Fish Passage and Reintroduction into the U.S. and Canadian Upper Columbia River Basin

Columbia Basin tribes and First Nations have jointly prepared a paper to inform a comprehensive bilateral effort to be pursued by the U.S. and Canada to investigate the feasibility of fish passage at six dams in the U.S. and Canada to reintroduce native anadromous and resident fish species to historical habitats throughout the upper Basin. Adult and juvenile passage facilities would be considered at Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams in the U.S., and Hugh Keenleyside, Brilliant, Waneta and Seven-Mile dams in Canada. An incremental, science-based approach is proposed that would proceed through four phases: pre-assessment planning; experimental pilot-scale reintroductions with interim passage facilities; permanent passage and reintroduction facilities; and, monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management. Recent improvements in adult and juvenile fish passage technologies, coupled with significant increases in summer chinook and sockeye salmon productivity below the lowest barrier, provide a basis for initiating domestic and bilateral investigations. Habitats above these barriers once supported salmon runs that provided an annual harvest of nearly four million fish by native peoples.