The Bonneville Power Administration initiated the Select Area Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Project in 1993 at the recommendation of the Northwest Power Planning Council to investigate terminal fisheries on the lower Columbia River.  Terminal fisheries are being developed as a means to increase sport and commercial harvest of hatchery fish while providing greater protection for weak stocks of salmon and steelhead including those protected under the Endangered Species Act.  Initial funding for the SAFE Project covered a comprehensive, 10-year feasibility study which was planned in three phases: site investigation, initiation of smolt production and releases at the most suitable sites, and increasing fish production to full capacity at all sites.  The proposal submitted for the 2007-09 funding cycle and this SOW will move the project closer to the third intended phase.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Clatsop County Economic Development Council are co-sponsors of the SAFE Project.  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) would receive $828,716 of the approximate $1.8 million FY 2007 budget for the project, of which $687,710 or 83% of the funds are used directly for fish production and fish marking costs.  With this budget and SOW ODFW will produce about 850,000 spring chinook at Gnat Creek Hatchery and 750,000 coho at Klaskanine hatchery.  Coho production at Klaskanine hatchery is a new element in the 2007-09 proposal and is needed to replace production lost when coho from Eagle Creek NFH were no longer made available to SAFE after the 2002 brood year. Production of Select Area Bright fall chinook has been shifted to CEDC and this SOW includes duties to cover the transition period.  The remainder of ODFW's share of the contract or $141,006 covers fishery sampling, stream surveys, hatchery sampling, test fishing, fishery management and analysis, project coordination, administration and other costs.  

There are currently four Select Area Fishing sites: Youngs Bay, Blind Slough and Tongue Point in Oregon and Deep River in Washington.  Each site provides both recreational and commercial fishing opportunities, although season structure and target species differ with current management goals and production strategies.  Sampling of the recreational fisheries, spawning grounds, and at the hatcheries provides additional tag recovery data that is used to monitor survival, stray rates, and fishery contribution.  Production, acclimation, and release strategies have varied over time at each site as empirical results from CWT releases have been analyzed to determine which methods have the best survival, highest fishery contribution, and lowest stray rate.  For all sites combined, annual SAFE project smolt releases during 1993-2006 have ranged between 2.0-4.2 million coho, 0.4-1.8 million spring chinook, 0.1-0.6 million upriver bright fall chinook, and 0.1-1.4 million select area bright fall chinook.  This SOW covers the continuation of these tasks and an increase of 1.35 million smolts released.

The SAFE Program releases high quality hatchery salmon smolts from net pen sites in terminal fishing areas.  These fish subsequently provide significant harvest opportunity for sport and commercial fishers when they return as adults.  The economic value of the fishery, as measured in ex-vessel dollars, has increased from approximately $198,000 in 1996 to $1.2 million in 2004.  The SAFE program has demonstrated high survival rates for smolts released by the project, high harvest rates and low stray rates for returning adults, low impacts to non-local salmonids, and high economic value to the fishers and the communities that benefit from the fisheries.  Plans for the third phase of the project, maximizing production releases for all species at all sites, has been limited by available funding but this SOW is intended to move the project into this phase.