> A friend of mine sent a lengthy letter to the DFW regarding the salmon
> program initiated in the Yakima River, and here is the response he received.
>
> Richard Embry
>
> Now, after reading all that gobble-de-gook, the big question. Do you believe
common sense or the bureaucrats? Jere
>
>
>
>
> >Subject: YAKIMA CHINOOK FISHING
> >
> >
> >> August 9, 2000
> >>
> >> The Fish and Wildlife Commission, Director Koenings and Fish Program (FP)
> >staff apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mail concerning the
> >upper Yakima River spring chinook salmon fishery. The large number of
> >e-mails received from concerned citizens, combined with the complexity and
> >variety of the issues raised, contributed to the delay. FP staff needed
> >sufficient time to thoroughly respond to all topics and organize the
> >following response. Thank you for your patience.
> >>
> >> Upper Yakima River Fish Management Objectives
> >>
> >> First, the WDFW shares your concern and appreciation for the wild rainbow
> >trout population and fishery in the upper Yakima River upstream of Roza
> Dam.
> >WDFW has no intention to let this carefully nurtured resource be degraded.
> >We are well aware of the uniqueness of this high quality, catch and release
> >(C&R) trout fishery centrally located in the "heart of Washington". The
> >gradual improvement in the trout population over the last 20 years is no
> >accident. It is the result of: a) fishing regulations that have (and will
> >continue) to promote trout survival and growth; b) on-going efforts by WDFW
> >Habitat Program staff to improve fish habitat through regulation of
> in-water
> >activities via the Hydraulic Project Approval process, input into the
> county
> >Shoreline Management Act process and habitat enhancement projects; and c)
> >Fish Program efforts to gradually improve in-stream flow regimes through
> >active involvement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Yakima Basin
> >irrigation interests (more about this later). However, WDFW's objective
> is
> >not to limit the upper Yakima River solely to resident trout production and
> >fishing opportunity. We are convinced that it is possible to increase
> >spring chinook salmon runs and provide opportunity for conservative chinook
> >fishing/harvest (when justified by large run size) without jeopardizing the
> >wild trout fishery.
> >>
> >> In fact, we believe that increasing runs of salmon and steelhead in the
> >upper river will substantially benefit the aquatic ecosystem and the trout
> >population in the long run. Benefits will accrue in two ways: 1) by
> >providing more post-spawning carcasses that decompose and yield
> >"marine-derived nutrients" which increase aquatic productivity (benthic
> >algae, aquatic insects, etc.), and 2) by helping to sustain and increase
> >public support in central WA for habitat protection regulations and
> improved
> >in-stream flows, which often impact irrigated agriculture on which the
> local
> >economy depends. WDFW's long-term ability to protect the upper Yakima
> River
> >for resident trout and anadromous fish depends on the cooperation of the
> >people who live and work in the Yakima Basin and local governments (county
> >and municipal). Unfortunately, many of the residents and their
> governmental
> >representatives view habitat protection and in-stream flow enhancement for
> >fish (salmon, steelhead and trout) as a liability---not as a necessary
> >requirement to protect an important natural resource asset. This attitude
> >is prevalent, notwithstanding the economic activity in Kittitas County
> >created by the C&R trout fishery. WDFW views the rebuilding of the chinook
> >salmon run and ability to harvest salmon, even on a limited basis, as
> >further incentive to sustain/improve habitat protection and in-stream
> flows.
> >Even a modest salmon fishery upstream of Roza Dam, like the 8-day fishery
> >held this year, provides a tangible, "high profile" return on the local
> >investment in habitat protection.
> >>
> >> Biological Justification for 2000 Spring Chinook Salmon Fishery
> >>
> >> As of July 25, the Roza Dam spring chinook count totaled 11,888 including
> >10,740 wild adults (primarily age 4s), 493 wild jacks (age 3s) and 655
> >marked Cle Elum Hatchery jacks. By the end of the migration season in late
> >August, the total count is expected to reach 12,000----the highest return
> in
> >recorded history and nearly 4 times the previous record run of 3,267 in
> >1986. The wild spring chinook are truly native, wild salmon---this record
> >run is not the result of an introduction (or reintroduction) of chinook
> from
> >an outside hatchery donor stock. Wild spring chinook have always been in
> >the Yakima Basin, although the runs have been low and unable to support
> even
> >a modest sport fishery until this year. Even with the estimated sport
> >fishery harvest of 100 salmon (see below) and Cle Elum Hatchery brood stock
> >collection at Roza Dam of 548 fish (511 adults, 37 jacks), the remaining
> >spawning escapement (approx. 11,300 fish) will be the largest ever
> recorded.
> >This run size was sufficient to warrant the 8-day fishery based on a
> maximum
> >expected harvest of 400 fish (50/day). The actual catch proved to be only
> >about 25 percent of our pre-fishery estimate.
> >>
> >> The dramatic improvement in the wild spring chinook run can be attributed
> >to very favorable habitat conditions in the freshwater and marine
> >environments which increased survival at all life stages from egg to
> >returning adults. Major, "channel forming" flood events in Nov. 1995 and
> >Feb. 1996 were beneficial for the upper Yakima aquatic ecosystem.
> >Post-flood surveys by WDFW staff revealed that flood flows created new
> >habitat by depositing large amounts of large woody debris in the river,
> >created new side channel spawning and rearing habitat (or reopened old side
> >channels that had diminished over time), and flushed fine sediments from
> the
> >river bed that limit egg and sac-fry survival. The parents of the 10,700+
> >wild adult salmon returning this year spawned in Sept.-Oct., 1996 and their
> >offspring experienced improved physical habitat conditions during their
> >freshwater rearing phase in 1997. They also experienced improved flow and
> >water quality conditions in 1997-98 due to above average water supply
> >resulting from good snowpack accumulation attributed to the "La Nina"
> >climatic phenomenon. The same habitat variables that improved freshwater
> >juvenile salmon survival also benefitted the aquatic invertebrate "food
> >web", and presumably, the resident rainbow trout population. Good river
> >flows in the Yakima and Columbia R. in spring, 1998 during the smolt
> >out-migration and
> >>
> >>
> >> favorable ocean survival (again due to La Nina) combined with higher
> >freshwater survival to produce this large run. Other hatchery and wild
> runs
> >in the Columbia R. basin experienced similar increases this year for the
> >same reasons.
> >>
> >> Note that 11,233 of the Roza Dam count (94.5 percent) were wild fish,
> with
> >the remainder of the run consisting of 655 hatchery jacks (5.5 percent) .
> >These jack salmon are the first returns from the new Cle Elum
> >Supplementation & Research Facility....the centerpiece of the NW Power
> >Planning Council approved, Bonneville Power Administration funded, Yakima
> >Fisheries Project (YFP) managed and operated by WDFW and the Yakama Nation.
> >These hatchery fish are the offspring of wild salmon brood stock collected
> >at Roza Dam in 1997, hatched and reared at Cle Elum in 1998 and released
> >from three acclimation/release ponds in the upper basin in spring, 1999.
> >The stated purpose of the YFP is to supplement and increase returns of
> >naturally-spawning salmon. Only unmarked wild salmon are used for brood
> >stock purposes---returning hatchery-reared fish (one generation removed
> from
> >the wild) are allowed to spawn naturally with other wild salmon. The
> >ultimate objective is to increase the number of naturally-spawning fish and
> >producing stable returns capable of: 1) providing large inputs of
> >"marine-derived nutrients" (carcasses) to enrich the freshwater ecosystem,
> >and 2) sustaining tribal and non-tribal (sport) harvest within the Yakima
> >Basin. The Yakama Nation has always had a dip net and hook and line
> >"ceremonial and subsistence" (C&S) fishery for spring chinook in the lower
> >Yakima River below Union Gap---even before the YFP began supplementing the
> >upper Yakima spring chinook run. The tribal fishery is managed each year
> to
> >not exceed a 20 percent harvest rate, so that annual catch increases or
> >decreases according to run strength.
> >>
> >> Because Cle Elum Hatchery is a research and production facility with
> >stringent disease prevention and rearing protocols, the facility is open
> to
> >the public for tours on an appointment basis only at this time. Interested
> >citizens should call Facility Manager, Dan Barrett, at (509)-674-3701 or
> the
> >Asst. Mgr., Charlie Strom (674-3702) to arrange a tour.
> >>
> >> Spring Chinook Salmon 2000 "Test" Fishery Summary
> >>
> >> During the 8-day salmon fishery, which ran four consecutive weekends
> >(6/10-11, 6/17-18, 6/24-25, and 7/1-2), Region 3 Fish Program (FP) staff
> >interviewed 320 salmon anglers who fished 941 hours and caught and kept 29
> >adult and 2 jack spring chinook. Either one or two biologists worked each
> >day of the fishery. In addition, salmon anglers caught and released 61
> >trout and 116 spring chinook salmon smolts that had residualized rather
> than
> >migrating downstream. This equates to 1 salmon for every 10.3 anglers,
> ..033
> >salmon/hour or 30.3 hours/salmon. This is considered poor to fair salmon
> >fishing, but was not unexpected in a new fishery where all anglers are
> >inexperienced regarding where and how to catch salmon.
> >>
> >> FP staff also asked anglers if they caught fish on previous days, and if
> >they saw any fish caught by other fishermen that we did not check.
> >Including interviews by wildlife enforcement officers, an additional 19
> >adult and 2 jacks were reported caught. Therefore, fish checked plus fish
> >reported caught totaled 48 adults and 4 jack salmon. A expanded,
> >preliminary estimate of total salmon harvest is approximately 100 fish.
> This
> >number is based on using two estimation methods which yielded total harvest
> >estimates of 75 fish and 122 fish, bracketing a mid-point of 100 fish.
> The
> >final catch estimate will be determined later based on returned salmon
> catch
> >record cards.
> >>
> >> Except for the opening weekend, most salmon fishing effort and harvest
> was
> >upriver from Ellensburg---particularly in the Teanaway River to Thorp
> Bridge
> >reach. River flows the first weekend were moderate and fishable, but very
> >high flows the second weekend, caused by a rapid increase in snowmelt
> runoff
> >in the upper Cle Elum R. basin, which was passed through the Bureau of
> >Reclamation storage reservoir, drastically reduced fishing success. Flow
> >the last two weekends was much lower and clear resulting in improved
> fishing
> >conditions. However, salmon fishing effort declined each weekend, and was
> >very low by 7/1-2.
> >>
> >> WDFW angler interviews focused on salmon fishermen who tended to start
> and
> >complete their fishing trips earlier in the day than trout anglers.
> >However, FP staff also interviewed 65 trout anglers who were predominantly
> >fly fishing. These trout anglers fished 208 hours and caught and released
> >85 trout and 60 residualized chinook salmon smolts.
> >>
> >> Angler knowledge of the salmon fishery regulations concerning lure and
> >hook restrictions and compliance with the rules was generally excellent
> >based on gear checks made by enforcement officers and FP biologists during
> >the creel census. Many salmon fishermen had a copy of the regulations in
> >their possession for reference. The use of bait was prohibited and we did
> >not check any fishermen using roe eggs or other bait. Virtually all bank
> >fishermen used casting spinners, while boat fishermen used spinners or
> >back-trolled floating salmon plugs through deep holding pools. Nearly all
> >anglers checked fishing spinners used legal single-pointed hooks with a
> hook
> >gap ranging from � - 3/4 inch. Boat fishermen "pulling plugs" were
> >permitted to use treble hooks with the same � - 3/4 inch hook gap. The
> >hook size requirement was intended to minimize the hooking of small trout,
> >while the use of treble hooks on plugs was intended to minimize the
> hooking,
> >playing and subsequent loss of salmon after the fish was already exhausted.
> >We did not check any salmon angler who had kept trout---all salmon
> fishermen
> >we interviewed were aware of the catch and release regulation for trout and
> >complied with the rule. Based on a large volume of scientific literature,
> >more than 90 percent of trout caught and released on the salmon gear
> >approved for this test fishery are expected to survive. This is only
> >slightly less than the expected survival of trout caught and released on
> >single, barbless flies.
> >>
> >> Gear Restrictions for Future Salmon Fisheries
> >>
> >> The pre-season prediction for the 2001 spring chinook run in the Columbia
> >Basin, in general, and the Yakima Basin, specifically, is significantly
> >larger than 2000 based on record jack salmon (age 3) counts at Bonneville
> >Dam, Prosser Dam and Roza Dam this year. In addition, in 2001 the first
> run
> >of YFP hatchery supplementation adults will return to Roza Dam. The
> >combined wild and hatchery supplementation run may be very large. If this
> >proves to be true, there will be sufficient fish next year for another
> >spring chinook sport fishery. Salmon gear restrictions will change next
> >year based on feedback from both trout and salmon anglers during this years
> >test fishery. Salmon anglers who learned through experimentation that
> >barbed, treble hooks were unnecessary to assure success with plugs, have
> >suggested that WDFW make the salmon gear restrictions for future fisheries
> >consistent with "selective gear rules" required for trout and other
> gamefish
> >upstream of Roza Dam. WDFW will make this change for future salmon
> >fisheries: bait will remain prohibited; unscented artificial flies or
> lures
> >with barbless, single-pointed hooks. For salmon fishing, hook gap will
> >remain between � - 3/4 inch.
> >>
> >> There continues to be some confusion by trout anglers concerning the
> >difference between the "Fly Fishing Only" (FFO) regulation and "Selective
> >Gear Rules" (SGR)----and what rules apply in the Yakima River upstream of
> >Roza Dam. The upper Yakima is not restricted to FFO which limits fishing
> >to: 1) a single artificial fly constructed with a single-pointed, barbless
> >hook with hook gap less than � inch, and 2) use of a conventional fly rod
> >and fly line. This rule would prohibit the use of spinning or bait casting
> >tackle casting spinners or other lures. WDFW is not willing to force
> >anglers who do not fly fish off the upper Yakima River. Instead, the SGR
> >combined with catch and release provides sufficient protection for the wild
> >trout population without unduly limiting access to the fishery to the
> >general public. Adopting the FFO regulation would also impact fly
> fishermen
> >who, under the SGR, may legally fish with up to three flies (dry fly on the
> >tippet and one or two droppers with nymphs). Under the FFO rule, only a
> >single fly is permitted.
> >>
> >> Location of Future Spring Chinook Salmon Fisheries
> >>
> >> WDFW's decision to locate the spring chinook fishery this year upstream
> of
> >Roza Dam is based on three issues:
> >>
> >> 1) It is not appropriate or prudent to place the sport fishery in the
> >lower river downstream of Union Gap "in front of" or "on top of" the Yakama
> >Nation's (YN) treaty-secured, ceremonial and subsistence fishery. WDFW's
> >ability to open a sport fishery for spring chinook depends on good
> relations
> >and cooperation with our legal (federal court mandated) "co-managers", the
> >YN. We intend to prevent avoidable conflicts with the YN tribal
> government,
> >the federal court and between sport and tribal fishermen on the water by
> not
> >competing for fish in the same geographic area.
> >>
> >> 2) WDFW will not fish on the weaker Naches River component of the run
> (at
> >least at this point in time) which this year accounts for only 30 percent
> >(5,000 - 6,000 fish) of the total return to the mouth of the Yakima River
> >This eliminates staging a fishery in the Yakima River between Union Gap and
> >mouth of the Naches River where the two components of the run are still
> >co-mingled. Furthermore, many Naches R. fish migrate past the Naches River
> >confluence and hold during the spring in the Yakima River downstream of
> Roza
> >Dam before dropping back and migrating to upper Naches basin spawning
> >grounds. This eliminates fishing in the very short Naches R. - Roza Dam
> >reach, which also has poor access and few fishable holding pools for salmon
> >fishing.
> >>
> >> 3) WDFW does not want to further complicate the collection of
> >experimental research data from returning YFP hatchery supplementation fish
> >at the Roza Dam adult collection facility. All YFP fish are coded-wire
> >tagged or PIT-tagged and must be interrogated to collect tag data at Roza
> >before being released to continue migrating upstream. Staging the sport
> >fishery upstream of Roza Dam eliminates this problem.
> >>
> >> However, WDFW intends to eliminate the area from Roza Dam to the boat
> >access at the City of Ellensburg's Irene Rinehart Park from future salmon
> >fisheries. Feedback from fishermen and the creel census survey this year
> >showed that few salmon fishermen fished or caught salmon in the Yakima
> River
> >Canyon area. There are few holding pools in the Yakima Canyon and salmon
> >rapidly migrate through this 25 mile reach to upper river holding areas.
> >>
> >> Catch & Release vs. Harvest of Salmon
> >>
> >> Salmon anglers want to be able to catch, keep and eat spring chinook
> >salmon---arguably the best salmon for the table. FP staff checked several
> >salmon this spring that were cleaned. Although skin color was turning dark
> >green or bronze, flesh quality was very high---firm and dark red.
> Fishermen
> >that had already eaten salmon from an earlier catch reported that table
> >quality was excellent. During the recent fishery, the daily limit was one
> >salmon per angler---half of the usual two fish limit in most salmon
> >fisheries. The one fish limit reduces harvest and distributes harvest more
> >evenly among fishermen.
> >> We do not believe that allowing the taking of spring chinook by salmon
> >fishermen promotes the illegal harvest of rainbow trout that must be
> >released unharmed. As discussed above, salmon fishermen we interviewed
> >understood the regulations and released trout caught incidentally.
> >Implementation of the same "selective gear rules" for salmon in future
> >fisheries, as is currently required for trout, will assure that trout
> >released by salmon anglers will have the same or nearly the same
> probability
> >to survive as trout that are hooked, played to exhaustion on light gear and
> >released day-after-day by more numerous fly fisherman who can fish
> >year-round (as opposed to a few weekends in the spring).
> >>
> >> WDFW actually discouraged catch-and-release for salmon during the test
> >fishery. We did not want salmon fishermen "high grading" (catching and
> >releasing fish in hopes of catching a larger salmon) or hooking and playing
> >fish to exhaustion simply for the sport. Unlike resident trout, adult
> >salmon do not feed after leaving the ocean and must survive for months
> >living off stored energy reserves----in the case of Yakima spring chinook,
> >from early March until mid-September. A carefully released trout quickly
> >recovers and resumes feeding. A hooked and "played out" salmon this far
> >from the ocean (Roza Dam is 463 river miles from the ocean) has a low
> >probability of surviving to spawn---catch and release may cause increased
> >pre-spawning mortality. The salmon carcass is still in the river to
> provide
> >nutrients for the ecosystem, but fertilized eggs for the next generation
> are
> >not deposited in the spawning gravels. Our intention was for salmon
> >fishermen to catch and keep (or release if they chose) the first salmon
> >hooked which ended the days fishing. We actually hoped that trout anglers
> >might enjoy the opportunity to fish for salmon early in the morning, catch
> >and keep a salmon for the table, and then switch to fly fishing gear to
> >catch and release trout during the afternoon/evening insect hatches.
> >>
> >>
> >> Yakima River Flow Management - Who Manages the Water?
> >>
> >> No state agency, including the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
> >(WDFW), has the sole authority to make decisions dictating how the
> >federally-owned Yakima Project is operated. The Yakima Project is operated
> >by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) ( not the U.S. Bureau of Land
> >Management (BLM)). WDFW is only one of many parties that provides input
> and
> >advice to USBR on how to manage the Project (both operations and
> maintenance
> >activities). Other agencies (local municipalities, county, state and
> >federal governments), the Yakama Nation, irrigation districts and
> >agricultural organizations, environmental organizations, etc., to name a
> >few, all provide USBR input based on "their unique perspective" of how the
> >Project should be operated. USBR must weigh all this input and reach a
> >compromise decision that attempts to balance the interests of all parties.
> >Regardless of our personal or professional opinions on the subject, the
> >Yakima River is managed on a "multiple use" basis. This means that no
> >single use, such as managing the river for optimum wild trout production
> and
> >fishing, can occur----the best we can hope to achieve is a compromise flow
> >regime that provides sub-optimal, but good habitat for the aquatic
> ecosystem
> >(insects, fish, etc.). That is, unless the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
> >listing of Yakima basin steelhead as "threatened" and recent adoption of
> the
> >"4(d) rules" by the National Marine Fisheries Service provides greater
> >leverage to the state and federal fish agencies and YN. The listing of
> >steelhead may hasten the rate that positive changes can be made for fish
> and
> >the aquatic ecosystem.
> >>
> >> Fortunately, the State of Washington has a clear voice in this "give and
> >take" process because of a group known as the "System Operations Advisory
> >Committee" or SOAC. SOAC was formed by USBR in July, 1981 under federal
> >court order in response to a crisis in 1980 concerning the USBR providing
> >inadequate flows in the fall and winter for incubating spring chinook
> salmon
> >eggs in the upper Yakima River near Cle Elum. The judge ordered USBR to
> >establish SOAC to provide input on how to operate the Yakima Project in a
> >manner that strives to minimize adverse impacts to fish and fish habitat.
> >Before 1981, fish and fish habitat interests had virtually no voice in the
> >process. SOAC consists of four fish biologists representing Washington
> >State (WDFW), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Yakama Nation and the
> >Yakima Basin irrigation districts/water users. This group attempts to make
> >recommendations by consensus, but the tribal and fish agency
> representatives
> >occasionally must submit a majority opinion if the irrigation interests can
> >not agree. Note that SOAC is only an advisory body and makes
> >recommendations to the USBR Yakima Project manager----other entities may
> >provide separate input which is used in making the final decision.
> >>
> >> In spite of a process virtually guaranteed to generate compromise
> >decisions, there have been many positive changes in the river flow and
> >reservoir release regime for fish and fish habitat in the past 19 years
> >directly related to SOAC input. WDFW's Region 3 Fish Program Manager, John
> >Easterbrooks, is the only original member of SOAC still on the committee
> >after 19 years. This provides WDFW with a valuable "voice of experience"
> >and the historic continuity that is needed to benefit the aquatic
> ecosystem.
> >The "blue ribbon" wild rainbow trout fishery that you cherish and enjoy
> >today is partially the result of the improvements in flow regime that have
> >been made as a result of SOAC recommendations and WDFW's direct
> >participation in this process.
> >>
> >> Obviously, we still have a long way to go to. In 1999, SOAC issued a
> >Congressionally- mandated report recommending steps needed to develop
> >scientifically-supported, "biologically (read ecologically) based flows" in
> >the Yakima Basin. SOAC is currently working with USBR to implement the
> >report recommendations. Members of SOAC and others are also
> participating
> >in another technical advisory committee that is developing an "Interim
> >Operating Plan" for the Yakima Project under the umbrella of the Yakima
> >River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP). This group is committed to
> >developing a plan by mid-2001 with recommendations for improvements for
> fish
> >and wildlife. We are making continual progress, but presently, it is a
> >gradual, incremental process with few, if any, drastic changes readily
> >apparent to the general public.
> >>
> >> How is the Water Being Managed?
> >>
> >> There have been accusations made that water flows were manipulated during
> >the recent spring chinook salmon fishery to benefit salmon fishermen at the
> >expense of trout fishermen. This is absolutely untrue....no water releases
> >were made to benefit (or hinder) any fishery. USBR's Yakima Project
> >managers do not make water releases specifically to achieve any sport
> >fishing objectives. SOAC made no recommendation to USBR to do so, either.
> >The high flows that occurred in mid-June were solely the result of
> increased
> >inflow into already full storage reservoirs. High temperatures in mid-June
> >caused high elevation snow pack in the Cle Elum River basin to melt sending
> >a surge of water into Cle Elum Reservoir. Because the reservoir was
> already
> >full, USBR had no choice but to pass the inflow through the reservoir,
> which
> >caused the rapid increase (and subsequent rapid decrease) of flows in the
> >Yakima River The increase in flows disrupted both the catch & release
> trout
> >fishery and the spring chinook fishery. Once the reservoirs are full, the
> >fluctuations you see in the river are purely the result of fluctuations in
> >unregulated inflow that can no longer be stored.
> >>
> >> Of greater concern to the trout fishing community should be the upper
> >Yakima River flow regime during the summer when reservoir releases are made
> >to meet lower valley irrigation demands. This practice accounts for the
> >day-to-day high flows that occur all through the summer in the Yakima
> Canyon
> >and upstream to the confluence with the Cle Elum River, prior to SOAC's
> >"Flip-flop" flow operation that occurs in early September to influence the
> >placement of spring chinook salmon spawning redds. USBR makes these high
> >releases because of legal (contractual) obligations to the basin irrigation
> >districts. However, the high flows are the opposite of what would happen
> in
> >a normative, unregulated watershed---flows would decline through the summer
> >at a time when resident trout, salmon and steelhead fry are in their first
> >growing season. The higher than historic flows that occur because of
> >reservoir releases from Keechelus and Cle Elum reservoirs actually reduce
> >rearing habitat and food availability for juvenile salmonids.
> >Unfortunately, there are not a lot of options available to SOAC and USBR to
> >modify the current summer operation----and still be able to deliver
> >contract-obligated irrigation water downstream. Nevertheless, SOAC and
> WDFW
> >will continue to work for improvements in the in-stream flow regime
> >throughout the Yakima Basin where ever the opportunity occurs.
> >>
> >>
> >> If you have further questions or comments regarding any of the
> >topics/issues discussed above or any other related issue, please contact
> >John Easterbrooks, the Region 3 Fish Program Manager, at (509)-457-9330.
> >>
> >> Sincerely,
> >>
> >> Lew Atkins
> >> Assistant Director
> >> Fish Program
> >>
> >> LA:JE:dr
> >>
> >> cc: Fish & Wildlife Commission
> >> Director's Office
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
