Location

UMass Amherst

Start Date

28-6-2011 4:05 PM

End Date

28-6-2011 4:25 PM

Description

The Yakama Nation Fisheries Program (YNFP) is one of the largest fisheries programs of native people in North America. For over four decades it has held true to its mission to Honor, Protect, and Restore the fisheries that are, vital to sustaining the Yakama’s way of life. Thefree-flowing Klickitat Subbasin in SW Washington is an important Columbia River tributary for the Yakamas, as it remains the last best place to harvest fish for ceremonial, subsistence and commercial purposes using traditional methods, and thereby ensuring a place to pass down this important part of their culture. Research conducted through the Bonneville Power Administration funded Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) determined the abundance, spatial structure and diversity of Klickitat anadromous stocks. Research information is guides a prioritized approach to enhance habitat abundance, function and complexity. Additionally, the YKFP has recently completed major reconstruction of two non-compliant fishways into modem fish passage facilities incorporating; remote sensing, eelways, and brood collection capabilities to meet future hatchery reform goals. A total of over 55 miles of mainstem passage have been opened; with an additional 12 miles of tributary passage opened in the Klickitat Basin. Since its inception in 1983, the YKFP has lead the effort to reform hatchery practices to make certain that the stated hatchery objectives (i.e. harvest augmentation, native stock supplementation, or ESA-listed stock conservation) meets treaty obligations and local community goals, while being scientifically defensible. This presentation will highlight the importance of building partnerships among tribal members and local stakeholders, development of the overarching policy framework guiding this project and describe the unique nature of state and tribal YKFP co-management. An overview of the intended benefits in fish production through hatchery reform measures and increased habitat abundance and effectiveness to support increased natural production in the Klickitat Basin will also be described.

Comments

Bill Sharp is a Research Scientist with Yakama Nation Fisheries Program in Toppenish, Washington. He obtained a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from Colorado State University in 1987. Bill has over 28 years of fisheries management and research experience in the Columbia River Basin. He has worked in the headwaters of the Snake River Basin with Idaho Fish and Game and at each of the Columbia River mainstem hydroelectric dams while employed by the US Anny Corps of Engineers. For the last 22 years Bill has managed fisheries research, habitat restoration projects, large scale fishway reconstruction projects, and hatchery reforms efforts in the Klickitat Basin. Currently he is working with refional partners on the White Salmon River’s Condit Dam decommissioning project, one of the nation’s largest hydroelectric dam removal projects todate.

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Jun 28th, 4:05 PM Jun 28th, 4:25 PM

Session C6- Restoring habitat, improving passage and implementing hatchery reform in the Klickitat Subbasin: a Yakama tribal approach

UMass Amherst

The Yakama Nation Fisheries Program (YNFP) is one of the largest fisheries programs of native people in North America. For over four decades it has held true to its mission to Honor, Protect, and Restore the fisheries that are, vital to sustaining the Yakama’s way of life. Thefree-flowing Klickitat Subbasin in SW Washington is an important Columbia River tributary for the Yakamas, as it remains the last best place to harvest fish for ceremonial, subsistence and commercial purposes using traditional methods, and thereby ensuring a place to pass down this important part of their culture. Research conducted through the Bonneville Power Administration funded Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) determined the abundance, spatial structure and diversity of Klickitat anadromous stocks. Research information is guides a prioritized approach to enhance habitat abundance, function and complexity. Additionally, the YKFP has recently completed major reconstruction of two non-compliant fishways into modem fish passage facilities incorporating; remote sensing, eelways, and brood collection capabilities to meet future hatchery reform goals. A total of over 55 miles of mainstem passage have been opened; with an additional 12 miles of tributary passage opened in the Klickitat Basin. Since its inception in 1983, the YKFP has lead the effort to reform hatchery practices to make certain that the stated hatchery objectives (i.e. harvest augmentation, native stock supplementation, or ESA-listed stock conservation) meets treaty obligations and local community goals, while being scientifically defensible. This presentation will highlight the importance of building partnerships among tribal members and local stakeholders, development of the overarching policy framework guiding this project and describe the unique nature of state and tribal YKFP co-management. An overview of the intended benefits in fish production through hatchery reform measures and increased habitat abundance and effectiveness to support increased natural production in the Klickitat Basin will also be described.