It’s hard to ignore the dismal forecast for this summer’s steelhead return to the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Just how bad is it? Well, this year’s wild and hatchery summer runs returning past Bonneville Dam are forecast to be the lowest in the past 34 years. Predictions for all stocks look bad, but in particular the later arriving and …
Time to Take Action on Columbia/Snake River Dams
Take Action The Columbia and Snake Rivers were once prolific producers of wild steelhead and salmon. It is estimated that the Snake River system alone produced 55 percent of the Columbia Basin’s summer steelhead and 40 percent of its spring/summer Chinook. But today all Columbia Basin wild steelhead and salmon populations are just a fraction of their historic abundance …
Asotin Creek – WDFW update
By Ethan Crawford, Fisheries Biologist – WDFW Asotin Creek Project An earlier blog post described the great resiliency of wild steelhead in Asotin Creek and noted that this resiliency is in part due to a combination of a variety factors: improved habitat quality, increased spill at hydroelectric facilities, good ocean conditions, and a great reduction in hatchery origin steelhead spawners, …