November Resource Report

Native Fish Conservation Policy Adopted

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the Native Fish Conservation Policy at its November meeting. While the adoption of this policy culminates over three years of effort, in many ways it's just the beginning of the process. The policy lays the groundwork for the future development of a Hatchery Management Policy and a Harvest Management Policy. All of these policies will be implemented through the development of conservation plans in various watersheds throughout the state. The entire process will take many years to implement and will be dependent upon receiving adequate funding.

Oregon Trout supported the adoption of the policy because it makes it very clear that the protection and recovery of naturally spawning wild fish is the primary obligation of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. We are also hopeful that the adoption of the policy will diffuse the debate in the legislature over wild vs. hatchery fish.

Audit of State Hatchery Operations

The Audits Division of the Secretary of State's office recently released an audit on the cost effectiveness of some of Oregon's fish hatcheries. This audit took nearly a year to complete and provides very important and timely information for policymakers to consider in the debate over the future of the state's hatchery program.

Summary of Results

Costs to produce a pound of salmon or trout varied considerably at the 13 hatcheries reviewed, ranging from $4.08 per pound at the Butte Falls hatchery to $9.09 per pound at the Clackamas hatchery.

The cost to produce a returning adult salmon averaged:

• $39 each for fall Chinook salmon
• $175 each for spring Chinook salmon
• $97 each for Coho salmon

Another interesting aspect of the audit was an analysis of the maintenance backlog at the hatcheries. Deferred maintenance ranged from $105,000 at the South Santiam hatchery to $2,714,625 at the Butte Falls hatchery, for a total of around $14 million.

This report has been presented to the Oregon Legislature and will be considered during the upcoming legislative session when the Department's budget is debated.

Salmon Recovery Task Force

The Salmon Recovery Task Force had its final meeting this month and reached consensus on a definition of "recovery" for purposes of the Endangered Species Act. That definition will be drafted into proposed legislation that will be introduced during the 2003 Oregon Legislature as an amendment to the enabling legislation for the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. Having this definition in place will assist the federal government in the development and implementation of recovery plans for federally listed salmon and steelhead populations.

Marmot and Little Sandy Dam Decommissioning

The final application for the decommissioning of the Marmot and Little Sandy dams has been completed by Portland General Electric Company and submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval. If approved, Marmot dam will be removed in 2007 and the Little Sandy dam in 2008.

Unfortunately, the removal of the Little Sandy dam does not guarantee that the valuable fish habitat above this project will be utilized for the recovery of naturally spawning wild fish. With the current hatchery management scheme in the Sandy basin, which concentrates all of the hatchery fish in the lower portions of the watershed, its very likely that the Little Sandy will be overwhelmed by hatchery fish. In fact, there are proposals currently on the table that, if implemented, would exacerbate the problem by using the lower Bull Run River as a hatchery fish acclimation site.

Oregon Trout and other fish conservation groups will continue to advocate for a wild fish sanctuary in the Little Sandy basin once the dam has been removed. We hope to gain the support of the City of Portland, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and NOAA Fisheries in these efforts.

2003 Oregon Legislature

Now that the elections have concluded, preparations for Oregon's upcoming legislative session have begun. Oregon Trout will be working with our allies in the conservation community to identify issues that we may be interested in having introduced during the session. We will also be looking at issues that will likely be introduced by others to determine what our defensive posture needs to be. We will also be providing input to Governnor Kulongoski's new administration with regard to the priorities for wild fish during the session. Given the continuing and worsening budget crisis, much of our work during the session will focus on maintaining important existing programs and identifying those programs that could be eliminated.