Co Ho HO
by Alex Conley, Executive Director
I knew this was a great year for coho returns into the Yakima Basin, but it was only when I updated our graph of annual runs counts at Prosser Dam that it really hit home how significant it was!
Yes- where since 1983, we’d only seen the total run of all species exceed 30,000 twice, this year we almost broke 50,000! The biggest change was the almost 10 fold increase in coho returns compared to last year, but it’s also great to see that purple bar on the graph growing, with the second year of sockeye returns from the reintroduction in Lake Cle Elum. The folks with the Yakama Coho Project have a lot to celebrate this Christmas, and opening an extended season for coho right up through the City of Yakima made for lots of happy anglers too! These are the kinds of successes that make the Yakima Basin an amazing place to work.
Enjoy the Holidays- and let’s look forward to seeing what surprises next year brings!
The Salmon Recovery Funding Board Approved $1.2 million for the Yakima Basin
On December 4 the
Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board announced nine grants to organizations in the Yakima Basin that will help bring salmon and steelhead back from the brink of extinction.“Today, the SRFB awarded a total of $1.2 million to 9 projects in the Yakima Basin. All of these projects were recommended to the SRFB by the Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board,” said Obie O’Brian, Kittitas County Commissioner and Board chair. “We are proud to have brought together local citizens, biologists, and elected officials to identify and prioritize a great group of projects that will improve fish habitat in the Yakima Basin and benefit landowners, farmers, and local communities.” Each year, we convene a technical and citizens committee that reviews and ranks all the proposed SRFB projects for the Basin.
This year, the $1.2 million is divided into $508,666 for three projects in Kittitas County, $411,282 for four projects in Yakima County, and $133,766 for one project in Benton County. An additional $183,810 was awarded to a project with sites in both Kittitas and Yakima Counties. These nine projects range from fish passage and irrigation diversion improvements in the Ellensburg area to floodplain and habitat enhancements in Yakima County’s Oak Creek, and improved fish screening on the mainstem Yakima River in the Tri-Cities. Each project will implement recovery plan goals of improving places salmon use to reproduce and grow on their way to and from to the ocean. For more information on specific projects, see
http://www.ybfwrb.org/2014-srfb-process/
StreamNet Library Service
Are you using the SteamNet Library Service? You know that moment when you want to read a recently published journal article, but you can't get past the abstract without a credit card to pay for the rest? The StreamNet Library has fantastic librarians who can usually email a PDF version of that elusive journal article within hours of the request.
The
StreamNet Library serves the scientific community and those working in cooperation with the region’s fish and wildlife recovery efforts. They also serve the general public who are interested in the issues surrounding the Columbia Basin and Salmon Recovery Efforts. The Library provides access to one of the largest collections of fish and wildlife material related to the Columbia Basin and the greater Pacific Northwest. This information can be found in books, journals , computer files, technical reports, and other formats. The Library currently contains approximately 60,000 items and places particular emphasis on less commonly available “grey” literature, such as consultants’ reports, state government documents and non-profit organizations’ reports.
The free library is
searchable online or in person and if you are unable to find a document you can call or email the Library and they will make every effort to get you the information required.
Save the date for the
2015 Salmon Recovery Conference, May 27-29, in Vancouver, WA
The
call for presentations is now open. The abstract submission deadline is approaching quickly -
January 16, 2015.
Expanding from two to three days in 2015, the conference will highlight what has worked in salmon recovery, what has not, and how to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of projects, habitat restoration, and hatchery reform in Washington State and the region.
The conference co-hosts are the
Salmon Recovery Funding Board,
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and
Long Live the Kings.
Next YBFWRB Board Meeting
The next Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 15 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. View
past meeting minutes and materials. Our board meetings are open to the public. Please contact
Heather Hadsel to RSVP.
News
12/19 Daily Record -
County flood control projects in the works
12/8 Daily Sun -
Fish habitats to be restored thanks to $1.2 million in grants
12/6 Yakima Herald -
Yakima Basin fish recovery efforts get $1.2 million in state grants
12/4 KVEW TV -
Yakima basin receives $1.2 million in grants for salmon recovery
12/4 Yakima Herald -
WSU study challenges economics of Yakima Basin water plan
12/4 WA RCO -
Salmon Recovery Projects Awarded $18 Million in Grants
11/27 Yakima Herald -
Lake Cle Elum Proposal
All data from 