January 22, 2010

Upper Columbia Spring Chinook status

The action agencies sent a letter to NOAA Fisheries today saying that the status of Upper Columbia Spring Chinook is unlikely to drop below the Adaptive Management Implementation Plan Significant Decline threshold in 2010 or 2011. The letter was in response to a Sept. 25, 2009, NOAA letter that said if the AMIP had been in place before September 2009, the number of natural-origin Upper Columbia Spring Chinook returning to the Columbia through 2008 would have been an AMIP Early Warning Indicator.  Intended to focus attention on possible problems to come, the Early Warning Indicator triggers a  process for the agencies to determine whether the species is likely to reach the Significant Decline Threshold. The AMIP calls for rapid response actions to address significant declines in the abundance of naturally produced salmon and steelhead. 

The action agencies’ letter says that 2009 returns of Upper Columbia Spring Chinook exceeded the Early Warning threshold, and that the Northwest Fisheries Science Center is predicting chinook runs in 2010 and 2011 to rival the high returns of this species seen in 2001 and 2002.  In addition, the action agencies are implementing a very aggressive habitat program in the upper Columbia region, focused specifically on improvements for Upper Columbia Spring Chinook and steelhead.  Therefore, the agencies conclude that rapid response actions aimed at improving the near-term status of Upper Columbia Spring Chinook are not necessary at this time.

Attachment to action agency letter to NOAA