Northwest Fishing Reports

I really think that they should have done this to Lake Kachess first as the dam on that lake is the lowest of the bunch. But heck, we will take what we can get! Wished I would have found this earlier and posted it in time for folks to attend the public meeting. Anyone have any news on how it went?


Released On: January 26, 2010
Reclamation and Ecology Release Cle Elum Fish Passage Draft Environmental Impact Statement
The Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology have completed the Cle Elum Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Reintroduction Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). It is available for public review and will be formally filed with the US Environmental Protection Agency on January 29.

The purpose of the project is to construct fish passage facilities at Cle Elum Dam that will provide fish access to historic habitat and restore biodiversity and the natural production of anadromous salmonids in the upper Cle Elum subbasin.

Specific species expected to benefit include Coho, and spring Chinook salmon, and Pacific lamprey. The project will also contribute to the recovery of fish listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act such as the upper Middle Columbia River steelhead and ESA-listed bull trout.

Cle Elum Dam, located on the Cle Elum River about 8 miles northwest of Cle Elum, Washington, was built in 1933 without fish passage facilities.

The Draft EIS includes two preferred alternatives, one for construction of fish passage facilities, and one for fish reintroduction. Two no action alternatives are also included.

The preferred alternative for constructing downstream passage facilities would allow juvenile fish to pass through a multilevel gated intake structure located above the spillway and through a conduit on the right abutment of the dam. A trap-and-haul facility is also included in this alternative.

Concurrently, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is collaborating with the Yakama Nation to evaluate implementing a proposed fish reintroduction project to restore populations above Cle Elum Dam. The fish reintroduction project is dependent on the construction of the upstream fish passage facilities, and it includes the potential for construction of a fish hatchery in the future.

“As this project moves ahead, Reclamation and Ecology are committed to hearing from the public, and looking forward to solving the fish passage issues in the Yakima basin,” said Bill Gray, manager of Reclamation’s Columbia-Cascades Area Office. The public review and comment period is scheduled to run until March 22. Comments may be submitted orally, electronically, or by mail. Oral comments may be presented at the following public meeting: February 18, 2010, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. City of Cle Elum Council Chamber Room 119 West 1st Street Cle Elum, Washington

Wierd, no mention whatsoever of the Sockeye the Yakima put into the lake a year or 2 ago.

Have you seen anything about that? Perhaps they aren't able to figure out how it went since those fish would still be in Lake Cle Elum and not really distinguishable from the kokanee at this point?


Edit: The fry should be migrating to the lake right now actually.

Article Link

Actually if you check out the emergency regs for Lake Cle Elum you'll find that they imposed a size limit on the Kokanee to prevent harvest of the "test" sockeye that were introduced. The entire upper Yakima river basin is slowly being overhauled to be more fish friendly. A few years back I saw kings in the Teanaway river doing their thing! There is also a chinook rearing station on Jack creek that is being run by the Yakima tribe. It is sort of sad that things had to get this bad before people would step in to fix it. I'm jacked though about the possibility of salmon, steelhead and other species getting some more spawning areas!

It sure was pretty cool seeing those big kings swimming under the driftboat on the Yak last fall.