An Economic Impact Analysis of the Proposed Yakima/Klickitat Fishery Enhancement Project; Preliminary Design Report, Appendix D.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to estimate the economic impact of the proposed Yakima/Klickitat Production Project on the local economies of the Yakima and Klickitat subbasins. The project, when operating at planned maximum production, will augment the total number of salmon and steelhead returning to the subbasins by 77,600 and will increase the sustainable terminal harvest by 55,160. These estimates do not include fish harvested in the ocean or in the mainstem Columbia. In addition to evaluating the impacts of the construction, operations and maintenance, experimentation and monitoring, and harvest activities described in the Draft Environmental Assessment (Bonneville Power Administration, 1989), our analysis also evaluates some passageway improvements and Phase II screening of irrigation structures. Both of these augmentations are required In order for the project to reach maximum planned harvest levels. The study area includes the Yakima Subbasin economy (Yakima and Kittitas counties), the mid-Columbia Basin/Klickitat Subbasin economies (Klickitat, Hood River, and Wasco counties), and the Tri-Cities economy (Benton and Franklin counties). The study period extends from 1990 through 2015: from preconstruction planning activities through reaching maximum production.