Bad News For Salmon: Walleye Spreading Into Idaho, Most Reports Ever Of Walleye Upstream Of Lower Granite Dam
August 23rd, 2023
Idaho Fish and Game has received more verified reports and pictures from people catching walleye in the Hells Canyon reach of the Snake River and Salmon River in 2023 than in all previous years.
Read the Full Article
Is A Growing American White Pelican Population In Mid-Columbia River Threat To Salmonids? Researchers Now Studying Predation Impacts
August 10th, 2023
A growing American white pelican population on an island in the mid-Columbia River basin could be a new threat to salmon and steelhead. The large white birds not only scoop out batches of juvenile fish, they also have been known to eat adult salmon, including sockeye salmon and other fish as large as 29 inches.
Read the Full Article
More Letters, Meetings About What To Do With Salmon-Eating Cormorants On Astoria Bridge; Chase Them Back To East Sand Island? Culling?
June 16th, 2023
In a January letter, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council invited Oregon and Washington transportation agencies to meet jointly to discuss their mutual problem of double-crested cormorants on the Astoria-Megler Bridge that spans the Columbia River estuary at Astoria, OR.
Read the Full Article
Researchers Survey Studies Of Avian Predation Of Columbia River Salmon, Steelhead; Identify Trends, Predator-Prey Dynamics, Fish Susceptibility Factors
June 8th, 2023
The breeding season for avian predators, March–August, overlaps with the peak out-migration of juvenile salmon and steelhead, April -- August, according to a recent survey of literature that looked specifically at peer-reviewed studies of Caspian terns, double-crested cormorants and gulls that prey on salmonids in the Columbia River basin.
Read the Full Article
Washington Predator-Prey Project: New Research Shows Coyotes, Bobcats Move Into Human Inhabited Areas To Avoid Cougars, Wolves
May 24th, 2023
Since their protection under the Endangered Species Act, wolf populations have been making a comeback in the continental United States. Conservationists have argued that the presence of wolves and other apex predators, so named because they have no known predators aside from people, can help keep smaller predator species in check.
Read the Full Article
Oregon Legislation Offers More Flexibility In Managing Non-Native Game Fish -Bass, Walleye- That Gobble Up Native Salmon, Steelhead Smolts
May 5th, 2023
A legislative bill sitting on Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk waiting for signature would give Oregon more flexibility in managing predatory non-native game fish species --such as bass and walleye -- that consume salmon and steelhead smolts in the Columbia River basin.
Read the Full Article
Sea Lions Chasing Good Smelt Run Flood Columbia River In High Numbers; Staying For Spring Chinook Feasting
April 27th, 2023
About 200 sea lions were counted last week in the Columbia River between the I-205 Bridge and Bonneville Dam, a 36-mile stretch of river, spurring states and tribes to begin trapping and euthanizing the pinnipeds at Bonneville Dam.
Read the Full Article
Tribes, Corps Studying Impacts Of Sediment Buildup (Deltas) At Mouths Of Columbia River Tribs; Impacts Temps, Predation, Salmon Survival
April 14th, 2023
The amount of sediment carried by Columbia River waters to the Pacific Ocean has declined by about half since Bonneville Dam was built in 1935. Much of the sediment no longer moved by the river has found a home at the mouths of tributaries, creating shallow sediment fans or deltas where warm water and predators impact juvenile salmon and steelhead, some listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Read the Full Article
Concerning Drop In White Sturgeon Abundance Prompts Fisheries Managers To Recommend No Retention Fishing Below Bonneville Dam
February 8th, 2023
Oregon and Washington fishery agencies announced they will not propose commercial or recreational white sturgeon fishing this year downstream of Bonneville Dam due to a projected low abundance of legal-sized fish, according to a joint status report released this week by the states.