Sockeye Reintroduction IV

This project primarily funded sockeye reintroduction activities occurring during calendar year 2013, with some support of activities during 2015 and 2016.

This is the fourth year for this ongoing PCSRF project. The Yakama Nation (YN) participated in the completion of feasibility study of fish passage at Cle Elum Lake dam. YN worked with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in developing the Master Plan for reintroduction of anadromous fish above the reservoirs. The effort is part of a Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) led cooperative investigation with the YN, state, other federal agencies that studied the feasibility of providing fish passage at Cle Elum Lake dam, one of the five large storage dams of the Yakima Project. The dams: Bumping, Kachess, Keechelus, Cle Elum, and Tieton, were never equipped with fish passage facilities. Four of the five reservoirs were originally natural lakes and historically supported Native American fisheries for sockeye salmon and other anadromous and resident fish. Of these Cle Elum has the best habitat above the reservoir for this fish passage project. It is estimated that approximately 263,000 to 1.2 million smolts will be needed to fully seed the Cle Elum River basin above Cle Elum Dam. These data were used to establish a near-term (2009-2017) project goal of collecting 1,000 to 10,000 adults annually to be transferred directly to Cle Elum Lake. After a minimum escapement threshold is reached (80,000 at Bonneville), adult trapping would commence at the Priest Rapids Dam Off-ladder Adult Fish Trap (OLAFT) with a minimum collection of 1,000 sockeye. Adult collection would be increased in 500 fish increments for every 20,000 adult increase at Bonneville Dam in excess of the 80,000 threshold up to 160,000. OLAFT incremental increases would occur for every 10,000 adults in excess of a 160,000 count at Bonneville up to a maximum collection of 10,000 fish. The co-managers prefer a mix of Okanogan and Wenatchee stocks when relocating adults to initiate the reintroduction. We believe the reintroduction plan should utilize all potential donor stocks to maximize the chance of success in reestablishing sockeye in an area that has been absent of anadromous sockeye salmon for over 100 years. The two donor stocks exhibit different life history and migration behavior patterns. This genetic and phenotypic diversity is a desirable attribute that allows natural adaptation/selection processes to determine which donor stock is a better fit to the current Yakima Basin environment.
The funding provided support to trap and haul the fish from Priest Rapids Dam to Lake Cle Elum and to work with and learn from the Okanagan Nation Alliance on their experiences with sockeye reintroduction.
The final report for this project details the work completed to date, including the annual number of sockeye transported and released in Lake Cle Elum since inception, as well as related activities.

Four natural glacial lakes in the Yakima River Basin supported sockeye salmon historically, but the salmon were extirpated in the early 1900s when timber crib dams were constructed at the outlets of the lakes. Cle Elum Lake was first dammed in 1906. In 1933, the contemporary Cle Elum Dam was constructed to increase the water storage capacity for irrigation. Currently there are three stocks or evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of sockeye salmon in the interior Columbia River basin: Lake Wenatchee ESU (Washington), Okanogan River ESU (Washington), and the Snake River ESU (Idaho). The Snake River sockeye salmon ESU was listed under the ESA on November 20, 1991. A subsequent final listing determination issued by NOAA-Fisheries on June 28, 2005 reconfirmed the endangered status of the Snake River sockeye salmon ESU, which primarily occurs in the upper Salmon River basin in Redfish Lake. The Lake Wenatchee and Okanogan River sockeye salmon ESUs in central Washington State were found to be not warranted for listing under the ESA, and are therefore potential donor populations for sockeye salmon reintroduction into Cle Elum Lake. Both upper Columbia stocks support terminal area sport and tribal ceremonial and subsistence fisheries when annual run abundance is sufficient.