(PORTLAND, OR) -- Federal agencies and their partners
outlined today five years of accomplishments in improvements to hydrosystem
operations and facilities, habitat rehabilitation and hatchery reforms to
protect and benefit Columbia and Snake River fish.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation
and the Bonneville Power Administration – collectively known as the Federal
Action Agencies – have released the 2013 draft Comprehensive Evaluation that
assesses biological results under the first five years of the 2008/2010
Biological Opinion developed by NOAA Fisheries. Work under this BiOp is the
largest effort of its kind ever undertaken in the Columbia River Basin.
The draft report, which is open to a 30-day public comment
period, shows wild, or natural origin, salmon and steelhead returned to the
Columbia and Snake rivers and tributaries and spawned in greater numbers since
the first Endangered Species Act listings.
“The draft Comprehensive Evaluation shows the strides we’ve
made to bring more fish back to the river,” said Lorri Bodi, vice president for
BPA’s Environment, Fish and Wildlife.
Halfway through the 10-year term of the BiOp, the Action
Agencies and their partners have already met or exceeded the tributary habitat
goals for more than half the salmon and steelhead populations. These fish have
quickly returned to re-opened habitat, spawning in greater numbers in restored
reaches and increasing in abundance.
Performance testing of juvenile fish passage at the mainstem
dams along the lower Columbia and Snake rivers indicate that all projects are
on track to meet the BiOp performance standards of 96 percent survival for
spring migrating fish and 93 percent survival for summer migrants. Part of this
success is due to more efficient spill enabled by surface passages systems,
such as spillway weirs, that allow fish to move past the dams near the water’s
surface where they naturally migrate.
“We are moving forward under the biological opinion,” said
Rock Peters, senior fishery program manager for the Corps of Engineers. “This
draft Comprehensive Evaluation offers a great opportunity to update the region
on our progress.”
The draft Comprehensive Evaluation also shows the extensive
coordination of efforts among federal, state and local agencies and non-government
organizations to achieve gains for fish.
“The success of this program is built on unprecedented
partnerships and collaboration with tribes, states, landowners, irrigators and
watershed councils throughout the region,” said Lorri Lee, Regional Director
for Reclamation’s Pacific Northwest Region. “Together, we have forged a strong
commitment to increase the survival of salmon and steelhead in the Pacific
Northwest.”
Some of the highlights from the report include the
following:
- Most ESA-listed fish populations that spawn in the basin have increased in abundance since their listing in the 1990s. An important measure of progress is the increase in wild salmon and steelhead returning to their spawning grounds.
- Some 177,227 acre-feet of water have been secured by the Action Agencies for instream uses, increasing flow to important salmon habitat. That’s more than enough water to serve a city the size of Seattle.
- Projects geared toward fish access have opened 2,053 miles of spawning and rearing habitat to salmon – nearly twice the length of the Columbia River.
- Action Agencies have protected and restored 3,791 acres of estuary habitat. Fish can spend months feeding in the estuary, where they grow quickly, better positioning them to for survival in the ocean.
- Surface passage systems are now operational at all federal dams on the lower Columbia and lower Snake rivers, allowing fish to pass dams more quickly. Combined with refined spill operations, these systems provide some of the highest survival rates of all passage routes.
- A spill wall at The Dalles Dam significantly boosted survival rates in the tailrace by guiding fish into the main river channel, away from predators. Tests following the completion of the spill wall showed increased numbers of yearling and subyearling chinook passing the dam safely.
Copies of the draft Comprehensive Evaluation are available
at www.salmonrecovery.gov. The
document will be open for public comment from July 15 to August 16. Public
comments can be submitted online at www.bpa.gov/comment
or by mailing comments to: BPA Public Involvement, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR
97293.
