White River spring Chinook survival results announced
Grant County PUD
LEAVENWORTH, Wash. - Members of the public learned Thursday that survival rates of White River spring Chinook acclimated and released from Grant PUD's facility on the White River last spring had mixed results depending upon release location.
Grant PUD staff presented these results at a public meeting in Leavenworth on Thursday along with long-term spring Chinook acclimation facility designs for the White River and Nason Creek sites.
Survival of fish released below Lake Wenatchee was substantially higher (approximately 45 percent) than for those released above the lake (approximately 10 percent).
"We are adaptively managing the White River spring Chinook program based on the data we have collected this year," said Dr. Todd Pearsons, Grant PUD fisheries scientist. "We are actively implementing strategies to increase the performance of the White River Program."
Grant PUD consultants, HDR, Inc. and GeoEngineers, Inc., presented the acclimation facility design plans. The design development has been a collaborative process between Grant PUD; fisheries co-managers; federal, state and local governmental officials; members of the public and other stakeholders. The final concept considers input from all stakeholders and reflects the group's desire to minimize environmental and aesthetic impacts.
Hatchery supplementation programs, like those in the White River and Nason Creek, are intended to increase the number of natural adult spawning fish. Efforts in these two river basins have been underway for more than 12 years, following the species' listing under the Endangered Species Act in 1999.
Since 2004, Grant PUD has been releasing juvenile spring Chinook salmon in the White River and Lake Wenatchee. While the rate of returning adults has increased since this program began, the return numbers are still far from what's needed to meet recovery objectives.
Biologists from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Yakama and Colville tribes believe acclimating fish over the winter months may increase survival. In the natural environment juvenile spring Chinook salmon spend the winter months in their natal waters before migrating to the ocean. This provides the chemical or "odor" imprinting fish need to return as adults when it's time to spawn.
The meeting presentation and information on other fish protection programs supported by Grant PUD are available online at http://www.gcpud.org/naturalResources/fishWaterWildlife/habitatHatcheries.html
Those interested in receiving periodic newsletters on the White River and Nason Creek programs can subscribe by contacting Grant PUD fish, wildlife and water quality staff at [email protected] or (509) 754-5088, ext. 2191.
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