Steelhead Stock Status Review and ESA Oregon Rhine Messmer ODFW District Staff Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Pacific Coast Steelhead Management Meeting Port Townsend, Washington March

Winter Steelhead Summer Steelhead 49 populations 4 SMU’s 30 populations 7 SMU’s ESA Status of Oregon Winter and Summer Steelhead

ESA Status - Winter Steelhead ESA Status - Summer Steelhead Coastal – Candidate 1998 Rogue – Not Warranted 2001 Lower Columbia – Threatened 1998 Willamette – Threatened 1999 Coastal – Candidate 1998 Rogue – Not Warranted 2001 Lower Columbia – Threatened 1998 Mid Columbia – Threatened 1999 Snake – Threatened 1997 Upper Snake – No Designation Klamath – Not Warranted 2001

FMEP Development Winter Steelhead FMEP Development Summer Steelhead  Lower Columbia and Willamette– Columbia River, Willamette tribs below Falls, Clackamas and Sandy; Upper Willamette including Molalla, Santiam and Calapooia rivers  Submitted FMEPs (2) in March 2001  Mid Columbia – Deschutes, Walla Walls, John Day, Hood River, Umatilla Submitted FMEPs (4) in March 2001 Revised October 2005 (data updates, dropped wild steelhead harvest on John Day River)  Snake – Grande Ronde/ Imnaha/ Snake River FMEP Submitted FMEP in March 2001

Recover and Conservation Plan Development Summer Steelhead As part of the TRT/Oregon Plan process, recovery criteria development and assessments are currently underway for populations of steelhead listed under ESA. The TRT criteria focus of 4 VSP conservation attributes: abundance, productivity, distribution, and diversity. Viability Curves uses to assess risk of extinction  Mid Columbia – Deschutes, Walla Walls, John Day, Hood River, Umatilla  Snake – Grande Ronde/ Imnaha/ Snake River FMEP Draft Recovery Plan for Oregon Middle Columbia River Steelhead January 2006 Progress Report, Richard Carmichael ODFW  Lower Columbia and Willamette Recovery Plans in development Public review document out late March Winter Steelhead

 Assessment of 473 Fish Populations comprising 69 Species Management Units  Interim Criteria – Six biological characteristics related to species performance

Native Fish Status Report Public Draft Key to implementing Oregon’s Native Fish Conservation PolicyKey to implementing Oregon’s Native Fish Conservation Policy Prioritize conservation plans & address “at risk” Species Management Units.Prioritize conservation plans & address “at risk” Species Management Units. Utilizes interim criteria defined in the Native Fish Conservation Policy.Utilizes interim criteria defined in the Native Fish Conservation Policy. Conservation risk, not extinction risk, of naturally produced native fish.Conservation risk, not extinction risk, of naturally produced native fish. Criteria meant to ensure conservation until conservation plan developed (5 – 10 years).Criteria meant to ensure conservation until conservation plan developed (5 – 10 years).

Interim Criteria (In 3 of the last 5 years) 1.Existing Populations 2.Habitat Use Distribution 3.Abundance 4.Productivity 5.Reproductive Independence 6.Hybridization Limited data led us to interpret the intent of some of the criteria.

Coastal Winter Steelhead SMU Distribution – Pass  Nearly all of the historically-available habitat of this species management unit is still available today (99%).  The South Umpqua has lost access to the most habitat of any population and still maintains 94% of historic availability.

Coastal Winter Steelhead SMU Abundance - Pass  Both populations with long-term data passed.  Numbers in the North Umpqua have been at or above the interim criterion in most years since Abundance in the lower Nehalem was above the criterion in four of the last five years.  Few indices of abundance are available in other populations within the SMU. Trends in the North Umpqua and Lower Nehalem were assumed to be representative of the SMU.  Trapping of adults in mid-coast basins, and spawning surveys in coastal basins in the last two years support the assumption that the North Umpqua and Lower Nehalem are representative of other populations.

Coastal Winter Steelhead SMU Productivity - Pass  Both the North Umpqua and lower Nehalem passed the criterion.  These results were assumed to be representative of the SMU.

Coastal Winter Steelhead SMU Independence - Fail  13 of 23 populations passed this criterion based on trap and hatchery release data.  Adult traps in the mid-coast suggest that natural spawning by hatchery fish is above 10% in the Siletz, Alsea and Yaquina. Similar data showed that Siuslaw hatchery fractions are low.  Adult trapping and counts at Winchester Dam adjusted for harvest show that hatchery ratios in the Umpqua are low.  Creel survey data suggest that hatchery fractions in the Yachats are above the criterion threshold.  Assessments in other populations of the North and South Coast were based on the presence (or absence) of hatchery releases.

Coastal Summer Steelhead SMU Distribution – Pass  All 93% of the historically-available habitat remains accessible.  of the habitat within the Siletz remains accessible, and 92% of the habitat within the North Umpqua can still be accessed.

Coastal Summer Steelhead SMU Abundance - Pass  Both populations exceeded the minimum abundance criterion in each of the last 5 years.  Returns to the North Umpqua have been monitored at Winchester Dam since the run year and numbers have only twice fallen below the interim criterion of 849 spawners.  Wild returns to the Siletz increased for six consecutive years prior to the 2004/2005 run year and have now rebounded to levels observed around 1970.

Coastal Summer Steelhead SMU Productivity - Fail  The North Umpqua passed the productivity criterion, but the Siletz did not.  Productivity in the North Umpqua has been greater than 1.2 in 6 of 11 years of low abundance including 3 of the last 5.  Productivity in the Siletz ranged from 0.1 to 1.1 recruits per spawner in the 7 years where data were available. High numbers of hatchery spawners pushed abundance levels beyond the average wild abundance in each of those years raising the possibility of density dependence.

Coastal Summer Steelhead SMU Independence - Fail  When accounting for this spatial segregation, hatchery fractions have been between 10 and 35% since  Many hatchery fish that spawn naturally in the North Umpqua do not spawn in areas where wild fish are spawning.  Between 1992 and 1999, hatchery fish made up 72-97% of the spawning population in the Siletz.  In the Siletz, adult steelhead are trapped at Siletz Falls, which is below the primary spawning grounds. Beginning in 2000, wild fish were selectively passed at Siletz Falls, and hatchery fish were either recycled downstream into the recreational fishery, or were removed from the system.

Summary Oregon’s Native Fish Conservation Policy  Sustainability of native fish  Provide substantial ecological, economic benefits  State of Oregon Recovery Planning not only included ESA recovery requirements but also includes meeting broader social and cultural benefits

Greetings from Mark Chilcote