On April 26, 2023, the Council asked the Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP) to review the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Waterwheel Hatchery Program, Master Plan Submittal. This is a Step 1 review under the Council’s Step Review Process for a proposed hatchery under Project #2008-906-00, Crystal Springs Planning and Operations/Maintenance and supporting Project #2008-905-00, Supplementation Projects. The 2023 Master Plan and the ISRP’s review build on the previously ISRP reviewed and Council recommended Crystal Springs Hatchery Master Plan from 2011-2012. The Master Plan is for the construction and operation of hatchery facilities and programs for Yellowstone cutthroat trout and spring-summer Chinook salmon to mitigate the effects of the Federal Columbia River Power System through the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.
The ISRP appreciates the effort and commitment of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in completing another Step One Master Plan submittal. The Master Plan development has been a long and challenging process. The current Plan represents a significant step forward in meeting Tribal goals of restoring traditional Tribal fisheries for 1) resident fish through production and release of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Fort Hall Reservation near Pocatello, southeast Idaho, and 2) salmon through restoring natural spring/summer Chinook production in Panther Creek and Yankee Fork Salmon River in central Idaho. The Plan addresses many of the elements required for meeting scientific criteria; however, some important elements of the Plan need to be enhanced and multiple conditions addressed before this Master Plan can be considered as fully meeting scientific criteria. The ISRP recommends that the Master Plan be revised in the next Step Review process to address the following six conditions:
Anadromous Fish - Spring/summer Chinook
Meets scientific review criteria for Step Review with conditions:
- Consolidate Goals and Objectives: The Plan would be much improved if all goals and objectives, currently spread throughout the plan, were presented together. SMART biological and implementation objectives should be developed and presented in tables, where appropriate. This condition is consistent with the conditions provided by the ISRP and recommended by the Council in the most recent Anadromous Fish Habitat and Hatchery Projects Review of the Tribes’ Crystal Springs and Supplementation Projects.
- Best Available Science: Significant production uncertainties and risks of the artificial propagation elements of the Chinook captive broodstock program were not sufficiently addressed in the Master Plan, and numerous challenges and production alternatives should be considered. Specifically, the information on in-hatchery and post-release performance generated from three captive broodstock programs operated for spring Chinook salmon in the Snake River should be incorporated into this Master Plan to ensure the best available science is used to guide the project.
- Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation: The RM&E proposed for the spring/summer Chinook captive broodstock program needs to be clarified and updated to address natural production and natural population status and trends, in-hatchery performance of captive broodstock, post-release performance of egg outplants, ecological interactions, life history of natural and hatchery fish, and harvest monitoring. Much of the information needed for a comprehensive integrated hatchery RM&E Plan can be updated and expanded from previously reviewed plans, proposals, and documents.
- Production Assumptions and Management Uncertainties: The proponents need to develop a more comprehensive and detailed description of the uncertainties, assumptions, and production protocols for the Chinook captive broodstock program’s entire production cycle. These details are important because outcomes will vary considerably based on the specific production protocols that are implemented.
- Adaptive Management and Project Adjustment: A clear and well-defined project adjustment process is needed because the Plan represents a 15-year experimental approach with significant uncertainty. Further information is needed to fully understand how performance will be evaluated, how monitoring data will be assessed, and how project methods and actions will be modified when needed.
Resident Fish - Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Meets scientific review criteria for Step Review with conditions:
- Broodstock Options Assessment: Developing a broodstock of pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout from local populations may be desirable, but this approach might be difficult and ultimately unsuccessful. More information is needed to determine the impact on sustainability of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout natural populations resulting from egg removal. A benefit-risk assessment should be conducted for the broodstock source options including using eggs from wild populations and using an existing Idaho Department of Fish and Game hatchery stock of Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Although the development of broodstock from pure strain populations may provide a genetic safety net, the risks to their persistence of such actions are unknown and the need for hatchery intervention for conservation purposes has not been assessed.
