Climate Impacts on Salmon Recovery in the Snohomish River Basin James Battin Krista Bartz Mary Ruckelshaus Hiroo Imaki Matthew Wiley Elizabeth Korb Richard Palmer NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center University of Washington Civil & Environmental Engineering Climate Science in the Public Interest
1999: Seven salmon Ecologically Sensitive Units (ESUs) are listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) Washington legislature passed the Salmon Recovery Act created watershed planning process to identify recovery actions 2000: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) convened the Puget Sound Technical Recovery Team (TRT) to develop delisting criteria and provide technical guidance for recovery planning Background
Local Evidence of Climate Change Declining snowpack Shifts in timing of runoff Declining trend on overall runoff volume
Evidence of Climate Change Seasonal trends – by station
stream flow & stream temperature Land Cover & Land Form Data Climate Model (GFDL, Hadley) Hydrology Model (DHSVM) air temperature & precipitation Salmon Pop. Model (SHIRAZ) Salmon Abundance Predicted Atmospheric CO 2 Habitat Capacity
Results Winter stream flows increase Summer stream flows decrease Stream temperatures rise No Change in Land Use
Results Winter stream flows increase Summer stream flows decrease Stream temperatures rise No Change in Land Use
Results Winter stream flows increase Summer stream flows decrease Stream temperatures rise No Change in Land Use
Climate and Landcover Impacts on Chinook Salmon
Conclusions The projected climate change scenarios have a profoundly negative impact on Snohomish basin Chinook salmon populations. Restoration efforts can offset some of these impacts
Conclusions Totals using GFDL based Climate information Totals using HadCM3 based Climate information
Caveats GFDL is a more extreme climate scenario. Both models are on the warmer side of the newest IPCC projections. Timing of climate change is uncertain. Salmon harvest, hatchery operations, and ocean conditions were all held constant.
Climate Impacts on Salmon Recovery in the Snohomish River Basin James Battin Krista Bartz Mary Ruckelshaus Hiroo Imaki Matthew Wiley Elizabeth Korb Richard Palmer NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center University of Washington Civil & Environmental Engineering Climate Science in the Public Interest