Upper Willamette River Recovery Planning

1. Upper Willamette River Recovery Planning WITHIN OUR REACHNew Partnerships for a Healthier WillametteDecember 7-8 2010

2. Thanks to: Doug, Pam, Meyer Memorial Trust, Tom and OWEB, “W O R” planning team

3. What’s New for Willamette Recovery? • The Public Review Draft of Oregon and NOAA’s Upper Willamette River Conservation and Recovery plan for Chinook salmon and steelhead has been completed and is out for public comment until December 21. • Prospect of a Willamette Recovery Implementation Team • Consultations beginning with FEMA on building in flood plains in Oregon. • Legislation in Washington and California @ brake pads • Exciting new development from North of the Falls! ! !

5. NOAA Fisheries has a great team working on the Upper Willamette … • and one new development regarding our recovery efforts … (careful what you ask for)

7. West Coast and PNW Contextfor ESA - listed salmon and steelhead

8. The Endangered Species Act and salmon • Congress enacted the ESA in 1973 • SEC. 2. PURPOSE(a) FINDINGS- … species of fish, wildlife, threatened with extinction … are of aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people; (b) PURPOSES-…The purposes of this Act are to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved, to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species,

9. Sections 4,7,9 4. List species, develop recovery plans, implement recovery plans, delist 7. Federal actions avoid jeopardy and avoid adverse modification of critical habitat 9. Prohibits unauthorized take of listed species (regulation vs. voluntary implementation)

10. Spawning habitat blocked by dams …

11. ESA – listed Salmon and Steelhead West Coast Puget Sound • Puget Sound Chinook - Threatened • Hood Canal Summer-run Chum - Threatened • Lake Ozette Sockeye – Threatened • Puget Sound Steelhead - Threatened Willamette/Lower Columbia • Lower Columbia Chinook - Threatened • Lower Columbia Steelhead - Threatened • Lower Columbia Coho - Candidate • Columbia River Chum - Threatened • Upper Willamette Chinook - Threatened • Upper Willamette Steelhead - Threatened Interior Columbia Basin • Snake River Sockeye – Endangered • Upper Columbia Spring Chinook - Endangered • Snake River Fall Chinook - Threatened • Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook - Threatened • Snake River Steelhead – Threatened • Upper Columbia Steelhead - Threatened • Mid-Columbia Steelhead - Threatened Oregon Coast Coho • Oregon Coast Coho – Threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California Coastal Coho • Southern OR/Northern CA Coasts Coho - Threatened

12. Other recovery efforts in the PNW…

13. Presentation Outline • Problem Statement • Background • Status of ESU • Limiting Factors & Threats- All “H’s” • Chinook Reintroductions • History, Goals, Issues, Needs • Critical Questions to be Answered • Discussion – how is SWR proceedings with these issues?

14. Q: What Constitutes “Success” under the ESA?Short answer: About half the Populations are “Viable” and “threats” have been reduced.

15. TRT Viability Criteria ESU ESU Status Major Population Group Status MPG 2 MPG 3 MPG 1 PopStatus Pop Attributes Abundance, Productivity, Spatial Structure, Diversity

16. Numbers of fish and risk trend variance abundance N time

17. Abundance & Productivity: Viability Curves All points on this line yield a 5% risk of extinction

18. ESA-Listed Fish in the Willamette NOAA Fisheries/NMFS jurisdiction Upper Willamette River spring Chinook salmon Upper Willamette River winter steelhead

19. Upper Willamette Recovery Plan – My Unofficial review of key steps… Each one has already been discussed Each is necessary, but not sufficient by themselves, to get to success:

20. 1. Re-establish natural production above flood control dams

21. 2. Protect and restore spawning and rearing habitat below the dams

22. Land and Water • ~70% Oregon’s population resides in the Willamette Basin. • Urban and Rural Development • Lowland Valley Agriculture • Forestry • All the associated impacts on salmon and their habitat. • Water quality . . .

23. 3. Manage harvest and hatcheries

24. Hatcheries • Approximately 75% of existing hatchery production funded as mitigation for dams. • Hatchery fish spawning widespread throughout every population. Lowest proportion of hatchery fish in the Clackamas, McKenzie. • In most populations, hatchery fish are supplementing natural spawning below and above impassable dams (intentional or unintentional).

25. 4. Reduce the dramatically high pre-spawning mortality for Chinook

27. 5. Anticipate and take steps to manage impacts of climate change and continued human development in the Willamette Basin

28. ALL THESE ARE NECESSARY… BUT NONE ALONE ARE SUFFICIENT …

29. What can the final recovery plan do for you? We’d like it to provide practical guidance, priorities, etc. for grantors and grantees and others to use in your work – Ensure linkages between actions and limiting factors when appropriate.

30. What can you do to help recover salmon and steelhead at this point? • Keep up the good work! • Provide comments on how the plan can be used and useful in your work: - Have we identified key strategies and types of actions? - Are there gaps in the plan that need to be filled? - How can we strengthen the Proposed Plan?

31. Questions ?

32. Current Status Desired Status Clackamas Molalla N. Santiam S. Santiam Calapooia McKenzie MF Willamette

33. Current Status Desired Status Molalla N. Santiam S. Santiam Calapooia

34. What’s Proposed in the Plan for Chinook?

35. The Willamette Spring Chinook ESU is currently at “high risk” Seven populations identified

36. Historic Habitat Blocked by Impassable Dams(high head federal dams)

37. Floodcontrol/Hydropower Dams • Primary/secondary limiting factor in the majority of spring Chinook populations. • Blocked major areas of historic habitat in the most critical spring Chinook areas. • Downstream effects on remaining habitat • Temperature alterations • Floods • Etc.

38. 350,000 300,000 250,000 Natural Fish Hatchery Fish 200,000 Number of Fish 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 1800's Decade Status of the ESU