Images

These are two USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists, Carl Ostberg and Jeff Duda (from left to right), sitting on a fallen tree in Skagit, WA. These scientists study critical fish, like salmon, in the Ross Dam reservoir and tributaries.

This is a photo of a fish in Ross Lake, WA called the Redside Shiner. Ecologists at the Western Fisheries Research Center are studying this fish and the food web in Ross Lake.

This is a photo of scientists, Ben Jensen and Shelley Johnson, collecting tissue samples from a rainbow trout on Ross Lake. The USGS Western Fisheries Research Center does work on Ross Lake to understand the food web and ecology for salmon.

This is a photo of scientist, Marshal Hoy, holding a bull trout in Ross Lake. The USGS Western Fisheries Research Center does food web studies in Ross Lake to better understand the ecology and habitat for salmon in the area.

This is a photo of Ross Dam as viewed from the boat. This photo was taken by fisheries scientists from the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center.

This is a map of the lower Yakima River showing locations where acoustic telemetry receivers were deployed (open circles) to detect tagged fish that were released at two sites (stars). This was part of the study titled, "Survival implications of diversion entrainment for out-migrating juvenile Chinook Salmon and steelhead.

Map of the study system. The potential anadromous distribution above the dams indicated is based only on potential physical access to those stream segments (i.e., no migration barriers). Further details and habitat quality results from intrinsic potential modeling can be found in Duda and Hardiman.

This is a photo of a dam in the lower Yakima River. Efforts to ameliorate the negative effects of diversion dams on aquatic species of concern are important in rivers where water withdrawal supports agricultural economies, and they are likely to become increasingly important with impending climate change. 

Estimated relationship between entrainment probability and proportion of river flow entering canals at Wapato Dam, Sunnyside Dam, and Prosser Dam on the Yakima River, Washington. The relationships are shown at the mean total river flow for (A) yearling Chinook Salmon, (B) juvenile steelhead, and (C) subyearling Chinook Salmon.

Survival probability estimates and 95% confidence intervals for yearling Chinook Salmon, juvenile steelhead, and subyearling Chinook Salmon at three diversion dams on the Yakima River, Washington.

This is a screen grab of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. This database is used to track the spread of invasive aquatic species across the United States landscape.

This is a map of the nets on the Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon. The Western Fisheries Research Center carefully monitors juvenile Sucker populations for signs of population recovery and to better understand where they habitate.

Chirs Pullano and Collin Smith unearth the buried cable tethering an acoustic receiver to shore in the lower Columbia River estuary.  Shifting sands frequently bury equipment making it difficult to retrieve. During the 2025 field season, researchers deployed acoustic telemetry equipment to track yearling Chinook salmon as they moved through both restored e

Ryan Tomka retrieves an acoustic telemetry receiver from the lower Columbia River estuary. During the 2025 field season, researchers deployed acoustic telemetry equipment to track yearling Chinook salmon as they moved through both restored estuarine wetlands and the main Columbia River channel.

Chris Pullano and Ryan Tomka load acoustic telemetry receives on to boat in lower Columbia River estuary. Field work was recently completed for the first year of a study to better understand how young salmon use restored habitats in the Lower Columbia River Estuary.

Collin Smith records metadata for acoustic telemetry deployments in the lower Columbia River estuary.

This is a map of the nets on the Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon. The Western Fisheries Research Center carefully monitors juvenile Sucker populations for signs of population recovery and to better understand where they habitate.

Its early morning as we pass a green expanse of farmland and pull into a parking lot with a boat ramp sloping into the massive waters of Upper Klamath Lake. Paving machines drone next to us, widening the road winding along the lake shore.

Lost River and Shortnose suckers are on the verge of extinction in Upper Klamath Lake. Age data indicate that almost all adult suckers remaining in the lake spawning populations were hatched in the early 1990s.

Since 2009, the WFRC has partnered with Real Time Research to study bird predation of suckers. Scientists scan large nesting sites of fish-eating (piscivorous) birds, looking for PIT tags from juvenile and adult suckers that have been eaten by the birds.

We pack up, leave shore, and head toward our first target—a set of trap nets--with tempered hopes of finding something exceedingly rare: evidence of surviving juvenile suckers. After hours on the lake and around 20 nets void of juvenile suckers, we steer the boat back towards the marshlands near our truck.