Columbia Basin Bulletin - October 19, 2024

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Columbia Basin Bulletin
October 19, 2024

On October 16, a fall-run Chinook salmon was identified by Oregon Department Fish and Wildlife fish biologists in a tributary to the Klamath River above the former J.C. Boyle Dam, becoming the first anadromous fish to return to the Klamath Basin in Oregon since 1912 when the first of four hydroelectric dams was constructed, blocking migration.

Pacific salmon are in decline across British Columbia and the Yukon, according to a new report from the Pacific Salmon Foundation. More than 70 per cent of salmon are below their long-term average of the 41 combinations of regions and species assessed.

There are more salmon in the North Pacific Ocean than at any time in the past 100 years, according to a study released this month. The increase is due to changes in the marine ecosystems caused by warming seas -- changes that mostly benefit pink salmon, industrial-scale hatchery production, and commercial fishing.

Tribal, federal, and state leaders gathered at the Tulalip Reservation earlier this month to celebrate $240 million in federal funding for tribal hatcheries. The Inflation Reduction Act investment will help 27 tribes from Northern California to Southeast Alaska meet maintenance and modernization needs of tribal Pacific salmon and steelhead hatcheries.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that steelhead fishing will open in select areas of the Upper Columbia this month. This marks the first time in nine years that anglers can enjoy fishing for hatchery steelhead in these waters.

In a recent review, a panel of scientists said the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program for the Columbia River basin is still changing and progressing after 40 years of implementation, but will need further updates and improvements, including a better strategy for incorporating climate change into the Program and a more comprehensive analysis of the outcome of removing the four lower Snake River dams.

Bonneville Power Announces 13 More Transmission Projects For Expected Future Load Growth, Estimated Cost $3 Billion

The Bonneville Power Administration has identified 13 more transmission substation and line projects necessary to reinforce the Pacific Northwest’s electric grid.

Dwindling snowpack, rising sea levels and dangerous heat events are among climate change challenges Washington state agencies are planning for under the guidance of a new “climate response” strategy.

Harbor seals consume as many as a third of young steelhead smolts migrating out of the Nisqually River’s delta in southern Puget Sound, new research shows.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has finalized a drone use plan that authorizes staff to conduct pinniped research and management surveys in the state’s coastal and inland waters. Department staff and researchers will use drones to survey for seals and sea lions in the Department’s Southwest, Coastal, and North Puget Sound regions.

The Biden Administration has announced that NOAA is designating 4,543 square miles of coastal and offshore waters along 116 miles of California’s central coast as America’s 17th national marine sanctuary.

A draft report to Congress briefly outlines progress the Northwest Power and Conservation Council made in fiscal year 2023 on its Power Plan and Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The draft report was approved to go out for public comment until Dec. 10 by the Council last week at its meeting in Portland.