Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project - Klickitat Monitoring and Evaluation, 2007 Annual Report.

Abstract

This report describes the results of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities for salmonid fish populations and habitat in the Klickitat River subbasin in south-central Washington. The M&E activities described here were conducted as a part of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)-funded Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) and were designed by consensus of the scientists with the Yakama Nation (YN) Fisheries Program. YKFP is a joint project between YN and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Overall YKFP goals are to increase natural production of and opportunity to harvest salmon and steelhead in the Yakima and Klickitat subbasins using hatchery supplementation, harvest augmentation and habitat improvements. Klickitat subbasin M&E activities have been subjected to scientific and technical review by members of the YKFP Science/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) as part of the YKFP's overall M&E proposal. Yakama Nation YKFP biologists have transformed the conceptual design into the tasks described. YKFP biologists have also been involved with the Collaborative Systemwide Monitoring and Evaluation Project (CSMEP - a project aimed at improving the quality, consistency, and focus of fish population and habitat data to answer key M&E questions relevant to major decisions in the Columbia Basin) and are working towards keeping Klickitat M&E activitiesmore » consistent with CSMEP recommendations. This report summarizes progress and results for the following major categories of YN-managed tasks under this contract: (1) Monitoring and Evaluation - to gather baseline information in order to characterize habitat and salmonid populations pre- and post-habitat restoration and pre-supplementation. (2) Ecological Interactions - to determine presence of pathogens in wild and naturally produced salmonids in the Klickitat Basin and develop supplementation strategies using this information. (3) Genetics - to develop YKFP supplementation broodstock collection protocols for the preservation of genetic variability, by refining methods of detecting within-stock genetic variability and between-stock genetic variability.« less