Brian Ekstrom

The Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative (PLCI) is a collaboration of Tribes, Federal, and State agencies working together to protect and restore Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) and other native lampreys (i.e., Lampetra spp.) in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hosts and facilitates the PLCI, and the Columbia River Tribes play a lar

A flexible spill program in the federal Columbia River power system increased the total dissolved gas (TDG) water quality standards (i.e., the gas cap) from 120% to 125%. Spill is used to pass juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) over dams, but it can generate elevated TDG, and exposed fish can develop gas bubble trauma (GBT) or experience mortality. Juvenile salmon are monitored for GBT through th

Declines in populations of Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) have raised concerns by the Columbia River tribes, who then initiated efforts to protect and restore them throughout their historical range. The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) devised a restoration plan for lamprey in the Columbia River Basin which highlights the significance of lamprey to the tribes and rec

A two-year study (2013 and 2017) was conducted to determine if annual releases of hatchery rainbow trout (resident Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington adversely affected anadromous fish in the basin. Rainbow trout tagged with radio transmitters were monitored after release to describe movement patterns, entrainment rates at Cowlitz Falls Dam, and survival. Additionall

Executive SummaryA 2-year radiotelemetry study was completed to monitor the movements of adult winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin. A reintroduction program was established to restore healthy and harvestable populations of steelhead because volitional access to the area was blocked in the 1960s after construction of dams in the lower river. A trap-and-haul progr

A study was conducted in the lower Yakima River, Washington, during June–October 2019 to evaluate water temperature effects on adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) behavior. A total of 60 sockeye salmon adults were tagged with radio transmitters and monitored during the study. Fourteen of the fish were collected and tagged at Prosser Dam in late June and the remainder were collected and tagge

A trap-and-haul program is operated to move anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) around dams and reservoirs in the Cowlitz River basin, Washington. The primary release site for adult fish is in Lake Scanewa, a small reservoir created by Cowlitz Falls Dam, the uppermost dam in the basin. Releases in the reservoir are terminated when reservoir water temperature is 16 degrees Celsius (°C) or

An evaluation was conducted to describe adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) upstream movement patterns from Roza Dam to Cle Elum Dam in the Yakima Basin, Washington. Sockeye salmon adults that arrive at Roza Dam are currently trapped and transported upstream of Cle Elum Dam because upstream fish-passage facilities are not currently in place at the dam. However, these facilities are being des

A multiyear radiotelemetry evaluation was conducted to monitor adult steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and coho salmon (O. kisutch) behavior and movement patterns in the upper Cowlitz River Basin. Volitional passage to this area was eliminated by dam construction in the mid-1960s, and a reintroduction program began in the mid-1990s. Fish are transported around the d

Collection of juvenile salmon at Cowlitz Falls Dam is a critical part of the effort to restore salmon in the upper Cowlitz River, Washington. Many of the fish that are not collected pass downstream and enter Riffe Lake, become landlocked, and are lost to the anadromous population. In addition to this loss, the juvenile fish collection system at Cowlitz Falls Dam, which originally consisted of four

Summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) produced by a hatchery on the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, support a popular sport fishery during June–September each year. Many of these fish return to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery and are held until they are spawned in December. In the past, fishery managers have released some of the steelhead that return to the hatchery at downstream release sites (here

Collection of juvenile salmonids at Cowlitz Falls Dam is a critical part of the effort to restore salmon in the upper Cowlitz River because the majority of fish that are not collected at the dam pass downstream and enter a large reservoir where they become landlocked and lost to the anadromous fish population. However, the juvenile fish collection system at Cowlitz Falls Dam has failed to achieve