July 2017 July has been a rough month so far for endangered salmon and steelhead migrating through the lower Snake River. High air temperatures and lack of cloud cover have heated the reservoirs behind the four lower Snake River dams to 68 degrees and beyond. At such high water temperatures, the salmon migration slows and […]
Spring Chinook Salmon The spring Chinook run is over at Bonneville dam. The final tally: 2017: 83,624 2016: 137,215 10 yr avg: 150,783 Summer Chinook Salmon Summer returns are now in progress at Bonneville dam: 2017: 63,253 2016: 81,652 10 yr avg: 69,802 As if those numbers were not depressing enough… Sockeye Salmon The sockeye […]
Spring Chinook The spring Chinook run has come to an end on the lower Snake River. The finally tally for 2017 was dismal compared to last year and the 10 year average, with a 56% decline. 2017: 27,357 2016: 62,050 10 yr avg: 62,403 Summer Chinook The summer Chinook run is not fairing much […]
Policy Considerations: How and Why Breaching the Four Lower Snake Dams Can Happen This Year 1. The Corps of Engineers has inherent fiduciary responsibilities to insure existing projects continue to provide economic benefit, do not harm the environment and are technically sound throughout the project life. They do not need a Federal Judge to […]
Spring Chinook Salmon The spring Chinook salmon run continues on the lower Snake River. As of 6/11/17, 20,617 spring Chinook adults had passed Lower Granite Dam on their journey east to spawning grounds in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. In 2016, 58,602 fish had passed by this time. This was similar to the 10 year average […]
Spring chinook fishing closed in Clearwater Basin No summer season is planned in drainage except for Lochsa River By ERIC BARKER of the Lewiston Tribune Idaho fisheries managers pulled the plug on spring fishing in the Clearwater Basin on Monday after giving the beleaguered season a brief second life. The four-day-a-week season on sections […]
Spring Chinook At Bonneville Dam, the spring Chinook run ended on May 31st. The run started late due to river conditions and never fully recovered. The final number of adults across the dam was 83,624. This is a 39% reduction from last year and a 44% reduction from the 10 year average. Summer […]
HR 2083 “Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act” On June 8th, 2017, a legislative hearing was held regarding HR 2083. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and for other purposes. It was introduced […]
‘Most’ everything in this article is correct, except that the conclusion is wrong. It was written by the Washington State Chapter of the Sierra Club. Too much spill kills salmon and the incremental benefit to more spill is minimal at this point. If we want robust, economically thriving river communities, wild salmon for future generations […]
2017 Incidents at Little Goose Dam on the Lower Snake River A short summary of issues jeopardizing salmon recovery since April 11th Incident #1 On April 11th, the first juvenile salmon and steelhead deaths at Little Goose Lock and Dam were reported. This was the day after the lock was finally returned to service after […]