Submitted by: Steve Grabowski, PN Region, , 208-378-5030, sgrabowski@pn.usbr.gov
Proposal ID: 35
| Title |
| Assessment of potential effects of operation of Reclamation facilities on Pacific lamprey in major tributaries of the Columbia River basin. |
| What Is the Primary Research Question You Are Proposing with this Proposal? | Columbia River basin populations of Pacific lamprey (Entisphenus tridentatus) have declined steeply from historic levels in recent years, and there is widespread concern among federal and state management agencies and Columbia River basin tribes about their continued existence. Lamprey are of great importance to Columbia River tribes because of their subsistence, medicinal, cultural and ecological value. Reclamation plans to implement two action items in a 2008 MOA with lower Columbia River tribes, which includes identifying all Reclamation projects in the Columbia Basin that may affect lamprey, focusing initially on the Umatilla and Yakima projects and related facilities, and then jointly develop a lamprey implementation plan for Reclamation projects. This S&T proposal will allow Reclamation to identify water storage and diversion projects that may affect Pacific lamprey and develop management actions or recommend structural modifications that would reduce the potential negative effects of Reclamation operations and facilities on adult and juvenile lamprey. There is action agency support for proactively addressing the lamprey issue in the Basin. Several Columbia River basin tribes are working actively to restore lamprey. Successful completion of this proposal would contribute substantially to decreasing potential lamprey mortality at Reclamation facilities. This study would complement an existing TSC S&T proposal #ID: 3732. Although the initial study area for this proposal is major tributaries of the Columbia River basin, any information generated regarding criteria for screening or passage improvements would be applicable to Reclamation projects wherever lamprey occur in proximity to Reclamation projects. This proposal would improve the reliability of Reclamation water deliveries by producing effective solutions that Reclamation water managers can use to prevent water conflicts with the environmental demands on water supplies. |