Resident Fish Stock Status above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams; 2001 Annual Report.

Abstract

In 1980, the United States Congress enacted the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act (PL 96-501, 1980), which established the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC). The NPPC was directed by Congress to develop a regional Power Plan and also the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (FWP) to restore or replace losses of fish caused by construction and operation of hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin. In developing the FWP, Congress specifically directed NPPC to solicit recommendations for measures to be included in the Program from the region's fish and wildlife agencies and Indian tribes. All measures adopted by the Council were also required to be consistent with the management objectives of the agencies and tribes [Section 4.(h)(6)(A)], the legal rights of Indian tribes in the region [Section 4.(h)(6)(D)] and be based upon and supported by the best available scientific knowledge [Section 4.(h)(6)(B)]. The Resident Fish Stock Status above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams Project, also known as the Joint Stock Assessment Project (JSAP) specifically addresses NPPC Council measure 10.8B.26 of the 1994 program. The Joint Stock Assessment Project is a management tool using ecosystem principles to manage artificial fish assemblages and native fish in altered environments existing in the Columbia River System above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams (Blocked Area). A three-phase approach of this project will enhance the fisheries resources of the Blocked Area by identifying data gaps, filling data gaps with research, and implementing management recommendations based on research results. The Blocked Area fisheries information is housed in a central location, allowing managers to view the entire system while making decisions, rather than basing management decisions on isolated portions of the system. The JSAP is designed and guided jointly by fisheries managers in the Blocked Area and the Columbia Basin Blocked Area Management Plan (1998). The initial year of the project (1997) identified the need for a central data storage and analysis facility, coordination with the StreamNet project, compilation of Blocked Area fisheries information, and a report on the ecological condition of the Spokane River System. These needs were addressed in 1998 by acquiring a central location with a data storage and analysis system, coordinating a pilot project with StreamNet, compiling fisheries distribution data throughout the Blocked Area, identifying data gaps based on compiled information, and researching the ecological condition of the Spokane River. In order to ensure that any additional information collected throughout the life of this project will be easily stored and manipulated by the central storage facility, it was necessary to develop standardized methodologies between the JSAP fisheries managers. Common collection and analytical methodologies were developed in 1999. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 the project began addressing some of the identified data gaps throughout the Blocked Area. Data collection of established projects and a variety of newly developed sampling projects are ongoing. Projects developed and undertaken by JSAP fisheries managers include investigations of the Pend Orielle River and its tributaries, the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation. Migration patterns of adfluvial and reservoir fish in Box Canyon Reservoir and its tributaries, a baseline assessment of Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries, ecological assessment of mountain lakes in Pend Oreille County, and assessments of seven streams and four lakes on the Spokane Indian Reservation were completed by 2000. Assessments of the Little Spokane River and its tributaries, tributaries to the Pend Oreille River, small lakes in southern Pend Oreille County, and water bodies within and near the Spokane Indian Reservation were conducted in 2001. This work was done in accordance with the scope of work approved by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).