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191. [Article] Oregon North Coast Spring Chinook Stock Assessment – 2005-06 Information Reports 2008-01
Abstract -- Chinook salmon populations of the Oregon coast exhibit two general life history types, classified as either spring-run or fall-run depending on adult life-history traits. Fall chinook are present ...Citation Citation
- Title:
- Oregon North Coast Spring Chinook Stock Assessment – 2005-06 Information Reports 2008-01
Abstract -- Chinook salmon populations of the Oregon coast exhibit two general life history types, classified as either spring-run or fall-run depending on adult life-history traits. Fall chinook are present in most Oregon coastal basins, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has identified 28 fall chinook populations in this area (ODFW 2005). Spring chinook salmon are found in larger river basins on the Oregon coast, and the upper portions of the Umpqua and Rogue rivers. This is a more limited distribution than coastal fall chinook and includes only 10 populations (ODFW 2005). Oregon coastal fall chinook stocks have been monitored through a set of 56 standard spawning ground surveys, many conducted since the 1950’s. There has not been a similar, consistent, coast-wide monitoring program for Oregon coastal spring chinook spawners. Abundance of these populations has been monitoring through a variety of methods including; freshwater harvest estimates, counts at dams and weirs, summer resting hole counts, and spawning ground surveys. In 1998, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reviewed west coast chinook salmon populations in regards to status under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The NMFS identified a total of 15 Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of chinook salmon (Myers et al. 1998). Oregon coastal chinook are predominantly in the Oregon Coast ESU (Necanicum River to Elk River). This ESU includes both spring and fall chinook, and was determined to not warrant listing (Federal Register Notice 1998). In 2005, ODFW conducted a review of Oregon native fish status, in regards to the State’s Native Fish Conservation Policy. This review grouped populations by Species Management Unit (SMU), and examined coastal spring and fall chinook populations separately. The review determined the near-term sustainability of the Coastal Fall Chinook SMU was not at risk, but the Coastal Spring Chinook SMU was at risk (ODFW 2005). The Tillamook and Nestucca spring chinook populations were of particular concern because they failed to pass the interim criteria for abundance, productivity, and reproductive independence. Hatchery supplementation of spring chinook has occurred in the Tillamook and Nestucca basins since the early 1900’s. Currently, approximately 450,000 spring chinook smolts are released annually from Trask Hatchery, Cedar Creek Hatchery (Nestucca), and from a STEP program at Whiskey Creek. These hatchery smolts have been mass marked with an adipose fin clip since the 1998 brood year. Therefore, hatchery origin adult spring chinook may now be positively identified by the lack of an adipose fin. Declining trends in wild coastal spring chinook populations have resulted in management actions to target harvest on adipose fin clipped hatchery fish, and to restrict harvest of wild origin fish. Results of status reviews, and changes in management practices have required a more thorough evaluation of stock status for the Tillamook and Nestucca spring chinook populations (Keith Braun, personal communication). Therefore, ODFW developed a monitoring plan for spring chinook in these basins. The monitoring plan identified four project objectives; 1) Determine adult spring chinook abundance in the Trask, Wilson, and Nestucca Rivers, 2) Determine hatchery vs. wild ratios for these three basins, 3) Determine age structure and sex ratios for adult spawners, and 4) Determine distribution and abundance for spring chinook recycled from local ODFW hatcheries. This project began in 2004 with an exploratory season to determine distribution, survey methodology, and feasibility of the proposed protocol. In 2005 and 2006 a more intensive sampling effort was implemented, designed to cover the entire distribution of spring chinook spawning in the Nestucca, Trask, and Wilson rivers. Since 2004, project field work has been funded with Restoration and Enhancement Program (R&E) funds, administered by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Project administration is covered through existing funding for the ODFW Oregon Adult Salmonid Inventory and Sampling Project (OASIS). Funding from R&E is scheduled to continue through the 2008 spawning season. Further monitoring will require a new funding source for project field work. This report documents results for project Objectives 1 to 4, including the abundance and distribution of spring chinook spawners during 2005 and 2006 in Oregon’s Trask, Wilson, and Nestucca river basins.
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Abstract -- Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) is a major health problem of cultured Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus sp. It has been particularly problematic in captive broodstock programs, where the interests ...
Citation Citation
- Title:
- Prevalence of Bacterial Kidney Disease in Natural vs. Hatchery-Reared Adult Chinook Salmon Spawned in a Hatchery and in Nature Information Reports number 2009-06
Abstract -- Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) is a major health problem of cultured Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus sp. It has been particularly problematic in captive broodstock programs, where the interests of gene conservation and fish health can conflict when spawning females with signs of BKD. Not rearing those fish reduces the genetic diversity of an already depleted population, while rearing those fish may increase the prevalence of BKD in the natural population. We used data collected during spawning at Lookingglass Fish hatchery and on spawning ground surveys to examine the prevalence of BKD, based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay optical density (ELISA OD) values, to monitor the prevalence of BKD in natural and hatchery-reared Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha from Grande Ronde and Imnaha basin streams in northeast Oregon. Mean ELISA OD levels differed among all sampled streams from 2004-2008 and was lowest in the Imnaha River salmon (0.0839) and highest in the Minam River (0.1750). Salmon spawned at LFH had a lower mean ELISA OD level (0.086) than those collected from carcasses on spawning ground surveys (0.118). Natural salmon mean ELISA OD level was 0.1058 and 97% were from salmon with ELISA OD level <0.2 and in hatchery salmon, 96% had an ELISA OD level <0.2 and mean ELISA OD level was 0.1138, with no difference between the groups. Over 17 years in the Imnaha River we see no difference in mean ELISA OD levels between natural and hatchery Chinook salmon. There was no difference in mean ELISA OD levels between adult Chinook salmon from wilderness (0.1663) vs. supplemented (0.1184) streams. However, when comparing mean ELISA OD for only natural Chinook salmon carcasses recovered in these streams, we found that mean ELISA OD level was higher in the wilderness streams (0.1676) than in the supplemented streams. Returning adults from the Captive Broodstock F1 generation had a higher mean ELISA OD level (0.1349) than those of Conventional Hatchery Program offspring (0.0957). Annual mean ELISA OD level decreased over time in the Lostine River stock but did not change for any of the other stocks. The data for BKD in Chinook salmon from northeast Oregon streams and hatcheries show that this disease is not prevalent and we found no evidence that the release of hatchery salmon is causing an increase in BKD prevalence in the monitored streams. However, we will continue to monitor this disease.
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193. [Article] Using Calibrated Index Surveys to Estimate Chinook Spawner Escapement into the Salmon River, Oregon Information Report number 2012-01
Abstract -- The Pacific Salmon Commission has designated the Salmon River hatchery stock of fall Chinook as an Exploitation Rate Indicator Stock (ERIS) for all 16 naturally produced stocks of fall Chinook ...Citation Citation
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- Using Calibrated Index Surveys to Estimate Chinook Spawner Escapement into the Salmon River, Oregon Information Report number 2012-01
Abstract -- The Pacific Salmon Commission has designated the Salmon River hatchery stock of fall Chinook as an Exploitation Rate Indicator Stock (ERIS) for all 16 naturally produced stocks of fall Chinook on Oregon’s north coast. The Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST) specifies the necessity of these stocks to model the effects of mixed stock fisheries on wild Chinook salmon. The ocean migration patterns and catch rates of this stock are thought to closely resemble Oregon’s north migrating Chinook from coastal basins ranging from the Necanicum River in the north to the Siuslaw River in the south. A relatively long and continuous history of mark and recapture experiments with corresponding extensive spawning ground surveys and harvest estimates from a fresh water creel, serves as the foundation for a predictive model of spawner abundance. Peak counts from two spawning ground surveys were identified as an index that strongly correlates with relatively precise abundance estimates derived from a Peterson two event mark-recapture model. Index surveys are less labor intensive than previous mark-recapture activities, and evidence suggests they are an efficient and cost effective method to estimate spawner abundance.
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194. [Article] Status of Oregon Stocks of Coho Salmon, 2004 through 2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2009-3
Abstract -- This report summarizes five years of monitoring status and trend in Oregon’s naturally spawning coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) populations. The five coho run years reported are 2004 through ...Citation Citation
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- Status of Oregon Stocks of Coho Salmon, 2004 through 2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2009-3
Abstract -- This report summarizes five years of monitoring status and trend in Oregon’s naturally spawning coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) populations. The five coho run years reported are 2004 through 2008. Monitoring results include: abundance of naturally spawning coho; density of spawning coho; coho spawn timing; and proportion of hatchery (marked) coho in naturally spawning populations. These results are based on data from randomly selected spawning surveys, as well as other methods in areas without adequate random surveys. Results for coho standard spawning surveys, as well as spawning surveys for other species are covered in data summaries and reports posted on an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) web page (see: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ODFW/spawn/index.htm). Monitoring occurs at three hierarchical spatial scales, as defined by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU); Stratum; and coho Population. There are three coho ESU’s located entirely or partially within the State of Oregon: the Lower Columbia River (LCR) Coho ESU; the Oregon Coast (OC) Coho ESU; and the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coasts (SONCC) Coho ESU. This report summarizes results for coho populations in the portion of each ESU that is within the State of Oregon. In the Oregon portion of the LCR Coho ESU sufficient surveys were conducted to meet precision goals at the ESU level three out of the five sampling years. At the population complex scale, yearly precision goals were rarely met. Wild spawner abundance remained fairly stable over the five sampling years; hatchery abundance was more variable. Regional patterns in fish distribution, spawn timing, and hatchery proportion are apparent at both the stratum and population scale. In the Oregon Coast ESU sufficient surveys were conducted to meet precision goals at the ESU level in all five sampling years, however at the population scale, precision goals were rarely met. Wild spawner abundance declined over the first four sampling years, but showed a significant increase in the fifth sampling year. The proportion of hatchery fish was generally low, but variable over the five sampling years. Only two populations, Salmon River and North Umpqua River, consistently had over 10% hatchery fish on the spawning grounds. Regional patterns in fish distribution, spawn timing, and hatchery proportion are apparent. Inadequate funding and the need to update the GRTS sampling frame continue to hamper monitoring of the Oregon portion of the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coasts Coho ESU. In the Oregon portion of the ESU insufficient surveys were conducted to meet precision goals at the ESU level in any of the four years when GRTS surveys were done. However, estimates of wild coho spawners were obtained in all five years based on Huntley Park seining. Wild coho spawner abundance declined substantially over the five run years; but the proportion of hatchery coho spawning naturally was fairly low and stable. Regional patterns in fish distribution, spawn timing, and hatchery proportion are apparent.
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195. [Article] Recovery of Wild Coho Salmon in Salmon River Basin, 2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2009-10
Abstract -- Recovery and conservation of naturally self-sustaining salmon populations is a central goal of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. In 1998, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife ...Citation Citation
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- Recovery of Wild Coho Salmon in Salmon River Basin, 2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2009-10
Abstract -- Recovery and conservation of naturally self-sustaining salmon populations is a central goal of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. In 1998, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) initiated a comprehensive program to monitor the status of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) populations and aquatic habitat in coastal drainages of Oregon (OWEB 2003). A 2005 assessment by ODFW concluded that Oregon coastal coho were viable at the scale of the Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) and demonstrated resilience in response to improving ocean conditions. Yet 7 of 21 (33%) individual populations within the ESU failed one or more of five criteria used to assess viability (Chilcote et al. 2005), and it is uncertain whether productivity levels across the ESU will recover sufficiently to withstand future periods of poor ocean conditions. The coho population in Salmon River was the only population in the ESU to fail all five viability criteria. Uncertainty remains about the response of Oregon coastal coho salmon to different combinations of freshwater and marine limiting factors, complicating recovery efforts (Lawson 1993; Lawson et al. 2004; IMST 2006). Such uncertainty cannot be resolved entirely by existing Oregon Plan monitoring programs, which target only a portion of the habitats and coho salmon life stages in large river basins, and with few exceptions (e.g., Johnson et al. 2005), were not designed to test population responses to individual management manipulations. In 2007, in response to the failure of viability criteria, ODFW managers discontinued releases of hatchery coho salmon into Salmon River as one of the primary management actions under the Oregon Conservation Plan for the Oregon Coast Coho Evolutionarily Significant Unit (hereafter “coho plan,” Nicholas 2006). This change affords the first opportunity in Oregon to monitor the results of a large scale experiment in removing hatchery coho salmon from a basin for at least four generations (twelve years). Hatchery production has been a centerpiece of salmon management for decades, but rarely has full recovery from hatchery influence been given a chance to succeed. Salmon River offers a test basin to explore whether an independent population of coho salmon can recover from a prolonged period of very low abundance following removal of the primary factor limiting productivity. Here we describe the first year of a study to monitor the dynamics of the coho salmon population in the Salmon River basin on the central Oregon coast and to determine whether management changes targeting both hatchery influence and stream habitat complexity improve population viability. This research will validate assumptions about factors limiting coho recovery and determine whether recovery measures proposed by the Coho Plan have been effective. Our research is designed to document changes in population abundance, distribution, and life history structure of coho salmon following the removal of hatchery coho salmon from the watershed. It integrates adult, juvenile, and habitat components to establish links and describe variability between juvenile performance and adult recovery. It also monitors the coho salmon population across habitat types and life history stages to identify population responses at a landscape scale. We will establish the link between productivity and survival at each salmon life stage and recovery of the adult population. From these indicators, we will determine the potential resiliency of coho salmon, detail the biological benefits/tradeoffs of returning the ecosystem to natural salmon production, and assess whether supplementation should remain an option in Salmon River. As a conceptual framework, our research design and analyses are guided by the “viable salmonid population” criteria identified by McElhany (2000) and modified by Chilcote et al. (2005) and Nicholas (2006), including abundance, productivity, distribution, diversity, and habitat quality. The results of our new research will be integrated with habitat survey and adult population data collected under the existing Oregon Plan monitoring program and coho salmon population and life history data available from previous Salmon River surveys (Mullen 1978, 1979; Cornwell et al. 2001; Bottom et al 2005; Volk et al. in review). Together these data will address four principal objectives: 1. Quantify viability of the coho salmon population before and after hatchery coho salmon are removed from Salmon River. 2. Assess whether viability of the Salmon River coho population is limited by quantity and complexity of stream habitat. 3. Describe the diversity of juvenile and adult life histories of coho salmon in the Salmon River basin and estimate the relative contributions of alternate juvenile life history to adult returns. 4. Determine salmonid use and benefits of restored tidal wetlands before and after hatchery coho salmon are removed from Salmon River. By synthesizing historic data with new information for the Salmon River basin, we will compare population structure during three distinct periods – pre-hatchery (1974-77), hatchery (1990-2008), and post-hatchery (2009-2013). This annual report discusses the activities and findings from 2008, the first year of the multi-year project, including coho salmon distribution and abundance on the Salmon River spawning grounds, juvenile abundance and distribution in the watershed and estuary, migration timing, and life history diversity.
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196. [Article] Effectiveness Monitoring Report for the Western Oregon Stream Restoration Program, 1999-2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2010-6
Abstract -- State and federal agencies have invested millions of dollars to restore streams and watersheds in the Pacific Northwest over the past two decades. In Oregon alone, over 500 million dollars ...Citation Citation
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- Effectiveness Monitoring Report for the Western Oregon Stream Restoration Program, 1999-2008 Report Number: OPSW-ODFW-2010-6
Abstract -- State and federal agencies have invested millions of dollars to restore streams and watersheds in the Pacific Northwest over the past two decades. In Oregon alone, over 500 million dollars has been spent on completed projects from 1995 to 2007 (Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board 2009). Restoration practitioners have distributed the investment among watershed scale activities such as road repair, dam removal, and upland management, and stream scale activities such as passage, instream complexity, and riparian plantings. The Western Oregon Stream Restoration Program (WOSRP) was established to work in cooperation with private and corporate landowners to restore stream habitat for juvenile and adult salmonids. In addition to the WOSRP, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) funds restoration projects with local watershed councils, who commonly partner with state and federal agencies. Eight WOSRP restoration biologists in Tillamook, Newport, Charleston, Gold Beach, Roseburg, Clackamas, and Salem select sites and implement projects consistent with the criteria described in Thom et al (2001). A monitoring component is integrated in the program, with surveys coordinated and reported by a biologist in Corvallis. The goal of the monitoring program is to assess the long term effectiveness of instream restoration projects implemented by WOSRP, and to evaluate progress towards salmon conservation and recovery goals in Oregon’s coastal basins. The WOSRP restoration sites are distributed throughout the Willamette, Lower Columbia, and coastal drainage's. Restoration treatments added large wood and/or boulders, improved fish passage, planted trees in riparian areas, or were a combination of the three. Large wood was placed in complex jams at intervals throughout the stream to increase stream roughness and complexity. Boulders were sometimes used in conjunction with wood jams to provide stability to the structures, and prevent large wood from moving downstream and posing a hazard to culverts and bridges. Bedrock dominated streams were often treated with boulders to collect gravel and cobble, intended to aggrade the streambed. In the future, large wood may be added to these streams. Fish passage projects opened previously inaccessible habitat to juvenile and/or adult salmonids while riparian plantings and fencing were designed to improve riparian vegetation and bank structure. The project length varied from site to site. Fish passage sites were quite short, but provided access to kilometers of fish habitat, and large wood sites were up to several kilometers in length. Large wood and boulder placement projects have become commonplace in the Pacific Northwest to restore complex stream habitat for juvenile coho and other salmonids (Katz et al. 2007, Roni et al. 2008). Detailed assessments have been published for individual projects or experiments (e.g. Moore and Gregory, 1988, Nickelson et al. 1992, Cederholm et al.1997). More extensive evaluations have used a post treatment design (Hicks et al 1991, Roni and Quinn 2001), but none have used a pre- and post treatment design. In this paper we evaluate habitat changes at 103 restoration projects in western Oregon from pre-treatment to one year post treatment to 6 years following treatment. Projects commonly treated 0.5 – 1 km of stream, but some extended up to 6 km. The projects we evaluated in this paper were treated with large logs, usually arranged in jams, and were not cabled or driven into banks or bottom. As of 2008, the OWEB and WOSRP projects have treated approximately 750 km of stream with large wood (Figure 1), 120 km with boulders, and over 4,000 km of stream have been made accessible by replacing and/or removing culverts. Each year, OWEB receives 210 grant applications for restoration projects. These projects generally adhere to a similar selection process and design, so the results of this study can be expected to apply more broadly within the Pacific Northwest. Roni et al (2008), in a synthesis paper, summarized many of the potential physical benefits of restoration; these include pool depth and frequency, habitat complexity, woody debris, and sediment retention and quality of spawning gravel. Some projects in deeply incised channels have reduced the incision and increased bed elevation. Evaluations of biological responses have been confounded by natural variability of populations, duration of study, or length of stream examined. For example, determination of success based on spawning ground counts is problematic because of variation in ocean survival. However, longer duration and watershed scale studies have shown positive responses of juvenile and adult salmon (Johnson et al 2005). Burnett et al. (2008) conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles to examine the effects of large wood placement on salmonid abundance, growth, or survival, or on overall stream habitat complexity. Few publications were both relevant and met the rigorous standards outlined in their review. Although the review supported short term improvements in habitat complexity, the relationship to salmonid productivity was less definitive. Notable exceptions included Johnson et al. (2005) cited above, and Solazzi et al. (2000). An alternative approach to directly assessing biological response is to model potential changes in abundance or productivity. The Habitat Limiting Factors Model (Reeves et al. 1989, Nickelson et al.1992a, Nickelson 1998) was developed to quantify the carrying capacity of coastal streams for juvenile coho during the summer and winter. Use of this model is appropriate because most of the instream restoration projects in western Oregon were intended to improve habitat for juvenile coho. In this paper, we evaluated the physical response directly, and quantified the potential response of juvenile coho salmon by application of the Habitat Limiting Factors Model. Project effectiveness monitoring requires linking the restoration treatment to improved physical conditions for and biological response of salmon (Katz et al. 2007) and defining desired outcomes (Rumps et al. 2007). Because the WOSRP projects were designed to improve ecological and hydrologic stream function specifically for salmonids, we evaluated 1) retention of wood structures, 2) natural recruitment of additional wood, 3) increase in pool number, area, and depth, 4) retention of gravels and sorting of finer substrates, and 5) increase in channel complexity – secondary channels and off-channel habitats. Biological evaluation was based on estimates of the potential carrying capacity for juvenile coho during the overwinter life stage. The primary objectives of this evaluation are to test for these changes one year following treatment and 6 years following treatment. Secondarily, we evaluated the response of the projects by geographic location and position along the stream network. Previous WOSRP monitoring reports (e.g. Jacobsen and Jones 2003, Jacobsen et al. 2007) have focused on conditions one year following treatment, with relatively few sites assessed 2-3 years following restoration. Since 2003, the restoration projects have increased in complexity – more and larger pieces and jams, and treated more kilometers of stream length per site. The WOSRP program has provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the effects of restoration projects over longer times and broader geographic scales than previously feasible. We have been surveying the restoration sites in both summer and winter to monitor changes in stream habitat and evaluate the success of treatments, such as the placement of wood and/or boulders and fish passage. Surveys are logistically easier to manage in the summer, but surveys conducted during the winter provide a more timely and accurate assessment of over-winter rearing potential for juvenile coho. Because we have paired surveys, we are able to assess the added value of revisits across seasons. We test the hypothesis that habitat characteristics at the restoration sites do not change from summer to winter. The findings permit us to modify the survey program if the information is duplicative, and use the resources in another fashion.
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197. [Article] Abundance, distribution, and migratory behavior of coastal cutthroat trout in two lower Columbia River tributaries
Abstract -- Coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) exhibit multiple life history types characterized by diverse migratory strategies, including anadromous, potomodromous, and freshwater resident ...Citation Citation
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- Abundance, distribution, and migratory behavior of coastal cutthroat trout in two lower Columbia River tributaries
Abstract -- Coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) exhibit multiple life history types characterized by diverse migratory strategies, including anadromous, potomodromous, and freshwater resident forms. The factors contributing to life history variation within populations are not well understood, but probably are not strictly genetic (e.g. Johnson et al, in review). Variation in migration tendency within cutthroat populations may result from phenotype plasticity, influenced by density, frequency, or condition dependent processes (Hendry et al. 2004). For example, an individual cutthroat’s choice to migrate at a given time or age may be a response to environmental conditions mediated by a genetically determined reaction norm (Hutchings 2004). This report summarizes a study undertaken to describe the expression of migratory behavior within coastal cutthroat trout populations, the relationship among migratory and non-migratory individuals, and the implications of life history diversity for management of cutthroat trout in tributaries of the lower Columbia River. The relationship between resident and migratory populations (or resident and migratory individuals within populations) is of central importance for management of coastal cutthroat trout. In the lower Columbia River and southwest Washington State a proposed rule to list anadromous cutthroat as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) was withdrawn after the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decided during its review process to include resident and anadromous forms in the same Distinct Population Segment (DPS). Debate over proposed ESA listing highlighted a general lack of knowledge about coastal cutthroat trout life history, relationships between resident and migratory forms, and estuarine habitat use in the lower Columbia River. In 2009, the decision not to list the DPS as threatened was remanded to the USFWS on the grounds that the Service had not adequately considered whether marine and estuarine habitats formed a significant portion of the range of the DPS (USFWS 2009). We evaluated the distribution and abundance of coastal cutthroat trout in Big Creek and Bear Creek, two tributaries that join the Columbia River estuary from the south (Oregon) side roughly 30 kilometers from the ocean, and monitored the migratory behavior of cutthroat that emigrated from these streams and entered the Columbia River estuary. Big Creek is an interesting system because a fish weir and diversion dam at an ODFW hatchery, established in 1941 and refurbished in 1957, prevent cutthroat trout from passing upstream, isolating the cutthroat spawning population above the hatchery. Despite this barrier to upstream migration, offspring of resident cutthroat in the upper watershed continue to “smolt” and migrate downstream past the barrier. We were interested in the fate of these fish and their contribution to the adult population. Bear Creek, on the other hand, has always had full access for anadromous cutthroat through much of its drainage. These two systems permit a comparison of life history characteristics, migration, and survival of coastal cutthroat rearing in streams above and below migration barriers, and provide study sites in Oregon to compliment research by USFWS of coastal cutthroat migration behavior in tributaries entering the estuary from the north side of the Columbia River (USFWS 2008; and see Hudson et al. 2008; Johnson 2008; Zydlewski et al. 2008). A major objective of our work in Big Creek and Bear Creek was to increase understanding of coastal cutthroat trout biology and the relationship between resident and migratory cutthroat in lower Columbia tributaries. Additionally, we sought to document habitat use in the Columbia River estuary by migrant cutthroat. Our specific objectives were to: • Estimate abundance of coastal cutthroat trout in Big Creek (above hatchery barrier) and Bear Creek (above and below a large dam) • Quantify the proportions of the cutthroat populations that are migratory, identify which individuals migrate and describe the timing of migration • Describe habitats used by anadromous migrants and characterize migration behavior within the Columbia River estuary • Measure estuarine/marine survival of anadromous individuals and document return to natal streams
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198. [Article] Information Report 2018-04, Smolt Abundance Estimates for the Oregon Coast Coho Evolutionarily Significant Unit
Abstract -- Analysis of Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) smolt abundance can provide insight on freshwater habitat capacity and factors affecting salmonid persistence. To explore these relationships ...Citation Citation
- Title:
- Information Report 2018-04, Smolt Abundance Estimates for the Oregon Coast Coho Evolutionarily Significant Unit
Abstract -- Analysis of Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) smolt abundance can provide insight on freshwater habitat capacity and factors affecting salmonid persistence. To explore these relationships we linked multi-year data sets of overwinter survival rates from three streams within the Oregon Coast Coho Evolutionarily Significant Unit (OCC) to summer parr abundance estimates from calibrated OCC-wide snorkel survey counts to estimate annual Coho Salmon smolt abundance from 2000-2017. Smolt abundance estimates ranged from a low of 0.9 million in 2000 to a high of 4.1 million in 2013 within the OCC. Accuracy of the smolt abundance estimates was tested using two datasets: (i) adult abundance modeled from the corresponding smolt abundance estimate was compared with adult abundance derived empirically from spawning ground surveys and (ii) our smolt abundance estimates were compared with smolt abundance estimates from trapping efforts in select basins within the OCC. Adult abundance modeled from smolt abundance estimates was highly correlated with adult abundance from spawning ground surveys (r = 0.88, p < 0.001) and smolt abundance estimates correlated with abundance from smolt trapping efforts (r = 0.81, p <0.001). Graphical relationships between smolt abundance and parental abundance suggest that freshwater productivity may be limited in the OCC by density dependent processes at spawner levels observed since 1998. Additionally, smolt abundance estimates have potential use as a variable in adult forecast models and could be used to assess trends in freshwater productivity and to probe factors of density dependence.
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199. [Article] Lower Snake River Compensation Plan; Oregon Spring Chinook Salmon Evaluation Studies - 2016 Annual Progress Report
Abstract -- This annual progress report summarizes spring-summer Chinook Salmon monitoring data collected by ODFW for the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) facilities in 2015. Also summarized ...Citation Citation
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- Lower Snake River Compensation Plan; Oregon Spring Chinook Salmon Evaluation Studies - 2016 Annual Progress Report
Abstract -- This annual progress report summarizes spring-summer Chinook Salmon monitoring data collected by ODFW for the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) facilities in 2015. Also summarized are the associated broodstock monitoring data collected at weirs in the Grande Ronde Basin that are operated by our co-managers, the Nez Perce Tribe (NPT; Lostine River) and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR; Catherine Creek and Upper Grande Ronde River). The main objectives of this report are to document and evaluate spring-sumer Chinook Salmon culture performance for hatchery programs and achievement of management objectives in the Imnaha and Grande Ronde river basins (CTUIR and NPT have specific program goals for Chinook returns to Catherine Creek, the Upper Grande Ronde River, Lookingglass Creek, and the Lostine River that are discussed and evaluated in separate reports prepared by each co-management agency). Overall, these data are used to adaptively manage salmon culture practices in order to optimize egg-to-smolt survival rate, smolt quality, smolt-toadult survival rate, the recruits-per-spawner (R:S) ratio, and to monitor spawning in nature by hatchery-reared salmon. Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) ODFW- Eastern Oregon Fish Research (EOFR)
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Abstract -- The objectives of the present survey of the upper waters of the South Fork of the Umpqua River were to: (1) develop practical and scientifically sound stocking policies; (2) determine the need ...
Citation Citation
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- Survey of the Waters of South Umpqua Ranger District, Umpqua National Forest, 1937
Abstract -- The objectives of the present survey of the upper waters of the South Fork of the Umpqua River were to: (1) develop practical and scientifically sound stocking policies; (2) determine the need for stream and lake improvements; and (3) obtain facts to assist in the settlement of the controversy with regard to the South Umpqua Falls. There has been continual demand by sportsmen that the South Umpqua Falls be supplied with fish ladders to permit safe ascent of sea-run species to spawning grounds above the falls. Study of this problem was undertaken as a definite part of the survey work described herein. The stream run and lake survey work was initiated by the Forest Service in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries during the summer of 1937. Emphasis was placed on the detailed studies relating to the physical and biological factors upon which it would be possible to recommend adequate stocking policies. No study of chemical conditions whatsoever was made for two reasons, first, lack of equipment prevented making gas analyses and, second, such studies seemed unnecessary by reason of the fact that there is no pollution present in the streams surveyed and all of them are well aerated, clean, rapid flowing mountain streams. Chemical conditions as shown by general observations were quite suitable and it is only whore natural or artificial pollutants occur in great abundance that chemical analyses would aid in determining tho basic effects of some of those fishes and their food organisms present in streams.