August 2008 Issue

Council Approves Funding for the Klickitat River Anadromous Fisheries Master Plan

The Council approved funding (170k PDF) to improve the Klickitat Hatchery. The project, which is managed by the Yakama Nation, will use an integrated hatchery strategy to increase the natural production of spring Chinook and steelhead. It received a very positive review by the Council's panel of independent scientists and could be considered a model. The project is included for funding through a memorandum of agreement among the Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama tribes and the Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Scientific Advisory Board Outlines Harm to Salmonids From Non-native Species

Tom Poe, Independent Scientific Advisory Board member, presented their report (730k PDF) on the impact of non-native species on salmonids in the Columbia River Basin. He said that the potential risks to native salmonids and other native fishes are significant, and that most subbasins are already dominated by non-native fish. The risks include:  predation, competition for food/habitat, food web changes, interbreeding, and disease. The issue will likely be included in the Council's draft Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.

Dealing With Climate Change in the Sixth Power Plan

In their discussion (110k PDF) on how to treat climate change in the upcoming Sixth Power Plan, committee members asked the staff to look at a set of scenarios that includes a wide range of greenhouse gas mitigation actions, starting with current energy policies and extending to scenarios that include greenhouse gas targets. Staff will also track retail and business electricity rates corresponding to each scenario. The committee noted it was important to determine and highlight the contribution of the hydrosystem to reducing CO2, the impact of spill operations on greenhouse gas emissions, and more broadly, to focus the Council's analysis beyond the power system; examining the potential of the hydrosystem's flexibility to accommodate changes in hourly demand due to electric cars for example.