368 U- S. BUKEAU OF FISHERIES 



Harbor, carried on in previous years through the cooperation of the 

 Alaska Division, was discontinued for lack of funds to analyze the 

 data. 



INA'ESTIGATION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF MIGRATORY FISH AT THE. 



BONNEVILLE DAM 



The future of the salmon, sea-run trout, and other anadromous fish 

 of the Columbia River is endangered by the Bonneville Dam, which 

 is being constructed by the War Department as a part of the Public 

 Works program. This dam will obstruct the main Columbia below 

 the tributaries that furnish the bulk of the spawning areas. The 

 run of fish involved supply a great part of the sport fishing of the 

 inland region of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as support 

 a commercial fishery whose annual yield is valued at several million 

 dollars. The task of designing fishways for the Bonneville Dam, 

 therefore, becomes the most important undertaking of its kind ever 

 attempted. 



When the United States Army engineers started preparing de- 

 tailed plans for the structures, they called upon the Bureau of Fish- 

 eries for recommendations relating to fishways. Such recommenda- 

 tions could not be furnished without a detailed study of the situation. 

 In fact, the magnitude and importance of the task demanded con- 

 sideration of new features in fishways. A portion of the funds 

 allotted to the Bonneville project, therefore, was assigned to the 

 Bureau of Fisheries for its investigations. 



Harlan B. Holmes was placed in charge of the investigation. 

 Henry F. Blood, a prominent engineer of Portland, Oreg., was 

 employed to assist with the engineering phases. Other temporary 

 employees have assisted with various biological and engineering 

 phases of the work. The investigation has been conducted in close 

 contact with the designing staff of the United States Army engi- 

 neers, a committee representing the fishing interests, and the State 

 fish and game departments. 



The investigation has involved (1) an analysis of commercial fish- 

 ery catch records and information from other sources for the pur- 

 pose of estimating the time and magnitude of the runs of fish; (2) a 

 familiarity with the physical features of the dam and power-house 

 structures; (3) a historical study of the seasonal variations in the 

 flow of the river, and the effects of these fluctuations upon the oper- 

 ation of fishways; (4) an extensive study of fishway principles in- 

 cluding a survey of fishways now in use or previously tried, prin- 

 ciples that have been proposed but never put into practice, and the 

 development of new features; and (5) finally upon the basis of these 

 investigations the presentations of detailed recommendations for 

 fishway structures. 



The investigation was started in November 1933, and some phases 

 are not as yet completed. Tentative conclusions have been made 

 available to the designing staff of the United States Army Engineers 

 as rapidly as they become available. Formal recommendations for 

 fishways for upstream migrants were submitted to the War Depart- 

 ment in August 1934. Details and other features pertaining mainly 

 to the passage of downstream migrants and the passage of fish dur- 



