Jan. 10, 2014: The Action Agencies today released the final 2013 Comprehensive Evaluation of the first five years of progress in implementing NOAA Fisheries' Biological Opinion for operation of the FCRPS for ESA-listed salmon and steelhead. The draft CE reviews accomplishments in dam passage improvements, habitat restoration, hatchery reform and predator management as well as the status of the fish. Below are some findings.

Scientifically designed tests in 2010, 2011 and 2012 estimated progress toward meeting the BiOp performance standards for juvenile dam passage survival. To date, performance testing indicates that all projects are on track to meet the BiOp performance standards of 96 percent survival for spring migrating fish and 93 percent survival for summer migrants. (For a given dam to achieve the performance standards requires two years of testing with survival meeting or exceeding the performance standard each year.)  Read more about hydro results under the BiOp in this new paper.

THE STATUS OF THE FISH: An important measure of progress is that wild salmon and steelhead are returning to spawn in Columbia River Basin streams and rivers. Updated data show most populations that spawn in the interior Columbia River Basin have increased in abundance since the first ESA listings in the 1990s.

Left: Idaho Department of Fish and Game staffs the Snake River Sockeye Hatchery Program. Many other partners are involved in the effort to help Snake River sockeye, including the Shoshone Bannock Tribes. Right: Partnerships with farmers and ranchers have secured 177,227 acre feet of water in streams and tributaries, through irrigation efficiencies and water transactions.

HATCHERY PROGRESS: Hatchery evaluation and reforms help ensure that hatchery fish do not impede the recovery of naturally spawning fish. In 2012, the Action Agencies partnered with the hatchery operators to complete Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) for all 44 of the Action Agency-funded hatchery programs requiring ESA consultation under the BiOp.

The HGMPs call for practices such as improved broodstock management that are projected to provide additional improvement for several key populations of spring chinook and steelhead.

HABITAT RESTORATION: The habitat program is one of the largest and most comprehensive ESA programs in the nation. Halfway through the 10-year term of the BiOp, the Action Agencies and their partners have already met or exceeded the tributary habitat goals for more than half the salmon and steelhead populations the BiOp addresses. The program is working. Salmon and steelhead are spawning in greater numbers in the newly-improved reaches and increasing in abundance following treatment. 

ESTUARY HABITAT: Fish feeding in the estuary can grow quickly, better positioning them to survive a difficult life at sea. Estuary projects can be complex, often involving a diversity of land owners and issues and requiring lengthy environmental and design reviews. The 920-acres Columbia Stock Ranch, shown at left, was the largest purchase of riverside habitat in the estuary in 40 years, and a key piece of an extensive fish refuge system that partners are working to protect.

This 2013 paper compiles research results to date on the benefits of habitat restoration in the estuary.