114 U.S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



The requirement for fish protection as stated in the project license 

 from the Federal Power Commission provides for the construction of 

 a third ladder if this structure appears necessary. All available data 

 indicate that the two ladders now built functioned satisfactorily in 

 passing the 1932 fish runs, and it would seem but fair and proper 

 that no demand for the expensive construction represented by a third 

 ladder should be made unless and until future reliable observations 

 established the actual need of this structure and make possible an 

 intelligent specification for its location and design. 



Ariel development. — At this high head power development on the 

 Lewis River in Washington the Inland Power & Light Co., in heu of 

 a fish ladder which would have been impractical at a dam of this 

 height, has provided for the trapping of the upstream migrating 

 salmon at the power house tailrace and the ripening, spawning, and 

 rearing of these fish on an extensive scale. These provisions and 

 operations have been described in detail in our previous reports. 

 The fish protective works have now been completed and an agree- 

 ment entered into between the company and the State of Washing- 

 ton. In this agreement compliance with the requirements for fish 

 protection is acknowledged, the hatchery property and equipment is 

 deeded to the State, and provision is made for an annual payment to 

 the State of Washington for the operation of the hatchery. The 

 Bureau of Fisheries has now formally approved of the agreement, 

 thereby acknowledging the company's fulfillment of the requirements 

 for fish protection as set forth in Federal Power Commission's license 

 for the project. The feature of particular interest to this Bureau is 

 the operation of the fish trap and the mechanical lifting device 

 located over the power house tailrace. More than $57,000 was 

 invested in this equipment. Several runs of salmon and steelhead 

 have demonstrated the effectiveness of this type of equipment. It 

 is believed that the methods here employed constitute the most 

 progressive steps yet taken for handling upstream migrating fish at 

 high dams. 



FISH PROTECTION ON GOVERNMENT PROJECTS 



In the spring of 1932 the Reclamation Service started construction 

 of the Prosser power development which involves the diversion of 

 1,100 second-feet of water from the Yakima River near Prosser, 

 Wash. At this project the dam was already provided with a satis- 

 factory fishway, but there is a need for a screening device to conserve 

 the downstream migrating salmon and steelhead. 



At the present time the Reclamation Service is also constructing a 

 dam on the Cle Elum River in the Yakima watershed which will 

 raise the water surface of the river 140 feet and store 435,000 acre- 

 feet of water. At this dam a fish ladder will not be feasible and 

 neither the type of construction nor the plans for operating the 

 reservoir favor the mechanical handhng of fish and, if constructed, 

 such mechanical equipment would be very costly. 



Following thorough field investigation and conferences with the 

 engineers of the Reclamation Service at Denver, recommendations of 

 the Bureau of Fisheries were that, in lieu of attempts at costly mechan- 

 ical handhng, the Reclamation Service should allot to the Bureau 

 5,000 acre-feet of storage each year to be used specifically for fish 



