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Columbia Basin Bulletin - September 28, 2024

Columbia Basin Bulletin - September 28, 2024

Breaking News available now at https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/

Columbia Basin Bulletin
September 28, 2024

Chinook, Steelhead Return Forecasts Rise Again While Coho Booming; Coho, Steelhead Passage At Willamette Falls Way Up

Oregon and Washington opened the entire mainstem Columbia River to fall Chinook and coho salmon fishing from Buoy 10 to the Oregon and Washington state border last week. The change by the two-state Columbia River Compact came at its Sept. 18 hearing and was based on an increase in expected fall Chinook returns, as well as higher than average returns of coho.

More Invasive Quagga Mussels Found Again In Snake River, Idaho To Respond With Chemical Treatment Plan

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture announced this week the detection of a small number of quagga mussels in the Twin Falls area of the Snake River.

Washington State Issues Draft Strategy To Remove Small-Scale Salmon, Steelhead Passage Barriers, 20,000 Across The State

Responding to a years-long Supreme Court injunction over fish culverts, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public input on a draft statewide strategy to prioritize the removal of small-scale barriers that prevent salmon and steelhead from swimming upstream.

Lamprey Returns To Columbia River ‘Disappointing’ This Year; Efforts Continue To Boost Numbers, Including Translocation To Tributaries, Better Dam Passage

Some 22,038 Columbia River basin Pacific lamprey had been counted at Bonneville Dam’s fish ladders as of Sept. 22, one-half the 10-year average and only one-third the number that had passed the dam on this date last year.

Steelhead Kelt Reconditioning: ‘Developing Relatively Uncertain Approach Into Viable Management Alternative To Enhance Spawner Abundance’

The Bonneville Power Administration is funding the construction of a state-of-the-art steelhead kelt reconditioning facility in Julietta, Idaho aimed at restoring steelhead populations in the Clearwater River. The new facility will be built adjacent to Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery, which BPA funded in 2001, and is being constructed in partnership with Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the Nez Perce tribe.

What Do Two Populations Of North Pacific Killer Whales Eat? Research Shows Differences Between Southern Residents (Puget Sound), Alaska Residents

Scientists studied two populations of fish-eating killer whales — the Southern Residents and the southern Alaska residents – to find out if these two populations different things and how their diets change throughout the year.

USFWS Status Review Says Bull Trout Should Remain Listed As Threatened Under ESA

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed the 5-year status review and a Species Status Assessment for bull trout in the lower 48 states, recommending no change to the current threatened listing status of the bull trout under the Endangered Species Act.

WDFW Officers Respond To Call Of River Otter Attacking Child, Mother

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers earlier this month received a report of a human-river otter incident that occurred at the Bremerton Marina in Kitsap County.