Steelhead and Spring Chinook Adult Spawning Migration Study in the Klickitat River (Washington) Completed
Fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey are cooperating with Yakama Nation fishery biologists and technicians to conduct a migration behavior study of returning adult steelhead and spring Chinook using radio telemetry.
The Klickitat River has two native salmon stocks, steelhead and spring Chinook, which are listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The headwaters of the Klickitat River are within the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation and there is an active traditional tribal dip net fishery at a waterfall near its confluence with the Columbia River. Fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey are cooperating with Yakama Nation fishery biologists and technicians to conduct a migration behavior study of returning adult steelhead and spring Chinook using radio telemetry. Migration behaviors to be investigated include determining: 1) migration behavior and timing, 2) adult holding and spawning areas, 3) frequency and consequences of fallback at several natural barriers, 4) locations and duration of delay at natural and man-made obstacles to upstream migration, and 5) movement and emigration timing of post-spawn steelhead kelts. This information will be used to help identify and prioritize restoration and conservation efforts.
- Overview
Fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey are cooperating with Yakama Nation fishery biologists and technicians to conduct a migration behavior study of returning adult steelhead and spring Chinook using radio telemetry.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsAn overlook of the Klickitat River, at river mile 28, with Mt. Adams in the background. Credit: Jeanette Burkhardt, Yakama Nation Fisheries. (Public domain.) The Klickitat River has two native salmon stocks, steelhead and spring Chinook, which are listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The headwaters of the Klickitat River are within the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation and there is an active traditional tribal dip net fishery at a waterfall near its confluence with the Columbia River. Fishery biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey are cooperating with Yakama Nation fishery biologists and technicians to conduct a migration behavior study of returning adult steelhead and spring Chinook using radio telemetry. Migration behaviors to be investigated include determining: 1) migration behavior and timing, 2) adult holding and spawning areas, 3) frequency and consequences of fallback at several natural barriers, 4) locations and duration of delay at natural and man-made obstacles to upstream migration, and 5) movement and emigration timing of post-spawn steelhead kelts. This information will be used to help identify and prioritize restoration and conservation efforts.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsUSGS and Yakama Nation fisheries biologists releasing a radio tagged steelhead in the Klickitat River, WA. Credit: Brady Allen, Bonneville Power Administration.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsRadio tracking adult spring Chinook and steelhead by raft in the Klickitat River, WA. Credit: Brady Allen, Bonneville Power Administration.