Reintroduction of Spring Chinook into the Umatilla River, OR

Spring Chinook were extirpated from the Umatilla River Basin during the early 1900s because of irrigation dams, reduction of river flows, inadequate fish passage, and degradation of habitat.  Currently, the Tribes work cooperatively with government and private interests to enhance habitat, restore Instream flows, and provide harvest opportunities important to the Tribe’s religious and cultural heritage.  The Tribe’s Umatilla River spring Chinook reintroduction efforts began in 1986 with four major efforts: 1) habitat and flow restoration; 2) hatchery reintroductions; 3) monitoring and evaluation, and 4) adaptive harvest management.  Spring Chinook smolt releases began in 1986.  The average adult returns to the Umatilla River since 1988 have been 2,400 adults.  The average adult returns increased to 3,500 since 1996 with a high of 5,900 in 2002.  On average, about 7% of the returning adults were naturally spawned.  Tribal harvest has been significant and has occurred during 16 of the last 21 years with an average estimated harvest of420 fish since 2000.  Annual redd surveys document natural production efforts by both natural and hatchery origin adults with an average of 320 redds per year since 1989 with a high of 828 redds in 2002.