Category – Fish and wildlife

WDFW briefed the Council on the survival of adult summer steelhead through the Columbia River hydrosystem.

Understanding how ocean conditions affect salmon, especially as the climate warms, is a priority of the Fish and Wildlife Program. NOAA presented findings on 2023 ocean conditions for salmon and steelhead, and explained how actions taken in freshwater can improve ocean survival.

IDFG continues to improve habitat in the Potlatch watershed, the largest spawning area for wild steelhead in the lower Clearwater River.

At its January meeting, the Council was briefed on one of the Council’s longtime projects to reduce the impact of a key predator on migrating juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River Basin—northern pikeminnow.

At its December meeting, the Council heard from federal, state, and tribal representatives about their coordinated efforts to manage salmon harvest in the ocean and rivers.

In the last 10 years, the cormorant population has grown 1500% at Astoria Bridge, both accelerating erosion of the bridge and increasing salmon predation.

The mussels were first detected in the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho in September during routine monitoring conducted by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, prompting officials to spring into action.

Kate Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Deschutes River Conservancy briefed the Council on the collaborative work to restore streamflow and improve water quality in the Deschutes River Basin.

See the Council's statement regarding the hard work of the Tribes and many agencies of the federal government for reaching this agreement.

After a long trend of dwindling abundance, tribal, state, and federal fish and wildlife managers have seen a welcomed increase in Pacific lamprey at Bonneville Dam.