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Good Returns Reveal Fish Protection by Staff BPA Journal, January 2011

Surface passage improvements for fish now in place at all federal dams on the Lower Columbia and Snake rivers boosted the safe migration of juvenile salmon and steelhead, one of several key advances outlined in a new federal assessment of progress in protecting Columbia and Snake river fish.

The passage improvements such as spillway weirs, also called fish slides, help speed young fish downstream past dams by keeping them near the water surface, where they naturally migrate. Installation of a spillway weir at Little Goose Dam on the Snake River last year means all eight federal Snake and Lower Columbia dams now provide surface passage. Tests at Little Goose found that 99.4 percent of yearling chinook, 99.8 percent of steelhead and 95.2 percent of sub-yearling chinook passed the dam safely.

"Almost all of the fish are coming through the dam safely now and we're on track to meet passage standards at all of the other projects," said Witt Anderson, Director of Programs, Northwest Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The results come from a new report describing the second year of progress by the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and BPA in implementing NOAA-Fisheries' biological opinion for the Federal Columbia River Power System. The biological opinion outlines protections for fish affected by federal dams, promoting positive trends in salmon survival and returns. For instance, in-river survival of juvenile Snake River steelhead migrating to the ocean in 2009 reached its highest level in 12 years, a sign the fish are benefiting from improved surface passage.

Among other results in the report:

• Federal agencies in 2009 restored water to salmon and steelhead streams that otherwise dwindle or run dry at the same time fish are returning to spawn. The agencies since 2005 have protected and restored stream flows totaling more than three times the average water use of Seattle and Portland combined.
• The agencies fine-tuned spring and summer spill patterns at each dam to best help juvenile fish headed downstream.
• The agencies in 2009 reopened nearly 265 miles of spawning and other salmon and steelhead habitat that had been blocked by impassible culverts, diversions or other obstacles. Since 2005, the agencies have restored access to a total of 845 miles of habitat.

For more details, visit www.salmonrecovery.gov.