For Release on August 15, 2005
Contact: Doug DeHart, (503) 872-2763
In an effort to improve its hatchery programs,
the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region Fisheries Program is beginning a
three-year review of the Columbia River Basin salmon hatcheries it owns or
operates. The review will include at least 10 hatcheries and could be
expanded to encompass additional state-operated hatcheries in the Snake
River Basin.
“Our goal is to ensure that our hatcheries are
operated on the best
scientific principles and contribute to sustainable fisheries and the
recovery of naturally spawning populations of salmon,” said Dan Diggs,
Assistant Regional Director of the regional fisheries program.
The review will begin in early October with the
Warm Springs National
Fish Hatchery on the Warm Springs River. A draft report on the hatchery is
expected to be available for public comment in January 2006. Information
about this project can be found on the USFWS Columbia River Basin Hatchery
Review Project website at: http://pacific.fws.gov/fisheries/hatcheryreview
The Service’s internal review will in many ways
resemble the recent
and successful Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project (
http://www.hatcheryreform.org). A Hatchery Review Team, comprised of
Service and other federal scientists, will review briefing materials,
conduct field tours and meet with hatchery managers, co-managers and
stakeholders to get a clear understanding of the goals for and status of
each wild and hatchery stock, its associated habitat and management
strategies. The Review Team will then apply the scientific framework and
hatchery review tools developed during the western Washington review to
create reform recommendations for each hatchery program.
Over the past five years, a systematic review of
state, tribal and
federal salmon and steelhead hatchery programs in western Washington has
been underway in an attempt to address these harvest and conservation
issues. The Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Scientific Review Group
released its recommendations in May 2004. An internal Service working group
developed recommendations for a counterpart process for Service owned and
operated hatchery programs in the Columbia River Basin to ensure that
Service programs meet current and future fishery and conservation needs of
salmonid populations in the Columbia River Basin.
We have adopted the principles and goals
statements from the western
Washington reform process, with slight modifications. Principles: (1) Every
hatchery stock and program must have well-defined goals in terms of desired
benefits and purpose; (2) Hatchery programs must be scientifically
defensible; (3) Hatchery programs must respond adaptively to new
information. Goals: (1) Establish the scientific foundations for National
Fish Hatcheries and cooperative programs; (2) Conserve genetic resources
for salmonid species; (3) Assist with the recovery of naturally spawning
populations; (4) Provide for sustainable fisheries; (5) Conduct scientific
research; (6) Improve quality and cost effectiveness of hatchery programs.
We propose to conduct this review process in
coordination with
fisheries co-managers in the Columbia River Basin, consistent with ongoing
management processes including the U.S. v Oregon proceeding, the protection
and mitigation activities of the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation
Council (NWPCC) and the Endangered Species Act processes of NOAA Fisheries.
We believe this proposed review process will better prepare and position
our hatchery programs for integration into NWPCC sub-basin and regional
strategies and the salmon recovery plans under preparation by NOAA
Fisheries.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the
principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.