EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION DIVERSION

STRUCTURES ON CHINOOK

SALMON SPAWNING MIGRATION

Ian Wilson1, Shane Vatland1, James Harbeck1 and

Aaron Maxwell2, 1Department of Fisheries Resource

Management, The Freshwater Trust2

SPAWNING

FEEDING REFUGIA

MOVEMENTMOVEMENT

MOVEMENT

COMPLETE PARTIAL NONEXISTENT

IMPROVING FISH PASSAGE BARRIERS

o Preserve instream flow

o Habitat projects

o Monitoring

LOSTINE RIVER RADIO TELEMETRY STUDY

oMonitor migration behavior

oEstimate discharge and passage at

irrigation diversions

oEvaluate distribution relative to arrival

timing

0

5

10

15

20

25

1-J

un

8-J

un

15

-Ju

n

22

-Ju

n

29

-Ju

n

6-J

ul

13

-Ju

l

20

-Ju

l

27

-Ju

l

3-A

ug

10

-Au

g

17

-Au

g

24

-Au

g

31

-Au

g

7-S

ep

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Pe

rce

nt

of ru

n

Week number with date

LATEEARLY

Fixed Site Antenna Configuration

Water Flow Direction

Receiver

BoxD

ive

rsio

n W

eir

Field of

DetectionField of

Detection

104

152

75

13

55

10

Tulley Hill

Clearwater

Caudle Lane

Lostine Diversion

Sheep Ridge

Pole Bridge

Tulley Hill

Clearwater

Caudle Lane

Lostine Diversion

Sheep Ridge

Pole Bridge

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Riv

er

kilo

me

ter

Tagging date

2014

RESTORATION OF THE LOSTINE

DIVERSION

oMonitor Chinook salmon passage time before

and after a restoration

oEvaluate discharge and passage events

oDetermine passage efficiency

LOSTINE DIVERSION RESTORATION

Before After

8

74

9

35

Caudle Lane

Lostine Diversion

Caudle Lane

Lostine Diversion

BEFORE 2010-12

AFTER 2013-14

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

0

1

2

3

4

5

Dis

ch

arg

e (

cfs

)

Nu

mb

er

of

fish

pa

sse

d

Date of passage

2014

DISCUSSION

oNatural and artificial barriers can limit habitat connectivity for

Chinook salmon, although restoration of barriers can result in

increased connectivity

oImproved passage success and reduced passage time increase

the likelihood that fish can reach critical spawning habitat

oArrival timing and flow conditions promote access to spawning

habitat in upper reaches of the Lostine River

DISCUSSION

oRadio telemetry data informed managers of habitat restoration

effectiveness and prioritization

oThe explicit relationship between passage time and discharge

needs further exploration

oFish passed diversions at discharge lower than previously

believed, yet this may not reflect the total cost of migrating at

low discharge and elevated water temperatures

QUESTIONS?