APRE Summary
Program name:
Summer Steelhead (LF)-Hatchery
Subbasin:
Walla Walla
ESA status:
Not listed and not a candidate for listing
Co-operators
Role
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Lower Snake River Compensation PlanProgram Funding & Oversight
Oregon Department of Fish &
Wildlife
Co-Manager
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation
Co-Manager
Operator: WDFW
Funding Source(s)
Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Mitigation Funds- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Annual Operating Cost* $ 180,000
*Annual Operating Cost is reflected in dollars. The origin of this value is not consistent among programs, as it
may reflect total facility costs or multiple programs for a given species.
The purpose of this program is to contribute to: Harvest, as mitigation for: Hydro impacts (off-site
mitigation for Snake R. production) and Habitat loss.
This is a segregated program.
Program description:
Location
Age Class
Maximum
Number
Size
(fpp)
Release
Date
Stream
Release Point
(RKm)
March 25-May
10 (Touchet
Release) and
April 15-25
(Walla Walla
Release)
Touchet River
(acclimated)
and Walla Walla
River (direct
release
treatment)
87 (Touchet) and
56 (Walla Walla)
Major
Watershed
Ecoprovince
Eggs
Unfed Fry
Fry
Fingerling
Yearling 225,000
4
Walla Walla
Columbia
Plateau
Comment:
Brood stock is collected from adults returning to the Lyons Ferry Hatchery. Adults are held and spawned at the Lyons
Ferry adult holding and spawning facility. Eggs are incubated at Lyons Ferry, and fish are reared at the Lyons Ferry
Hatchery.
Yearling fish are transported to the Walla Walla subbasin for release into the Touchet and Walla Walla Rivers.
The fish are released into the Touchet river as a Dayton Acclimation & Volitional Release. Yearling fish are directly
released into the Walla Walla River .
Touchet Dayton Acclimation & Volitional Release
In February, yearling fish are transported to Dayton Acclimation Pond off-stream of the Touchet River (~RKm 87)
where they are fed and acclimated to Touchet River water. They are fed and volitional released over the period of
March 25 through May 1.
Walla Walla River Direct Release
Fish are transported from Lyons Ferry and directly released to the Walla Walla River at RKm 56 during the period of
April 15-25.
Broodstock source Lyons Ferry Hatchery
Broodstock collection location
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Lower Snake
(stream, RKm, subbasin)
Adult holding location (stream,
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Lower Snake
RKm, subbasin)
Spawning location (stream,
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Lower Snake
RKm, subbasin)
Incubation location (facility
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Lower Snake
name, stream, RKm, subbasin)
Rearing location (facility name,
Lyons Ferry Hatchery/Snake River/RKm 95/Lower Snake
stream, RKm, subbasin)
Broodstock Source
Origin
Year(s) Used
Begin
End
Wells Hatchery (WDFW)
H
1983
1986
Wallowa Hatchery (ODFW)
H
1984
1986
Lyons Ferry Hatchery (WDFW) H
1987
2002
Comment:
text from HGMP 15 September 2002:
The LFH Stock steelhead was originally derived in the early 1980?s from a combination of Wells Hatchery and
Wallowa Hatchery steelhead stocks released at LFH. The adult returns from those releases were then used to create
the LFH stock currently used. The LFH stock is considered an "A" run steelhead, typical of most Columbia River
stocks.
Status and goals for target stock:
= Low
= Medium
= High
Now
10-15 years
30-50 years
Biological
Significance
Viability
Habitat
Hatchery program performance indicators for the target stock:
Recruits per Spawner
Smolt-to-Adult Survival
Escapement and Hatchery Spawning
Consistency of hatchery program with the goals for the target stock:
The goal for this hatchery stock is to maintain its viability and provide harvest. The use of a segregated harvest
program is consistent with this goal.
The program is tailored to address and perform according to stipulations and objectives set forth in the Lower
Snake River Compensation Plan for Lower Snake River hydroelectric projects and research/M&E activities.
The Annual Lower Snake River Compensation Plan agreement sets forth specific program performance indicators
(fish size & release numbers, survival, etc.) that are explicitly monitored and evaluated. The program is
adaptively managed to adhere to stated program performance standards.
Total Catch
Guidelines for improving key operational elements to increase the likelihood of
meeting goals for the target stock:
Adult Holding

Hatchery intake screening for the adult holding supply should comply with Integrated Hatchery
Operations Team (IHOT) and National Marine Fisheries Service facility standards.
Incubation

Hatchery intake screening for the incubation water supply should comply with Integrated Hatchery
Operations Team (IHOT) and National Marine Fisheries Service facility standards.
Rearing

Juvenile rearing density and loading guidelines used at the facility should be based on life-stage specific
survival studies conducted on-site.

Hatchery intake screening for the rearing water supply should comply with Integrated Hatchery
Operations Team (IHOT) and National Marine Fisheries Service facility standards.
Release

Fish produced should be qualitatively similar to natural fish in growth rate.
These recommendations represent an opportunity to improve key operational elements for this type of program.
Detailed information on the benefits and risks of all operational phases as they affect the outcome of this
program are available in APRE Report for Summer Steelhead (LF)-Hatchery in the Walla Walla
Consistency of hatchery program with goals for other stocks:
Hatchery fish may affect other stocks in several ways. Naturally spawning populations may be subject to genetic
interactions through interbreeding. Ecological interactions through predation and competition may occur between
the hatchery population and other populations, and natural populations may be incidentally harvested in fisheries
targeting a more abundant hatchery stock. Abundant hatchery stocks may also mask the status of natural
populations. Conversely an increase in the number of artificially produced fish may improve the ecological
function of a watershed through their contribution of marine derived nutrients.
A number of factors are known to affect the likelihood and severity of such interactions, among them the
abundance of the hatchery population relative to other populations; the time, size and life stage at which
hatchery fish are released; and the quantity and quality of habitat available to the co-mingled stocks. The table
below lists the current status of some of the populations in the subbasin where the hatchery fish are released
that might be vulnerable to these interactions.
Stock Name
Bull Trout- Natural
Pacific Lamprey-Natural
ESA Listing
Threatened
Not listed and not a
candidate for listing
Viability
M
L
Biological Significance
M
H
Additional reviewer comments:
The program fish are marked at a 100% rate.
Adult monitoring at the Dayton weir and stream surveys within the Walla Walla subbasin provide limited to
monitor and control straying.
Manager/operator response:
Per CTUIR: Believe the release goal for the past few years has been 225K which is being further reduced to 185K
in 2004. Would suggest splitting out the two release components in the “Program Description” table. Same
general comment on inclusion of acclimation facility in facility locations. Appears “Additional Reviewers
Comments” on the monitoring is incomplete or missing something.