Habitat Restoration to Help Steelhead in the Potlatch River Finds Success
- February 20, 2024
- Carol Winkel
IDFG continues to improve habitat in the Potlatch watershed, the largest spawning area for wild steelhead in the lower Clearwater River.
IDFG continues to improve habitat in the Potlatch watershed, the largest spawning area for wild steelhead in the lower Clearwater River.
At its January meeting, the Council was briefed on one of the Council’s longtime projects to reduce the impact of a key predator on migrating juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River Basin—northern pikeminnow.
At its December meeting, the Council heard from federal, state, and tribal representatives about their coordinated efforts to manage salmon harvest in the ocean and rivers.
In the last 10 years, the cormorant population has grown 1500% at Astoria Bridge, both accelerating erosion of the bridge and increasing salmon predation.
The mussels were first detected in the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho in September during routine monitoring conducted by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, prompting officials to spring into action.
Kate Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Deschutes River Conservancy briefed the Council on the collaborative work to restore streamflow and improve water quality in the Deschutes River Basin.
See the Council's statement regarding the hard work of the Tribes and many agencies of the federal government for reaching this agreement.
After a long trend of dwindling abundance, tribal, state, and federal fish and wildlife managers have seen a welcomed increase in Pacific lamprey at Bonneville Dam.
Jesse Steele, executive director for the Grande Ronde Model Watershed Project, gave an update on its accomplishments. It’s one of seven umbrella projects supported by the Council’s fish and wildlife program.
The Columbia Basin Partnership estimates that 35% of historical populations of anadromous salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin have been lost. Efforts to reintroduce fish populations to areas where they were once abundant generally relies on the help from hatchery fish.