Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board

The Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board is looking for a dynamic operations manager to join our team. For more information, see the JOB DESCRIPTION. The first review of applicants will be January 10^th.

2011 SRFB Projects Awarded

On December 8^th, the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board formally approved ~$1.2 million funding for the 9 projects forwarded by the Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board. For more information see the Press Release.

Board Meetings

The Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board’s next Board meeting will be held on January 26^th, 2012, from 2 to 4 pm at the Board’s offices in Yakima. AGENDA

The schedule for FY 2012 meetings has been set; however dates may change, so do check back here prior to each meeting. SCHEDULE

At the October 13^th meeting, the Board welcomed NOAA Fisheries officials with a project tour, observed fish marking at the Cle Elum hatchery, and reviewed the Board’s audit results, 990 report and draft policy manuals.

At the August 18^th meeting, the Board toured the Prosser hatchery, learned about lamprey recovery from Yakama Nation staff, and approved the annual ranked list of habitat projects to be proposed for SRFB funding. Thanks to all for a good meeting! And thank you to the Yakama Nation staff for hosting us.

Welcome Darcy Batura, New Lead Entity Coordinator

We’re excited to announce that Darcy Batura has joined us as the new Lead Entity Coordinator (Angie Begosh, who was Lead Entity Coordinator for the Board for the last four years, has moved to New Mexico). Darcy jumped in with both feet organizing the 2011 SRFB project review, and is now preparing for the 2012 round.

Two Yakima Projects Awarded Community Salmon Fund $s

The Community Salmon Fund is a partnership between the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board that funds projects that involve local communities in fish habitat improvement. The Kittitas Environmental Education Network received $15,000 to restore a 6-acre site along Wilson Creek for Chinook, coho, and steelhead rearing habitat, while Salmon-Safe, Inc received $55,440 to work with growers of hops, vineyards, and other specialty crops in the Yakima Watershed to promote Salmon-Safe certification for growers.

2011 Annual Meeting Held

At its July 6^th annual meeting, the Board approved its work plan and budget for the next two years, elected officers, updated its committee memberships, and welcomed a new Board member, Jay McGowan, of the Cle Elum City Council. Thanks to all for their continued dedication to making the organization run smoothly.

Steelhead Monitoring Plan available

The Board has worked with the Yakama Nation, WDFW, NOAA Fisheries and other partners to develop a monitoring plan for steelhead populations in the basin. The final draft is available here:

Steelhead RME Plan

We are currently developing a companion document focused on monitoring habitat conditions faced by steelhead and salmon.

Bull Trout Task Force Volunteers in Field

The Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board, Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement and WDFW have a grant to operate a "Bull Trout" task force (BTTF) for the summer of 2011. Two Student Conservation Association interns are now on board. They are surveying bull trout streams, dismantling in-stream user built dams that may act as fish barriers, conducting creel surveys, and doing public presentations about bull trout. They will be working Thursday- Sunday throughout the summer to maximize interaction with the recreating public.

Record Fish Runs in the Yakima Basin

The 2009- 2010 steelhead run was a record breaker for the Yakima Basin, at 6,796 adults passing Prosser, and the 2010-2011 run that ended June 30^th totaled 6,196. Since counting began in 1983, the biggest previous run totaled 4,525, with other years as low as 450 fish. The last two runs years are a big jump upward. We’re not to our recovery goals yet, but we are making real progress.

Updated for 2011! Booklet describes all SRFB Projects in the Yakima Basin, 1999 to 2011

We’ve updated the booklet that describes all of the fish habitat restoration projects in the Yakima Basin that have received funding from the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board from its inception in 1999 to the last Board meeting in December 2010. If you’d like to learn more about habitat restoration projects in our basin, it’s a great reference. Click here to download your copy:

SRFB Projects from 1999 to Present

Examples of successful projects include providing fish passage and screening at small irrigation diversions, planting riparian areas, acquiring and protecting land with high priority fish habitat, restoring natural stream channel functions, and promoting fish-friendly agricultural practices, and much more. Applications must go through a rigorous review run by the Board and meet all state requirements for the SRFB program. For more information about the program, visit www.ybfwrb.org/SRFB.html

NOAA Fisheries Releases Final Middle Columbia River Steelhead Recovery Plan

On September 30, 2009, NOAA Fisheries announced the release of the final Middle Columbia River Steelhead Recovery Plan. This Endangered Species Act-mandated recovery plan includes the Yakima Steelhead Recovery plan prepared by the Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Board. Its release is a major milestone for both NOAA and the Board. For more information, see http://www.ybfwrb.org/Recovery.html

YBFWRB Conference Room Available for Use

The Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board conference room is available, on a limited basis, to other organizations with similar goals and missions at no charge under certain conditions. See our Conference Room Use Policy for more details. This document will need to be filled out and signed before the room can be used. If you have questions, contact one of the staff at 509-453-4104.

Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board Created

On April 5^th, 2006, the Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board was created. The mission of the Board is to restore sustainable and harvestable populations of salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other at-risk fish and wildlife species through the collaborative, economically sensitive efforts, combined resources, and wise resource management of the Yakima River Basin. The Board is made up of representatives of local governments that have signed an inter-local agreement (see sidebar for list):

Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board By-Laws
Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board Interlocal Agreement

The Board is currently supported by funding from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the State of Washington Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office. The Board is working to:

1)   Refine existing fish and wildlife plans.
2)    Conduct future planning efforts.
3)    Promote effective and efficient implementation of actions identified in these plans.
4)    Help coordinate basin research, monitoring, and evaluation efforts.
5)   Conduct outreach and education programs.

Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board

The Board consists of representatives of the Yakama Nation and local governments in the Yakima River basin. The Mission of the Board is to:

Restore sustainable and harvestable populations of salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other at-risk fish and wildlife species through the collaborative, economically sensitive efforts, combined resources, and wise resource management of the Yakima River Basin.