Staff presentation on Fish and Wildlife Program goals and objectives shows positive trends in overall abundance, getting more fish above Bonneville Dam

At the December 2024 Council meeting, Council staff provided the most comprehensive information to date on tracking performance indicators for fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The discussion was led by Kris Homel, biologist for program performance, and Kate Self, fish and wildlife program scientist. One key finding is the measurement of total salmon and steelhead run size in the Basin that calculates current and historical estimates of ocean harvest, returns to the mouth of the river, and adult fish tracked passing Bonneville Dam as they migrate upriver to spawn.  

The 10-year rolling average from 2014-2023 stands at 2.3 million fish, similar to the average of 2.4 million between 2004-2013. It’s an improvement from the 1990s when the average dipped to 1.3 million- its lowest since the Program began in 1980. The 2014-2023 rolling average does not meet the Council’s long-standing goal of having 5 million adult salmon and steelhead return to the Basin annually. 2014’s total return of adult fish was the closest to reaching that 5 million target with 4.6 million. However, the most recent 10-year rolling average reflects a positive trend in total abundance since the 1990s.

Adult Salmon and Steelhead Returns to the Columbia River 1984-2021

Prior to the 1850s, more than 80% of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River migrated to areas located in the interior regions of the Basin (above where Bonneville Dam is located today). Council staff reported a positive trend in an increasing proportion of salmon and steelhead migrating to areas located above Bonneville Dam, another goal of the Fish and Wildlife Program. This portion of staff’s analysis focused from the mouth of the river and above, excluding ocean harvest data.

Adult Salmon and Steelhead Returns at Bonneville Dam 1984-2024

“Upriver fish have increased in abundance on average over time, and lower river fish have slightly decreased in average over time”, said Self. “This supports the Council’s goal of increasing the proportion of fish headed upstream of Bonneville Dam, but there is work to be done to rebuild certain populations in both areas.”  

In general, while year-to-year returns of specific stocks to different parts of the Basin vary, getting more adult fish above Bonneville Dam is crucial to supporting tribal harvest, sport fisheries, and natural reproduction in the middle and upper portions of the Basin. Historical abundance for annual adult returns of salmon and steelhead in the Basin before 1850 is estimated to be 10-16 million fish. By the time several stocks were listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act in the 1990s, abundance had declined to about 1 million per year. The Program’s numerical goals for salmon and steelhead, including the overall goal of 5 million fish, are part of an overarching objective to protect, mitigate, and enhance salmon and steelhead adversely affected by the Columbia River hydroelectric power system, including related spawning grounds and habitat. 
 
Throughout the Basin, for time immemorial, salmon, steelhead, and other fish populations have been essential to the cultures and livelihoods of Indigenous tribes and people. Mitigation efforts to address human impacts on salmon and steelhead have been occurring in the Basin for more than a century. Early initiatives in the first half of the 20th century, primarily hatcheries, were focused in the lower sections of the river to benefit commercial fisheries and ocean harvest and ignored fisheries upstream - particularly those for tribes. The heaviest losses of salmon and steelhead abundance occurred above Bonneville Dam.  

“Increased salmon and steelhead abundance in the Columbia River Basin – especially above Bonneville Dam – over the past 40 years marks important progress,” said Council Member Louie Pitt, who represents Oregon and is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs. “These fish still face severe stresses from climate change, pressures from human population growth in the Basin, and other environmental impacts. Some stocks are struggling right now. We cannot ease up in our collective efforts to help these fish populations grow stronger and larger everywhere we can – including in blocked areas of our Basin such as above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams.” 

Council staff also reported progress on other indicators in the Basin, including for Oregon chub, sturgeon, and Pacific lamprey, while acknowledging some indicators were underperforming against designated benchmarks and in many cases had missing or incomplete data.  

Homel pointed out early in the presentation that “the Program’s goals and objectives are not finish lines. Rather, they are conditions that should be continuously reached and maintained.”  

Tribal, state, and federal governments collaborated to identify these indicators to assess the performance of the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program. This is the first time in the Council’s 44-year history that these performance indicators and their results have been reported in such a comprehensive way, while also highlighting the significant and ongoing challenges to fish and wildlife in the Basin. 2024 has provided clear examples of both progress and challenges: the Basin has seen record-setting adult returns of Okanagan Basin sockeye and Willamette River coho, yet a need remains for efforts to support, rebuild, and reintroduce, where appropriate, weaker stocks in the Basin. The Council’s Program and related recovery and mitigation efforts in the Basin help ensure that habitats have sufficient capacity to accommodate a year of major returns, while also aiming to help fish and wildlife managers bolster and improve stocks that are struggling. 

“The progress we’re seeing is the direct result of coordination, collaboration, and dedication by Council staff, states, tribes, federal agencies, landowners, and many other partners across the Columbia River Basin,” said Council Member Ed Schriever, who represents Idaho and is a former director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. “Over the past four decades the region’s fish and wildlife managers have significantly increased their capacity to perform mitigation, stewardship, and enhancement. The managers have also refined their methods and processes as our scientific understanding has evolved and grown more sophisticated. The work being done today is more directed and purposeful than it has ever been.”