Steelheaders Attend National Wildlife Federation Meetings
February 3, 2025
Green Peter Dam
Santiam Basin Challenges
By Mark Hutchinson, Tualatin Valley Chapter
March 4, 2025
A major benefit of being a northwest Steelheader is having a seat at the table during wildlife and habitat policy discussions. In February, ODFW presented the state of the fisheries on the Willamette and invited members of the Steelheaders to attend.
Here is what we learned:
Spring Chinook
The forecast for this next year is an OK chinook salmon return of 51,000 fish, and a good coho return. Things affecting current runs are ocean temperatures warming, and the biomass the salmon feed on is decreasing. Precipitation has also been down in the Clackamas and Santiam basins which can influence the timing of immigration of fish.
After years of lobbying our Congressional delegation, NW Steelheaders were able to get Congress to expand management practices of Sea Lion in the Columbia Basin and approve the lethal removal of Sea Lions in the Columbia at Willamette Falls in 2019. The graph above shows the increase in run sizes of winter steelhead based on removal of sea lions at Willamette falls. The Columbia River Basin Endorsement is an important source of funding for Sea Lion management programs.
Dams on Willamette River Tributaries
United States Army Corps of Engineer(USACE) are embroiled in lawsuits related to their failure to protect Endangered Species Act listed salmon and steelhead runs, in part due to the lack of effective downstream fish passage at the dams on the Willamette. As part of the lawsuit against USACE, they are implementing major draw downs and structural changes at the dams for fish passage.
A major part of the downstream passage problem is the juvenile salmon must swim through an opening 150 feet deep. Modern fish passage requires less than 25 feet of depth for fish passage access. To make the fish passage more accessible, massive reservoir drawdowns were initiated in 2023. Because of the speed of the draw down at Green Peter Reservoir, this action ended up killing entire stocks of kokanee and trout, while showing minimal success in downstream passage for salmon and steelhead.
The 2024 drawdown was slower and resulted in less mortality, however the increased turbidity has caused major damage to downstream water sources for local cities. In response to the loss of fish stocks, ODFW has raised Kokanee to replace the lost fish in Green Peter.
We know it is going to happen, but no one is quite sure when the USACE will begin the draw down of Detroit Reservoir as required by the lawsuit.
During the meeting with ODFW, NW Steelheaders asked which dam had the greatest impact on salmon runs in the Willamette and ODFW stated that the Detroit and Big Cliff Dams were of most concern because of the many miles of habitat above Detroit lake.
Upper and Lower Bennett Dams Fish Counts
The Upper and Lower Bennett fish passage structures are equipped with video cameras allowing ODFW employees to count the number and species of fish making their way upstream.
ODFW no longer has the funding to do this work. There is no other means of counting fish for the upper Santiam River. Steelheaders will be advocating for a robust budget for ODFW during this legislative session to continue funding this important work.
Elimination of Hatchery Summer Steelhead on the Willamette
Willamette winter steelhead were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1999. Lawsuits Initially filed by The Conservation Angler and Willamette Riverkeeper in 2017, with a follow up suit filed in January 2021, alleged that hatchery summer steelhead harm the native wild winter steelhead and have led to their decline. In February, 2025 Oregon Federal District Court Judge Ann Aiken ruled that releasing hatchery-raised, non-native summer steelhead into the North and South Santiam rivers in the Willamette River system harms the river's wild winter steelhead and violates the federal ESA.
However, Judge Aiken did not choose to vacate a NOAA Fishery biological opinion covering the hatcheries’ operations or rule on a remedy, such as closing hatcheries. Instead Judge Aiken requested additional briefings from the parties on potential solutions before determining how the issue will be settled. A status conference was set for Feb. 13.
ODFW reports that the issue is not over, and supporters of the hatchery operations should be concerned.
Conclusion: It is time to get involved!
Anglers of all species should be paying close attention to what is happening on the Willamette River right now. Things are changing rapidly, and if we ignore it, we could lose many of our cherished fisheries.
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The main stem of the Willamette is 187 miles long, with dozens of critical rivers and creeks flowing into it. The Willamette and its tributaries are major contributors to our winter, summer steelhead, and spring salmon fisheries. Additionally, the many reservoirs are home to our top trout and kokanee fisheries.
The Steelheaders will be sharing alerts and working with our allies to advocate for healthy fisheries and access for sport anglers across the Pacific Northwest.
If you would like to support our efforts to protect our fisheries, please donate to the Steelheaders today.
Review the full PowerPoint presentation here:
