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Public Meeting on White River spring Chinook Held
Leavenworth, Wash. – On Wednesday evening June 21, officials from tribes, fish agencies, the U.S. Forest Service, local government, Grant PUD, and individuals interested in the White River came together to describe preliminary projects to restore populations of Upper Columbia River White River spring Chinook.
The White River spring Chinook population is one of five spring Chinook spawning groups in the Wenatchee River Basin. In March 1999, NOAA Fisheries determined that Upper Columbia River spring Chinook were at risk of becoming extinct in the foreseeable future and listed them as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Grant PUD is currently in the process of relicensing the utility’s two hydroelectric facilities on the Columbia River, Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams – licensed together as the Priest Rapids Project. Under a 2004 Biological Opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service for the Priest Rapids Project, Grant PUD is required during the next license period to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife resources affected by Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams.
Under the mandate of a NOAA Fisheries Biological Opinion, Grant PUD is required to fund and implement the White River Spring Chinook Salmon Program as one of 40 required actions. As part of this regulatory requirement, Grant PUD must locate facilities along the White River for rearing and acclimation.
“Wednesday evening’s meeting was an opportunity for the public to learn about and comment on preliminary White River efforts,” said Stephen Brown, Grant PUD director of natural resources. “On-going work on the White River will be a very open process. We encourage those that want to participate to stay actively informed and involved.”
Organizations and agencies involved in the meeting included NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service, the Yakama Nation, the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Grant PUD.
As the funding source for the White River Spring Chinook Program, Grant County PUD has spent more than $9 million on the White River program. Those costs are primarily related to operations and maintenance for incubation and rearing of fish at hatchery facilities located in Rochester, Wash. Expenditures for the program are projected to reach more than $21 million by 2011, excluding costs related to development of facilities in the White River.
For more information on the White River proposal, please visit Grant County PUD’s Web site at www.gcpud.org/resources/resLicensing/stewResponse.htm.
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