Trap and transport of adult salmon and juvenile outmigration studies upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams, FY24

The proposed project outcomes are to translocate surplus hatchery summer Chinook and sockeye salmon upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams in fiscal year 2025 to re-establish native subsistence fishing in the Columbia and Sanpoil rivers that has been cut off from salmon since the construction of Grand Coulee (1941) and Chief Joseph Dam (1955). The project will also provide spawning escapement to habitat in 2025 that can support thousands of spawning salmon. The out-migrating smolts (tagged in 2025, released in 2026) and the returning adults from those releases (2028 and 2029) will contribute to the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean ecosystems by providing food for birds, fish, otters, orcas, pinnipeds, and treaty and non-treaty fisheries. The project will also contribute to knowledge regarding the spawning potential of the currently unoccupied habitat, behavior of translocated salmon, and establish a parental-based tagging genetic profile that will allow for returning adults to be linked to their parents from the blocked area. Finally, the project will provide PIT tags for hatchery releases of Chinook and Sockeye salmon (tagged in 2025, released in 2026) that will inform feasibility assessments of juvenile outmigration survival, smolt to adult return rates (SAR), and generate returning adults for future studies (in 2028 and 2029) of adult behavior and feasibility evaluations of interim passage facilities.

1) Partial restoration of native subsistence fishing in 2025 in their historic usual and accustomed areas that have been deprived of salmon for 80-110 years.

2) Implement key aspects of the Phase 2 feasibility evaluations of reintroduction of salmon to the blocked area of the Upper Columbia by evaluating the outmigration survival and travel time of juvenile Chinook and Sockeye in 2026.

3) Determine the effectiveness of trap and haul efforts in 2025 as a method to support the reintroduction of salmon in the blocked area of the Upper Columbia, including providing tribal subsistence harvest opportunity and juvenile fish production.

4) Return salmon to native lands and people in 2025 that have been deprived of a critical food source that is integral to their culture and spirituality.

5) Contribute to the long-term recovery of keystone species through expansion of their range into higher elevations and latitudes to partially ameliorate the effects of climate change (2025-2029).

6) Continued development of long-term working relationships, working toward a common goal with federal, state, tribal and local partnerships (2025-2027).