[6] New Hatchery Gets Final Nod

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has given the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation approval to construct a $40-million hatchery below Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River.

The project has been under review for seven years and will be funded by BPA.

"The Chief Joseph Hatchery will help restore salmon to the upper Columbia River watershed and provide new harvest opportunities for tribal and non-tribal fishers," Council Chair Bruce Measure said. "From the start, this has been a model project for its science-based approach, its demonstration of innovative harvest techniques to protect wild fish, and its remarkable collaboration among state, federal, and tribal governments."

The hatchery will help to rebuild spring and summer/fall chinook runs in the Okanogan River Basin and the Columbia River between the Okanogan and Chief Joseph Dam.

Eggs will come from broodstock in the Okanogan River, be raised at the hatchery, and juvenile fish will be released into six acclimation ponds in the Okanogan Basin, with a goal of releasing nearly 3 million smolts a year.

The new project is expected to provide added harvest opportunities for both tribal members and recreational fishers.

According to a NPCC press release, mid-Columbia PUDs could offset part of BPA's financial obligation to satisfy some of their own mitigation responsibilities incurred in relicensing their own projects.

Power Council spokesman John Harrison said a report by Council staffers estimated that the PUDs may pay up to 35 percent of the cost of the Chief Joseph hatchery production, to satisfy requirements in their own habitat conservation plans and settlement agreement.

It was also reported that Grant PUD is firming up a commitment to pay for 18.3 percent of capital and annual operating expenses of the hatchery, with Chelan and Douglas PUDs expected to continue talks for funding flexible shares of the new facility. -B. R.

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