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Methow Valley News June 22, 2000 Endangered Species Coverage First fish kill proposal is dead Methow spring chinook run below predictions by Lee Hicks Federal and state fisheries offficials said Tuesday (June 20) that a plan to "cull" Methow basin hatchery spring chinook salmon has been curtailed, and also raised the possibility that some of the fish will be planted in the Okanogan watershed. The anouncement came after weeks of controversy over original plans to destroy "surplus" Carson stock fish without using their eggs in hatchery programs. Native tribes had been among the most vocal opponents and were joined by agricultural and other interests. In a conference call to the News Tuesday morning, fisheries officials said a number of options were being considered and a new hatchery policy statement for the Methow basin could be released within the next two weeks. The officials said the decisions are being driven more by a widespread review of hatchery policy throughout the habitat of Pacific salmon than immediate concerns in the Methow. Bob Bugert, eastern Washington
coordinator for the Governor's Salmon Recovery Team, said
there had been "some resolution of broad principles,
with details still to be worked out." Bill Robinson, assistant regional manager for sustainable fisheries for National Marine Fisheries Service, said the lower returns, "leaves us somewhat optimistic that there won't be any need for culling. All returning (fish) will be spawned." Tribal interests, including the Yakamas and Colvilles had come out against the original hatchery plans. They joined a burgeoning number of local residents and others, led by irrigators, throughout eastern Washington who oppose the proposed "genetic cleansing" of the Carson stock. In a strongly worded letter dated June 9 to Will Stelle, Northwest regional director of National Marine Fisheries Service, a spokesman for the Yakamas had called the original proposed fish kill a "senseless waste of spring chinook that are suitable for rebuilding upriver...runs." He said that NMFS, which has listed spring chinook and steelhead trout as endangered in the Methow basin, had directed the destruction of returning Carson hatchery stock that could otherwise be allocated to tribal fishing quotas in the lower Columbia River basin. Moreover, NMFS had said in biological opinions that the "surplus" fish could not be used to augment salmon runs in the Okanogan basin. Chris Pasley, manager of the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery, said Monday the 4,000 predicted spring chinook run at Wells Dam was actually about 1,800, and that only 300 instead of an expected 640 were trapped for relocation to the Winthrop hatchery. Settler had objected to the NMFS plan to only allow "Methow composite" stock, which is listed under the Endangered Species Act, to be planted in the Okanogan basin. That policy, the Yakama leader wrote, amounted to a "‘rob Peter to pay Paul’" approach. Robinson said use of the Methow stock is one of the issues to be reviewed in coming days. "It looks like the Methow composite stock will be fully utilized within the Methow basin, athough if there are additional fish they would also be considerd for developing a run in the Okanogan," Robinson said. Larry Peck, deputy director of the state department of Fish and Wildlife, said, "This year's (fish) clubbing issues have clouded policy issues...(we're) trying to make hatcheries more in line with wild stocks." Yakama officials have joined Colvilles and other members of the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission in discussing issues with state and federal officials. Representatives of OC3, the Okanogan Citizens Council, have also joined opposition to the hatchery kill and sided with Methow basin irrigators. A statement by the tribal commission had supported Settler's position. "There is no scientific basis for the destruction of these salmon," said Donald Sampson, the commission’s executive director. "Scientific evidence indicates that the Carson spring chinook stock is essentially indistinguishable from the spring chinook of the Methow," Sampson said. The Carson stock are descended from spring chinook trapped at Rock Island Dam in the 1940s, reared at the federal Leavenworth hatchery then transported to Winthrop to spawn. In the 1970s, the stock was planted at the Carson hatchery on the lower Columbia. Federal officials have said that rebuilding listed "wild" fish—most of which have hatchery genes— can only be accomplished by elimination of the Carson stock. Bonnie Lawrence of OC3 said Monday, "Everybody is just sort of waiting to see what they decide." About 1,000 fish will be destroyed in harvesting eggs, as in past years. But, Pasley said the decision not to destroy surplus fish is "kind of a relief." Opinion | Sports |
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