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FISHWIRE ADVISORY: Fishletter's full text is available at http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/
COLUMBIA RIVER WATER SUPPLY IMPROVES: FLOWS, SPILL BOOSTED
BPA started cranking up spill and flows after the agency announced Aug. 8 that they found more water in the Columbia River system than their forecast model had predicted. Actual volume at The Dalles was 58.2 MAF through July. The model had pegged it 3.5 MAF lower. BPA said it already has enough water in reservoirs to meet winter storage targets and will loosen up a bit, spill a little more for fish, sell a little more power to California and try to guess-timate effects of the price cap, new loads and the rate case on its financial reliability. Any sign that finances are heading further south will curtail the spill program, the agency said.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#1
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING STEELHEAD
Fish biologists have been counting their PIT tags for weeks now to add up the damage from this year's paltry precipitation. First with an official account is the Fish Passage Center, which found that spring chinook survival from Lower Granite to McNary Dam was down from about 70 percent in a normal year to 57 percent this time around. Steelhead survival, according to PIT tag detections, was much worse. Normally on about a par with spring chinook estimates, it came in at a miserable 17 percent to McNary. But there is a caveat to all this: the fish could be playing a fast one on fish managers, hanging back in the river and waiting until next year to finish their migration. The phenomenon is called "residualism" and it's a trait that steelhead are famous for.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#2
FALL CHINOOK SEASON GETS UNDER WAY
After this year's record-setting runs of spring chinook and steelhead in the Columbia River, fall chinook returns are a bit more ho-hum, although they'll track pretty close with returns from recent years. But with the non-Indian commercial season already under way and the tribal fishery to commence Aug. 28, fish managers are still not sure how many ESA-listed fall chinook came back to Idaho last year, though it's likely about 900 made the trip. This year's wild Snake run is expected to be much larger-- three times bigger than last year's run--over 7,600 fish entering the Columbia. After harvest and hydro impacts, they expect nearly 2,700 fish to pass Lower Granite Dam. Other biologists are still trying to figure out the size of last year's run. With so many unmarked hatchery fish, it's been a tough chore to sort them out from the truly wild ones. They say this year it will be even worse.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#3
PACIFICORP, YAKAMA NATION WILL APPLY FOR PRIEST RAPIDS LICENSE PacifiCorp and the Yakama Indian Nation have signed a preliminary agreement to file a joint competing license application with FERC for the Priest Rapids hydro project, now operated by Grant County PUD. Representatives of the utility and the tribe indicate their goal is to more broadly share the benefits of the two-dam, 1900-MW project with the region. Grant County PUD, which holds the existing license, now uses about 37 percent of the output; the rest is under contract to 12 public and private utilities, with the region's four IOUs receiving the most. The current license expires in 2005; PacifiCorp and the Yakamas must file their competing application by 2003.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#4
FISHWIRE ADVISORY: Fishletter's full text is available at http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/
COLUMBIA RIVER WATER SUPPLY IMPROVES: FLOWS, SPILL BOOSTED
BPA started cranking up spill and flows after the agency announced Aug. 8 that they found more water in the Columbia River system than their forecast model had predicted. Actual volume at The Dalles was 58.2 MAF through July. The model had pegged it 3.5 MAF lower. BPA said it already has enough water in reservoirs to meet winter storage targets and will loosen up a bit, spill a little more for fish, sell a little more power to California and try to guess-timate effects of the price cap, new loads and the rate case on its financial reliability. Any sign that finances are heading further south will curtail the spill program, the agency said.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#1
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING STEELHEAD
Fish biologists have been counting their PIT tags for weeks now to add up the damage from this year's paltry precipitation. First with an official account is the Fish Passage Center, which found that spring chinook survival from Lower Granite to McNary Dam was down from about 70 percent in a normal year to 57 percent this time around. Steelhead survival, according to PIT tag detections, was much worse. Normally on about a par with spring chinook estimates, it came in at a miserable 17 percent to McNary. But there is a caveat to all this: the fish could be playing a fast one on fish managers, hanging back in the river and waiting until next year to finish their migration. The phenomenon is called "residualism" and it's a trait that steelhead are famous for.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#2
FALL CHINOOK SEASON GETS UNDER WAY
After this year's record-setting runs of spring chinook and steelhead in the Columbia River, fall chinook returns are a bit more ho-hum, although they'll track pretty close with returns from recent years. But with the non-Indian commercial season already under way and the tribal fishery to commence Aug. 28, fish managers are still not sure how many ESA-listed fall chinook came back to Idaho last year, though it's likely about 900 made the trip. This year's wild Snake run is expected to be much larger-- three times bigger than last year's run--over 7,600 fish entering the Columbia. After harvest and hydro impacts, they expect nearly 2,700 fish to pass Lower Granite Dam. Other biologists are still trying to figure out the size of last year's run. With so many unmarked hatchery fish, it's been a tough chore to sort them out from the truly wild ones. They say this year it will be even worse.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#3
PACIFICORP, YAKAMA NATION WILL APPLY FOR PRIEST RAPIDS LICENSE PacifiCorp and the Yakama Indian Nation have signed a preliminary agreement to file a joint competing license application with FERC for the Priest Rapids hydro project, now operated by Grant County PUD. Representatives of the utility and the tribe indicate their goal is to more broadly share the benefits of the two-dam, 1900-MW project with the region. Grant County PUD, which holds the existing license, now uses about 37 percent of the output; the rest is under contract to 12 public and private utilities, with the region's four IOUs receiving the most. The current license expires in 2005; PacifiCorp and the Yakamas must file their competing application by 2003.
http://www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr129.html#4
