Category – Fish and wildlife

Sea lion predation on salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin remains a source of concern for regional fish and wildlife managers.

With millions of acre-feet of water protected but transactions growing more complex and costly, program administrators discuss future options.

The threat of invasive species continues to loom large in the Columbia River Basin, with the potential to significantly disrupt ecosystems and infrastructure. Ahead of National Invasives Species Awareness Week (February 23-27), the Council heard from a panel of regional experts on existing and emerging species of concern.

Long-term, consistent operations that will support juvenile migration in spring and summer and keep water temperatures cooler in the Columbia and Snake Rivers are included in a new draft of the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. Other top priorities include maintaining critical assets like hatcheries and fish screens and continuing to invest in habitat restoration projects.

Slow growth, invasive species, and passage concerns are likely contributing to the decline in abundance of white sturgeon between Hells Canyon and Lower Granite dams. 

Representatives of the McKenzie River Trust and Eugene Water & Electric Board share updates on large-scale restoration projects happening on the McKenzie River and its tributaries.

Researchers present annual update on avian predation in the basin, highlight crashing tern populations, upriver nesting of cormorants, and increasing American white pelican foraging as emerging issues. 

At July’s Council meeting in Portland, members of the Independent Science Review Panel discussed results and key findings from the Habitat Retrospective Report that the ISRP published in July. This report reviewed the Fish and Wildlife Program’s habitat restoration work in the Columbia River Basin over the past several decades.

At May’s Council meeting in Pasco, Wash., the Council listened to a briefing by Amy Burke, Senior Hydrologist for the Northwest River Forecast Center, on the snowpack that built up in the Columbia River Basin this past winter and how it would affect the water supply for the upcoming seasons.

Actions to improve cold water refugia continue in multiple tributaries, including on the Wind, White Salmon, Klickitat, Umatilla, and Walla Walla.