| A B S T R A C T
Spring Chinook Salmon Re-Introduction in the Hood River, Oregon:
Past, Present and Future
| The
Hood River Production Program began during 1992 with the goal of restoring
salmon and steelhead runs and their habitat in the Hood River subbasin.
The program is “co-managed” by the CTWSRO and ODFW with
funding provided by BPA. The initial approach to re-establishing the
formerly extirpated spring Chinook salmon runs was to use Deschutes
River spring Chinook as the donor stock. The fish were reared in the
Pelton Ladder on the Deschutes River and acclimated for two weeks
in the Hood River prior to volitional release. The first adult progeny
from this program returned in 1997. Since then the goal has been to
use Deschutes origin Hood River hatchery returns for brood stock.
However, out of basin rearing continued. After thirteen years of adult
returns from this program the original objectives have been partially
met. The success of the Chinook re-introduction program has been plagued
by high rates of precocial maturation (jack and mini-jacks), disease
issues and straying. Investigations are currently underway to determine
if current rearing and release strategies are responsible for these
problems. Concurrently, recent revisions to the HRPP Master Plan are
being implemented to determine the feasibility of full in-basin rearing.
The removal of Powerdale Dam during summer 2010 will present new challenges
and opportunities for the re-introduction efforts. |
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