Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
$10,000

Four dams on the mainstem Klamath River are expected to be removed in 2022-2023. Following Dam removal, fish passage will be restored to the Upper Klamath Basin allowing Chinook Salmon to access hundreds of miles of habitat in Oregon that has been blocked for over 100 years. Historically, Chinook Salmon in the Oregon portion of the Klamath Basin were a significant part of the food source and culture of The Klamath Tribes in Oregon (TKT). ODFW is working with TKT to find the most appropriate strategy to repopulate historic Chinook Salmon habitat to harvestable levels following dam removal. Additionally, ODFW and The Klamath Tribes‘ Reintroduction Implementation Plan recommends that spring-run Chinook Salmon be actively reintroduced into tributaries above Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) due to the uncertainty of a source population immediately downstream of the dams that could naturally recolonize newly available habitat. The Reintroduction Implementation Plan recommends the use of juveniles from in-basin stocks to be released into suitable habitat above Upper Klamath Lake. A team of state (ODFW and CDFW), federal (NMFS/NOAA), and Tribal (TKT) biologists intend to learn how juvenile Chinook Salmon move through the Upper Basin during a hypothetical outmigration event. By releasing tagged fish in tributaries of UKL, the team hopes to use telemetry receivers in addition to existing (passive integrated transponder) PIT tag antenna arrays throughout the Basin to detect individuals. These data can provide insight regarding the timing of outmigration for various tributaries and may indicate if additional challenges to migration or survival exist. We are requesting funds to help pay for the costs of equipment and supplies to tag and detect released juvenile spring-run Chinook Salmon. We intend to use telemetry (acoustic and/or radio) in addition to PIT technology to enhance the detection of tagged fish at key locations throughout the Upper Klamath Basin.

Project Report