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Home My WebLink AboutR-2005-040 Encouraging NOAA Fisheries to consider the Mid-Columbia Steelhead ESU ReportRESOLUTION NO. R-2005- 40 A RESOLUTION Encouraging NOAA Fisheries to Carefully Consider Best Available Information for Steelhead Status Review, Including the Mid - Columbia Steelhead ESU Report prepared by S.P. Cramer, et al. WHEREAS, viable Steelhead populations are important to the natural and cultural environment of the Yakima River and of Washington State, and WHEREAS, Mid -Columbia Steelhead have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and WHEREAS, NOAA Fisheries is currently reviewing the viability status of salmonid populations, including Mid -Columbia Steelhead (O.mykiss), and WHEREAS, NOAA Fisheries should base any decisions on listings on the best available scientific and commercial information available, and WHEREAS, a recent Report entitled Viability of the Middle Columbia Steelhead ESU, (November 2004) authored by S.P. Cramer, D.B. Lister, P.A. Monk, B.J. Pyper, and K.L. Witty provides important new information regarding the status of Mid -Columbia Steelhead, and WHEREAS, NOAA Fisheries should carefully consider the information contained in the Cramer report when conducting its status review, including new information regarding the broad distribution, robust populations, improving population trends and low risk of extinction for Steelhead populations, now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YAKIMA: The City of Yakima hereby encourages NOAA Fisheries, when conducting its Steelhead status review, to carefully the consider the best scientific and commercial information available, including important new information in the Mid -Columbia Steelhead ESU Report prepared by S.P. Cramer, et al. ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 15th day of February, 2005. ATTEST: City Clerk Paul P. George, Mayor Viability of the Middle Columbia Steelhead ESU Prepared for: Yakima Basin Joint Board 470 Camp 4 Road Yakima, Washington 98908 Prepared by: S.P. Cramer D.B. Lister P.A. Monk B. J. Pyper and K. L. Witty November 2004 S.P. Cramer & Associates, Inc. 600 NW Fariss Rd F,d®n Gresham, OR 97030 `a.. www.speramer.com S.P. Cramer & Associates, Inc. Mid Columbia ESU November 2004 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report evaluates the viability of the Mid Columbia Steelhead ESU, and was prepared by a team of scientists with decades of experience in research and management of steelhead populations. This report presents updated data sets, and new analyses from that submitted by this team of fisheries scientists in 2003 (Cramer et al. 2003). Further, this report is organized according to the four criteria identified by NOAA Fisheries as the key measures of viable salmonid populations (VSP), such that scientific evidence we assembled is clearly aligned with the VSP criteria it applies to. For all four VSP criteria, we found repeated, consistent evidence that Mid Columbia Steelhead populations are robust, and at near zero risk of extinction. DIVERSITY Use of Varied Environments • Steelhead spawning and rearing is broadly spread over numerous tributaries and the mainstems of all major subbasins within the ESU. • Access to and from spawning/rearing areas remains open to all watersheds in the ESU that historically supported notable steelhead runs, except in portions of the Deschutes Basin. • All major subbasins in the ESU support populations of resident rainbow trout in areas above permanent barriers. In the Deschutes and Yakima basins, anadromous and resident forms share use of the main stems. • The anadromous form of 0. mykiss effectively uses lower elevation and intermittent streams for spawning and early rearing, while the resident form is well established in perennial streams above barriers and in main -stem reaches of the Yakima and the Deschutes rivers where flow and temperature regimes are favorable through the summer for rearing 0. mykiss to maturity. • Flow and temperature regimes in the Yakima River above Yakima, and the Deschutes River below Pelton Dam are distinctive from the rest of the ESU in that they have high and stable flows and summer temperatures that remain below 16°C. These features favor residency over anadromy in 0. mykiss, so the predominance of residency in these reaches is an appropriate fit to the habitat. • Available data and analyses indicate that both the resident and anadromous populations of 0. mykiss are robust in the portions of the basin they each occupy. • The ability and practice of Mid Columbia Steelhead to use diverse environments provides an important hedge against extinction in the event of environmental catastrophes or major disturbances. "4 S.P. Cramer & Associates, Inc. Mid Columbia ESU November 2004 Ili Protection from Short-term Spatial and Temporal Changes • All major river basins in the ESU support substantial populations of anadromous and resident 0. mykiss. • Anadromous and resident 0. mykiss each spawn and rear in hundreds of stream miles and dozens of individual streams throughout the ESU • Resident populations remain extant in suitable perennial streams above permanent passage barriers throughout the ESU. • Resident populations in the main stems of the Deschutes and Yakima rivers have maintained harvestable populations without fail for decades. • Steelhead in the ESU commonly smolt at ages 1, 2, or 3 , mature after 1 or 2 years in the ocean, and 1.6 to 3.0% successfully repeat spawn. With this wide range of ages at maturity, coupled to the migratory life history, even a multi- year disaster would be unlikely to eliminate the population in any given watershed. • In the event of complete blockage to migration in the Columbia main stem, the abundant resident rainbow would sustain populations of 0. mykiss in every subbasin of the ESU. • Spawner abundance of steelhead, in every subbasin that has been monitored long enough for stock -recruitment analysis, shows strong evidence of meeting or exceeding capacity in recent years. Genetic Diversity to Survive Long-term Changes • Genetic variation in the Mid Columbia ESU is comparable to that observed in healthy populations in other watersheds from British Columbia to California • Genetic profiling of steelhead populations has demonstrated that steelhead breed with multiple partners, thus increasing the effective population size. • Genetic profiling, and Sr/Ca analysis of steelhead spawners and recruits has demonstrated in several watersheds that at least 20% of anadromous adults result from matings that include at least one resident parent. • Genetic evidence suggests that resident and anadromous forms of 0. mykiss have arisen from the same population in each watershed where they occur. Genetic studies show that rainbow and steelhead populations within a given watershed of the ESU are more closely related to one another than to resident or anadromous forms in other watersheds. Thus, each population contains genetic diversity sufficient to regenerate either eco -type if one were temporarily lost. • Genetic diversity is present between watersheds within the ESU. Wherever genetic samples have been analyzed, distinctions between populations in major watersheds have been found, even within each subbasin. • Hatchery steelhead are a small fraction of spawners in most watersheds with wild steelhead production. Productivity of steelhead populations in streams with "all wild" steelhead was not significantly different from the productivity of steelhead populations in streams with mixed "hatchery -wild" stocks. ii F°,S.P. Cramer & Associates, Inc. f1 Mid Columbia ESU November 2004 • All available data supports the conclusion that resident O.mykiss (rainbow trout) will produce anadromous (steelhead) offspring. This has been observed in Argentina, California, and Alaska. There is no evidence that any stock of O.mykiss anywhere in the world has lost the ability to express both anadromous and resident life -history types. Accordingly, the concerns expressed by NMFS Biological Review Team, that the trait of anadromy might be genetically lost in streams which support both life -history types, is unsupported by any data, and contrary to all data that exists on the subject. SPATIAL STRUCTURE • Rainbow trout populations are often found upstream of dams and waterfalls wherever suitable perennial habitat exists. • Either resident or anadromous O. mykiss populations can be found inhabiting nearly every river -mile (RM) of every suitable stream in the Middle Columbia ESU on a seasonal or year-round basis. • Over 8,800 stream miles support O. mykiss populations in six subbasins, including over 5,200 miles with predominantly steelhead, and 3,100 miles with predominantly resident rainbow. • We cannot imagine a catastrophic natural or man-made event that could lead to the destruction of O, mykiss populations which are so widely dispersed over such a vast region. • Genetic sampling shows clear population structuring between subbasins, and even between major watersheds within subbasins. • Over 90% of genetic variation for the ESU remains within each population. Thus, while the geographic population structuring provides multiple bank accounts to preserve genetic diversity, the high genetic variation within each subbasin provides substantial capability to repopulate other subbasins in the event of catastrophic population loss in one or several of the subbasins. ABUNDANCE • Since the initial ESA listing occurred, trends in abundance of natural adult steelhead have been strongly upward in all major basins of the Middle Columbia ESU. Evidence suggests that all natural steelhead populations appear to be at or near carrying capacity. • Although assessments of abundance by the BRT focused only on steelhead, O. mykiss with a resident life history outnumber steelhead in the ESU by about 1,000 percent. • Yakima River steelhead production and survival appear to be strongly influenced by spawner and smolt abundance. When high numbers of spawners are present, egg -to -smolt survival is reduced. This strongly suggests that habitat Ili r:4 1111, S.P. Cramer & Associates, Inc. Mid Columbia ESU November 2004 capacity has been fully seeded in areas where anadromous production during the 1980's and 1990's. • The Yakima Basin above Roza Dam continues to support strong populations of resident, rather than anadromous 0. mykiss, in spite of harvest regulation designed to increase steelhead abundance. Satus Creek, Toppenish Creek, and the lower Naches basin remain the principal source of steethead production. • Steelhead production from the upper basin, particularly the upper Yakima River, is likely constrained by an abundant and widely distributed resident rainbow trout population. The regulated flow regime in the upper Yakima River may have created habitat conditions that favor residency over anadromy as an O. mykiss life history strategy. • Gene flow between steethead and resident rainbow trout in the upper Yakima River basin may confound realistic assessment of steelhead population status relative to the Endangered Species Act. Pearsons et al. (1998) concluded that their research in the Yakima River basin "--- suggests that aboriginal rainbow trout should be included within a steelhead ESU because the two forms are not reproductively isolated when in sympatry." PRODUCTIVITY • There is widespread evidence of density -dependence and moderate intrinsic growth rates across the eight spawner -recruit data sets for Middle Columbia steelhead populations. • Middle Columbia steelhead populations share similar habitats, and appear as a consequence to have very similar productivities. Among the data sets analyzed here, there is no evidence that one or more of the populations has exhibited relatively poor productivity over the past two decades. • Available evidence on Mid Columbia Steelhead strongly substantiates compensatory survival; survival increases as abundance decreases. Survival at extreme low densities is estimated to be 3.5 times higher than at the un -fished equilibrium Ievel(near recent escapement levels). • Given that survival changes as abundance changes, lambda (cohort replacement rate) is only useful as a red -flag indicator of population trend, not as an indicator or predictor of extinction risk • Present abundance levels appear healthy and in the range of the estimated carrying capacity for each subbasin. • The intrinsic productivity of 3.5 recruits per spawner under existing conditions, including passage mortality at main -stem Columbia dams, indicates Mid Columbia Steelhead could withstand substantial increases in mortality, particularly from short-term events, without driving the population to extinction. iv S.P. Cramer & Associates, Inc. Mid Columbia ESU 10,000 9,000 • 8.000 a 7,000 6,000 5,000 46 4,000 6 3,000 Z 2,000 1,090 0 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 ,' Z000 O 1,500 Z 1,010 500 0 4b .„,,et apt apt g4'0p app ael° ati aat Belie qap °pO �Op' ob° '1 1 'ti 1 ti ti 'vet '� 'ti s ti s Spawning Year Deschutes River November 2004 oe m o w n o o w m w v 0 GP — * M w w w Spawning Year Umatilla River v a z Klickitat River 100 ---- - --- - -- — - -- — - ---- __ .-- —� 100 ]� � �m Mtn 150 100 150 roti ®`m 50 `T Sapp �p'L 1pt tiapb lapp 1aa0 �aa'1. t Saab �aap vpp0 ry vppt Spawning Year Touchet River 5,000 4,500 4,000 e 3,500 n 3,000 2,500 • 2,000 6 1,500 z 1,000 500 0 Yakima River pb, op 4,, 0, 0 ap pp oti t 1� tia tia 44 1e! ♦a 1a 1N 1e1 yq tial '1, ti0 y°o Spawning Year 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 ',^g apo agti atapb app aa0 44 ao? 4° aap pp0 10'' pplk 1 ♦ '1 1 1 1 < 1 ♦ 1 1 'Y 'L Spawning Year 1,400 1,200 800 a • 600 4 400 z 200 Walla Walla River O 1111 a^pppa0app,a0appaa0antia0a<0a0p000 S. 1 4 1 1 1 1 s 4 Y .1,`? Spawning Year Figure 14. Population abundance of natural -origin steelhead in the Middle Columbia ESU, 1978-2004. 37 Redds per Mile S.P. Cramer & Associates, Inc. John Day Upper Mainstem Mid Columbia ESU November 2004 John Day Middle Fork 18 - 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 16 14 2 0 8 6 4 2 +``S °° bti @>t # 3`b q° q1 q e0 1°i 4, tiq 1q 7, tiq tiq ,q q Spawning Year 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 John Day Lower Mainstem Spawning Year John Day North Fork 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Spawning Year 0 �0 �0 144' ♦` �q �0 �` ° ti ` a 0 ti`s° tie ti°Rv tie Spawning Year 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 John Day South Fork Fifteenmile Creek 6 5 4 c 41 3 4,°° ,b°. 844"ggtiqqaaqbq�b 1 ti 1 ti ti ti ti Spawning Year 1 0 ,b° y qbp q�� q�g qqp qq, qqb qqb aq� °°° y 1 y ,s ,sti 4 4,ti,ss 15 ti ti Spawning Year Figure 14. (continued). 38 BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. a For Meeting of February 15, 2005 ITEM TITLE: Resolution Encouraging NOAA Fisheries to Carefully Consider Best Available Information for Steelhead Status Review, Including the Mid - Columbia Steelhead ESU Report prepared by S.P. Cramer, et al. tt' SUBMITTED BY: David Brown, Water/Irrigation Manage4 CONTACT PERSON/TELEPHONE: David Brown, 575-6204 SUMMARY EXPLANATION: NOAA Fisheries is currently conducting a status review of Steelhead populations under the Endangered Species Act, including the Mid -Columbia population in the Yakima area. This is a resolution encouraging NOAA Fisheries, when conducting the Steelhead status review, to carefully consider important new information provided in the Mid -Columbia Steelhead ESU Report prepared by S.P. Cramer, et al. NOAA Fisheries is directed to consider the best scientific and commercial information available when conducting status reviews. This report contains such information. It was prepared by a team of scientists with decades of experience in research and management of steelhead populations. The report presents updated data sets, and new analyses. It is organized according to the four criteria identified by NOAA Fisheries as the key measures of viable salmonid populations (VSP). For all four VSP criteria, the report finds repeated, consistent evidence that Mid Columbia Steelhead populations are robust, and at near zero risk of extinction. Attached are the executive summary from the Mid -Columbia Steelhead ESU Report along with Figure 14 "Population abundance of natural -origin steelhead in the Middle Columbia ESU, 1978-2004" from the report. The complete report is available in the City Clerk's and City Managers offices or on the web at http://speramer.com/reports/pdf/MidCoiSthdReportFinal.pdf. Resolution X Ordinance Contract Other (Specify) Mail to: Jim Trull, SVID, PO Box 239, Sunnvside, WA 98944-0239 Funding Source: N/A APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Do pass recommendation from the City of Yakima Council Economic & Development Committee. This is a Council Policy decision. COUNCIL ACTION: Resolution adopted. RESOLUTION NO. R-2005-40