 1960 to 2015.
There are an estimated 20,000 fish passage barriers in Washington. The state has corrected about 3,300 of these barriers, reopening about 3,000 miles of spawning habitat.
Predators of salmon include sea birds, such as cormorants, terns and gulls, fish predators, such as northern pikeminnows and Northern pike, and pinnipeds. From 1970 to 2015, seals and sea lions increased the amount of Chinook salmon they eat per year from 75 tons to 718 tons.
In his presentation to the Council Fish and Wildlife Committee, Asher offered the main points of Gov. Inslee’s Salmon Strategy, which he sub-titled “Securing a Future for People and Salmon in Washington.” The strategy’s main points are:
• Protect and restore vital salmon habitat
• Invest in clean water infrastructure for salmon and people
• Correct fish passage barriers and restore access to historical habitat
• Build climate resiliency
• Align harvest, hatcheries and hydropower with salmon recovery
• Address predation and food web issues for salmon
• Enhance coordination across agencies and programs
• Strengthen science, monitoring, and accountability
For background, see:
— CBB, January 15, 2021, WASHINGTON STATE SALMON RECOVERY REPORT: MOST POPULATIONS NOT MAKING PROGRESS, SOME ON PATH TO EXTINCTION, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/WASHINGTON-STATE-SALMON-RECOVERY-REPORT-MOST-POPULATIONS-NOT-MAKING-PROGRESS-SOME-ON-PATH-TO-EXTINCTION/
— CBB, Jan. 8, 2021, IDAHO’S ‘SALMON WORKGROUP’ SUBMITS POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNOR; NO CONSENSUS ON DAM-BREACHING https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/idahos-salmon-workgroup-submits-policy-recommendations-to-governor-no-consensus-on-dam-breaching/
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