Upper Columbia Salmon Reintroduction Continues to Gain Momentum

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Published: Monday, 11 January 2021 19:47

This is a story of resilience and passion. Starring salmon in the Upper Columbia, the storyline is evolving with embers of hope that are beginning to catch fire.

In 2017, the Spokane Tribe of Indians released 753 yearling chinook in Tshimikain Creek, which is located on the eastern side of the Spokane’s Reservation. As Tshimikain enters the lower Spokane River, its waters flow through Little Falls Dam, into Lake Roosevelt and the Columbia River about 26 miles downstream. Using PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags, the tribe tracked their migration to the Pacific. 89 of these fish were detected in various bypass facilities, estuary trawler nets, avian colonies, and adult fishways (ladders).

A stir occurred at the 2019 Lake Roosevelt Forum Conference when the Spokane Tribe announced one had made it to the ocean by avoiding all the nets, hooks, birds, sea lions and orcas, then travelled back up the Columbia through 9 salmon ladders and found its way into the Colville Tribes Chief Joseph Hatchery ladder.  The Colville Tribes gladly returned this fish to the Spokane Tribe.  Although it was only one fish, it was a good start and a remarkable accomplishment for this particular fish. 

In 2020, the Spokane Tribe announced three more chinook from the 2017 release made their journey to the ocean and back to the Columbia. One was detected at McNary Dam, another at Wells Dam, and the last picked up by a tribal fish processor above the Dalles Dam.

In 2019, the Colville Tribe conducted a series of ceremonial releases at Kettle Falls, Keller and in Lake Rufus Woods between Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams. The ceremonies were a powerful celebration of the spiritual connection between the tribes and the salmon and brought national attention to salmon reintroduction upstream of Grand Coulee Dam.  That same year, the Upper Columbia United Tribes (which includes the Colville Tribes, Coeur d'Alene Tribe, the Kalispel Tribe, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the Spokane Tribe) published the Phase I feasibility study to reintroduce salmon to the Upper Columbia.

Mark 2019 as the year the braiding of culture and science began officially stirring imaginations.

2020 Releases

In July, the Colville Tribes released 50 chinook into Lake Roosevelt, half near Grand Coulee Dam and the other half up by Northport. The results of this study are pending, but the plan is to learn about survival, behavior, fallback below Grand Coulee Dam and if the fish will also utilize habitat in Canada.

In August, the Colville Tribal Fish and Wildlife (CTFW) department released 100 adult chinook salmon into the Sanpoil River, a tributary to the Upper Columbia. The adult salmon ranged from about 8-20 pounds and were provided by the Wells Fish Hatchery.   

In a hopeful sign, CTFW Senior Research Scientist Casey Baldwin reported that "Most of the chinook stayed in the area and a lot of them spawned." Continued Baldwin, "We were able to document 36 redds (spawning nests) in about a 6-mile reach from West Fork downstream. The fish held there through the late summer and started spawning in October. It looks like we had really good survival and conversion to spawning."

This summer the Spokanes released 50 adult chinook in Tshimikain Creek and 50 to the Spokane River below Long Lake Dam. Like the Colvilles, they’re tracking to see if they’ll stay, survive and spawn. And like the Colville Tribes experience, the early signs are hopeful with a survey of Tshimikain in early October documenting 20 redds.

Said Conor Giorgi, Anadromous Program Manager with the Spokane Tribe of Indians, “We’re finding that the habitat can support spawning activity for adult chinook, anecdotally confirming some of our assessments from Phase 1.”

To the east, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe conducted their first cultural release of adult salmon in Hangman Creek on June 26th. The Hangman descends from Idaho before entering the Spokane River less than two miles downstream of the iconic Spokane Falls in downtown Spokane.

75 adult chinook salmon from the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery were released to much fanfare. Tribal Council member Hemene James captured the moment with these thoughts about the future for salmon. “Let’s enjoy today for what it is, a return of something that was at the very center of our existence.  A place where political deals were made, where marriages were made, where you got to see cousins and relatives that you only see certain times of the year when the fish were running.  So let’s enjoy today as much as we can and keep the fight [to bring salmon back] going tomorrow, cause I promise you as long as I have breath going, the fight will continue.”

2020 also marked the second straight year the Coeur d’Alene Tribe released juvenile salmon with help from students participating in “Smłich (Salmon) in the Classroom”.  This educational program engages K-12 students in the science of reintroduction while revitalizing the salmon culture.  Information generated through the program is helping to spawn excitement in the community. 

In late March more than 1,450 yearling chinook salmon were released into upper Hangman Creek, 331 kilometers upstream of the current anadromous zone and behind five hydroelectric projects without fish passage facilities.  By July, the first Coeur d’Alene fish reared on the Reservation in over 100 years were confirmed to have survived the downstream journey to the Pacific.

The Science of Reintroduction Continues

The Phase 1 Reintroduction Plan focused on pre-assessment planning. Based on an array of research and studies, Phase 1 concluded non-ESA donor stocks are available; the disease risks identified are manageable; that sufficient habitat and other conditions exist to support their life cycle; and that technology exists to move adult and juvenile fish past Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams.

Scientists and researchers are now hard at work on the Phase 2 Implementation Plan. With expectations of the plan being ready for release in the spring of 2021, Phase 2 focuses on experimental, pilot-scale salmon reintroductions and interim passage facilities. Specifically, they are looking at a range of issues at various life stages such as juvenile migratory and passage survival, adult return migration behavior, and spawning success.

Tribal Commitment and WDFW Support

It’s a complex, multi-year process that the Upper Columbia tribes are fully committed to. Without federal support, the tribes are largely relying on their own resources and leveraging partnerships with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and others.

“The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fully supports salmon and steelhead reintroduction efforts into the Blocked Area of the Columbia River and we are eager to assist where needed with staff expertise and funding, when available,“ said Chris Donley, WDFW’s regional fish program manager. “We’ve assisted with disease testing by processing samples in our Olympia Labs and subsidizing the cost of the sample processing to reduce costs to the tribes.”

Tribal passion for salmon reintroduction rests on a foundation of striving to restore the physical and spiritual health of members. At the same time, they see reintroducing salmon as critical to the ecosystem and a benefit to local economies.

The journey, however uncertain, continues. It’s a story of resilience and passion.