DESCRIPTION
WDFW will use this
grant to perform an assessment that will evaluate the abundance of juvenile
spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead in the fall, their survival through
four segments of the Tucannon River and to Lower Monumental Dam, and their
seasonal distribution within CHaMP sites and treatment/control strata, as well winter
habitat utilization via mobile PIT tag detection building upon two previous
projects (15-1322 &16-2095). This suite of information will provide
critical information to direct restoration actions at limiting life stages with
appropriate habitat actions. The proposed project would yield
life-stage-specific survival rates for wild-origin juvenile spring Chinook
salmon and summer steelhead in the Tucannon River, which in turn will help
direct habitat restoration efforts based on survival and distribution of PIT
tagged fish. In addition to the overwintering survival that past projects have
investigated, we would also quantify egg-to-parr survival which may identify
deficiencies in incubation, high flow, or summer survival. This project will attempt to identify if,
when, and where the population bottlenecks exist for spring Chinook and summer
steelhead in the Tucannon River. It
builds on the four instream PIT detection sites, existing smolt trap, and
habitat information available through the CHaMP sites in order to provide an
improved method for identifying limiting factors and prioritizing restoration
actions than are currently im
WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife will use this grant to perform an assessment that will evaluate the abundance of juvenile spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead in the Tucannon River in the fall, their survival through four segments of the Tucannon River and in the Snake River between its confluence with the Tucannon and Lower Monumental Dam, their seasonal distribution within Tucannan CHaMP monitoring sites and treatment/control strata, as well as winter habitat utilization via mobile PIT tag detection. The proposed project builds upon two previous SRFB-funded projects (15-1322;16-2095) to yield life-stage-specific survival rates for wild-origin juvenile sp. Chinook salmon and summer steelhead in the Tucannon based on survival and distribution of PIT tagged fish. This suite of information will provide critical information to identify limiting factors and prioritize restoration actions being implemented in the basin. In addition to the overwintering survival that past projects have investigated, we would quantify egg-to-parr survival which may identify deficiencies in incubation, high flow, or summer survival. This project will attempt to identify if, when, and where the population bottlenecks exist and will provide a prioritized list of restoration actions to address emerging limiting factors.