Columbia Basin Bulletin - October 8, 2025

Scientists Review Hatchery Program, Massive Run of Pink Salmon, Crops Preparing for Winter/Fall Reservoir Drawdowns... and more

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Columbia Basin Bulletin
October 08, 2025

A hatchery program designed to compensate for the loss of nearly half the historical abundance of steelhead returning to the Snake River caused by the installation and operation of dams in the 1960s is “highly effective,” according to a recently released review by a panel of scientists. The scientists added that the program practices good science, uses sound actions and is adaptable to the changing conditions in the river.

Massive Run Of Pink Salmon Filling Washington Rivers, Can Have Negative Impact On Other Fish, Killer Whales

Washington is predicting a huge run of pink salmon into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound this year and is encouraging anglers to take advantage of the run while they are there. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is forecasting a run of pinks of nearly 7.8 million, up 70 percent over the 10-year average.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is alerting Willamette Valley residents that it will begin drawing down reservoirs backed up behind some of its 13 dams in the river system, an action designed to aid the downstream migration of salmon and steelhead through the dams, but also one that has increased downstream turbidity that impacts city drinking water.

A video camera captured a Chinook salmon ascending the fish ladder at Keno Dam on the upper Klamath River last week (Sept. 24), the first picture of a salmon ascending the upper bays of the ladder since four hydroelectric dams were removed on the Klamath River last year.

NOAA Scientists Develop New Method To Measure Toxic Tire Chemical In Marine Life, 6PPD-Quinone Can Kill Coho In Hours

Scientists at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center helped pioneer the study of an automobile tire toxin found to kill coho salmon when it runs off highways in stormwater and into streams. Now they have found a way to measure the toxin, 6PPD-quinone, directly in marine life, including fish, shellfish and marine mammals.

Angling in the Big Sky state has a sizable economic impact. A recent study from the University of Montana, Bureau of Business and Economic Research and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks shows that in 2024 more than 450,000 resident and nonresident anglers spent a combined $1.27 billion on fishing trips in Montana.

In response to a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and Bird Alliance of Oregon, a federal judge found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2022 determination that the streaked horned lark is threatened and not endangered is unlawful. The court ordered the Service to reconsider within one year whether the lark warrants endangered species protections.

For the fifth time, the Washington Department of Ecology is getting ready to offer competitive grants for streamflow restoration projects. The upcoming grant cycle includes up to $40 million in available funding for projects that aim to improve streamflows throughout the state.

The 2025 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery season has been extended through Oct. 12 at select registration stations. The reward program, funded by Bonneville Power Administration, pays anglers to catch predatory northern pikeminnow, a native fish that consumes millions of juvenile salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers each year.

Angling has been closed on the lowest reach of Eagle Creek in Oregon’s Clackamas basin from Sept. 27 through Oct. 31 to give coho salmon a safe resting area amid ongoing low water flows. The closure is from SE Dowty Road downstream to the Clackamas River confluence.