with Canada to aid fish and wildlife that share 

 habitat on both sides of the border. 



■ Contract with a management consulting firm 

 to review and refine the overall structure of the 

 program to ensure its effective implementation. 



■ Increase the amount of Bonneville's fish 

 and wildlife project budget that is devoted to 

 resident fish and wildlife. The Council considers 

 15 percent of that project budget an appropriate 

 planning target for resident fish and another 15 

 percent for wildlife. 



Strategy for Salmon 



Goal * 



■ Double annual salmon production in the 

 Columbia Basin from approximately 2.5 million 

 to 5 million adult fish. 



■ Accomplish the doubling goal with no 

 appreciable risk to the biological diversity offish 

 populations. 



Framework 



■ Rebuild Snake River salmon runs to the 

 following numbers: 50,000 spring chinook, 

 20,000 summer chinook, 1 ,000 fall chinook. 



■ Evaluate salmon rebuilding actions in light 

 of these six principles: 1) give priority to weak 

 upriver runs; 2) cause no appreciable risk to 

 biological diversity among or within fish popula- 

 tions, including resident fish; 3) take a total 

 watershed approach to habitat and production 

 improvements; 4) respect obligations to Indian 

 tribes and other harvesters; 5) focus research on 

 key uncertainties; and 6) use existing hatcheries 



'■•m^. 



Strategy 



Salnion 



unless the need for fish cannot be met with 

 existing facilities. 



Enhance salmon survival in 

 the rivers 



Increase river velocities to reduce fish 

 travel time 



Immediate actions 



■ Increase the speed of the Snake River 

 during the spring salmon migration by lowering 

 Snake River reservoirs to near minimum 

 operating levels and providing additional water 

 from Dworshak Dam and the upper Snake 

 River. 



■ Increase water storage and flows in the 

 Columbia River. 



■ Lower John Day Reservoir to minimum 

 irrigation pool. 



■ Operate Brownlee Reservoir on the Snake 

 River in a manner that assists adult salmon 

 migrating upstream in spring and ensures that 

 fall chinook redds (nests of eggs) remain wet. 



■ Evaluate energy exchanges and other alter- 

 natives for providing additional water in the 

 Columbia to aid summer-migrating salmon. 



■ Evaluate increased spring and summer 

 flows. 



Intermediate actions 



■ Implement a Snake River drawdown 

 strategy by April 1995, unless it is shown to be 

 structurally or economically infeasible, bio- 

 logically imprudent or inconsistent with the 

 Northwest Power Act. 



■ Implement a strategy to lower John Day 

 eservoir to minimum operating pools unless it 



is sh^Hi to be structurally or economically 



' 1991-1992 



Northwest Power Plar\ning Cour\cil 

 approves its salmon strategy. 



'■"^.'^s'feSw- 



42 



