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www.cbbulletin.com THE
COLUMBIA BASIN BULLETIN:
Weekly Fish and Wildlife News
January 27, 2012 Issue No. 606
Table of Contents
* Agencies, Land Trust Complete Largest Estuary Habitat
Purchase; Goal Is To Reconnect Wetlands With River
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415843.aspx
* Spring Chinook Return Expected To Be Large; Wild Component
Predicted Above 10-Year Average
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415842.aspx
* Tribes, Idaho Urge Lower River Chinook Harvest Impacts Be
Spread Out Over Full Season
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415841.aspx
* Compact Reduces White Sturgeon Harvest Third Straight Year; No
Fishing For ESA-Listed Smelt
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415840.aspx
* Interior Report On Klamath Basin Dam Removal Assesses
Positive, Negative Effects
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415839.aspx
* USDA $232 Million Loan Allows Expansion Of Oregon Biorefinery
Along Columbia River
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415838.aspx
* Study Analyzes Effectiveness Of Wetlands Restoration Methods,
Mitigation Strategies
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415837.aspx
* Northeast Oregon’s Traveling Gray Wolf Is Now California’s
Sole, ESA-Protected Wolf
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415836.aspx
* Washington State University Establishes New Interdisciplinary
‘School Of Environment’
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415835.aspx
* NOAA Designates Critical Habitat Off Northwest Coast For
Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtles
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415833.aspx
* Feedback: Dworshak Nutrient Supplementation Study
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415834.aspx
----------------------------
* Agencies, Land Trust Complete Largest Estuary Habitat
Purchase; Goal Is To Reconnect Wetlands With River
The Columbia Land Trust, Bonneville Power Administration and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday announced what they say
is the largest purchase of fish and wildlife riverside habitat
in the Columbia River estuary in nearly 40 years.
The acquisition, and an accompanying conservation easement, will
permanently protect what is considered essential refuge for
salmon, steelhead and other wildlife, the involve parties say.
The major goal is to “reconnect” the river with the property’s
lowlands and sloughs, which have long been shut off by a Corps
levee aimed at preventing flooding.
The acquisition, which will benefit salmon from Idaho, Oregon
and Washington that migrate down through the estuary on their
journey toward the Pacific Ocean, is intended to mitigate in
some degree for impacts to fish and wildlife caused by federal
dams on the Columbia and Snake river systems.
The Columbia Land Trust on Monday completed the purchase of the
920-acre Columbia Stock Ranch on the south shore of the Columbia
River near Goble, Ore., with $5.3 million in BPA funding from
electric ratepayers. Bonneville markets power generated in the
Columbia/Snake hydro system.
The purchase sets the stage for the Corps to restore hundreds of
acres of historic wetlands in the next few years to provide food
and shelter for salmon migrating to and from the ocean. About
550 acres of the property is in the river’s floodplain and has
been used grazing and other agricultural purposes. The rest is
upland that is partially wooded.
“Right now the wetlands, the ponds, are cut off from the river,”
said the Corps’ Diana Fredlund.
The Land Trust, which will manage the property, will do a
baseline assessment of the property and produce management
goals. And the Corps, which is charged with restoration of the
property to better accommodate fish and wildlife, is studying
its options. A goal is to launch a public “environmental
assessment” process under the National Environmental Policy Act
that would involve choosing a preferred alternative.
“We don’t know yet how we’re going to do it,” Fredlund said of
the primary goal of reconnecting the property’s wetlands with
the Columbia to provide access for juvenile salmon.
The property is located about 75 river miles upstream from the
Columbia mouth.
The Land Trust said the lush and diverse piece of land, a former
cattle ranch and dairy farm, was entrusted to them by a family
that had owned the property for six decades.
“After nearly 18 months of negotiations, the family decided that
their legacy would be in the best of hands with Columbia Land
Trust,” according to information posted on the Land Trust’s web
page. “We are very excited about the potential to restore this
as a feeding, rearing and sheltering wetlands for migrating
salmon and other wetlands species.”
“This is the largest single acquisition we have completed, and
we look forward to restoring it with the help of our partners,
Bonneville Power Administration and the Army Corps of
Engineers.”
The acquisition protects more estuary habitat for conservation
than any other single purchase since the early 1970s.
“The size and ecological importance of this habitat set a new
benchmark for habitat protection and is a key piece in an
extensive fish refuge system in the lower Columbia River,” said
Glenn Lamb, executive director of the Columbia Land Trust. “In
the last 10 years we have worked with about 60 landowners to
conserve 9,100 acres of estuarine and tributary spawning and
rearing habitat. BPA has been an important partner in many of
these projects. The estuary is a particularly vital nursery for
young salmon, and this project is the best demonstration yet of
conserving and restoring the lands that make the estuary so
valuable.”
An independent panel of biologists identified the parcel as an
especially valuable swath of historic tidal wetlands that if
restored would boost survival of young salmon as they transition
to saltwater. Some two-thirds of estuary wetlands have been lost
over the last century, but recognition of their biological
significance has encouraged restoration.
“Everything we learn tells us more and more that the estuary is
very important to juvenile fish,” said Ron Thom, a Pacific
Northwest Laboratory scientist specializing in ecosystem
restoration who helps assess potential projects. “Restoration
can create more habitat to support them. In general, the more
opportunities for fish to access large, productive rearing and
feeding habitats, the better the chances of young salmon gaining
strength and ultimately surviving.”
That Expert Regional Technical Group used criteria developed for
assessing the level of benefits the restoration of particular
properties might bring to both “ocean-type” salmon, such as
Snake River fall chinook, and stream-type fish like upriver
spring chinook. The fall chinook swim toward the ocean as
subyearlings, for the most part, and use estuary habitats
extensively to bolster themselves before entering the ocean.
Stream types exit as yearlings.
A reconnected Columbia Stock Ranch wetland “will benefit both
types of fish,” said BPA’s estuary habitat program lead, Ben
Zelinski. “It’s a great location.” On the science group’s
5-point survival benefit rating scale, the property rated a 4.5.
“In the past I don’t think we have had any (properties) over 1,”
Zelinski said. Such estuary, and tributary, habitat restoration
is called for in NOAA Fisheries’ 2008/2010 biological opinion
for the Federal Columbia River Power System. The goal is to
improve survival of ocean-type salmon by 9 percent, and for
stream-type by 6 percent, through estuary improvements
implemented during the 10-year BiOp program. The expert panel
was set by NOAA Fisheries, BPA and the Corps, as directed by the
BiOp.
“I applaud the collaboration between the parties – the local
landowners, the Estuary Partnership, the Land Trust and the
federal agencies – in bringing this project into our Fish and
Wildlife Program to help mitigate for the hydro system’s effects
on salmon and steelhead. Estuary projects benefit multiple
populations and increase the benefits for the ratepayer dollars
spent,” said Joan Dukes, chair of the Northwest Power and
Conservation Council.
“The Columbia Stock Ranch site offers a large area for
contiguous restoration,” said Elvon Childs, the Corps’ Columbia
Stock Ranch project manager. “We are designing the project so it
maximizes benefits for salmonid habitat restoration with direct
tidal connections to the Columbia River.”
“Not since the early 1970s when the two lower Columbia River
wildlife refuges were established has there been a single
purchase of this magnitude purely for conservation,” said Debrah
Marriott, executive director of the Lower Columbia River Estuary
Partnership. “The Deer Island area was once a rich network of
forests, shrub scrub, wetlands, sloughs and floodplain lakes
that provide critical shallow water areas for juvenile salmon
resting and rearing as they make their way to the ocean.
“With this purchase and the restoration of this property, these
essential habitats will once again become available to
Endangered Species Act listed fish and other species,” Marriott
said.
The 10-year BiOp, released in 2008 and supplemented in 2010,
judges whether the dams jeopardize the survival of wild salmon
and steelhead that are protected under the ESA. It prescribes
measures, such as habitat restoration, needed to improve fish
survival. The mitigation includes new technology ensuring more
fish pass dams safely and has an increased focus on the estuary
from Bonneville Dam 146 miles downstream to the mouth of the
river.
“We’ve seen fish returning to other restored habitat within
days, so large, contiguous properties such as this one should
boost salmon survival even more,” said Lorri Bodi, BPA vice
president of Environment, Fish and Wildlife. “Healthy estuary
habitat is like a Head Start program for salmon that makes them
that much more likely to return to the Northwest to spawn as
adults.”
Management and restoration plans for the property will be
developed with public input. Restoration work will also support
the local economy and jobs. The restored habitat will benefit
coho, chinook and chum salmon; steelhead; and cutthroat trout,
as well as terrestrial wildlife such as black bear, elk and
river otter.
When the transaction is complete the Columbia Land Trust will
own and manage the property for fish and wildlife conservation
purposes.
This land acquisition would satisfy some of BPA’s mitigation
requirements for the Columbia River estuary as identified in the
NOAA Fisheries BiOp.
-------------------------------------
* Spring Chinook Return Expected To Be Large; Wild Component
Predicted Above 10-Year Average
There has been a salmon sighting.
The first two upriver spring chinook of the year were counted
Wednesday crossing up and over the Columbia River’s Bonneville
Dam. The counts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ fish
ladders included one adult fish and one early-maturing “jack,”
that latter being a chinook that returned after one year in the
ocean.
A day later, fishery managers and sport and commercial fishers
sat in a Portland meeting room discussing how and when the
harvest of the prized fish should be apportioned.
The anticipated return of 314,000 “upriver” adult spring chinook
salmon to the mouth of the Columbia would be the fourth largest
on a record dating back to 1938 when dam counts began. Upriver
spring chinook are fish headed for tributary spawning areas and
hatcheries above Bonneville Dam (located at river mile 146) in
Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon Thursday set sport
fishing seasons for spring chinook and white sturgeon on the
Columbia mainstem where the river is a shared border. The state
officials also approved a plan for managing non-tribal
commercial fishing this winter and spring from Bonneville Dam
down to the Columbia’s mouth.
Most new fishing sport regulations adopted Thursday will take
effect March 1, when fishing for spring chinook and sturgeon
starts to heat up on the lower Columbia. The newly adopted
season will include a 7-days-a-week boat fishery from Buoy 10 to
Beacon Rock, about four miles downstream of Bonneville Dam,
through April 6 with three Tuesday closures to allow,
potentially, daytime commercial fisheries and reduce
sport-commercial conflicts.
The new rule also includes additional opportunity beginning
March 1 for bank fishing only from Beacon Rock to Bonneville
Dam.
Until then, both fisheries are open on various sections of the
river under rules approved last year.
The sport fishery approved Thursday is scheduled to run through
April 6 if the catch stays within prescribed limits. It could
also be extended if enough fish remain available for harvest
within those limits.
Harvest guidelines adopted by the two states will allow anglers
fishing below Bonneville Dam to catch and keep up to 14,500
hatchery-reared spring chinook before the run forecast is
updated in early May. Fishery managers predict that anglers will
take 105,300 salmon fishing trips to the lower river during the
March 1-April 6 period.
The overall harvest guideline or allocation for all spring
non-tribal sport and commercial would be up to 29,268 upriver
chinook during the spring period that ends June 15 if the run
comes in as predicted. The spring chinook run has in recent
years reached peak numbers in late April or early May.
Upriver fish bound for rivers above the dam are expected to make
up the majority of the catch, but salmon returning to the
Cowlitz, Lewis, Willamette and other rivers below Bonneville
also contribute to the fishery. The preseason forecast is for an
overall spring chinook return to the river of 414,500 adult
fish, including lower river returns to tributaries such as the
Willamette, Sandy, Cowlitz, Kalama, Lewis and so-called “select
areas.”
The upriver run’s foundation is the Snake River spring/chinook
stock. A total of 168,000 Snake River fish are expected to
return to the mouth of the Columbia River. That estimate
includes 39,000 wild spring/summer chinook, fish that are listed
as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. That would be
the fourth highest return on record, behind only the glory years
of 2001-2003 when a combination of forces in freshwater and the
ocean enabled wild returns ranging from 51,000 to 63,000. The
overall wild count had dipped as low as 3,339 in 1995; the stock
was listed in 1992.
The forecast for adult Upper Columbia spring chinook adult
return is 32,600 and includes 2,800 wild fish. The overall
return is 166 percent of the recent 10-year average; the wild
component represents 141 percent. The Upper Columbia wild fish
are listed as endangered under the ESA. The wild count slipped
to a low of 255 in 1995, prompting the ESA’s most protective
designation in 1999.
As in years past, only hatchery-reared spring chinook marked
with a clipped adipose fin may be retained by anglers. Any
unmarked, potentially wild spring chinook must be released
unharmed.
Cindy LeFleur, Columbia River policy manager for the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife, said this year’s spring chinook
fishery looks promising, especially compared to last season.
"Not only is the run forecast well above average, but fishing
conditions should be a lot better than last year when anglers
had to contend with weeks of high, turbid water," LeFleur said.
Spring chinook fishing is currently open to boat and bank
anglers on a daily basis from Buoy 10 near the mouth of the
Columbia River upstream to the Interstate 5 bridge (river mile
106.5) at Portland.
Starting March 1, bank anglers will also be allowed to fish from
Beacon Rock up to the fishing boundary below Bonneville Dam.
Above Bonneville Dam, the fishery will be open to boat and bank
anglers on a daily basis from March 16 through May 2 between the
Tower Island powerlines six miles below The Dalles Dam and the
Washington/Oregon state line, 17 miles upriver from McNary Dam.
Bank anglers can also fish from Bonneville Dam upriver to the
powerlines during that time.
Starting March 1, anglers fishing downriver from Bonneville Dam
may retain one marked, hatchery-reared adult spring chinook as
part of their daily catch limit. Above the dam, anglers can keep
two marked adult spring chinook per day effective March 16.
This year’s forecast of 314,200 upriver spring chinook is up
significantly from 2011, when 198,400 upriver fish were
projected to enter the Columbia River. Although last year’s run
exceeded that forecast, extremely high water conditions put a
damper on catch rates for much of the season.
To guard against overestimating this year’s run, the states will
again manage the fisheries with a 30 percent buffer until the
forecast is updated in late April or early May.
The Columbia River Compact, which sets mainstem commercial
fisheries, on Thursday also approved a commercial management
plan for 2012 on the lower river that could start as early as
mid-February if test fishing shows the right mix of fish
(relatively low presence of winter steelhead, which are also ESA
protected, and reasonable numbers of salmon). Once the
winter-spring season begins, managers expect to schedule
commercial fisheries on Tuesdays, and possibly on Thursdays.
Under a management matrix that apportions harvest according to
the size of the run, the commercial gill-net fleet would be
allocated 5,900 spring chinook (kept catch plus post-release
mortalities) prior to the early May run-size update. Commercial
fishers must also release unmarked spring chinook. Certain
mortalities are assumed among those released fish for both
commercial and sport fishers.
Under the management agreement now in place non-tribal sport and
commercial harvests are allowed up to a 2.2 percent impact on
the upriver spring salmon given the predicted size of the run
and tribal fishers are allowed 10.8 percent.
Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon have already
scheduled a meeting April 5 to review the catch and determine if
the lower Columbia (below Bonneville) season can be extended. If
the catch to that point has not reached the initial harvest
guideline, the two states will consider an immediate extension,
LeFleur said.
"We’ve agreed to take a conservative approach until May, when we
typically know how many fish are actually returning," Le Fleur
said. "If the fish return at or above expectations, we will look
toward providing additional days of fishing on the river later
in the spring."
-------------------------------
* Tribes, Idaho Urge Lower River Chinook Harvest Impacts Be
Spread Out Over Full Season
Representatives of upriver and downriver tribes, and of the
state of Idaho, trooped to the microphone Thursday to express
dissatisfaction with the way the states of Oregon and Washington
manage fisheries in the lower Columbia River aimed at spring
chinook salmon.
Testimony by the tribes and the Idaho Department of Fish and
Game came during Thursday’s season-opening Columbia River
Compact and a joint Oregon/Washington sport hearing in Portland.
The Compact, which sets mainstem commercial fisheries, is
comprised of representatives of the directors of Oregon and
Washington departments of fish and wildlife.
The tribes, and IDFG, say the current state management of sport
and commercial fisheries in the lower river (below Bonneville
Dam) focuses too much fishing on upriver fish during the early
season. That emphasis, which results in wild fish mortality as
well as hatchery harvest, can tilt the genetic scale and prevent
an equitable sharing of the early harvest.
“The tribes would like to see lower river fishery impacts spread
out over the season instead of being used primarily in the early
season fisheries. This ensures that harvest impacts are spread
out among the different stocks instead of just targeting early
returning fish,” Herb Jackson told the Compact. He was speaking
for four Columbia River treaty tribes – the Nez Perce, Umatilla,
Warm Springs and the Yakama. Jackson is a member of the Nez
Perce Fish and Wildlife Committee.
“Our management agreement contains the commitment of the states
to ensure that they will not take more spring chinook than the
tribal fisheries that will come later upstream,” said Bruce Jim,
a member of the Fish and Wildlife Committee of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs. “But if there is over harvest early in
non-treaty fisheries, perhaps because the predicted numbers are
too high, you cannot put fish back in the water or in our net to
meet the catch balancing requirement.”
That management agreement is a 10-year plan constructed under
the auspices the U.S. v Oregon lawsuit, which includes as
primary parties the federal government, the states of Idaho,
Oregon and Washington and the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs,
Yakima and Shoshone-Bannock tribes. It outlines who gets what
share of the returning fish, but it does not prescribe how
individual fisheries might be timed within a harvest season.
It describes that equal share – mainstem non-treaty fishers
cannot harvest more than the allowed treaty harvest.
“The management agreement also requires that non-treaty mainstem
fisheries be managed to a ‘buffered’ run size of 30 percent less
than the preseason forecast prior to the first TAC run-size
update,” Jackson said. The state’s 2012 harvest management plan
does contain a 30 percent buffer, meaning that the goal is to
hold non-Indian harvest to 70 percent or less of their spring
season allocation until the Technical Advisory Committee updates
the run-size estimate at the midpoint of the run, which usually
occurs in late April to early May.
“We see this as a minimum if you are to manage conservatively,”
Jim said.
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes told the Compact that a 50 percent
buffer would be more appropriate so that more wild fish from the
early part of the run should be allowed to escape and help build
depleted runs in the Salmon River basin headwaters and
elsewhere. The Shoshone Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian
Reservation is located is southeast Idaho and their hunting
grounds include those Salmon River headwaters. A total of 10
tribal members and/or tribal employees made the 10-hour drive to
Portland to testify to the Compact.
“The Tribes strongly urge the Compact to make an allocation
decision that targets hatchery fish using space, time and gear
constraints, including a minimum 50 percent impact buffer for
ESA listed fish, at least until the forecast is validated or
updated,” said Nathan Small, chairman of the Fort Hall Business
Council for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
“Past escapements of natural-origin fish in the Snake River
basin still result in most of the populations being well below
recovery thresholds and still within the 25 percent extinction
risk threshold, developed by the Interior Columbia Basin
Technical Recovery Team,” Small said.
“As such, you do not always have to harvest up to the last fish
and efforts should be made to be conservative in all management
of fish stocks protected under the Endangered Species Act,”
Small said. Wild Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon that
return to the Salmon River and elsewhere in Idaho are ESA-listed.
The tribal spokesmen, and Hassemer, noted most of the fish
caught in the lower river comes from upriver production of both
wild and hatchery fish.
Hassemer said that 53 percent of the fish caught during the
spring season in the lower Columbia are of Snake River origin,
and 28 percent come from Idaho hatcheries – three in the
Clearwater and one in the Salmon.
“They’re providing at least half of the fish in those
fisheries,” Hassemer said. About 40 percent of the upriver fish
are past Bonneville by May 7, and 70 percent of that downriver
harvest takes place before that date.
Like the tribes, the Idaho would like to see the harvests spread
across the run so that no particular genetic stock takes a hard
hit.
“The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is interested in a
distribution of the fisheries across of the stocks,” Hassemer
said. That would include a better distribution across the
pre-update period.
----------------------------------
* Compact Reduces White Sturgeon Harvest Third Straight Year; No
Fishing For ESA-Listed Smelt
Tighter catch “guidelines” or allocations were confirmed
Thursday for sport and commercial fisheries for white sturgeon
on the lower river in actions taken by the Columbia River
Compact and a joint Oregon/Washington sport fishing panel.
Representatives of the directors of the Oregon and Washington
departments of fish and wildlife make up the Compact, which sets
mainstem fishing seasons where the Columbia represents their
state border.
Additionally the ODFW and WDFW officials, meeting in Portland,
noted that there will be no commercial or sport fishing for
eulachon, called smelt, in the Columbia River or its tributaries
for the second year in a row. NOAA Fisheries Service in March
2010 list Pacific eulachon as protected under the Endangered
Species Act due to depleted population.
The cutback will reduce fishing opportunities for white sturgeon
for the third straight year. Responding to the continued decline
in the number of harvestable size sturgeon in the waters from
Bonneville Dam, located at river mile 146, down to the river
mouth in recent years, the two states adopted fishing
regulations designed to reduce the catch by another 38 percent
this year.
"This year’s sturgeon fishery will be opening later or closing
earlier on various sections of the river," Cindy LeFleur,
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Columbia River policy
manager said. "Anglers should check this year’s fishing rules
carefully before they head out."
New harvest guidelines approved for sturgeon fisheries in the
lower Columbia River will limit this year’s catch to 9,600. That
action follows a 30 percent catch reduction in 2011 and a 40
percent reduction in 2010.
Monitoring data jointly collected by Washington and Oregon
indicate that the abundance of legal-size white sturgeon has
declined by nearly 50 percent since 2003. Factors often cited
for the decline include increased predation by sea lions and a
drop in the abundance of smelt and lamprey, which contribute to
sturgeons’ diet.
To keep this year’s catch within the new harvest guideline, the
sturgeon fishery will end 23 days earlier than last year in the
estuary below the Wauna powerlines (about river mile 42) and
start eight days later in the fall from the powerlines upriver
to Bonneville Dam. Fishing seasons approved for 2012 in the
lower Columbia River are as follows:
-- Buoy 10 to the Wauna powerlines: Retention of white sturgeon
is allowed daily from Jan. 1 through April 30 and from May 12
through July 8. From Jan. 1 through April 30, sturgeon must
measure between 38 inches and 54 inches (fork length) to be
retained. From May 12 through the end of the season they must
measure 41 inches to 54 inches (fork length) to be retained.
Catch-and-release fishing is allowed on days when retention is
prohibited.
-- Wauna powerlines to Bonneville Dam: Retention of white
sturgeon is allowed three days per week (Thursday through
Saturday) from Jan. 1 through July 31 and from Oct. 20 through
Dec. 31. Sturgeon must measure between 38 inches and 54 inches
(fork length) to be retained. Catch-and-release fishing is
allowed on days when retention is prohibited.
All fishing for sturgeon will be closed from May 1 through Aug.
31 in the sturgeon sanctuary downriver from Bonneville Dam
described in the Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet. Sand
Island Slough near Rooster Rock also will be closed to fishing
at least through April 30.
As in years past, 80 percent of the allowable catch will be
allocated to the sport fishery and 20 percent to the commercial
fishery. Under the new harvest rate, the portion of the catch
available to recreational fisheries will be allocated as
follows: up to 4,160 fish in the estuary, up to 2,080 above
Wauna and between 1,768 and 2,022 in the Willamette River.
The harvest share between recreational fisheries upstream and
downstream from the Wauna power lines will be flexible and may
be adjusted in-season to meet the states’ expectations for
fishing seasons and ensure the harvest rate does not exceed area
catch guidelines.
Unlike the lower river, legal-size sturgeon populations appear
to be growing above Bonneville Dam, said Brad James, a WDFW fish
biologist. This year’s harvest guidelines for sturgeon fisheries
above the dam have not yet been determined.
The Compact on Thursday approved three 24-hour non-Indian
commercial white sturgeon fisheries in the five fishing zones
downstream of Bonneville. They are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Jan. 30, Feb. 1 and Feb. 6. The allocation for the winter period
is 280 sturgeon.
Under permanent regulations, a tribal winter set line fishery is
open in the Zone 6 reservoirs above Bonneville during Jan. 1-31.
Under permanent regulations, a winter gillnet fishery is open in
Zone 6 from noon Feb. 1 to 6 p.m. March 31. Allowable sales
include fish caught on platform/hook and line gear within the
Zone 6 area.
Eulachon return annually to the Columbia River to spawn in the
mainstem and several of its tributaries downstream of Bonneville
Dam. They typically enter the Columbia in early to mid-January,
though a small ‘pilot’ run often occurs in December. Eulachon
return to fresh water at age three, four, and five, according to
an annual joint state staff report released earlier this month.
Peak tributary abundance is usually in February, with variable
abundance through March, and an occasional late showing during
April.
Commercial landings from 1938-1992 were in the millions of
pounds annually. There have been ups, but mostly downs since.
The states are working with NOAA Fisheries to develop and expand
research activities which would provide information on adult and
juvenile eulachon abundances and distribution. That includes
discussions on using catch-per-unit-effort data, produced
through test fishing in the mainstem Columbia River, to help
evaluate run strength
The 2012 run is forecasted to be improved over 2011, but is
still expected to be at a low level, according to the staff
report. In 2011, research activities included sampling the
spatial and temporal distribution of eulachon larvae in coastal
stream and Columbia River tributaries, and improving the
monitoring of eulachon larvae densities.
------------------------------
* Interior Report On Klamath Basin Dam Removal Assesses
Positive, Negative Effects
The federal process for removing four hydroelectric dams in the
Klamath Basin advanced Tuesday with the release of draft report
from the U.S. Department of Interior indicating benefits such as
salmon recovery, more dependable irrigation water deliveries and
job creation could outweigh disadvantages of removing the dams,
including the projected $291 million cost, lost electrical
production and increased flooding risks.
The report, titled the “Klamath Dam Removal Overview Report for
the Secretary of the Interior: An Assessment of Science and
Technical Information,” represents two years of scientific and
technical studies conducted for Department of Interior to assess
the positive and negative effects of removing the J.C Boyle Dam,
COPCO 1 and COPCO 2 dams, and the Iron Gate hydroelectric dams,
and transferring the non-hydro Keno Dam to the Department of
Interior, according to reports from the department.
The department issued a second report Tuesday called the
“Klamath River Restoration Nonuse Value Survey Final Report,”
which looks at tribal and economic issues.
“The science and analyses presented in these reports are vital
to making an informed and sound decision,” Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar said in a press statement.
Anticipated benefits of dam removal outlined in the reports
include recovery of threatened or endangered salmon, and
improved habitat for trout and other fish in the basin, the
creation of 1,400 construction jobs for one year to tear down
the downs and the prospect of adding 4,600 long-term jobs
restoring the watershed, habitat and related work.
The report summaries conclude that those benefits outweigh the
increased risk of flooding that may require relocation of at
least six residences, the loss of power production and the $291
million cost of removing the four dams.
In addition to the Department of the Interior’s process for dam
removal, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and U.S. Rep. Mike
Thompson, D-Calif., have also introduced a bill authorizing the
department to tear down the dams.
Public comment on the dam removal draft report opened Tuesday
and must be submitted to the Department of Interior by Feb. 5,
to be considered by Salazar. He is scheduled to make a
recommendation supporting or opposing removal of the four dams
by March 31, as required under the Klamath Hydroelectric
Settlement Agreement. Once Salazar makes a recommendation, the
governors of Oregon and California will have 60 days to accept
or reject Salazar’s recommendation.
“As we work toward strengthening the health and economic
prosperity of all that depends on the Klamath — including our
watersheds, fisheries, and forests — I encourage members of the
public to offer their input on this draft overview report and
perspectives on the opportunity that lies ahead,” Salazar said
in the press release.
Full copies of the new reports and past studies on the dam
removal plans are available online at
www.KlamathRestoration.gov
--------------------------
* USDA $232 Million Loan Allows Expansion Of Oregon Biorefinery
Along Columbia River
The ZeaChem biorefinery under development along the Columbia
River in Boardman, Oregon got a boost Thursday from a $232.5
million USDA conditional loan guarantee announced by Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Jim Imbler, president and CEO of ZeaChem, based in Lakewood,
Colo., said in a Thursday statement the USDA conditional loan
guarantee enables the financing and construction of the
company’s first commercial-scale cellulosic biorefinery.
The USDA reported the total cost of the biorefinery is estimated
to be $390.5 million. The loan guarantee represents 60 percent
of the total cost estimate, and is the second loan guarantee
made this month under the Biorefinery Assistance Program
authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill.
When completed in 2014, the biorefinery is expected to produce
250 million gallons per year of biofuels made from woody biomass
and agricultural residues such as straw and corn stalks. Imbler
said the company uses leading technology that will produce more
biofuels at the lowest cost and lowest carbon footprint in the
industry.
“The USDA loan guarantee is a significant validation for
ZeaChem’s highly efficient, economical and flexible biorefinery
technology,” Imbler said in a press statement.
Vilsack’s announcement said the biorefinery is to be constructed
on an industrial site in Boardman, along the Columbia River.
About 70 percent of the biorefinery’s biofuel output will be
made with woody biomass from existing popular plantings in the
Boardman area, and 30 percent from wheat straw and corn stalks.
“This USDA loan guarantee is fantastic news for Boardman and
Oregon,” Gov. John Kitzhaber said in a statement following the
USDA announcement. “This project will support the long-term
development of renewable energy and boost economic rural
development.
“This facility has the potential to create nearly 250
construction jobs and 65 full time operations jobs, providing
positive economic development in the rural Boardman community
and boosting Oregon’s economy,” Kitzhaber said in a press
statement.
Currently, ZeaChem operates a demonstration biorefinery in the
Port of Morrow industrial park at Boardman that produces 250,000
gallons of biofuel annually. Carrie Atiyeh, ZeaChem’s director
of public affairs, presented an update on the new biorefinery
plans Wednesday during the Oregon Energy Forum breakfast in
Portland.
Vilsack said the USDA’s loan guarantee to ZeaChem will help
advance President Obama’s vision for a new era of “homegrown and
alternative energy sources that will be designed and produced by
American Workers.”
More information about ZeaChem and its biorefinery project is
available online at
www.zeachem.com
------------------------
* Study Analyzes Effectiveness Of Wetlands Restoration Methods,
Mitigation Strategies
Wetland restoration is a billion-dollar-a-year industry in the
United States that aims to create ecosystems similar to those
that disappeared over the past century. But a new analysis of
restoration projects shows that restored wetlands seldom reach
the quality of a natural wetland.
"Once you degrade a wetland, it doesn't recover its normal
assemblage of plants or its rich stores of organic soil carbon,
which both affect natural cycles of water and nutrients, for
many years," said David Moreno-Mateos, a University of
California, Berkeley, postdoctoral fellow. "Even after 100
years, the restored wetland is still different from what was
there before, and it may never recover."
Moreno-Mateos's analysis calls into question a common mitigation
strategy exploited by land developers: create a new wetland to
replace a wetland that will be destroyed and the land put to
other uses. At a time of accelerated climate change caused by
increased carbon entering the atmosphere, carbon storage in
wetlands is increasingly important, he said.
"Wetlands accumulate a lot of carbon, so when you dry up a
wetland for agricultural use or to build houses, you are just
pouring this carbon into the atmosphere," he said. "If we keep
degrading or destroying wetlands, for example through the use of
mitigation banks, it is going to take centuries to recover the
carbon we are losing."
The study showed that wetlands tend to recover most slowly if
they are in cold regions, if they are small – less than 100
contiguous hectares, or 250 acres, in area – or if they are
disconnected from the ebb and flood of tides or river flows.
"These context dependencies aren't necessarily surprising, but
this paper quantifies them in ways that could guide decisions
about restoration, or about whether to damage wetlands in the
first place," said coauthor Mary Power, UC Berkeley professor of
integrative biology.
Moreno-Mateos, Power and their colleagues published their
analysis in the Jan. 24 issue of PLoS (Public Library of
Science) Biology.
Wetlands provide many societal benefits, Moreno-Mateos noted,
such as biodiversity conservation, fish production, water
purification, erosion control and carbon storage.
He found, however, that restored wetlands contained about 23
percent less carbon than untouched wetlands, while the variety
of native plants was 26 percent lower, on average, after 50 to
100 years of restoration. While restored wetlands may look
superficially similar – and the animal and insect populations
may be similar, too – the plants take much longer to return to
normal and establish the carbon resources in the soil that make
for a healthy ecosystem.
Moreno-Mateos noted that numerous studies have shown that
specific wetlands recover slowly, but his meta-analysis "might
be a proof that this is happening in most wetlands."
"To prevent this, preserve the wetland, don't degrade the
wetland," he said.
Moreno-Mateos, who obtained his Ph.D. while studying wetland
restoration in Spain, conducted a meta-analysis of 124 wetland
studies monitoring work at 621 wetlands around the world and
comparing them with natural wetlands. Nearly 80 percent were in
the United States and some were restored more than 100 years
ago, reflecting of a long-standing American interest in
restoration and a common belief that it's possible to
essentially recreate destroyed wetlands. Half of all wetlands in
North America, Europe, China and Australia were lost during the
20th century, he said.
Though Moreno-Mateos found that, on average, restored wetlands
are 25 percent less productive than natural wetlands, there was
much variation. For example, wetlands in boreal and cold
temperate forests tend to recover more slowly than do warm
wetlands. One review of wetland restoration projects in New York
state, for example, found that "after 55 years, barely 50
percent of the organic matter had accumulated on average in all
these wetlands" compared to what was there before, he said.
"Current thinking holds that many ecosystems just reach an
alternative state that is different, and you never will recover
the original," he said.
In future studies, he will explore whether the slower carbon
accumulation is due to a slow recovery of the native plant
community or invasion by non-native plants.
----------------------------------
* Northeast Oregon’s Traveling Gray Wolf Is Now California’s
Sole, ESA-Protected Wolf
The gray wolf designated OR7 has remained in California since he
crossed the state line from Oregon on Dec. 28.
The California Department of Fish and Game is closely monitoring
the wolf’s position and progress, and will report on his status
through a new website at
www.dfg.ca.gov/wolf/.
While OR7 is the only documented wolf in California, any wild
gray wolf that returns to California is protected under the
federal Endangered Species Act, administered by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
The federal law generally prohibits the harassment, harm,
pursuit, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capture
or collection of wolves in California, or the attempt to engage
in any such conduct. Penalties include fines up to $100,000 and
one-year imprisonment.
Though many sightings have been reported, all other recent
“wolf” sightings that have been investigated in California have
been found to be something else, such as a coyote, a dog or a
hybrid wolf-dog.
Despite reports to the contrary, DFG officials say the agency is
not aware of confirmed sightings of other wolves in California
since 1924.
OR7 is a 2½-year-old male formerly from a pack in northeast
Oregon. He is being monitored through various means, including
with a Global Positioning System device that periodically
transmits its location.
DFG says it is not possible to predict his next movements, but
he has remained in eastern Lassen County for approximately one
week. DFG is notifying media, local officials and landowners of
OR7’s general whereabouts.
DFG officials say they have been following the recovery and
migration of gray wolves in western states with the expectation
that at some point they will likely reach California.
---------------------------
* Washington State University Establishes New Interdisciplinary
‘School Of Environment’
Washington State University has established a new academic
entity: the School of the Environment, an interdisciplinary
teaching, research and extension enterprise intended to address
complex, multidimensional environmental issues.
The school, created Jan. 1 by combining two complementary
academic units, “will become a WSU centerpiece on global change
and its effects.” In particular, the school will serve as a
focal point for system-wide research and collaboration in the
critical area of water resources. High-demand undergraduate and
graduate degrees will be offered in a broad range of
corresponding disciplines.
WSU officials says the school is uniquely positioned among state
agencies and institutions to address the many facets of Earth’s
natural resources. Environmentally focused faculty are located
throughout WSU’s multi-campus system, and WSU Extension offices
in every Washington county provide environmental education and
sustainability outreach to learners of all ages.
"The School of the Environment places WSU at the forefront of
environmental education and research and will help lead the way
as our land grant mission adapts to meet the ever changing needs
of the 21st century,” said Warwick Bayly, WSU provost.
The new school is expected to be greater than the sum of its two
parts, the former Department of Natural Resource Sciences and
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
By bringing earth sciences, ecosystem and natural resource
ecology, sustainability sciences and social sciences under the
same umbrella, the school will increase team-based research and
scholarly output. Additionally, officials say the school will
provide “cutting-edge training” for the next generation of
scientists, resource managers, policy makers and well-informed
global citizens.
"This new interdisciplinary school unites nationally recognized
research efforts at WSU and creates a much stronger and more
comprehensive program that is poised for preeminence in
addressing regional, national and global environmental
problems,” said Stephen Bollens, inaugural director of the
School of the Environment.
For example, the WSU Bear Center, the only facility in the world
to house adult grizzlies for research, and the well-equipped
GeoAnalytical Lab, which has been providing analyses of rocks
and minerals to worldwide researchers since 1978, will both be
part of the new school.
"The school is the outcome of a faculty-driven initiative that
brought together colleagues from across the entire WSU system,”
said Daryll DeWald, dean of the WSU College of Sciences, the
academic home of the former SEES unit. "WSU faculty are
dedicated to making a difference - not only through their
research efforts, but also through the growing success of our
students.”
At its inception, the School of the Environment includes 40
full-time faculty and staff, more than 300 undergraduate
students and 130 graduate students. It spans three WSU campuses
- Pullman, Tri-Cities and Vancouver.
----------------------
* NOAA Designates Critical Habitat Off Northwest Coast For
Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtles
NOAA has announced the designation of additional critical
habitat to provide protection for endangered leatherback sea
turtles along the U.S. West Coast. NOAA is designating 41,914
square miles of marine habitat in the Pacific Ocean off the
coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.
This designation will not directly affect recreational fishing,
boating and other private activities in critical habitat.
Critical habitat designations only affect federal projects that
have the potential to adversely modify or destroy critical
habitat. Critical habitat designations aid the recovery of
endangered and threatened species by protecting habitat that the
species rely on.
NOAA and FWS have already designated critical habitat for
leatherback turtles along Sandy Point Beach at the western end
of the island of St. Croix, U.S.V.I., and in adjacent Atlantic
coastal waters.
NOAA is designating this additional critical habitat in the
Pacific Ocean as a result of a petition to revise the existing
critical habitat for leatherbacks to include important habitat
off the U.S. West Coast. Once an Endangered Species Act petition
is received, NOAA Fisheries must evaluate the petition and
scientific information provided to determine if the petitioned
action is warranted. If it is, the agency must make a
determination on how to move forward.
The newly designated critical habitat is made up of two sections
of marine habitat where leatherbacks are known to travel great
distances across the Pacific to feed on jellyfish. The southern
portion stretches along the California coast from Point Arena to
Point Arguello east of the 3,000-meter depth contour, while the
northern portion stretches from Cape Flattery, Wash. to Cape
Blanco, Ore., east of the 2,000-meter depth contour.
The leatherback sea turtle, the largest marine turtle in the
world, has been listed as endangered since 1970. Leatherbacks
have the largest range of any living reptile and occur
throughout the oceans of the world. They feed primarily on
jellyfish and lay their eggs on tropical and subtropical
beaches. Although very little is known about their lifespan,
biologists estimate leatherbacks can live for 45 years or more.
Leatherbacks face many dangers both in the marine environment
and on land, including bycatch in fishing gear, habitat
destruction and the harvest of eggs and adults on nesting
beaches.
--------------------
* Feedback: Dworshak Nutrient Supplementation Study
-- Re: “Corps Dworshak Nutrient Supplementation Study Aims To
Boost Kokanee, Listed Bull Trout,” Jan. 20, 2012,
http://www.cbbulletin.com/415679.aspx
-- From Mike Faler, Fisheries Biologist, Orofino, ID
In regards to the article about the Dworshak Nutrient
Supplementation Project, I would like to point out just a few of
the omissions, discrepancies, and inconsistencies I observed in
the narrative:
1. The idea for this project was not generated by public input.
2. The kokanee in Dworshak Reservoir have not been “shrinking in
size” in recent years. Their growth, like all kokanee
populations, is related to population density. Large populations
yield smaller fish, while small populations yield larger fish.
3. The two state record smallmouth bass that Mr. Pence refers to
in the article were both caught BEFORE the nutrient
supplementation project began: 10/14/1995 and 10/28/2006,
respectively.
4. There have been large blue green algae blooms in 4 out of 5
years since the project was initiated. At a recent public
meeting, the Corps was asked about the frequency of blooms prior
to project implementation. They claimed they had a record of a
blue green bloom in the early 70’s, but apparently none between
then and 2008. The Corps still claims that that is there is no
evidence that recent additions of nutrients have caused
blue-green blooms. I would offer that there is no evidence that
recent additions of nutrients have NOT caused blue-green blooms.
5. Public sentiment toward this project is not pleasant. In a
recent online poll from the Lewiston Tribune, 60 percent of the
respondents felt this project will result in toxic algae blooms.
The poll results can be viewed at:
http://lmtribune.com/poll_b71d641a-db5d-11e0-85e9-001a4bcf6878.html
The readers of the Columbia Basin Bulletin should be careful
what they choose to believe in regards to this project.
Mike Faler, fisheries biologist
Orofino, ID
*******************************
For more information about the CBB contact:
-- BILL CRAMPTON, Editor/Writer,
bcrampton@cbbulletin.com, phone:
541-312-8860 or
-- BARRY ESPENSON, Senior Writer,
bespenson@msn.com, phone:
360-696-4005; fax: 360-694-1530
====================================================
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