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NEWS &
EVENTS
1/25/08
WORK IN YAKIMA BASIN LAUDED AS EXAMPLE FOR
COLUMBIA BASIN
In
a recent article in the Columbia
Bulletin Basin,
work in the Yakima Basin was cited as an example of how work in
tributaries like the Yakima is an
essential part of overall efforts to recovery salmon and steelhead in the
Columbia Basin as a whole.
http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/256626.aspx
1/9/07
GOVERNOR GREGOIRE CALLS FOR STUDY OF GROUNDWATER IN THE KITTITAS VALLEY
The
Governor is calling for funding for a Department of Ecology study of
groundwater in Kittitas
County that is
aimed at resolving ongoing controversy over whether exempt wells
associated with new development are putting senior water rights at risk.
www.ybfwrb.org/Library/KittitasGroundwaterStudy.pdf
1/9/07 CITY OF KENNEWICK
EXPLORES USING AQUIFER RECHARGE TO BOOST MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY
The City of Kennewick
has received funding from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s
Columbia River Program to study the feasibility of using water pumping Columbia River water underground in the winter for
future use during water-short periods.
http://nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3466
12/24/07
HIGH COUNTRY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS CONTROVERSY IN THE TIETON
High
Country news, a regional environmental paper, printed an article about
the Tieton River that highlights the way that flip-flop, a river
management tool intended to benefit spring Chinook in the Upper Yakima
River, has affected steelhead habitat in the Tieton.
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17423
12/19/07 HISTORIC AGREEMENT REACHED ON MANASTASH CREEK
After many years of discussion, irrigators, the
Washington Environmental Council and a broad range of agencies have reach
an agreement that sets the stage for screening diversions, removing fish
passage barriers and restoring instream flows in Manastash Creek near
Ellensburg. When work is complete,
steelhead and salmon will be able to use the Manastash watershed for the
first time in over 100 years.
www.ybfwrb.org/Library/DRManastash.pdf
11/20/07 RIVER EXPERT HIGHLIGHTS POTENTIAL SALMON
PRODUCTION IN THE YAKIMA RIVER
Jack Stanford of the University
of Montana’s Flathead Lake
Biological Research Station has highlighted the Yakima
Basin as the part of the Columbia Basin with the greatest potential
for improving salmon runs. He
emphasizes the need to protect and restore the vast floodplain networks
that once filled the Yakima’s
valleys.
www.ybfwrb.org/Library/StanfordCBB.pdf
http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290335500005133
8/23/07
WDFW CLOSES SALMON FISHING AT CHANDLER
OUTFALL
WDFW
has announced that all fishing will be prohibited
over the 400-foot stretch of the Yakima River around the Chandler power plant near Prosser
during the fall salmon season in order to reduce angling impacts on the
fall Chinook run. Last year an
emergency rule was used to close fishing at Chandler when it became clear that
snagging and high angling pressure were having and impact on the fall run
salmon; this year the area will be closed from Sept 1st to
October 22nd. For more
information, see the Yakima-Herald at http://www.yakimaherald.com/page/out/290302265895785
8/17/07
DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY INVESTIGATES TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THE YAKIMA RIVER
The
Washington Department of Ecology announced the new Yakima River Watershed
Toxics Project, which aims to document the nature and extent of toxic
chemical contamination in the Yakima River
and improve our understanding of where and how the contamination gets
into the river. In recent years,
improved irrigation practices have reduced erosion and associated
contamination; this study aims to figure out how to reduce ongoing
contamination. For more info, see www.cbbulletin.com/Free/233377.aspx
8/17/07 STATE & REGIONAL CLIATE CHANGE
STUDIES UNDER WAY
Understanding
how future changes in our climate will affect the temperature and stream
flows in the Yakima
Basin is an
important part of planning for the future of our fisheries. Several new studies aim to increase our
knowledge. One study by the University of Washington
and WSU will focus on climate change’s impacts in Washington: http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/233378.aspx. Another study funded by The Washington
Department of Ecology, British Columbia and the Bonneville Power
Administration will look more broadly at climate change throughout the
Columbia Basin: www.cbbulletin.com/Free/231312.aspx. A third study out of California looks at the effects of
irrigation on local climate, and concludes that while irrigation does
result in some cooling of local climates, it will not offset broader
warming trends: http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/233388.aspx
7/20/07 NEW FUNDING FOR THE YAKIMA BASIN
STORAGE STUDY
$1
million has been included in the 2008 federal budget to continuing
funding the Bureau of Reclamation’s efforts to study the feasibility of
increasing water storage in the Yakima Basin,
through Black Rock reservoir and other proposals. For more info see: www.cbbulletin.com/Free/228301.aspx
6/18/07 STATE
GRANT FUNDING FOR WILDLIFE AND RECREATION PROJECTS ANNOUNCED
The Washington Interagency Committee for Recreation has
announced 2007 grant awards from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation
Grant Program. For descriptions of
funded projects in Kittitas, Yakima and Benton Counties, see: www.ybfwrb.org/Library/2007 WWRP.pdf
5/18/07
US FISH & WILDIFE SERVICE FUNDS HABITAT CONSERVATION IN THE YAKIMA BASIN
Today
the US Fish & Wildlife Service announced projects awarded funding
though the federal Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation.
Three of these will affect fish & wildlife management in the Yakima Basin. Two are for planning efforts by the
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife; one will fund developing a
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for to assure federal endangered species
act coverage for all state wildlife areas, and another will develop a way
to assure endangered species act coverage for projects reviewed under
state permitting programs. The
third grant will fund acquisition of 670 acres of high-priority wildlife
habitat near Snoqualmie
Pass.
http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/215688.aspx
5/9/07
SEATTLE PAPER HIGHLIGHTS CONSERVATION AND RECREATION
IN THE TIETON
CANYON
Yakima area locals know the Tieton Canyon as a great area for hikes,
wildflowers and much more. It’s
also been the focus of a major conservation effort aimed at protecting
its flora and fauna. Now the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer has run a piece highlighting the canyon:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/314822_tieton10.html
4/29/07
BUREAU OF RECLAMATION’S YAKIMA
RIVER BASIN
WATER ENHANCEMENT PROJECT HIGHLIGHTED
An
article in the Yakima Herald Republic, staff of BOR’s Yakima River Basin
Water Enhancement Project describe the program, the fisheries habitat and
irrigation system improvement work it has undertaken, and plans for
future projects:
http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/361771534711983
4/28/07 ECOLOGY LOOKS
FOR WATER TO LEASE TO HELP YAKIMA
BASIN FISHERIES
The Washington
Department of Ecology is looking for water rights holders in Yakima River
Tributaries above Sunnyside Dam who are interested in leasing or selling
their water rights. The program’s
goal is to improve flows in priority fish habitat in the Yakima Basin. Ecology is interested in purchasing
water rights outright or leasing water through two programs, one of which
calls for ceasing irrigation after August 1st each year, and
the other of which calls for leaving the entire right instream during
drought years. To be eligible for
these programs, water rights must have a pre-May 1905 priority date and
be for at least 10 acres. Leases
must be for at least 5 year terms.
Dollar values of the water will be determined through a reverse
auction. For more information, see:
www.ybfwrb.org/Library/Ecologylookstolease-buywaterrightstohelpfish-YakimaHerald-4-28-07.pdf
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cro/yrtrwra.html
3/19/07
UNEXEPECTED STEELHEAD SPARKS
DISCUSSION
When
a lone steelhead showed up in Benton
County’s Spring Creek this
March, it highlighted ongoing controversies about the status of waterways
in the Yakima
Valley that are
managed as part of irrigation systems:
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/state/story/8721576p-8623651c.html
2/8/07
TRI-CITIES CREEK SEES HIGH NUMBERS OF SPAWNING SALMON
Amon
Creek, in Kennewick, is an urban creek in
the driest, hottest part of the Yakima Basin. It has surprised biologists this year
with the number of coho salmon that returned to spawn. This year over 4000 coho returned to
the Yakima,
thanks to ongoing reintroduction efforts that are striving to rebuild
coho runs that were declared extinct by the 1980s. For more on Amon Creek’s coho see
www.ybfwrb.org/Library/AmonCk.pdf
1/29/07
WASHINGTON
BIODIVERSITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL PROJECTS
The
Washington Biodiversity Council was convened by the governor to develop a
comprehensive biodiversity conservation strategy for the state. It has high-lighted ongoing work being done
in out neighborhood- for a nice overview of conservation efforts in the Tieton Canyon, See: http://www.biodiversity.wa.gov/ourbiodiversity/tieton.html
The
Council has also developed a good overview of conservation issues in the
Columbia Plateau:
http://www.biodiversity.wa.gov/ecoregions/columbia_plateau/columbia_plateau.html
12/4/06
BUREAU OF RECLAMATION & STATE MOVE FORWARD ON YAKIMA BASIN
STORAGE STUDY
After completion of
preliminary feasibility and cost-benefit studies, the Bureau of
Reclamation and the State of Washington
have agreed to continue their investigations into developing additional
water storage in the proposed Black Rock and Wymer Reservoirs. For more information, see https://cbbulletin.com/Free/193994.aspx and
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=115C2E399327AFC0&p_docnum=1
11/1/06 NEW FISH SCREENS AND HABITAT
IMPROVEMENTS ON AHTANUM CREEK
The
North Yakima Conservation District has just completed a project to screen
an irrigation ditch, and create a pond that acts as off-channel habitat
on Ahtanum Creek near Tampico,
as described in this recent article from the Yakima Herald: www.ybfwrb.org/Library/HeraldShaw-Know.pdf
11/1/06
YAKIMA
FISH FIGURE PROMINENTLY IN REGIONAL RESEARCH EFFORTS
Two studies that focus
on spring chinook from the Yakima
Basin have been in
the news lately. In a recent paper
in Transactions of the American
Fisheries Society, researchers with the Yakama Nation and the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife report that even in hatcheries
designed to eliminate differences between hatchery and wild fish, differences
between hatchery and wild offspring still occur. For more information,
see http://www.newsdata.com/fishletter/222/2story.html
Yakima spring chinook
are also an important part of Canadian researchers’ efforts to use
acoustic tracking arrays in the ocean off of Oregon, Washington and
British Columbia to track survival of Columbia River fish once they reach
the ocean. They hope to answer long-standing
questions about the impacts of dams on later survival in the ocean by
comparing survival rates for Yakima Chinook (which pass through four
dams) with those of Snake River Chinook which must pass through eight
dams on their way to the ocean.
For more information, see http://www.newsdata.com/fishletter/222/1story.html
10/23/06 NORTHWEST POWER AND CONSERVATION COUNCIL PROVIDES
FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS TO BPA
Many
fish and wildlife programs in the Yakima Basin
are funded through the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under the
Northwest Power Act, which calls on BPA to fund work that mitigates for
the effects of the Columbia River Power System on fish and wildlife. The Northwest Power & Conservation
Council has just released its funding recommendations for BPA’s 2007-9
Fish & Wildlife Program. For
more information on funding recommendations for the Yakima Basin,
see this spreadsheet. For more information on the overall
Council process, go to http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/budget/2007/finalrec/Default.htm
9/29/06 YAKIMA BASIN
FISH SCREEN PROGRAM CELEBRATED
Federal,
State, local and tribal representatives met on September 22nd
in Naches to celebrate the completion of phase II of the Yakima Basin
Fish Screens project, which is funded by Bonneville Power Admiknistration’s
Fish and Wildlife Program, and has built and maintained fish screens on
31 diversions in the Yakima Basin.
For more information, see http://cbbulletin.com/Free/186115.aspx
9/29/06 SMALL-SCALE WATER STORAGE PROPOSED FOR
SWAUK CREEK
Swauk
Creek, north of Ellensburg, is important habitat for coho salmon and
Mid-Columbia Steelhead. It is also
a water source for local irrigators.
The Kittitas Conservation Trust is working with local landowners,
the Yakima Nation, the Department of Ecology and Central Washington
University to
research the feasibility of using small reservoirs to store spring
run-off for irrigation use and increase the amount of water instream for
fish. For more information, see http://cbbulletin.com/Free/186107.aspx
9/29/06 DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AWARDS FUNDS TO
PROTECT PROPERTIES IN THE HEADWATERS OF THE YAKIMA
The
Federal Department of the Interior recently awarded $6,290,470 to
permanently protect 79 acres along Gold Creek and 71 acres around Swamp Lake. Both properties are in the headwaters
of the Yakima River in Kittitas
County. Project partners include The Trust for Public Land and the Cascade Land Conservancy. For more information, see http://cbbulletin.com/Free/186106.aspx
9/13/06 BPA and Yakama Nation Working on Protecting Upper
Yakima Fish Habitat
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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.
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