2010 FCRPS BiOp implementation 

Sept. 30, 2010:  The federal government today released its report on progress to protect endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. In 2010, the report shows, the agencies improved safe passage for juvenile fish at the dams and opened up more than 500 miles of streams and rivers where the adult fish return to spawn. The 2010 adult salmon and steelhead run was the largest to return to the Columbia Basin in years. See 2010 adult returns charts here.

 BiOp actions created over 500 miles of new stream habitat in 2010. See more tributary habitat results here. 

Dec. 2010  Big fish survival improvement from new spill wall at The Dalles Dam.  A spill wall completed in 2010 at The Dalles Dam has boosted juvenile fish survival to 96 percent for spring migrants and 94 percent for fall migrants.  The new structure, called for in the 2008 FCRPS BiOp, directs the flow of water from the spillway to the deepest part of the river’s channel, moving young fish away from low flow and shallow areas where they are at risk of predation from other fish and birds.

Nov. 2010  Salmon return to Bear Valley Creek.  The Snake River spring/summer chinook returning to Bear Valley Creek in Idaho have benefited from restoration and protection of their spawning habitat, improved passage through dams and favorable ocean and river conditions.  

The 2010-2013 FCRPS BiOp Implementation Plan outlines a comprehensive program of habitat improvements, hatchery reforms and hydrosystem operations and improvements to protect Columbia and Snake river fish.

The document describes how the action agencies will boost survival of Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act. 

Fish passage and operational improvements at the dams remain a foundation of the agencies’ actions for listed fish. For years, the agencies have spilled water at all eight lower Snake and Columbia dams during the fish passage season to help juvenile fish move more quickly and easily past the dams.  Beginning in 2005, they extended spill through the end of August at Snake River projects.

The plan also outlines a broad array of projects to improve spawning and rearing habitat for listed fish. Some examples (with links to earlier projects) include: 

* Water purchases in central Idaho’s Lemhi watershed will return water to streambeds where Snake River steelhead and Chinook salmon spawn.  They will build on eight recent transactions that permanently increased upstream and downstream passage for the endangered fish. 

* In Oregon’s Grand Ronde watershed, partners will remove diversions and install fish passage structures to improve access to more than 45 miles of streams, and reconnect a half mile of side channel. 

* In the Upper Salmon Basin in Idaho, crews will install fish screens to keep fish out of irrigation canals, boost stream flows and remove diversions that block fish.

* In the Tucannon watershed in southeast Washington, floodplains will be reconnected and large woody debris added to streams in increase the habitat diversity.

* In the Columbia River estuary, more than 12 acres of saltwater wetlands will be opened up to tidal influence, restoring critical nursery areas for young fish on their way to the sea.  Over time, up to 96 acres of this important fish habitat could be restored.

Last year alone, the agencies protected 9,609 miles of wetland habitat and reopened 244 miles of streams to fish.  State biologists counted 69 Chinook salmon “redds,” or nests, in 2009 after year-round flow was restored to previously dry sections of the tributaries of Idaho’s Pahsimeroi River.