|
Portland, Oregon
-
Survival levels of migrating juvenile salmon in the lower Snake
River this summer were "the highest recorded in recent years"
according to a preliminary analysis released today. The analysis
– assessing the effect of US Army Corps of Engineers dam operations
pursuant to an injunctive relief order by US District Court Judge
James Redden- found a nearly 74% survival rate for sub-yearling
Fall Chinook compared to rates between 30-50% in the no-spill summers
of 2001-2004.
The technical analysis was requested by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission (CRITFC) and other state and federal fishery scientists.
"We've anticipated this good news but it's still
tremendous to see the data in black and white" said Robert
Taylor, CRITFC chairman. "This is just one stock, in a particularly
problematic stretch of river, but the relationship between spill
and survival couldn't be made clearer."
Judge Redden ordered the summer spill to occur at four federal
dams between June 20 and August 31. The Judge's order was
part of a broader legal challenge against federal salmon recovery
plans in the Columbia River involving CRITFC's member tribes,
businesses and conservation groups. The spill measures, referring
to the practice of diverting water away from power generating turbines
and over spillways, were based upon tribal recommendations made
in the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission 2005 River Operations
Plan.
The Fish Passage Center's report focused on the reach from
Lower Granite Dam to McNary Dam using data collected from PIT-tagged
fish of both wild and hatchery origin. The analysis compared data
from the years 2001 through 2005.
"We're appreciative of the Corps of Engineers'
prompt implementation of the court's order and for working
with us to tweak and adjust the implementation when necessary,"
said Olney Patt, executive director of CRITFC. "This bodes
well as we now look to moving this most beneficial recovery action
from the short term to the long term."
The court ordered spill also appeared to reduce river temperatures
at McNary Dam by three degrees Fahrenheit, according to a report
by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Early claims that the Judge's order would lead to electric
power rate increases have proven untrue. Last week the Bonneville
Power Administration announced that it would reduce wholesale rates
by 1.6 percent due to surplus power sales exceeding revenue forecasts
for 2005 by about $20 million - thanks largely to high market prices
for energy and heavy spring rains.
The Fish Passage Center was created in 1983 pursuant to authorities
of the Northwest Power Act. The Center serves the technical needs
of the Columbia Basin fisheries managers.
The entire Fish Passage Center analysis can be found at http://www.fpc.org
# # # #
About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
