102 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



sites for a hatching station occur in the Upper Columbia and on the 

 Snake River and other tributaries, the investigations failed to show 

 that spawning fish could be obtained in sufficient numbers in the 

 neighborhood of any of those visited to make them suitable for that 

 purpose. Their conclusions are as follows : 



In summing up the facts brought out by these investigations it may he said, first, 

 that the absence of salmon from the Pend Oreille River is not necessarily due to 

 the presence of falls in that stream, but to other causes, chief among which is the 

 excessive catching of salmon in the Lower Columbia; second, that while it is true 

 that the salmon are shut out by falls and dams from a large area, especially in the 

 Upper Snake River basin, and that these limitations are increasing as the streams 

 become useful for irrigation and mining purposes, it is nevertheless certain that the 

 decrease in the salmon has been even greater, and that the accessible waters suitable 

 for spawning purposes are still more than ample to meet present needs; and, third, 

 that the desirability of establishing another salmon hatchery at some point in the 

 Columbia basin will depend largely upon the nature of the fishery legislation in 

 the States of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 



It must be understood, however, that our knowledge regarding the present abun- 

 dance of salmon, their relative abundance as compared with former years, and the 

 location and extent of their spawning-grounds, is of the most general kind. AVhile 

 valuable so far as it goes, the information which we now possess upon these important 

 questions is chiefly useful in indicating the nature of the investigations which must 

 be carried on for several seasons before a thorough understanding of the salmon 

 question can be reached. 



The study of the Columbia River was again taken up early in the 

 season of 1894, by Professor Gilbert, who proceeded to Astoria on 

 March 20. Three weeks were spent in the field at that time, chiefly at 

 Astoria and on the fishing-grounds in the lower part of the river, 

 in making observations on the runs of both the quinnat and blueback 

 salmon, but the river was also ascended as far as Lewiston, Idaho, with 

 stops at The Dalles, Riparia, and Starbuck. The work was resumed 

 June 1 by Professor Gilbert, with three assistants from Stanford Uni- 

 versity, and its scope was extended to include a reconnoissance of the 

 Klamath, Rogue, and Umpqua rivers, for the purpose of determining 

 the relation of their faunas to that of tihe Sacramento on the south and 

 the Willamette on the north. This inquiry was still in progress at the 

 end of the fiscal year. 



IOWA, NEBRASKA., SOUTH DAKOTA, AND WYOMING. 



The acts of Congress approved July 28 and August 5, 1892, directed 

 that investigations be conducted respecting the advisability of estab- 

 lishing fish -hatching stations at suitable places in one or more of the 

 States above named. This work was commenced in the fall of 1892 and 

 was completed during the summer and lull of 1893, having been under 

 the immediate direction of Prof. B. W. Evermann. The inquiries were 

 twofold in nature, relating (1) to the physical and natural-history 

 characteristics of the waters of the region, in order to determine their 

 conditions as to the existing fish supply, as well as their suitability for 

 stocking with species not indigenous to them and their requirements in 

 that respect, and (2) to the advantages presented by different localities 

 for fish-cultural operations. 



