BPA Fish and Wildlife FY 1997 Proposal

Section 1. Administrative
Section 2. Narrative
Section 3. Budget

see CBFWA and BPA funding recommendations

Section 1. Administrative

Title of project
Umatilla River Basin Trap and Haul Program

BPA project number   8802200

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
CTUIR

Sponsor type   OR-Tribe

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   Jay Marcotte, EWN 503/231-6962

Biological opinion ID   None

NWPPC Program number   3.1D.1, 7.10, 7.4I.2

Short description
Provide low-water passage of fish in the lower Umatilla River by trapping fish and hauling to sections of the river with adequate water. Project has immediate survival benefits for spring & fall chinook, coho, and steelhead.

Project start year   1989    End year   

Start of operation and/or maintenance   1989

Project development phase   Maintenance

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects
8403300 - Umatilla Hatchery O & M
8343500 - Umatilla Hatchery Satellite Facilities O & M
9101400 - Umatilla Hatchery Satellites - Design & Construction
9000501 - Umatilla Basin Natural Production M & E
8710001 - Umatilla River Basin Anadromous Fish Habitat Enhancement

Project history
Beginning in the early 1980's, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife began implementing a comprehensive plan to supplement steelhead and re-establish salmon runs in the Umatilla River Basin. The Trap and Haul project is an integral part of this effort and will allow for fish passage and survival during low flow conditions, particularly in drought years.

Biological results achieved
Salmon runs were extinct in the Umatilla River Basin prior to implementation of the Umatilla fish restoration program. This plan, of which the Trap and Haul project is a key component, has resulted in annual returns of salmon and steelhead to the Umatilla River of 3,300 to 8,000 adults in the last 10 years. This project has been responsible for transporting from 5,000 to 3 million salmon and steelhead smolts and 1,000 to 4,000 adults annually. The survival of these fish would have otherwise been in jeopardy. The Threemile Dam adult trap and associated fish transport truck were completed in 1988 and the Westland juvenile trap in 1990.

Annual reports and technical papers
Contractor submits an Annual Reports which are available for each year since inception.

Management implications
The increase in survival of smolts leaving the Umatilla River and entering the Columbia River directly addresses the Council's rebuilding goals by increasing the number of adults that return to the Columbia and Umatilla rivers. Also, the adult trap and haul effort allows more adults to survive to the mid and upper Umatilla Basin where natural production and harvest may occur.

Specific measureable objectives
Provide an annual safe passage contingency plan for all salmon and steelhead smolts and adults migrating through the lower Umatilla River. Utilize this project and others to achieve Umatilla Basin adult return goals for natural production, broodstock acquisition, and harvest.

Testable hypothesis

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints

Methods
The project involves operation of trapping facilities and associated hauling equipment to safely catch, transport, and release adult and juvenile salmon and steelhead in the lower Umatilla River. Juvenile screens, bypasses, and adult ladders are also inspected to ensure adequate passage conditions exist for both upstream and downstream migrants.

Brief schedule of activities
Continue efforts to provide for passage of adult and smolt summer steelhead, and spring and fall chinook and coho under low-flow river conditions. Continue shake-out at facilities and refine operational criteria. Continue BPA funding of ODFW and CTUIR to operate trap and haul program. Although there will always be a need in drought years, scale back program in future as instream flows increase (Bureau of Reclamation funded project) and the need for artificial transportation decreases.

Biological need
The project provides safe transportation for juvenile and adult migrants during periods when the lower Umatilla River does not provide adequate flow conditions for natural migration. In addition, during time of adequate natural migration conditions, the project ensures fish passage facilities are operated to provide optimal passage conditions past man made diversions systems.

Critical uncertainties
The most critical life history stages potentially impacted in the Umatilla Basin are adult and juvenile passage in the lower river. Without this project to provide passage and survival benefits for both adults & juveniles, it is uncertain whether the Umatilla Basin restoration program would have any chance of success in achieving its adult return goals.

Summary of expected outcome
Outcome is known. With the project, adequate survival rates can be maintained to ensure continued returns of salmon & steelhead. Without the project, passage conditions would in many ways reduce survival to levels where continued success of returns would be jeopardized.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
The trap and haul project is a model for cooperation between diverse interest groups as it provides a fish passage "contingency plan" during low flow periods while the well established irrigation interests also remain intact. The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) funded Umatilla Basin Project will also aid fish passage in the lower Umatilla Basin. The BPA fish screen and trapping facilities operated by the project are maintained under the direction of BOR. Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) is a subcontractor to the project and a cooperator in the Umatilla River Fish Restoration Program. ODFW and USFWS produce hatchery smolts which the project transports through the lower Umatilla River. ODFW also operates and maintains juvenile fish screens which are monitored by the project for fish passage. NMFS develops fish passage and screening criteria for the facilities the project operates.

Risks

Monitoring activity
Project 9000501 (Umatilla Natural Production Monitoring & Evaluation) evaluates quality of passage for the entire Umatilla River. Included are smolt studies and adult radiotagging.

Section 3. Budget

* For most projects, Authorized is the amount recommended by CBFWA and the Council. Planned is amount currently allocated. Contracted is the amount obligated to date of printout.

Funding recommendations

CBFWA funding review group   Bonneville Dam - Priest Rapids Dam

Recommendation    Tier 1 - fund

Recommended funding level   $430,000

BPA 1997 authorized budget (approved start-of-year budget)   $296,000