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Come see us at SalmonFest!
Come visit with Grant PUD biologists at this year's SalmonFest, Oct. 1 at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. Grant PUD works diligently to balance clean, renewable hydropower with protection of salmon and other natural resources. We are committed to sharing our efforts to recover endangered species in the White River and Nason Creek.
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A commitment
to education
Education and public involvement are core principles of Grant PUD's natural resource management goals. Our fish biologists participate in the Salmon in the Classroom program which teaches students about salmon through interactive, hands-on learning. Salmon in the Classroom allows students to experience release of young fish in a local watershed. Our scientists and biologists visit local classrooms and interact with students to answer questions about a salmon life cycle, hydropower, and careers in fish and wildlife biology. For more information, please contact Shannon Lowry, Grant PUD Fisheries Program Supervisor, at 509-754-5088, ext. 2191. |
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 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. | |
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White River Acclimation Facility
Chelan County Comment Period Now Open
A significant milestone was reached on May 4, 2011 when Grant PUD submitted a permit package to Chelan County and other regulatory permitting agencies requesting approval to construct the White River Acclimation Facility. This submittal continues a collaborative process in which Grant PUD and its salmon recovery partners are working with members of the public to develop a facility which is carefully designed to address concerns regarding environmental and aesthetic impacts. This facility will over-winter acclimate up to 150,000 juvenile spring Chinook salmon for release each spring into the White River.
Chelan County invites public comment on the proposed White River spring Chinook acclimation facility (comments can be submitted now through Sept. 22, 2011). Information on the permit application and public input process are posted to the Grant PUD website.
Link to larger drawing
White River Temporary Facility
Until the long-term facility is complete, short-term spring acclimation is necessary for White River spring Chinook. For the past decade, White River juvenile spring Chinook salmon have been transported from rearing facilities each spring, 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 were released from these tanks at both the Bridge Site and near Tall Timber Ranch, as well as into the Wenatchee River via trucked transport. Fish released from these tanks will be tracked for the next several years on their journey to the ocean and back. Preliminary evaluation results from the 2011 evaluation indicate low survival for fish that were released into the White River from the Bridge Site and Tall Timber tanks. Because survival rates were higher for fish that were trucked from these tanks and released below Lake Wenatchee, biologists believe a lake effect is occurring and are continuing to evaluate predation as a source. Grant PUD and the PRCC Hatchery Subcommittee, which manages the White River program, will continue to strive to identify release strategies or locations that maximize survival. | |
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Nason Creek
An acclimation facility similar to the one proposed for the White River is planned for a Grant PUD-owned site adjacent to Nason Creek and Hwy 2 located at milepost 82. It is anticipated permits for this facility will be submitted to permitting agencies in late August. This facility is designed to over-winter acclimate up to 250,000 juvenile spring Chinook. Short-term release activities are not necessary because hatchery fish have not yet been produced for this program. Public comment periods will also be opened for the Nason Creek Acclimation Facility proposal. Grant PUD will notify you via e-mail as soon as a schedule for this process is identified by the permitting agencies. | |
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Background
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. 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 in the Wenatchee basin. For more information about these programs, visit: Grant PUD Natural Resources Habitat & Hatcheries. | |
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