Spring fish plans begin on Snake River dams

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun implementing its 2015 Spring Fish Operations Plan.

The program provides for spills at the four lower Snake River and four lower Columbia River dams to facilitate the timely and safe passage of juvenile salmon and steelhead.

As specified in NOAA Fisheries’ 2014 Supplemental Biological Opinion (BiOp), the plan calls for spill to begin at the lower Snake River dams April 3 and lower Columbia River dams April 10. The annual plan, prepared by the corps, is coordinated with states, tribes and other federal agencies in the region.

The 2015 FOP includes operations for a spring and summer fish passage season, utilizing spill, flow, adjustments to river operations and transportation operations of juvenile fish from Lower Granite, Little Goose and Lower Monumental dams.

“Juvenile fish survival past the dams has increased as a result of extensive dam modifications, such as surface passage, juvenile bypass systems, turbine improvements and more effective and efficient spill operations,” said Rock Peters, senior program manager for the corps’ Northwestern Division.

“But while we’ve experienced many successes, we remain committed to continuing to meet the performance standards in the BiOp and to continue working with the region to do what’s best for the fish,” he added.

The most recent water supply forecast issued by the Northwest River Forecast Center for the Columbia River Basin is 84 percent of normal as measured at The Dalles Dam and 70 percent of normal for the Snake River Basin as measured at Lower Granite Dam.