Coho salmon making a comback
Coho return may be blocked by money woes: After a 100-year absence, coho salmon make local comeback, with help from Yakama Nation
WENATCHEE — Coho salmon making their way up the Wenatchee River this fall are among the first naturally-spawned adults to come back to local waters in more than a century.
Once the second-most-prolific salmon in the Columbia River system, wild coho were wiped out of the upper Columbia River system in the early 1900s.
The Bonneville Power Administration has invested nearly $14 million in recent years to reintroduce hatchery coho into the Methow and Wenatchee rivers.
But the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which makes recommendations on how BPA’s fish and wildlife money is spent, is proposing to ax funding for the coho project starting next year.
If that happens, the Yakama Nation, which initiated the work, would not have the money to keep it going, said Tom Scribner, a fish biologist and policy adviser for the tribe.
“We knew we were going to get our funding reduced,� he said. “But we didn’t think we’d get totally zeroed out, considering the success of the program.�
More than 6,500 adult coho returned to the Methow and Wenatchee rivers from the ocean last year.
Eliminating the funding is not a reflection on how well the program is working, said Larry Cassidy, one of two Washington state members on the regional power and conservation council.
The coho project is one of 541 proposals vying for about $450 million in BPA funding over the next three years. The money primarily finances projects that mitigate the impact of hydroelectric dams on fish and wildlife in the Columbia River basin.
Continue reading this article from the Wenatchee World:
Coho return may be blocked by money woes: After a 100-year absence, coho salmon make local comeback, with help from Yakama Nation
