Spring Chinook Salmon

Grant PUD continues to work with local community members and technical experts to implement the White River and Nason Creek spring Chinook salmon programs. The goal is to aid the recovery of these endangered spring Chinook while balancing impacts to other species and to the unique landscape qualities of the Wenatchee River Basin.

Long-Term Planning  On May 4, Grant PUD submitted a permit application to Chelan County, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approval to construct a long-term White River Acclimation Facility. The facility will be located at the utility's Bridge Site property, located adjacent to the Little Wenatchee Road bridge. The submittal continues a collaborative process in which Grant PUD and its salmon recovery partners worked with members of the public to finalize a draft conceptual site plan for the White River Acclimation Facility. (Pictured right, recent tour attendees view White River spring Chinook juveniles in portable acclimation tanks being utilizied until the long-term facility is complete).

Carefully designed to address concerns regarding aesthetics and environmental impacts, the long-term White River Acclimation Facility will over-winter acclimate up to 165,000 juvenile spring Chinook salmon for release each spring into the White River. The number of adult spring Chinook naturally spawning in the White River is critically low, making implementation of this program crucial for the recovery of this unique population. Hatchery supplementation has been identified by experts as the best way to increase numbers of naturally spawning adults and to reduce the risk of extinction of the White River spring Chinook. Grant PUD will spawn, incubate and early rear these fish at facilities located outside of the White River, but acclimation must occur on White River water in order for these fish to return to their natal waters as adults. The White River Acclimation Facility is expected to show marked survival and adult return improvement. Fish that spend the winter months on the river water of their origin have higher survival rates and are more likely to find their way home to spawn as adults. Protecting these fish from predation and the elements is also critical.

To reduce effects on the local environment and viewscape, a minimized facility footprint is planned for this site. Additionally, important habitat restoration and enhancement elements are proposed for the 18-acre Bridge Site. Upon permit approval, construction of the White River Acclimation Facility is scheduled to begin in spring of 2012. The facility will be completed and ready to receive fish in fall 2013. The first fish will be released from the White River facility in the spring of 2014.

Short-Term Facility  Until the long-term facility is complete, short-term spring acclimation is necessary for White River spring Chinook. Each spring since 2004, White River juvenile salmon have been transported from rearing facilities, acclimated and then released from a variety of locations in the White River Basin and Lake Wenatchee. For six weeks this spring, portable aluminum tanks were utilized to provide acclimation on White River surface water. Fish will be released from these tanks at both the Bridge Site and near Tall Timber Ranch this month. Fish released from these tanks will be tracked for the next several years on their journey to the ocean and back.

Grant PUD commissioners and staff joined some White River Work Group members to meet Chelan County commissioners and staff, as well as Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board staff at the Bridge Site on May 3 to view fish acclimating in the short-term facility 
and recognize progress on implementing this important program. Pictured above (left to right) Chelan County commissioners Keith Goehner and Doug England, Grant PUD commissioner Dale Walker, Chelan County commissioner Ron Walter and Grant PUD commissioner Bob Bernd.

The White River and Nason Creek spring Chinook programs are components of a comprehensive protection program for the spring Chinook populations in the mid-Columbia region impacted by the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project. The White River spring Chinook is part of the Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit, which was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1999. This unique conservation hatchery program was developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service in collaboration with a multi-agency state, federal and tribal technical group as an emergency measure to prevent extinction of the White River spring Chinook, an important and unique spawning aggregate of salmon.

Grant PUD, in collaboration with partnering agencies and tribes, has been implementing the White River spring Chinook program since 1997. Overall direction for this program is a provision of the 2008 National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion and 401 Water Quality Certification for the Priest Rapids Project. These provisions were adopted as terms and conditions of Grant PUD's 2008 federal license to operate the Project. These documents can be viewed here on our website.