Cougar Reservoir Portable Floating Fish Collector - Updates on a Systematic Approach to Downstream Collection

In the spring of 2014, the USACE Portland District deployed a Portable Floating Fish Collector (PFFC) at Cougar Reservoir.  The goals of this facility was to: gather information on behavior and collection efficiency of tagged and run of river fish; provide proof of concept prior to installation of a full-scale system; and continue gathering data at multiple reservoirs within the Willamette River Basin.  Hydraulic testing results and fish collection observations obtained during the first season of operation reflected less than optimal performance. During the winter of 2014 and spring of 2015, USACE made several key refinements to the facility that improved control over hydraulics at the collector inlet. New data collected from the field during the spring of 2015 suggests that the modifications to the PFFC have improved performance. This presentation will briefly review the need and approach to implementing the PFFC at Cougar Reservoir. Results from the hydraulic and fish collection performance will be summarized for both pre- and post- facility modification. Successes and lessons learned obtained throughout operation will be highlighted and compared to original project objectives.