Hot off the press

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

September 3, 2019
Contact: Larry Phillips, 360-870-1889
Media: Michelle Dunlop, 360-902-2255

Agreement reached to benefit coho salmon, steelhead in Wynoochee River basin

OLYMPIA – State and tribal leaders have agreed to a plan that will enhance coho salmon and steelhead populations diminished by the Wynoochee Dam in Grays Harbor County.

A public meeting on the plan is scheduled at 6 p.m., Sept. 24, at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) regional office, located at 48 Devonshire Road in Montesano.

Under the agreement between WDFW and the Quinault Indian Nation, roughly 500,000 coho salmon and 60,000 winter steelhead will be released annually as mitigation for the Wynoochee dam.

"This historic agreement benefits both wild fish populations as well as state and tribal fishers," said Ron Warren, fish policy lead for WDFW. "Despite some obstacles along the way, the state and tribe have worked collaboratively over the years to find a path forward for fish in the Wynoochee basin."

Under the agreement, WDFW annually will release:

100,000 coho into the Wynoochee River; 400,000 coho into the Satsop River; 60,000 winter steelhead into the Wynoochee River.

The 60,000 winter steelhead to be released in the Wynoochee and the 400,000 coho bound for the Satsop River will all be marked with clipped adipose fins, making them available for anglers to retain during years when sufficient numbers of fish are forecast to return.

The 100,000 coho released into the Wynoochee River will be tagged with a coded wire but will not be marked (with clipped adipose fins) for the first five years of the plan. As unmarked fish, these coho have a better chance of making it back to the spawning grounds in the Wynoochee River since the retention of unmarked coho is prohibited except in years when high numbers of wild fish are expected to return, Warren said.

"The intent of this plan is to re-establish a healthy coho population in the Wynoochee River while providing coho and steelhead fishing opportunities within the basin," Warren said.

The first release of these fish into the basin could take place as early as 2021. Anglers could then expect to see coho and steelhead returning as soon as the fall of 2022.

The steelhead and coho slated for release into the Wynoochee will be raised at WDFW's Lake Aberdeen Hatchery while the coho planned for release into the Satsop will be raised at the Bingham Creek facility.

The most recent licensing agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 1991 required mitigation for damage to fish populations as result of the Wynoochee Dam, owned by the city of Aberdeen. A new hatchery was planned but not constructed, due to site location difficulties. Funds intended for the new hatchery were put into a trust now held by Tacoma Power, which operates a powerhouse near the dam.

Without a new facility on the Wynoochee, there is limited capacity to raise more fish for release into the Wynoochee River, said Larry Phillips, WDFW regional director.

"Releasing more coho into the Wynoochee will help offset years when natural production is low and could ultimately lead to more opportunities for anglers," Phillips said. "In the meantime, anglers can look forward to what's sure to be improved coho and steelhead fishing within the entire basin in the next few years."

The state and tribe have sent the signed draft agreement to Tacoma Power for review before the utility forwards it to FERC for consideration. If approved by FERC, the mitigation plan will run through 2037, when the dam's federal license is up for renewal.

WDFW estimates the cost of implementing the plan over the next 18 years (until 2037) is about $2.6 million, which is the amount in the trust fund.

 

Persons with disabilities who need to receive this information in an alternative format or who need reasonable accommodations to participate in WDFW-sponsored public meetings or other activities may contact Dolores Noyes by phone (360-902-2349), TTY (360-902-2207), or email (dolores.noyes@dfw.wa.gov). For more information, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/reasonable_request.html.

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Well alright, alright.
Fish on..

Sounds good. I hope the silvers the same players raise and plant for the Wynoochee and the Satsop bite better than the silvers raised for and planted in the Cowlitz....

Something to consider about hatchery salmon. They are normally harvested at 90%+, meaning 1 in 10 is used for spawning. What do they spawn? What gets back to the hatchery after not being caught.

Wild coho are fished at significantly lower rates. While the spawners are still those that don't get caught, aggression is not penalized as highly.

Raises a couple of interesting points:

1. This statement appears to suggest that "hatchery raised fish are going to be let onto the gravel to spawn as wild fish, simply because they did not have their adipose fin clipped...at least five years worth.

2. Harvest of these "non-clipped" fish will be determined by return, but it does not mention for who? If a coho fishery IS allowed for marked selective fish, and the tribal fisheries are using non-selective nets, isn't this the same thing as giving the tribes a huge amount of fish that are NOT available to sportsmen?


This sounds like a great plan to increase fish, but it smells like a good way to keep fish away from sports harvest and increase incidental catch in nets... just saying.

So is that an additional 400,000 coho on top of the roughly 300,00 already planted on the satsop? So 700,000 total? Are they going to be the early or late fish? This stuff would be nice to know.

After speaking to Larry Phillips I found out that the 60,000 Wynoochee winter run steelhead are derived from wild fish from the river and will be clipped. The 100,000 coho will not be clipped. The fish are on top of already established releases. The Satsop fish are going to be clipped. I don't know if they are early or late but Larry will always answer your questions if asked politely. His number is on the release above. Bob R

Just so everyone understands.....hatchery steelhead, both winter and summer, are placed in the Wynoochee River...

No hatchery Coho have been placed in the Wynoochee River since the Dam was built, early 70's. Now I don't know if any hatchery Coho were used before the dam was built.

Re-build the "wild Coho run"????? It'll be interesting to see WDFW approach to this, and how it will be monitored.

There is a fish trap, below the dam.....there were 700+ Coho removed from the trap, during 10/01/18 - 06/01/19, all these Coho were "trucked" above the dam and released. Over the years, many have questioned, the "trucking procedure".....why not just close the trap, force these Coho to spawn below the trap....seems a better use of "wild Coho".

That's to help feed the extra future exploitation wrought upon those Satsop coho for the Skok's.

I don't understand the Wynoochee coho strategy. So the river has a certain spawning capacity for wild coho, I'm pretty sure they spawn in small tribs primarily. None are available for retention, and salmon fishing pressure isn't crazy like it is on the Hump or Satsop because there isn't a directed recreational harvest opportunity. But they're going to dump in a bunch more that can't be kept by the rod & reel guys but can be kept by the netters... sounds good on paper but I don't get it.

Well a number of questions raised are good but this is the simple fact. ALH is maxed out as to space. To get 60K more Winter Steelhead and 100k Coho to net pens you would have to get rid of something and the only something available is the Rainbow Trout and Summerrun Steelhead. Do that and you have room.

Lake Aberdeen Net Pens performed poorly in the past predators from birds to Otter just plain everything including storms breaking them loose to hang up on the bottom. The staff was as good as it gets but it is a mission impossible. If they do the dams lake substantial difficulties exist with cold water retarding growth and location.

Then this the Coho reared at the facility are really vulnerable to Columnaris. Aberdeen lake Hatchery is just not a Coho facility and over the years the Pathologist has fought this fight over and over. If they rear them at say Bingham one would be lucky to get back 50% of the adults to the Wynoochee as Coho imprint on the rearing home water source at the front of their life cycle not the final freshwater time as Steelhead do. Net pens would help but only help get some of the returning adults to the Wynoochee.

So until Region 6 decides to be forthright and define just what they are going to do everything is conjecture. Except this, the numbers put forth in the press release and Larry Philips do not fit in the current Aberdeen Lake Hatchery facilities capabilities unless you move something out.

Yeah....I figured. I still can’t believe it will come to fruition. Surely, something would have to make the state grow a backbone and say enough is enough and (seriously) challenge them on something like this. Then I’ll wake up, have my first drink and say goodbye to my beloved river. Shame.

I surely hope they wouldn't discontinue or reduce the summer plant. we found where they were staging heavy this weekend and came back with a buddies kids ages 9 and 5. They killed their first 3 steelhead and lost several more. with not another soul in sight and plenty of fish about it was a fantastic experience for these boys. This is what this fishery is routinely is for us.

Is it confirmed that these fish will be raised at Lake Aberdeen? They might be planning on using an underutilized facility for these fish (Stevens Creek?)

From the press release posted above.

The steelhead and coho slated for release into the Wynoochee will be raised at WDFW's Lake Aberdeen Hatchery while the coho planned for release into the Satsop will be raised at the Bingham Creek facility.

Funny how everyone wants to beat up on WDFW, but there no one holding the dam owners responsible. They've got away with murder for years on the Cowlitz.

The dam was federal flood control with mitigation for Steelhead of 170k a year. Then the power generation was added and funding for additional mitigation was added for Coho and additional Steelhead with Tacoma City Light putting the funding into an account that they did not have any control over. To put it simply the power company met the obligations of funding with WDFW being the entity that was charged with the responsibility of producing the required additional mitigation production.

TCL has zip zero just plain nothing to do with the failure to produce the mitigation fish, 100% WDFW for all these years. Comparing Wynoochee Mitigation to the Cowlitz is a bit miss guided to say the least.

Here I go.…...The Wynoochee salmon and steelhead suffer because the current hatchery is and has been to small, has warm water problems, this hatchery should be moved closer to the base of the Wynoochee Dam.

During the late 70's and early 80's, there was lots of talk about a hatchery below the Wynoochee Dam, there was even talk of a double water exit from the dam itself....1 pipe able to draw water from the lower part of the dam and another pipe higher up to draw warmer water that could be used to "speed of the growth of smolt to larger size".

Currently, Native steelhead, have to go to the trap below the Dam, then trucked to Lake Aberdeen hatchery to be used for brood stock, then as smolt they are trucked to different areas and released.....wouldn't it be better, to have returning fish actually go right to a "new hatchery", processed, raise to smolt size, then released right from the hatchery.

I've been told, over and over, that salmon don't take well to "trucking", either as adults or as smolt but this continues to be done, Again, how nice to not have to try and brood stock fish, let fish do what fish do...move up a river, go to a hatchery, have good water to be raised in, then just release the smolt, right from the raceways.

Heaven forbid, with good clean water, at the proper temperature, disease problems reduced, minimum human handling there might be salmon and steelhead at increased levels......QIN has it right, Wynoochee needs a hatchery, closer to the Dam,,,,WDFW shame on you for sitting on your hands for all these years, doing BS fish handling on the Wynoochee River. Current WDFW fish management has problems....change is needed!!!!!

There was more than just talk about a hatchery near the dam. There was a design for it as I was designing part of the wastewater treatment. Don't know why it was quashed, though.

You are correct......I remember the design phase, people like Tom Pentt, Jerry Paveltich and many others spent 100's of hours working on the proposed hatchery....Grays Harbor Chapter Trout Unlimited was very active on the hatchery.....just to many negative things, WDFW moves so slow, when quickness was needed.

"Coulda, shoulda", just didn't get it done!!!!! Now we are paying for it, 40 years after the hatchery should've been built.

Man the noochie was something back in Tom Hammock's day.

This is another "follow up" to the "should have been hatchery. What many "younger people and thousands of others never knew", there were "springers" in the Wynoochee, not a large run but "for those in the know", some ended up as dinners and smoked fish.

A Wynoochee hatchery, could have been a perfect scenario for raising "hatchery springers", but there was/is a WDFW element that believed those springers were "dip in" fish, yea right, dip in 30 miles up the Wynoochee River, above the canyon....year after year.

RW, said at a meeting some years back.....there will never be "hatchery springers" raised in the Chehalis basin......will be good when he is gone!!!!

Nice to see that the Quinault Tribe has finally given its OK to a plan for the Wynoochee mitigation funds. All the other parties to the hydropower license agreed to a plan nearly 10 years ago, with the exception of Quinault. The plan still has to be approved by FERC, but that is a fairly sure thing. The FERC license was issued in 1987, and I think they will be happy to get this thing done after carrying it on the license books for 30 years.

Apparently the proposed production is over and above existing hatchery production, but isn't it interesting that the lion's share of the Wynoochee mitigation will be reared and released from Satsop? Does that even pass the red face or chuckle tests?

When was passing the Red Face or Chuckle tests a WDFW priority? Been a while.

The 400k Satsop Coho ARE NOT part of the required mitigation but the 100k Coho at Aberdeen Lake are along with the Steelhead. The 400k Satsop Coho are something new not explained.

Do not know if all parties have signed off. They are Tacoma Power, WDFW, City of Aberdeen, Quinault Nation, and the Chehalis Tribe. If I was the Chehalis Tribe I sure as hell would not sign off if the 400k did not come out of the Skookumchuck so they got part of the pie. Again the 400k at Bingham are not part of the required mitigation but a extra benefit thrown in for …. ( fill in the blanks )

the issue with this is $$$... we can do things better but to improve our hatcheries takes a lot of investment. this is both a governmental issue in failing to "sell" the idea and a public issue "no taxes, too expensive, etc". This is the same reason the sewer systems in many cities built decades ago that are leaking poo into the water table aren't being replaced. imagine being the politician who tries to spearhead the improvement of sewage infrastructure: everyone hates you because of traffic disruption from construction, costs will probably go over budget due to unforseen issues with a 100 year old system and you might not be in office by the time the work is complete and the public wont notice a perfectly working sewer system to boot because you only notice when its going bad. why would a policy maker, dept head or politician undergo long term investment into public goods under these conditions?

yes we could do better, yes we could improve things but how can you do it in a current climate where half the population will have an aneurysm at the very mention of budget increases and potential tax hikes. I'm 100% on board with what you're saying but its not 100% the WDFW's fault they have to take the lowest common denominator solution- the public, policy makers and politicians we elect also have a ton to do with the position we are currently in.

Remember that the primary source of funds for WDFW is from license sales, taxes on sport hunting and fishing equipment, and mitigation. I don't think they are as broke as they claim but priorities are skewed so that the license holders pay for the commercials and so on.

Their whole funding structure needs retooling. Perhaps an Initiative that would mandate that all funds collected from the hunters/fishers (license, DJ/PR) can be used to directly benefit them. This would include some level of habitat protection needed to produce animals, but the cost of producing fish for commercial harvest (I and NI), ESA responsibilities, etc. would come from GF as those actions have statewide benefits and statewide causes.

So the dam owners get a free pass.

License sale only make up 28% of WDFW budget. The non fishing and hunting public make up the others 72%. Just remember it was good old Christine Gregoire that shifted WDFW funds in the General fund.

Incorrect. Tacoma and Aberdeen put up the money decades ago. WDFW didn't come up with a plan to use the money that was approved by all the parties to the FERC licensing proceeding until now. The Quinault Tribe held up the plan until it satisfied their demands. Interestingly, I have to wonder if the parties that agreed to previous iterations of the plan now agree with the present one. And if they don't, then what? Is Quinault's the only approval that WDFW concerns itself with?

No free pass as they paid up front and the account has built up to 2.4 or more as I recall. I realize that many blame the dam owners but the original dam mitigation was paid up front and so did Tacoma Power for the hydro power modifications. Department of Game used a huge portion of the original mitigation to rebuild Lake Aberdeen Hatchery but guaranteed to produce the required Steelhead with its own funds when the remaining funds were used. Now that are joined as one agency WDF&W has the responsibility for the original Steelhead mitigation.

The funds in question are the additional mitigation for the power generation only. The failure to do the mitigation is not Tacoma Powers responsibility as they have zero control over the mitigation funds, only WDFW can access the funds for mitigation that Tacoma Power put into the account to produce the mitigation.

Tacoma Power, WDFW, City of Aberdeen, Quinault Nation, and the Chehalis Tribe all have to sign off on the plan. Working with the local communities around 1993 WDF&W produced a plan that was supposed to be submitted to the above mentioned entities. They did not do that but variations of that plan surfaced over the years in conversations but again went no place.

As to FERC the only time that came up was before power generation and was about fish passage down stream. Eicher screens and other things but in the end nothing came of it.

They would like you to believe that license sales only make up a small fraction. It is quite possible that 26% is the value of license sales. But, DJ and PR are Federal taxes on hunting and fishing gear that is returned to the states based on license sales. The money is used at a 3:1 match, so for every $1 of license money used, the Feds kick in $3; all from sporties. The mitigation funds come from the Feds (Mitchell Act) and dam operators (TCL, Pacific Corp, PUDs) which is money that comes from them from ratepayers.

WDFW also gets a modest amount of dedicated funds from various vanity/specialized license plates. Finally, there is some GF that comes from the run of the mill disinterested taxpayer. It sure ain't 75% of the total budget.

So, in short. We have a crooked agency controlling our recourses and wildlife.
I would really like to see what goes on behind closed doors nowadays with the department. Its probably to embarrassing to watch.