FI S HWO R K S
O REGON
Summer 2007
News from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW)
Fish Restoration and Enhancement (R&E) and Salmon and Trout Enhancement Programs (STEP)
A Woody Debris Bank
Fish Liberation
lacing woody structures in streams is a basic restoration and
fish habitat enhancement technique. Streams and rivers that
have lost logs, rootwads, stumps and other natural materials, often
as a result of human activities, may lose much of their basic ecological
function.
Increased erosion,
siltation, shallower
depths, warmer water
temperatures, decreased
insect productivity and
fewer places for fish to
hide are just some of the
negative impacts of
inadequate instream
structure.
While placing wood
structure into a stream
is a complex process,
obtaining woody debris
and transporting it to
the restoration site can A heavy equipment operator hauls logs to a stream
restoration project site. Photo by Jim Yuskavitch
be equally challenging.
A recent $30,000 R&E Program grant to the ODFW Southwest Region is
helping to solve that problem in the Umpqua River basin.
Habitat biologists are always on the lookout for sources of wood and other
materials for their fish habitat restoration projects. Sometimes ODFW will
partner with a landowner, such as a timber company, that has access to logs
and the heavy equipment to move them to the worksite as part of the project
agreement. On other occasions, project managers may have no choice but to
buy logs and hire a heavy equipment contractor out of their operating
budgets.
One valuable source of instream materials are landowners who may be
clearing their property or in the aftermath of a storm or flood event that has
downed trees on their lands they would like to dispose of.
To help procure and stockpile logs and other materials so they are
available when needed for instream restoration projects, R&E Program
grants provide funding to allow ODFW’s southwest and northwest regions to
hire truck operators to pick up woody debris donated by landowners and
transport it to storage sites so it will be available as future projects are
developed and implemented.
Oregon’s fish hatcheries produce
millions of trout, salmon and
steelhead annually for anglers to
catch. But for that to happen, those
fish, whether they are catchable size
or finglerings that still need to grow
a bit, must be transported and
released into rivers and lakes. R&E
Program grants play an important
role in keeping the fish liberation
pipeline flowing smoothly by
providing funds to repair or replace
old equipment from tanks to trucks.
Over the past year R&E has helped
fund a number of these projects
including $84,977 for a liberation
truck for ODFW’s Northwest Region,
$35,000 for a High Desert Region
liberation truck, $75,000 for a new
Northeast Region truck and $20,000
for a stocking boat for the Southwest
Region and central Cascade Lakes.
P
In This Issue
Woody Debris Projects
Fish Liberation Equipment
STEP Monitoring
Angler’s Corner
Commercial Fisheries Research
New STEP Coordinator
Recent R&E and STAC Mini Grants
Oregon’s Warmwater Fisheries
Latest STAC
Mini-Grants
MG 05-01 Water Quality Testing Equipment,
$735
MG 05-02 Kids Fishing Pond, $750
MG 05-03 Rhoades Pond Equipment
Replacement, $750
MG 05-04 Williams Elementary Salmon
Education Project,$103
MG 05-05 Necanicum Riparian Restoration
Study, $750
MG 05-06 Fish Eggs to Fry - Biology
Classroom, $750
MG 05-08 Indian Creek Hatchery Repair
$750
MG 05-09 Seven Oak Middle School STEP
Research Program, $750
MG 05-11 Baker Middle School Project-Trout
$400
MG 05-12 Triploid Induction in Rainbow
Trout using Hydrostatic Pressure,
$750
MG 05-13 Whittaker Creek Capture Facility,
$750
MG 05-14 Greenleaf Creek Capture Facility,
$750
MG 05-16 Wild Winter Steelhead Broodstock
Collection Equipment, $540
MG 05-17 Snout Collection Project, $250
MG 05-18 Key to Field Identification of
Juvenile Salmonids, $722
MG 05-19 Salmon/Trout Incubation Program,
$750
MG 05-20 Indian Creek Hatchery DO Meter,
$464
MG 05-21 Outdoor School - Fish Development
and Life-Cycle Study, $484
MG 05-22 Temperature Monitoring in Upper
Willamette Basin, $740
MG 05-23 Native Rainbow and Cutthroat
Trout Monitoring, $750
MG 05-24 Salmon/Trout Education Program,
$700
MG 05-25 Stream Care Brochure Distribution,
$750
MG 05-26 STEP Conference Brochures,
$400
MG 05-27 Noble Creek Hatchery Pond
Improvement, $750
MG 05-28 Morgan Creek Project, $750
MG 05-29 STELLAR, $450
MG 05-30 Wallowa Mountains Salmon Life
Cycle Program, $746
MG 05-31 Nestucca Connections Work Gear,
$750
MG 05-32 Kiosk Placement for Educational
Purposes, $750
MG 05-33 Classroom Incubator - Eggs to Fry
Spring Chinook Salmon Rearing,
$310
MG 05-34 Eel-Tenmile STEP Parking Area,
$750
MG 05-35 Eggs to Fry Equipment, $502
MG 05-36 STEP Salmon/Trout Classroom
Hatchery Project, $216
MG 05-37 Astoria Aquatic Science Center,
$300
MG 05-38 Youth Education Project, $724
MG 05-39 Fishing Supplies for 4-H Center,
$632
MG 05-40 Riparian Enhancement Projects,
$380
MG 05-39 Water Quality Monitoring, $750
STEP Monitoring Projects
Monitoring is an important component of many fisheries management
programs and research projects. Follow-up monitoring allows managers and
researchers to track and evaluate the progress and results of their actions.
Eastern Oregon STEP has made monitoring a major focus of its activities,
utilizing volunteers from local fishing clubs and others to assist with
projects ranging from trout surveys to tui chub control.
Most recently, STEP volunteers helped with an ODFW redband trout and
whitefish survey on the Crooked River near Prineville to determine
population size, abundance, the
condition of the fish and other
factors.
An ongoing project, utilizing
2007
volunteers from the Sunriver
July 19-20 STAC Meeting,
Anglers, involves netting tui chub
Klamath Falls
and removing them from Little Lava
Lake, then following up with fish
July 27
R&E Board Meeting,
surveys. “We’re monitoring the trout
La Grande
population to see if removing the tui
chub is having a positive effect on the
August 27 R&E Grant
trouts’ size and abundance,” said
Application Deadline
Eastern Oregon Region STEP
biologist Jennifer Luke.
Sept. 7
*F&W Commission
STEP volunteers also help ODFW
Meeting, Klamath
biologists conduct annual rainbow
Falls
trout redd surveys on the Metolius
River, and the more hardy volunteers
Sept. 17
STAC Mini-Grant
help with yearly bull trout spawning
ApplicationDeadline
surveys in Malheur basin headwater
streams.
* Fish and Wildlife Commission meetings
Calendar
where R&E project applications are reviewed.
STEP on the Web
www.dfw.state.or.us/STEP
Redband trout and whitefish are surveyed
on the Crooked River. ODFW Photo
A
C
ngler’s
orner
R&E Program on the Web
www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/RE
Warmwater gamefish
are becoming increasingly
popular with Oregon anglers.
Oregon harbors more than a
dozen introduced warmwater species
including largemouth and smallmouth
bass, crappie and perch. Because they
can be caught on just about anything, from
bait to lures to flies, warmwater fish provide
excellent sporting opportunities for many
anglers. Some of the state’s best warmwater
fisheries include the John Day River, Siltcoos Lake,
Tenmile Lakes, Henry Hagg Lake, Brownlee Reservoir
and the Umpqua River.
Projects Help Commercial Fisheries
Two R&E-funded projects currently in the works are designed to help
increase commercial fishing opportunities for salmon and groundfish
through research aimed at increasing our understanding of fish migration
movements and habitat conditions.
The first project is a $96,000 study being conducted by the International
Pacific Halibut Commission including the purchase of a water column
profiler to be used in its annual surveys of the continental shelf area off the
coasts of California, Oregon and Washington. The survey measures ocean
conditions that affect the productivity of halibut, rockfishes, lingcod and
other fish species. The R&E Program contributed $26,000 towards the water
column profiler, which measures water conductivity, temperature and
depth. The profiler purchased by the R&E Program will only be used in
waters off the Oregon Coast.
The other project is examining the distribution and run timing of Elk
River wild and hatchery Chinook salmon stocks and Sixes River wild stocks
to determine where and when they overlap.
Currently, the Elk River commercial salmon troll fishery is restricted to
south of Cape Blanco from September 1 to December 15 due to the danger of
mixing hatchery-origin Chinook with wild Sixes River Chinook in a
commercial fishery that might result in too many wild fish caught
incidentally. However, at this time of year, most salmon are concentrated
north of the cape, making it the best area to fish.
By determining the various stocks’ migration and spatial distribution,
project sponsors hope to propose a commercial salmon troll fishery north of
Cape Blanco by developing a computer model predicting where and when a
maximum number of Elk River Chinook could be harvested while
minimizing the number of Sixes River wild Chinook caught.
The R&E Program is contributing $143,285 towards the $204,000 project.
Tom Friesen New STEP Coordinator
Tom Friesen has recently taken the position of STEP coordinator,
replacing previous coordinator Gary Galovich.
Friesen has 15 years of experience as a fisheries biologist, including 13
years with ODFW, most recently as interim Program Leader for Columbia
River Investigations. He is an associate editor for Northwest Science, has
published several papers in scientific journals and currently serves as vice
president of the Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
He is an avid angler with summer steelhead, Chinook and sturgeon his
favorite quarries.
His initial priorities
for STEP include
touring projects in
each district and
meeting with STEP
biologists, volunteer
groups, and STAC
members, reviewing
propagation
proposals, updating
STEP education
materials and
preparing the 2007
carcass placement
Newly-appointed STEP Coordinator Tom Friesen (r) with report and permit
former ODFW Director Virgil Moore at June 9 Free Fishing application.
Day event at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. ODFW Photo
Recent R&E
Program Grants
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Commission approved the 29 R&E
grants listed below at its June 2007
meeting.
More information about these projects
may be obtained by contacting program
staff at 503-947-6259.
Enhancement
No. 07-003 Cedar Creek Liberation Truck,
$84,977
No. 07-007 Gnat Creek Oxygen
Supplementation, Phase 2, $55,260
No. 07-010 Putnam’s Point Fishing Platform
Replacement, $50,000
No. 07-011 Bandon Riverwalk Accessibale
Fishing Platform, $19,950
No. 07-013 Ladd Marsh Interpretive Facility
Restroom, $12,050
No. 07-017 Pole Creek Reservoir Sanitary
Facility Enhancement, $16,450
No. 07-018 Boulder Creek and Middle Fork
Restoration Project, $133,760
No. 07-020 Oregon State Police Angling
Enforcement Equipment, $2,230
No. 07-021 STAC Mini-Grant Program,
$25,000
No. 07-023 STEP Fish Food Program, $85,000
No. 07-024 STEP Classroom Incubator Chiller
Units, $21,000
No. 07-030 Johnson Creek Large Wood
Placement, $10,950
No. 07-036 Umpqua Basin Restoration
Materials Salvaging, $30,000
No. 07-040 North Coast Log Salvage, $6,950
No. 07-042 Watershed Workshops/Creeks and
Kids, $31,370
No. 07-044 Enhancement Emergency Account,
$25,000
No. 07-045 South Fork Hatchery Upgrades,
$50,000
No. 07-046 Letz Creek Hatchery Storage
Building, $1,428
No. 07-047 Spring and Fall Rivers Gravel
Addition, $9,000
Restoration
No. 07-002 Lostine River Fish Passage Design
and Engineering, $15,000
No. 07-009 Nestucca Winter Steelhead
Monitoring, $40,000
No. 07-014 Cottonwood Creek Fish Passage
Restoration, $18,217
No. 07-016 Malheur District Fish Population
Assessment, $26,410
No. 07-027 Wallowa Lake Plankton and Lake
Trout Sampling, $7,080
No. 07-029 Oregon Cooperative Rockfish
Survey, $45.967
No. 07-031 Crooked River Redband Trout
Research Project, $48,690
No. 07-032 North Coast Spring Chinook
Assessment, $82,273
No. 07-034 Crane Prairie Broodstock
Evaluation Program, $26,251
No. 07-043 Restoration Emergency Account,
$50,000
STE P and R & E Programs
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
3406 Cherry Ave., N.E.
Salem, OR 97303-4924
Oregon FishWorks
Summer 2007, Volume 11, Number 2
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
3406 Cherry Ave., N.E.
Salem, OR 97303-4924
503-947-6000
Fax 503-947-6202
www.dfw.state.or.us
Roy Elicker, Interim Director
Laura Tesler, R&E Program Coordinator
Tom Friesen, STEP Coordinator
Lisa Kingsley, R&E/STEP Assistant
J. Yuskavitch Resources, Editing and Design
Restoration and Enhancement Board
Bob Mullong, Chair ............. Public-At-Large
Darlene Kline-Dolby ................ Sport Fishing
John Wilson ..................... Seafood Processing
Gary Soderstrom .................... Gillnet Fishing
Lonnie Johnson ......................... Sport Fishing
Terry Learned ................ Commercial Fishing
Thomas Gilg .............................. Sport Fishing
STEP Advisory Committee
Armand Pena, Chair ........................ Lakeside
Cindy Heller .............................. Junction City
Tom Petersen .................................... Mapleton
Richard Heap .................................. Brookings
Rosemary Furfey ......................Portland Area
Dave Dunahay ......................................... Bend
Tod Jones................................................ Astoria
Norman Ritchie ................................ Portland
Mike Brochu ..................................... Roseburg
Lauri Mullen ........................................ Eugene
Gary Enoch ............................................. Selma
Robert Rees ...................................... Tillamook
Vacant ..............................................NE Oregon
STEP Biologist Contacts
STEP Coordinator
Tom Friesen, Salem
503-947-6232
Tom.A.Friesen@state.or.us
Mid Coast District
James Ray, Newport
541-867-4741
James.Ray@state.or.us
North Willamette District
Jeff Fulop, Clackamas
503-673-6034
Jeff.S.Fulop@state.or.us
Mid Coast District (Siuslaw River)
George Westfall, Florence
541-902-1384
Westfallgh@oregonfast.net
Mid Willamette District
Karen Hans, Corvallis
541-757-4186 x251
Karen.M.Hans@state.or.us
Umpqua District
Laura Jackson, Roseburg
541-440-3353
Laura.S.Jackson@state.or.us
South Willamette District
Erik Moberly, Jeff Ziller, Springfield
541-726-3515 x28, x26
Jeffrey.S.Ziller@state.or.us
Erik.R.Moberly@state.or.us
Tenmile, Coos, and Coquille
District
Vacant
Eastern Oregon Regions
Jennifer Luke, Bend
541-388-6363
Jennifer.A.Bock@state.or.us
North Coast District
Tracy Crews, Tillamook
503-842-2741
Tracy.D.Crews@state.or.us
Lower Rogue District
John Weber, Gold Beach
541-247-7605
John.A.Weber@state.or.us
Upper Rogue District
Chuck Fustish, Central Point
541-826-8774
Chuck.A.Fustish@state.or.us
N:ATION
O
I SERV The Fish Restoration and
S
S
N
MEIRY CO Enhancement Program provides
funding for fish restoration and
enhancement projects throughout Oregon
while the Salmon Trout Enhancement Program
harnesses the enthusiasm and dedication of
volunteers to rehabilitate and enhance
Oregon’s fisheries.
H
FIS