Northwest Power & Conservation Council – Page 3

Access Levels, Agencies, Energy, Hydropower, Member Articles, Northwest Power & Conservation Council, Research

Imperiled Steelhead Migrating Up Columbia/Snake River Show Lowest Survival Bonneville Dam To McNary Dam, Miss Survival Targets

Asotin Creek adult summer steelhead survival is at its lowest in the Bonneville Dam pool as the fish migrate upstream to the Snake River tributary, according to a presentation last week that focused on survival of steelhead listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Temperature and harvest (catch and release mortalities) are cited as the main reasons for steelhead struggles in the Bonneville Pool.

The good news is that survival of adult steelhead improves the farther upriver they migrate. Survival in the next three reservoirs – The Dalles, John Day and McNary pools – is higher, in some years as high as 95 percent, Dan Rawding, Columbia River Science and Policy Coordinator with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Fish and Wildlife Committee of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

And, when these fish have migrated into the lower Snake River at Lower Granite Dam, survival rises to a consistent 97 and 98 percent range, he said. Still, Rawding said in his presentation, Asotin Creek summer steelhead are not meeting their survival target between Bonneville and McNary dams.

Rawding spoke to the Fish and Wildlife Committee at its meeting in Olympia, April 9, in a shared presentation with Andrew Murdoch, Eastern Washington Science Division Manager with WDFW. Murdoch also presented survival estimates of steelhead, but for upper Columbia River steelhead as they migrate to their natal streams, including survival of steelhead that overshoot their natal stream, pass one or more dams and migrate back downstream to return their spawning grounds.

Upper Columbia and the Snake River steelhead are both listed under the federal ESA as threatened.

In the lower Columbia, survival of Snake River summer steelhead is generally lower than what is called for in the Council’s 2020 Addendum to the 2014 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, which includes a biological objective to achieve annual adult salmon and steelhead survival standards through the Bonneville Dam to Lower Granite Dam reach and the Bonneville Dam to McNary Dam reach, an April 2 Council Memorandum says (https://www.nwcouncil.org/fs/18689/2024_04_f4.pdf).

For Snake River steelhead migrating from Bonneville to McNary Dam, the survival standard is 90.1 percent, yet current survival in the Bonneville pool itself is lower at about 80 percent (2007-2021).

Survival from McNary to Lower Granite Dam on the lower Snake River is about 90 percent, but survival over the longer reach from Bonneville to Lower Granite Dam is only about 70 percent.

“We lose about 30 percent of the fish through the basin,” Rawding said of the Asotin Creek summer steelhead. Asotin Creek in southeast Washington flows into the Snake River just upstream of Lower Granite Dam.

Snake River summer steelhead migrate past Bonneville Dam as water in the Columbia River is heating up, June through September, Rawding said. They spawn in their natal river the following year, March through May.

The Snake River steelhead Distinct population segments include all naturally spawned steelhead in the basin. DPS populations are found in the lower Snake, Grande Ronde, Imnaha, Clearwater, Salmon rivers and Hells Canyon Tributaries.

“A good example of the conditions encountered by Snake River steelhead is the Tucannon River and Asotin Creek populations where NOAA expressed concerns about the lack of stream complexity, excess sediment, low stream flows, high stream temperatures, degraded riparian conditions, reduced floodplain connectivity, and specific to the Tucannon – passage barriers,” the Council memo says.

The survival standard for Upper Columbia River steelhead migrating from Bonneville Dam to McNary Dam is 84.5 percent, the memo says. Lower Columbia River steelhead do not have an adult performance standard, it is assumed survival is adequate if Snake River steelhead standards are met. Upper Willamette River steelhead have no adult performance standard, either.

Sometimes steelhead, especially those that migrate into the mid- or upper-Columbia River, will travel beyond their natal spawning stream and even go upriver past dams. These fish are “overshooting” their natal stream and many may not return downstream to spawn. Depending on how many dams they overshoot, it could impact their ability to get back to their natal stream, Murdoch said.

Overshooting is not the same as straying, he said. Overshooting refers to a fish that migrates upstream of its natal tributary over at least one dam. Some or many of these fish will then again migrate or “fall back” downstream of the dam. A straying fish is one that is of non-local origin that spawns in a non-local stream. Up to 13 percent of steelhead migrants will stray.

Over 33 percent of John Day River steelhead in the mid-Columbia River will continue on to Ice Harbor Dam on the lower Snake River, and as much as 5 percent of John Day fish will overshoot to Priest Rapids Dam on the upper Columbia.

A similar proportion of Walla Walla River steelhead will also overshoot and, instead, at least initially, head upstream. Some 30 percent will pass Ice Harbor, while an additional 3 percent will pass Priest Rapids.

Some 19 percent of Umatilla River steelhead will overshoot the river, with about 17 percent passing Ice Harbor and 2 percent passing Priest Rapids.

About 14 percent of Yakima River steelhead will overshoot, with roughly equal proportions going to Priest Rapids and Ice Harbor.

The fallback migration success for these wild steelhead – they overshoot their natal stream and pass Priest Rapids Dam and then fallback to their natal stream – varies by year, but the mean (2010 to 2017) is 59 percent of the overshooting fish. Migration success during these years has been as low as 31 percent for brood year 2016 and as high as 74 percent for brood year 2014.

However, some 4 to 17 percent of Yakima River wild steelhead do not return to the river (they are not later detected at Prosser Dam on the river). The mean is 7 percent over the years 2010 to 2021. Murdoch said that the 17 percent that do not return to the river is “something to be concerned about.”

In general, two out of five wild steelhead detected at Priest Rapids Dam are overshoots, Murdoch said. Of those, two out of five never make it back to their natal river and only a small proportion are detected on spawning grounds.

“Mid-Columbia steelhead,” Murdoch said in his presentation “are impacted the greatest by overshooting.”

Cool water populations tend not to overshoot, Murdoch said. That includes steelhead whose natal streams include the Deschutes River in Oregon and the White Salmon and Klickitat rivers in Washington.

For background, see:

— CBB, October 6, 2022, NOAA FISHERIES FINALIZES ‘REBUILDING’ REPORT TO INFORM DIALOGUE ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RESTORATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-fisheries-finalizes-rebuilding-report-to-inform-dialogue-on-columbia-river-basin-salmon-restoration/

— CBB, July 23, 2019, STUDY INVESTIGATES REASONS FOR STRAYING OF HATCHERY FISH IN COASTAL RIVER; LACK OF UNIQUE ODOR CUE CITED, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/study-investigates-reasons-for-straying-of-hatchery-fish-in-coastal-river-lack-of-unique-odor-cue-cited/

04.18.2024/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Fish Returns, Fisheries Management, Habitat, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

Snake River Wild Steelhead: Potlatch River Long-Term Steelhead Restoration Plan Improves Juvenile Numbers But Declines In Adult Fish Continue

An important population of listed steelhead in Idaho’s Snake River basin has been getting the help it needs to boost its numbers – removal of barriers, increasing habitat complexity, fewer scouring spring flows and higher and more consistent summer streamflows.

Over the more than 25-year restoration process, juvenile steelhead in the Potlatch River, a major tributary of the Clearwater River, have begun to respond with greater numbers and healthier bodies, according to a Feb. 6 presentation to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

The habitat restoration projects along and in the river have produced larger and more juveniles, according to Brian Knoth, who oversees Potlatch River steelhead monitoring and evaluation for of Idaho Department of Fish and Game. However, “we’ve seen declines in returns of adult fish, but that’s not just the Potlatch, it’s happening everywhere,” he said.

Snake River basin steelhead were listed under the federal Endangered Species Act as a threatened evolutionary significant unit Aug. 18, 1997 by NOAA Fisheries, and revised as a threatened distinct population segment Jan. 5, 2006. An Aug. 2022 five-year review retained the threatened status.

The Snake River has six independent populations of ESA-listed steelhead, including the lower Clearwater population which includes the Potlatch River, as well as the Grande Ronde, the Imnaha, the lower Snake, Hells Canyon and Salmon rivers.

“The Lower Clearwater River population is critical to recovery efforts of Clearwater River wild steelhead,” Knoth said.

The Potlatch has a large watershed of about 380,000 acres, supporting the largest spawning area for wild steelhead in the lower Clearwater River. There are no hatcheries or hatchery fish in the river with low rates of straying from other areas of the Clearwater. It’s managed by IDFG as a wild steelhead stream, he said.

At one time, the river was brimming full of steelhead, lamprey and Chinook. In a Moscow News Review article, “a local judge complained that although catching large quantities of fish was still commonplace, the fishing in 1910 wasn’t as good as when he used to catch 140 fish in a day on Bob’s Creek in the 1890’s.”

Today, however, the steelhead remain in lower numbers than was historically in the river, while the Chinook are gone. Recent efforts by the Nez Perce Tribe are slowly bringing lamprey back to the East Fork Potlatch River.

The lower watershed was once healthy native grasslands and the upper river had conifer forests with intact riparian zones of cottonwoods and aspen, and with a natural flow regime with most precipitation in the winter and spring. All that has changed over the years.

Timber has been harvested in the upper reaches of the Potlatch watershed and some 40 percent of the lower watershed is now in agriculture, Knoth said.

“Land use practices in the Potlatch River basin, primarily dryland agriculture and timber harvest, have significantly altered stream flows and aquatic habitat,” a Jan. 30, 2024 Council memorandum said. “Distinct factors limit the distribution and abundances of fishes in the lower and upper watersheds due to these habitat changes.”

Knoth said the limiting factors are:

1- A “flashy” hydrograph characterized by powerful spring flood events that scour parts of the river and low summer base flows in which “miles of stream go dry,” Knoth said, sometimes stranding fish;

2. Barriers, such as culverts and small dams, contribute to lost connectivity;

3. There is a lack of habitat complexity with few pools, limiting juvenile steelhead summer and winter rearing habitat. Streams had been straightened and riparian vegetation and instream woody debris had been removed.

“As a result of these differences across the Potlatch River basin, unique restoration strategies have been designed for each area,” the memo says.

Efforts in the lower river are focused on expanding juvenile steelhead rearing habitat by removing migratory barriers and increasing base-flow conditions through summer stream flow supplementation and meadow restoration, the memo says.

Habitat improvements in the upper watershed include adding log structures, planting and protecting riparian areas and restoring floodplain access, all to increase habitat complexity and restore riparian function.

Through these efforts, Knoth said, the project hopes to increase the quantity and improve the quality of juvenile rearing habitat, increase juvenile steelhead growth and survival initially and, in the long-term, improve juvenile steelhead production.

So far, the restoration has maintained perennial flows in more than 16 kilometers of river and rewatered an additional 8 to 10 km of habitat, improved water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels and increased juvenile steelhead growth and survival, Knoth said. In addition, 14 passage projects are completed in the Big Bear Creek tributary of the Potlatch and large wood treatments have been completed on more than 12 km of the East Fork of the Potlatch in the upper watershed. The Dutch Flat Dam was removed in 2016.

Steelhead smolts can remain in freshwater for up to three years, Knoth said. If the rearing habitat isn’t good enough in the Potlatch, smolts will migrate to other streams to rear prior to their seaward migrations.

The good news is that since 2008, the proportion of one year old smolts has been declining, with a healthy proportion of two- and three-year-old smolts now occupying treated areas. In addition, not only are the smolts growing larger, but apparent survival during their outmigration to Lower Granite Dam, the upper of the four lower Snake River dams, has improved from a paltry 0.2 percent to about 0.7 percent.

“Most of the low-hanging fruit projects are already implemented,” he said. “Now we need to get the high impact projects off the ground. The next 10 to 15 years will be critical.”

Potlatch River restoration is a long-term project that began with the first extensive fish and habitat surveys in 1995-96. The Potlatch River steelhead monitoring program was established in 2005 and the first watershed management plan was completed in 2007. The monitoring program was expanded with NOAA funds in 2008, a Potlatch implementation group was established in 2015 and the watershed management plan was amended in 2019.

Funding for the habitat restoration work is through the Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation and the Latah Soil and Water Conservation District, as well as BPA through the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program. Some individual project funding is through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.

Monitoring and evaluation funding is from NOAA Fisheries, the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and BPA under the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program.

For Knoth’s presentation, go to https://www.nwcouncil.org/calendar/council-meeting-2024-02-06/.

For background, see:

— CBB, December 12, 2019, EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: WILD SNAKE RIVER STEELHEAD STILL STRUGGLING SINCE LISTING, RETURNS FAR OFF REGIONAL GOALS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/editors-notebook-wild-snake-river-steelhead-still-struggling-since-listing-returns-far-off-regional-goals/

— CBB, August 14, 2019, STATES TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT ESA-LISTED SNAKE RIVER STEELHEAD; DESCHUTES FISHING CLOSURE (COLD WATER REFUGE), ROLLING CLOSURES UP THE COLUMBIA, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/states-take-step-to-protect-esa-listed-snake-river-steelhead-deschutes-fishing-closure-cold-water-refuge-rolling-closures-up-the-columbia/

— CBB, August 8, 2019, “Upriver Steelhead Forecasts Down, B-Run 24 Percent of Average; Idaho Considers Extending Fall Chinook Fishing Areas in Clearwater,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/upriver-steelhead-forecasts-down-b-run-24-percent-of-average-idaho-considers-extending-fall-chinook-fishing-areas-in-clearwater/

— CBB, June 25, 2019, “With Anglers’ Help, IDFG-UI Study Catch Rates Of Wild Steelhead, Survival After Release,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/with-anglers-help-idfg-ui-study-catch-rates-of-wild-steelhead-survival-after-release/

— CBB, Feb. 15, 2019, IDAHO STUDY FINDS CATCH-RELEASE FOR WILD STEELHEAD LITTLE IMPACT ON ADULT/PROGENY SURVIVAL, https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/fish-and-game-partners-university-idaho-study-catch-rates-wild-steelhead

— CBB, March 26, 2019, NOAA APPROVES IDAHO’S STEELHEAD FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN, ALLOWS ‘TAKE’ WITH PROTECTIONS, https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-approves-idahos-steelhead-fishery-management-plan-allows-take-with-protections/

— CBB, March 24, 2017, LISTED STEELHEAD MOVE INTO NEW HABITAT CREATED BY REMOVAL OF OBSOLETE DAM ON IDAHO’S POTLATCH RIVER, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/listed-steelhead-move-into-new-habitat-created-by-removal-of-obsolete-dam-on-idahos-potlatch-river/

02.16.2024/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Litigation, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

If Columbia River Basin Salmon MOU Approved By Court, What Will Be The Role Of Northwest Power/Conservation Council? Hard To Say

Commitments to restore Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead populations made by the federal government and “six sovereigns” will intersect or overlap with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s responsibilities under the Northwest Power Act, according to a presentation at last week’s Council meeting.

The Biden Administration, four Columbia River treaty tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington (the sovereigns) announced Dec. 14 in a Memorandum of Understanding that they would work to restore wild salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake river basins, prepare the region and local economies for removal of the four lower Snake River dams, including a build-up of up to 3,000 megawatts of tribal sponsored wind and solar energy projects, and delay ongoing litigation.

The MOU, together with a request to stay (delay) litigation for five and up to 10 years, was filed in the U.S. District Court of Oregon in Portland. The MOU describes how the sovereigns and others will work together. Attached to the MOU are two documents: the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative that describes what the sovereigns believe to be a path to salmon and steelhead recovery, and the list of U.S. Government Commitments that outlines the funding and commitments to support the Initiative.

The MOU, Initiative and Commitments documents are here.

At the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Committee and Power Committee meetings Tuesday, Jan. 9, John Shurts, the NPCC attorney, generally described how many of the U.S. government pledged commitments intersect with Council responsibilities and with the Northwest Power Act.

“The Initiative provides a framework for a durable long-term strategy that restores salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels, ensures a clean energy future, supports local and regional economic resilience, restores ecosystem function and honors longstanding unmet commitments to Tribal Nations,” the Initiative says.

“I don’t see any way this gets in the way of our work,” Shurts said at the Power Committee meeting. “Our (power) plan has value because we ensure it has value and BPA’s responsibilities don’t go away. Our relevance will remain what it is.”

At the Fish and Wildlife Committee meeting he added that in the sovereigns’ Commitments document, the U.S. government used the word “conversation” to refer to processes that would bring other parties to the table, adding that the Northwest Power Act is a “good law to make this work.”

The 1980 Northwest Power Act created the Council with its 8 member (two from each state) appointed by governors and confirmed by legislatures. Included in the responsibilities given by the Power Act to the Council are long-range power planning (see the 2021 Northwest Power Plan at https://www.nwcouncil.org/2021-northwest-power-plan/) and a plan to protect and recover fish and wildlife (see the 2014/2020 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program at https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/2014-columbia-river-basin-fish-and-wildlife-program/). The Fish and Wildlife Program is the largest of its kind in the nation.

“We are always open to talk if approached for a discussion, although this is not something we initiated and not something we would go into with preconceived notions or assumptions,” Shurts said in a statement.

The MOA was developed by the federal government along with what it calls the six sovereigns. They are Oregon and Washington, along with Columbia River tribes – Nez Perce, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

Others, including two states and other tribes, were left out of negotiations as was noted by Council Chair and Idaho representative Jeff Allen.

“Idaho didn’t know anything about this settlement,” he said at the Council’s Power Committee meeting last week. “We were out in the hallway. Should we take it as a slight that we weren’t involved?”

However, the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative says that “Regional” sovereigns could also include Idaho and Montana as well as other Northwest tribes not initially identified is one of the six sovereigns. Those tribes include the Spokane Tribe of Indians, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Shoshone‐Bannock, Burns Paiute Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, Kalispel Tribe of Indians, and Shoshone‐Paiute Tribes.

In a Dec. 15 letter to Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Allen argued for Council involvement:

“The Council brings a strong statutory commitment and decades of experience in engaging the region on these power and fish and wildlife resource issues,” the letter says. “Many of the commitments in the document would benefit from broader governmental and public engagement. Our existing processes for working with regional entities will provide benefits moving forward.

“In sum, the Council was established by Congress to plan for future power needs and to mitigate the impacts of the hydropower system on fish and wildlife – and to do both for the benefit of our entire region. These commitments from the federal government do not change our obligations under the Act. This work is ever more complex, and we welcome the collaboration that must follow to ensure that the work of the federal government builds on and enhances the region’s work. We look forward to continuing this conversation with you.”

The letter goes on to assert the overlap of the government’s commitments with the Council’s responsibilities under the Power Act.

“There are ways to implement these commitments that are also consistent with the Council’s responsibilities,” the letter says. “But, doing so requires thoughtful engagement and coordination with the Council. We are ready and willing to work together on these matters, and we request that the federal agencies commit to doing so, too.

See the Council letter here.

This may not be contrary to what the government is thinking. In the Commitments document, they say:

“The commitments described here do not undermine commitments the United States Government (USG) has made to other sovereigns in the region under existing agreements. The effort is intended to foster partnership on matters of shared interest among the USG and the Six Sovereigns, with the expectation that these efforts will grow, expand, and include other sovereigns and stakeholders. Moreover, when implementing the commitments below, the USG and Six Sovereigns are committed to including others and working in partnership.”

The MOU is the result of the latest lawsuit challenging the federal government’s 2020 environmental impact statement and salmon/steelhead biological opinion. That lawsuit has been stayed for more than two years, while both plaintiffs and defendants sought a solution outside of litigation. The lists of actions, commitments and funding put out by the six sovereigns and federal government have at this point put a temporary end to lawsuits that have challenged the federal Columbia River power system BiOps since 2001.

Judge Michael H. Simon of the U.S. District Court in Oregon first stayed the litigation in 2021 for one year and has since extended the stay another year to allow the White House-mediated discussions on potential solutions. In early September, Simon extended the stay for 60 more days to Oct. 31 to allow the litigants –fisheries advocates, states, tribes and federal agencies – to continue to hammer out a lasting agreement on how to operate a hydro system while recovering threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. The parties is still waiting on a court judgement whether to stay the proceedings for the first five-year period.

The Commitments document promises money to be paid by BPA for tribal habitat projects, hatchery upgrades in the basin and reintroduction of salmon in blocked areas for up to 10 years.

In addition, it funds one- to three-gigawatts of tribal-sponsored clean energy projects that, if lower Snake River dam breaching does occur, would replace the dams’ power output. However, the MOU does not specifically endorse breaching the four lower Snake River dams. That, the Administration said in a previous press release, would require Congressional approval and action.

Total funding could bring more than $1 billion to the region to fund salmon and steelhead restoration, power replacement projects and preparation for farms and communities to adjust to a lower Snake River without the dams.

See CBB, December 15, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, TWO STATES, TREATY TRIBES REACH MOU ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, LITIGATION PAUSED FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS,

Shurts said that on the power side there are just a handful of related elements that affect or intersect with Council work. The three policy goals that help transition the region to clean and carbon free energy “line up with what we’re doing with the Power Plan,” he said.

Those commitments include:

1. Support for Columbia Basin tribes to develop energy resources;

2. Support for tribal energy facility siting review;

3. Support for non-tribal communities;

4. New energy resource development by tribes of 1,000 to 3,000 megawatts of renewable energy;

5. Accounting for new resources as a potential to replace the power from the lower Snake River dams;

6. Link regional energy planning (a Council activity) with tribal energy planning. That will largely be a U.S. Department of Energy process, Shurts said, and the Council needs to make sure that DOE works with BPA to make this happen.

“We will need time to put our thoughts together,” Shurts told the Power Committee. “They will need to, too.”

“It looks like a lot in our Plan needs to develop at a faster pace,” said KC Golden, Washington representative and Vice Chair of the Council. “And much of this is with other than ratepayer money.”

“We intend to keep our eye on it,” Shurts said. “This is one forum that people come to. These commitments will evolve.”

Among the commitments that are directly related to fish and wildlife, those with funding by Bonneville are:

1. $200 million in capital funding over 10 years to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fund the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan hatchery modernization and maintenance.

2. $100 million over 10 years for projects that contribute to the restoration of salmon and other native fish populations. To implement this, BPA would provide $10 million each of the 10 years to the six sovereigns.

“How to define the work, how to use the money and how to divide it among the sovereigns? We will have more conversations on this,” Shurts said.

3. Continue BPA funding of the Council Fish and Wildlife Program projects of about $300 million annually.

“Bonneville has one fund – that’s ratepayer funding,” Shurts said. “Can we bring other resources to the basin that is not using ratepayer money?”

Indicating that is possible, Patty O’Toole, director of the Council’s Fish and Wildlife department, said that some of these “could still be a Program (Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program) activity, even if not BPA-funded.”

Previously announced was BPA funding to the tune of $200 million over 20 years to implement the Phase 2 Implementation Plan with upper Columbia tribes. P2IP involves the reintroduction of salmon upstream of Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams.

Some of the funding for projects identified in the Commitments document have already been allocated and others would require future funding. Examples of projects and funding from government entities other than BPA ratepayers, are:

NOAA Fisheries Funding:

To partially fund the backlog of hatchery infrastructure projects, NOAA will provide $60 million for high priority Mitchell Act facility needs identified by tribes and states. NOAA previously committed this money prior to the Dec. 14 filing.

In addition, according to the Commitments document, NOAA is currently involved in tribal consultations to determine how to allocate $240 million more for hatchery funding to tribes.

NOAA will also conduct fish research in the estuary and ocean and collaborate with fisheries managers when doing so, all by Sept. 30, 2024. The purpose is to identify actions that can be taken in freshwater estuarine and marine habitats to improve fish condition and survival, including controlling predation.

Removal of Enloe Dam. NOAA provided $2.3 million in FY2023 for a dam removal analysis. The federal government will work with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in the project.

Environmental Protection Agency

Through the Columbia River Basin Restoration Initiative, the EPA will provide about $85 million through 2026 for projects to assess and reduce toxics throughout the basin. That includes $17 million already allocated for these grants to tribes.

Creating and restoring cold water refuges and habitat in the mainstem Columbia River and tributaries could cost as much as $50 million over 10 years. The EPA is directed to take actions contained in its 2021 Cold Water Refuge Plan, including three to five projects, mostly in the lower Columbia River, and two projects in the mid-Columbia.

As much as $50 million over 10 years for riparian restoration

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Corps will provide at least $50 million in funding for Columbia River fish operation and maintenance funding in 2024 “to begin addressing and prioritize the backlog of projects identified by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission at Columbia and Snake river facilities for fish passage and survival.

The Corps commits to $20 million over the next two years for new ecosystem restoration projects.

The Corps has said it could spend an additional $5 million in fiscal year 2025 for Pacific lamprey mitigation, including a lamprey supplementation/augmentation plan and for modernizing and funding passage structures at dams.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Pacific Lamprey mitigation, including translocation to Snake River basin

Bull trout recovery — $700,000

Native resident fish and shellfish (freshwater mussels)

Fish passage improvements on a watershed scale

Cold water refuge planning and projects

Bureau of Land Management

BLM already has provided $1.2 million in funding for culvert removal in Washington and Oregon in 2022 and 2023 to restore and protect stream habitat.

$500,000 culvert removal on federal lands.

Department of Transportation

DOT also has the ability to replace culverts through grants.

Columbia/Snake River Operations – next 10 years

Spring spill – spill to 125 percent total dissolved gas for 24 hours at Columbia and Snake river dams (to be implemented 2023 spring)

Summer spill – fewer changes, except lower summer spill beginning Aug. 1.

For background, see:

— CBB, November 20, 2023, LEAKED COURT MEDIATION DOCUMENT LISTING ‘ACTIONS AND COMMITMENTS’ FOR BASIN SALMON RECOVERY DRAWS OBJECTIONS, QUESTIONS, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/LEAKED-COURT-MEDIATION-DOCUMENT-LISTING-ACTIONS-AND-COMMITMENTS-FOR-BASIN-SALMON-RECOVERY-DRAWS-OBJECTIONS-QUESTIONS/

— CBB, November 16, 2023, REPUBLICAN U.S. HOUSE MEMBERS REQUEST ALL CEQ DOCUMENTS RELATED TO MEDIATION, SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS ON LOWER SNAKE DAMS, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/REPUBLICAN-U-S-HOUSE-MEMBERS-REQUEST-ALL-CEQ-DOCUMENTS-RELATED-TO-MEDIATION-SETTLEMENT-DISCUSSIONS-ON-LOWER-SNAKE-DAMS/

–CBB, Nov. 3, 2023, COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY LAWSUIT ON HOLD AGAIN AS PARTIES SEEK BUY-IN ON ‘ACTIONS AND COMMITMENTS’ NOT YET MADE PUBLIC https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/columbia-snake-salmon-recovery-lawsuit-on-hold-again-as-parties-seek-buy-in-on-actions-and-commitments-not-yet-made-public/

— CBB, September 22, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS BPA TO PROVIDE $200 MILLION OVER 20 YEARS TO ADVANCE SALMON REINTRODUCTION IN UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER BLOCKED AREAS, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/BIDEN-ADMINISTRATION-SAYS-BPA-TO-PROVIDE-200-MILLION-OVER-20-YEARS-TO-ADVANCE-SALMON-REINTRODUCTION-IN-UPPER-COLUMBIA-RIVER-BLOCKED-AREAS/

-CBB, Sept. 7, 2023, JUDGE APPROVES THIRD EXTENSION ALLOWING PARTIES IN LAWSUIT OVER COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY TO KEEP TALKING https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/judge-approves-third-extension-allowing-parties-in-lawsuit-over-columbia-river-basin-salmon-recovery-to-keep-talking/

–CBB, Sept. 28, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MEMO ORDERS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REVIEW ALL COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY PROGRAMS, IDENTIFY NEEDS, PRIORITIZE ACTIONS https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-memo-orders-federal-agencies-to-review-all-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-programs-identify-needs-prioritize-actions/

–CBB, June 29, 2023, NW HOUSE REPUBLICANS HOLD FIELD HEARING ON LOWER SNAKE DAMS TITLED ‘THE NORTHWEST AT RISK’ https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/nw-house-republicans-hold-field-hearing-on-lower-snake-dams-titled-the-northwest-at-risk/

01.19.2024/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

NW Power/Conservation Council Releases Two Reports Detailing Fish/Wildlife Spending; $932 Million By BPA In FY 2022

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has recently released two reports — one a report on fish and wildlife expenses incurred by the Bonneville Power Administration in the Columbia/Snake river basins and, more recently, a second report that will be sent to Congress that is currently out for public review until Dec. 12. Both reports are for fiscal year 2022.

In FY2022, BPA spent $249.4 million for projects under the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program and the Columbia River Accords, which are largely fish and wildlife projects manage by tribes. However, when adding in all of the power marketing agency’s costs, including under such categories as foregone revenue for spill and additional power purchases to make up for fish operations at BPA’s 14 Columbia and Snake river dams, FY2022 total fish and wildlife costs rose to $931.8 million, more than a 20 percent increase over FY2021 costs of $744.5 million.

Since 1981 through FY2022, the region has spent $19.94 billion for fish and wildlife programs including all BPA costs, but it has spent just $5.327 billion in Council program and Accord projects.

Annual Report to Congress

At its September meeting, the Council released its “Draft FY 2022 State of the Columbia River Basin,” the Council’s annual report to Congress, that is now out for public review (https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/2023-4/). The report describes in narrative form what the Council accomplished in FY2022, including completion of a new Power Plan and, tucked into the Power Plan, a 2020 addendum to its 2014 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.

“Central to the Council’s fish and wildlife responsibility, the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program represents a 40-year effort to mitigate the effects of the hydropower system on fish and wildlife in the basin,” the draft report says. “The program’s scope and investments make it one of the largest fish and wildlife mitigation efforts in the world and a significant part of the tapestry of mitigation and restoration efforts in the Columbia Basin.”

The report includes a graph that shows improvements in adult fish (Chinook, coho and sockeye salmon, and steelhead) passage at Bonneville Dam. In 2001 over 2 million salmon and steelhead passed the dam. The highest year since 2001 was 2015 when more than 2.5 million passed. Passage in the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 was below 1 million fish. With the exception of the years 1985 – 1987 when passage hovered around 1 million fish, passage at Bonneville was far below 1 million salmonids from 1938 through 1999.

Implementation of the Fish and Wildlife Program continues through the actions of the Bonneville Power Administration, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the report adds. Also included in the report are narratives on energy, public affairs and Council administration.

The Council is asking for comments on the report by Dec. 12. Comment to info@nwcouncil.org. The Council will approve the report’s final version at its December meeting.

Annual Direct Expense Report to Governors

According to the Council’s annual Fish and Wildlife Program “direct expenditure” report to Northwest Governors (https://www.nwcouncil.org/fs/18353/2023-3_fy22annualreport.pdf), spending by BPA on salmon, steelhead and other native fish species impacted by federal hydropower dams in the Columbia River basin during FY2022 was $249.4 million, but BPA also considers capital expenses (interest and payments on infrastructure) a part of its direct expenses, adding another $27 million to direct expenses on fish and wildlife related programs and projects. Most of the money benefits habitat restoration and protection projects in Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The monies were distributed to a number of federal and state agencies, including more than $113 million to tribes (Columbia River Accords).

BPA provided all expense numbers to the Council.

BPA has largely kept fish and wildlife direct expenses flat since 2018, with differences mostly in capital expenses. Direct expenses for the previous fiscal year (2021) were $254, with $109 million in capital expenses. Going back to FY2018, direct expenses were $259 million ($83 capital); FY2019 was $240 million ($78 million capital); and FY2020 was $238 million ($147 million capital). Spending in FY2007 was $139 million, with an additional $97 million in capital expenses.

In June 2022, Jason Sweet, executive manager of the Bonneville Power Administration’s Fish and Wildlife Program told Council members that BPA would raise its fish and wildlife budget by 8.7 percent or $21 million beginning in fiscal years 2024-25. Since January 2018, when it issued a strategic plan with an objective to hold agency costs at or below the rate of inflation through 2028, including the costs of its fish and wildlife program, the agency’s fish and wildlife program expenditures had remained nearly constant.

Prior to Sweet’s announcement, in April 2022, the Council had notified BPA that its flat funding plan was degrading the region’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife program and insisted that it address the issue to protect what it called “productive work.”

See CBB, June 16, 2022, BPA TO RAISE ANNUAL FISH/WILDLIFE BUDGET BY 8.7 PERCENT STARTING 2024; HAS ASSESSED HATCHERY, FISH SCREEN MAINTENANCE NEEDS,

Of the direct FY2022 expenses reported by Bonneville, $113,136,646 went to Columbia basin tribes, a payment known as the Columbia River Accords. In FY2021, some $121,279,584 went to tribes for fish and wildlife programs and projects.

Cutting the numbers another way, included in the FY2022 total for fish and wildlife direct expense is about $165 million for anadromous fish projects and $37 million for resident fish projects. About $185 million goes to support projects and programs for threatened or endangered fish listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The direct-funded program pays for projects such as habitat improvements, research and some fish hatchery costs. Some 41 percent, $108.4 million, of BPA’s direct costs go to habitat restoration and protection; 26 percent, $70.3 million, goes to research, monitoring and evaluation; 12 percent, $33 million, to production (supplementation); 5 percent each to categories labeled G&A ($14.6 million), coordination ($12.1 million) and coordination and project management ($12.2 million to manage more than 600 contracts); 2 percent ($4.2 million) for data management; 2 percent ($5.3 million) for predator removal such as northern pikeminnow and sea lions; 2 percent ($4.7 million) for harvest augmentation; and 1 million for law enforcement.

However, direct costs are not the entire picture, according to Bonneville. In an accompanying spreadsheet (see https://www.nwcouncil.org/fs/18353/2023-3_fy22annualreport.pdf), the report also identifies other cost categories — payments to the U.S. Treasury, debt service on capital expenditures, foregone hydropower sales and power purchases to make up for spill and storing water for fish, operations and maintenance, and indirect costs associated with fish operations at federal mainstem Columbia and Snake river dams – that bring BPA’s total fish and wildlife costs in FY2022 to $931.8 million. The total costs in FY2021 were far lower at $744.5 million, but still higher than the previous year at $611.5 million.

Included in total fish and wildlife costs are: $249.4 million is the direct cost of BPA-funded fish and wildlife programs; BPA says costs for foregone revenue (sales lost to BPA when it spills water for fish) is $251.9 million; costs for the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan is $33 million; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance expenses are $47.4 million; $7.2 million goes to the Bureau of Reclamation; $6 million to the Council; interest expense is $29.4 million; amortization/depreciation is $69.6 million; and $237.9 million goes to power purchases to make up for lost power due to fish operations.

For Background, see:

— CBB, April 14, 2022, COUNCIL DECISION MEMO TO BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION CALLS FOR AGENCY TO ADDRESS FLAT-FUNDING OF BASIN FISH/WILDLIFE MITIGATION PROJECTS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/council-decision-memo-to-bonneville-power-administration-calls-for-agency-to-address-flat-funding-of-basin-fish-wildlife-mitigation-projects/

— CBB, March 31, 2021, MORE SPILL FOR SALMON BUMPED BPA FISH/WILDLIFE COSTS UP 18 PERCENT IN 2021; FOR ESA FISH, MOST SPENT ON MID-COLUMBIA STEELHEAD AT $36 MILLION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/more-spill-for-salmon-bumped-bpa-fish-wildlife-costs-up-18-percent-in-2021-for-esa-fish-most-spent-on-mid-columbia-steelhead-at-36-million/

— CBB, Sept. 30, 2021, SCIENCE PANEL REVIEWING BPA-FUNDED BASIN FISH/WILDLIFE PROJECTS SAYS TIME TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY; MORE SYNTHESIS, SOLICIT NEW PROJECTS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/science-panel-reviewing-bpa-funded-basin-fish-wildlife-projects-says-time-to-do-things-differently-more-synthesis-solicit-new-projects/

— CBB, June 20, 2021, “BPA Opens Fish/Wildlife Budget Process For FY2020, Hopes To Hold Spending Steady,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/bpa-opens-fish-wildlife-budget-process-for-fy2020-hopes-to-hold-spending-steady/

— CBB, March 11, 2021, REPORT: 2020 TOTAL BPA FISH/WILDLIFE COSTS DROP BY $177 MILLION OVER 2019; $611.5 MILLION, 25 PERCENT OF WHOLESALE POWER RATES, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/report-2020-total-bpa-fish-wildlife-costs-drop-by-177-million-over-2019-611-5-million-25-percent-of-wholesale-power-rates/

— March 19, 2020, “Draft Report Pegs BPA’s 2019 Fish/Wildlife Costs At $788 Million, $17 Billion Since 1981; 25 Percent Of Wholesale Power Rate,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/draft-report-pegs-bpas-2019-fish-wildlife-costs-at-788-million-17-billion-since-1981-25-percent-of-wholesale-power-rate/

— CBB, March 15, 2019, “Report On 2018 BPA Fish/Wildlife Costs Released For Comment; $16.8 Billion Since 1981,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/report-on-2018-bpa-fish-wildlife-costs-released-for-comment-16-8-billion-since-1981/

— CBB, January 18, 2019, “Latest Numbers Show Cuts to BPA Fish And Wildlife Spending at $6.3 million,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/latest-numbers-show-cuts-to-bpa-fish-and-wildlife-spending-at-6-3-million/

–CBB, August 17, 2018, “Council Gets Update On BPA Efforts To Reduce Funding For Fish/Wildlife Program Projects,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/441295.aspx

–CBB, July 13, 2018, “Council F&W Committee Talks Policy About BPA Project Funding Cuts, Columbia Basin Fish Accords,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/441105.aspx

–CBB, June 15, 2018, “Bonneville Power Looking At Spending Reductions In Columbia Basin Fish/Wildlife Spending,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/440947.aspx

— CBB, February 2, 2018, “Bonneville Power Releases Five year Strategic Plan, 2018-2023,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/bonneville-power-releases-five-year-strategic-plan-2018-2023/

09.28.2023/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

Council/BPA Approve Using $25 Million In BPA Funds For Long Overdue Maintenance At Aging Columbia Basin Hatcheries

More than $25 million was approved last week by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council for non-recurring maintenance at hatcheries and for fish screen maintenance throughout the Columbia River basin in fiscal year 2024. The cost of maintenance projects at 13 hatcheries that totals $23,356,074 will be paid by excess revenue funds from the Bonneville Power Administration’s reserves distribution clause.

In addition, $1,607,300 million was approved for 28 fish screens projects. That is paid through BPA rate case funds, according to a June 6 Council memorandum.

“When you have a capital investment, you have to keep it up,” Council Executive Director Bill Edmonds told the Council at their meeting June 14, in Victor, Montana. “If you have a hatchery, you can’t just let it go. This is a victory for fish and wildlife and a victory as to how the Council can be useful.”

Mark Fritsch, Project Review and Implementation Manager in the Council’s Fish & Wildlife Division, said that the Council and BPA began about 20 years ago to develop an asset management strategic plan. The plan, he said, was developed to maintain the Council and BPA infrastructure for fish and wildlife.

“These are funds for nonrecurring maintenance at aging hatcheries and for fish screens. These are needs that don’t fit into an annual budget,” he said.

“I want to thank Bonneville for the RDC funds,” said Jeff Allen, Council chair and Idaho representative. “It’s like manna from heaven.”

“This gets us ahead of the curve,” Fritsch said, although he wasn’t sure if the level of funding could be sustained through time. “We need to get some certainty into our future,” he said of funding nonrecurring maintenance at the basin’s aging hatcheries and for fish screens.

For more complete details on how this money will be used see:

–CBB, May 18 2023, COUNCIL/BPA MOVING CLOSER TO APPROVING HUGE INCREASE FOR HATCHERY MAINTENANCE DUE TO FLUSH REVENUE YEAR FOR BPA, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/COUNCIL-BPA-MOVING-CLOSER-TO-APPROVING-HUGE-INCREASE-FOR-HATCHERY-MAINTENANCE-DUE-TO-FLUSH-REVENUE-YEAR-FOR-BPA/

— CBB, May 18 2023, COUNCIL/BPA MOVING CLOSER TO APPROVING HUGE INCREASE FOR HATCHERY MAINTENANCE DUE TO FLUSH REVENUE YEAR FOR BPA, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/COUNCIL-BPA-MOVING-CLOSER-TO-APPROVING-HUGE-INCREASE-FOR-HATCHERY-MAINTENANCE-DUE-TO-FLUSH-REVENUE-YEAR-FOR-BPA/

06.21.2023/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Critical Issues, Northwest Power & Conservation Council, Predation

More Letters, Meetings About What To Do With Salmon-Eating Cormorants On Astoria Bridge; Chase Them Back To East Sand Island? Culling?

In a January letter, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council invited Oregon and Washington transportation agencies to meet jointly to discuss their mutual problem of double-crested cormorants on the Astoria-Megler Bridge that spans the Columbia River estuary at Astoria, OR.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ effort to cull and move the cormorants away from East Sand Island lower in the estuary to protect salmon and steelhead smolts the birds were preying on had been successful, but most of the birds instead just moved upstream to the bridge to nest, turning the move into a “whack-a-mole” problem, according to some Council members at their meeting this week in Victor, MT.

New information presented to the Council at its November meeting showed that the birds which had taken up residence on the bridge continued to prey on juvenile salmonids and in an area of the river where their breeding and foraging have far higher per capita predation rates on juvenile salmon and steelhead smolts compared to when they were breeding and foraging from East Sand Island, according to a June 6 Council memorandum .

“Because the abundance of marine forage fishes progressively declines upstream, double-crested cormorants breeding on the bridge and locations upstream consume more salmonids. Estimates of estuary-wide predation rates from 2015 – 2020 are much higher since the Corps’ actions to reduce their numbers on East Sand Island,” the memo says.

For the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Transportation, which jointly own the bridge, the nesting cormorants could be “accelerating corrosion of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, causing significant structural damage,” the January letter from the Council to the transportation agencies said. “In addition, there are human safety issues regarding bird strikes on the roadway that need to be alleviated.”

The Council’s January 11, 2023 letter is here.

Acknowledging that the shift of the cormorant colony from East Sand Island to the bridge is reducing the life expectancy of the paint protecting the steel trusses of the bridge, inhibiting safety inspections and creating safety conflicts with motorists, the March 31 response from Oregon and Washington was to invite a Council representative to sit on an advisory committee overseeing a study the two agencies will be conducting this summer.

“In response to the cormorant issues, ODOT and WSDOT will be conducting a Value Engineering Study this summer to develop solutions intended to reduce the number of cormorants using the Astoria-Megler Bridge,” the response letter says. “The Value-Engineering Study will consist of a facilitated multidisciplinary team meeting over four days to develop a range of potential actions to reduce cormorant use of Astoria-Megler Bridge.”

Once the study is completed, the two agencies said they would sit with the Council to discuss the problem, but that meeting likely would not occur until later this fall.

The agencies’ response letter to the Council is here.

While ODOT, WSDOT and the Council all want to move the double-crested cormorants off the bridge, the Council’s concerns are where will the birds go.

“If there is an effort to remove the birds from the bridge, where will they go?” queried Patty O’Toole, director of the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Division. “Can we encourage them to move further down into the estuary where they will find different food?”

“It’s important for tribes, states and federal agencies to all be at this meeting,” said Jeff Allen, Council member from Idaho, and Council chair. “This is not just whack-a-mole for birds, it is for these agencies, too.”

“Yes, we do chase this issue around the basin,” O’Toole said. “Some of these agencies are chafing about the changing goal posts,” referring to the work to reduce the double-crested cormorant population at East Sand Island that was completed in 2018 by the Corps.

Mike Milburn, Council member from Montana, suggested “thinning the herd” as they do with cattle in Montana.

“This is a problem associated with abundance,” agreed Ed Schriever, Council member from Idaho. “There is an opportunity, Mr. Milburn, to ‘thin the herd.’ The Council needs to advocate for population management to address this long-term conflict.”

As the former director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Schriever said he is aware of exceptions to the Migratory Bird Act that already allow for culling cormorants. Nationally, 121,000 of the birds are allowed to be “taken” and 4,500 are allowed in the Pacific flyway. Last year, only 900 of that Pacific flyway take permit was used, he said.

The Council instructed O’Toole to draft a letter to be sent to ODOT and WSDOT to encourage the agencies to include tribes, and state and federal agencies when meeting.

For background, see:

— CBB, January 26, 2023, COUNCIL REACHES OUT TO STATE AGENCIES TO DISCUSS ‘ALARMING CONCLUSIONS’ OF STUDY DETAILING IMPACTS TO SALMON FROM CORMORANTS ON ASTORIA BRIDGE, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/COUNCIL-REACHES-OUT-TO-STATE-AGENCIES-TO-DISCUSS-ALARMING-CONCLUSIONS-OF-STUDY-DETAILING-IMPACTS-TO-SALMON-FROM-CORMORANTS-ON-ASTORIA-BRIDGE/

— CBB, November 16, 2022, WHERE TO PUT THE BIRDS? RESEARCH SAYS CORMORANTS CHASED OFF COLUMBIA RIVER ESTUARY ISLAND EAT FAR MORE SALMON, STEELHEAD UPSTREAM, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/WHERE-TO-PUT-THE-BIRDS-RESEARCH-SAYS-CORMORANTS-CHASED-OFF-COLUMBIA-RIVER-ESTUARY-ISLAND-EAT-FAR-MORE-SALMON-STEELHEAD-UPSTREAM/

— CBB, March 10, 2022, WHACK-A-MOLE: AGENCY THAT CHASED SALMON-EATING CORMORANTS OFF ESTUARY ISLAND NOW HAZING RE-LOCATED BIRDS ON ASTORIA BRIDGE OVER COLUMBIA RIVER, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/WHACK-A-MOLE-AGENCY-THAT-CHASED-SALMON-EATING-CORMORANTS-OFF-ESTUARY-ISLAND-NOW-HAZING-RE-LOCATED-BIRDS-ON-ASTORIA-BRIDGE-OVER-COLUMBIA-RIVER/

— CBB, July 20, 2018, “Fewer Cormorants Nest At East Sand Island, Observers Document Bald Eagle Predation On Eggs,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/fewer-cormorants-nest-at-east-sand-island-observers-document-bald-eagle-predation-on-eggs/

— CBB, May 4, 2018, “Cormorants Return To East Sand Island But No Lethal Removal This Year; Hazing, Egg Take,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/440651.aspx

–CBB, March 16, 2018, “Corps Decides Not to Cull Estuary Cormorants In 2018, Will Continue Hazing, Egg Removal,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/440367.aspx/

–CBB, September 22, 2017, “Estuary Cormorants Nesting In Low Numbers; Corps Unsure If Culling Will Resume Before Season Ends,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439600.aspx

–CBB, August 11, 2017, “Due To Low Numbers Of Estuary Cormorants Showing Nesting Activity, Culling Remains Suspended,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439412.aspx

–CBB, July 7, 2017, “Corps Continues Suspension Of Culling Salmon-Eating Cormorants In Estuary,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439223.aspx

–CBB, June 16, 2017, “With Cormorant Nesting On East Sand Island Stalled, Boat-Based Shooting Of Birds Suspended,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439105.aspx

–CBB, April 28, 2017, “Third Year Of Shooting Salmon-Eating Cormorants, Oiling Nests: Goal Is To Kill 2,409 Birds,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/438803.aspx

— CBB, September 9, 2016, “Court Allows Continued Culling Of Cormorants In Columbia Estuary To Reduce Predation On Salmonids,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/437461.aspx

06.16.2023/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Fisheries Management, Hatcheries, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

Council/BPA Moving Closer To Approving Huge Increase For Hatchery Maintenance Due To Flush Revenue Year For BPA

Spending on maintenance of Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead hatcheries, as well as fish screens, could see a significant bump in fiscal year 2024 if the full Northwest Power and Conservation Council approves a plan endorsed this week by the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Committee. That approval could come as early as the body’s June meeting.

The half million dollars budgeted each year by the Council and the Bonneville Power Administration since 2018 for non-recurring maintenance at hatcheries and for upkeep on screens could be bumped up to about $25 million over five years due to a BPA revenue surplus last year.

A 5-year assessment of what 37 existing and three new hatcheries will need to remain in good condition was completed this year by Four Peaks Environmental Science & Data Solutions, an independent engineering firm. Once that was completed, an “asset management” subcommittee decided that the annual $500,000 placeholder set aside for both hatcheries and screens would instead go just for screen maintenance. A survey of screen maintenance needs resulted in about 28 requests totaling $1.607 million. Some 30 hatchery maintenance requests totaled $19,996,074 (including a 20 percent contingency).

“One of the hatcheries was four decades old, and many are more than 20 years old,” Jason Sweet of BPA told the Fish and Wildlife Committee, Tuesday, May 16. “We realized that their O&M budgets couldn’t keep up with the maintenance.”

He added that BPA and the Council since 2017 have used funds “scraped together” to pay for some non-recurring maintenance at hatcheries as a way to protect investments in assets. The Council approved a phased asset management strategic plan in 2018 and BPA initiated strategic asset management plans for hatcheries in 2020, all to protect the investment the region has made in BPA-funded hatcheries.

Since 2018, BPA has either reduced funding for its fish and wildlife program or levels of funding remained flat — all part of the agency’s 2018-23 strategic plan.

The uptick in funding now is due to excess revenue the agency realized in fiscal year 2022. BPA finished the year with higher than expected net revenues that totaled $964 million against a target of $172 million. As a result, the power marketing agency will distribute a half-billion dollars of that revenue to customers and to pay down debt, with an additional $50 million, or 10 percent of the total distributed to customers and debt, for upkeep at hatcheries throughout the basin. The money will not be used directly for recovery of salmon and steelhead.

See CBB, March 16, 2023, WITH LARGE BOOST IN REVENUES, BPA STEPS UP FUNDING FOR AGING HATCHERIES’ MAINTENANCE, REPAIRS, UPGRADES,

BPA announced the change in funding at the Council’s March meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This week at the Council’s May meeting in Wenatchee, WA, the Council and BPA laid out its planned expenditures for FY24 for non-recurring hatchery upkeep and maintenance. The additional funding will enable BPA and the Council to address known needs at hatcheries more rapidly than was budgeted in FY24 and FY25,

“Hatchery managers used the updated condition assessment information along with their professional expertise to provide the highest priority maintenance needs for their facilities,” a May 9 Council memorandum says.

“Given the large influx of funds for Program hatcheries, high priority maintenance needs that would occur in the next 5 years were identified. Fish screens managers continued to use their priority list of Program fish screens. In total we received $1,607,300 in requests for fish screens and identified nearly $20 million of needs associated with the Program hatcheries.”

On February 7th the subcommittee decided to use the annual $500,000 for the Program’s fish screens and that the remaining $25 million would go towards the hatcheries included in the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program. In February and March, BPA and Council staffs asked for maintenance priorities from sponsors and managers for both screens and hatcheries.

Items are not just to replace screens. Of the $1.6 million in screen expenditures, the highest priced item ($306,000) will Install an automated brush cleaning system to assist with the airburst cleaning system to keep screens from getting clogged, and some of the smallest expenditures are to replace walkways and handrails for safety.

Among the hatchery maintenance items are electrical upgrades, pond painting and alarm system upgrades at the Colville and Chief Joseph hatcheries by the Colville Tribe; alarms for the upper Columbia Tribes; a new heat exchanger at Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Eagle Hatchery; a new chiller at the Umatilla Hatchery for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; along with items for the Westland Irrigation District.

Of the $25 million that will be used to fund non-recurring maintenance at hatcheries, some $496,244 will go to IDFG’s Eagle and Springfield hatcheries for maintenance at hatcheries that are helping to recover Snake River sockeye salmon, listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. A whopping $7,744,130 goes to the Umatilla Hatchery and almost $5 million to Nez Perce hatcheries.

“It looks like the $25 million catches us up on mission critical items at hatcheries,” Andy Traylor of BPA told the Fish and Wildlife Committee. “Having more than one year to complete some of these actions is beneficial.”

For background, see:

— CBB, November 22, 2022, BPA 2022 NET REVENUES EXCEED TARGET BY $792 MILLION; PROPOSING FLAT RATES FOR 2023-25, 8 PERCENT INCREASE FOR SALMON MITIGATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/bpa-2022-net-revenues-exceed-target-by-792-million-proposing-flat-rates-for-2023-25-8-percent-increase-for-salmon-mitigation/

05.18.2023/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Critical Issues, Northwest Power & Conservation Council, Predation

Council Reaches Out To State Agencies To Discuss ‘Alarming Conclusions’ Of Study Detailing Impacts To Salmon From Cormorants On Astoria Bridge

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has asked the owner of the Astoria-Megler Bridge in Astoria to meet with them to talk about the double-crested cormorant problem in the Columbia River estuary.

Council members approved a letter at their meeting in Portland, Wednesday, Jan. 11, to be sent to both the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Transportation, inviting both to a Council meeting to discuss their dual problem with the sea birds. Double-crested cormorants consume a significant number of juvenile steelhead and salmon in the estuary and they also cause significant damage to the bridge.

In the letter, which it sent by email to the two state agencies the next day, the Council referenced what they called a presentation “with alarming conclusions” about the impacts of cormorants that they heard at their November meeting.

“The presentation emphasized the shift of the double-crested cormorants’ breeding colony from East Sand Island to the Astoria-Megler Bridge and upriver locations over the past several years,” the letter says. “This shift, a result of actions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the number of cormorants on the island, is especially problematic because their breeding and foraging at upriver sites is estimated to have far higher per capita predation rates on juvenile salmonids compared to breeding on East Sand Island. Because the abundance of marine forage fishes progressively declines upstream, double-crested cormorants breeding on the bridge and locations upstream consume more salmonids. Estimates of estuary-wide predation rates from 2015 – 2020 are much higher since the Corps’ actions to reduce their numbers on East Sand Island.”

The Council also recognized issues that ODOT is having with the birds, such as accelerated corrosion of the bridge’s structure, “causing significant structural damage. In addition, there are human safety issues regarding bird strikes on the roadway that need to be alleviated,” the letter says.

Oregon owns the bridge right up to the junction with highways 101 and 401 in Washington, said David House, Region 2 North spokesperson for ODOT. He said Washington owns the Lewis and Clark Bridge further east, a bridge connecting Oregon and Washington at Longview, WA.

Until recently, the largest double-crested cormorant colony in the Columbia River basin was located on East Sand Island, seven miles nearer the mouth of the river than the bridge. That is a saltwater environment where the food supply for the cormorants is a mix of salmon and steelhead, along with other saltwater forage fish.

The majority of cormorants’ diet from this colony was fish other than salmonids, James Lawonn of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Council at its Nov. 15 meeting. That population of cormorants at East Sand Island peaked at an average of 13,337 breeding pairs between 2004 and 2014, about 97 percent of all nesting pairs in the estuary, up from just 131 breeding pairs from a 1979-80 survey.

NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2016 set out to significantly reduce the colony’s size by culling and harassing the birds. They were successful in moving the cormorants off the island, but many of the birds instead took up residence further upstream on the Astoria-Megler Bridge.

However, double-crested cormorants will eat many times more salmon and steelhead per bird as a proportion of their diet the farther they are pushed upstream in the Columbia River estuary. In his study, Lawonn determined that birds in this mixing zone of salt and fresh water eat 4.2 times the number of salmon and steelhead than when they resided on East Sand Island, and if they move into the freshwater zone it is 8.6 times the number of salmonids. That’s because food available to the cormorants at the bridge in the mixing zone and further upriver in freshwater include a much larger proportion of salmonids.

Lawonn told the Council in November that the cormorants nesting on the bridge should be moved or pushed back downstream to East Sand Island and managed as a smaller colony.

In its conclusion to the Jan. 11 letter, the Council asked both state agencies for a “joint presentation from your respective transportation agencies at one of our meetings to learn about your efforts to address the structural damage and human safety issue and help your agencies provide resources to manage the colony.”

For background, see:

— CBB, November 16, 2022, WHERE TO PUT THE BIRDS? RESEARCH SAYS CORMORANTS CHASED OFF COLUMBIA RIVER ESTUARY ISLAND EAT FAR MORE SALMON, STEELHEAD UPSTREAM, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/where-to-put-the-birds-research-says-cormorants-chased-off-columbia-river-estuary-island-eat-far-more-salmon-steelhead-upstream/

— CBB, March 10, 2022, WHACK-A-MOLE: AGENCY THAT CHASED SALMON-EATING CORMORANTS OFF ESTUARY ISLAND NOW HAZING RE-LOCATED BIRDS ON ASTORIA BRIDGE OVER COLUMBIA RIVER, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/whack-a-mole-agency-that-chased-salmon-eating-cormorants-off-estuary-island-now-hazing-re-located-birds-on-astoria-bridge-over-columbia-river/

— CBB, May 4, 2018, “Cormorants Return To East Sand Island But No Lethal Removal This Year; Hazing, Egg Take,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/440651.aspx

–CBB, March 16, 2018, “Corps Decides Not to Cull Estuary Cormorants In 2018, Will Continue Hazing, Egg Removal,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/440367.aspx/

–CBB, September 22, 2017, “Estuary Cormorants Nesting In Low Numbers; Corps Unsure If Culling Will Resume Before Season Ends,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439600.aspx

–CBB, August 11, 2017, “Due To Low Numbers Of Estuary Cormorants Showing Nesting Activity, Culling Remains Suspended,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439412.aspx

–CBB, July 7, 2017, “Corps Continues Suspension Of Culling Salmon-Eating Cormorants In Estuary,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439223.aspx

–CBB, June 16, 2017, “With Cormorant Nesting On East Sand Island Stalled, Boat-Based Shooting Of Birds Suspended,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/439105.aspx

–CBB, April 28, 2017, “Third Year Of Shooting Salmon-Eating Cormorants, Oiling Nests: Goal Is To Kill 2,409 Birds,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/438803.aspx

— CBB, September 9, 2016, “Court Allows Continued Culling Of Cormorants In Columbia Estuary To Reduce Predation On Salmonids,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/437461.aspx

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01.26.2023/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

Northwest Power/Conservation Council Elects Officers, Two Long-Time Members Retiring

At its January meeting, Northwest Power and Conservation Council members elected Idaho’s Jeff Allen to serve as chair and Washington’s KC Golden to serve as vice chair of the four-state agency.

Allen was appointed to the Council in March 2019 by Idaho Governor Brad Little after serving as director of the Idaho office of the Council for 10 years. Prior to his election as chair, he served as chair of the Council’s fish and wildlife committee. He has worked on state policies related to the Endangered Species Act and led Idaho’s efforts to delist the wolf and establish a compensation fund to pay for livestock lost to wolves. Earlier, Allen served as the state director of natural resources for U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo.

Golden was appointed to the Council in March 2022 by Gov. Jay Inslee and has extensive experience in the energy policy field, having served as senior policy advisor at the non-profit public interest group Climate Solutions from 2002-2018. In the late 90s, he served as special assistant to the mayor of Seattle, working on clean energy and climate protection initiatives at Seattle City Light, and he directed Washington’s energy policy office as assistant director in the Department of Community Trade and Economic Development in the mid-1990s.

The January meeting also marked the retirement of Idaho’s Jim Yost and Washington’s Guy Norman, both longtime members of the Council.

Yost was appointed to the Council by Gov. Butch Otter in 2007. During his time at the Council, he chaired its power committee and served as Council chair.

Norman was appointed to the Council by Washington Governor Jay Inslee in 2016. He has worked on fish and wildlife resource issues in the Columbia River Basin since 1977, both at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Norman steps down after chairing the Council and its fish and wildlife committee.

01.20.2023/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon

Agencies, Fish Returns, Fisheries Management, Northwest Power & Conservation Council

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/

01.13.2023/0 Comments/by Andrew Bacon