This contract period from Feb. 1, 2018 through April 30, 2019 would continue programmatic objectives for the coho reintroduction program. Duties to include primary O&M activities such as acclimation, adult collections and spawning and early egg incubation in both the Methow and Wenatchee basins. Other actions are included as well (e.g.- carcass out planting, etc.) but are part of these overarching program goals and objectives. Modifications to the 2018 calendar year of events is that the Methow program will continue to prepare for a transition to the NPIP phase, which will require approximately double the adult collections for spawning which should have occurred in fall '17 (for 1 M juvenile production for release in 2019). This was supposed to have happened in the previous contracting period but due to insufficient adult returns, increase will be delayed for the second straight year. This had been originally scheduled for 2018 releases for Methow NPIP but with the delays of 8mile (SUP through USFS) and poor adult returns, YN had to make the determination to delay a year to maintain project integrity for all releases during NPIP to occur simultaneously. The Wenatchee program continues to work through the BDPII phase of the program and will look to repeat project-specific studies to try and determine if a contingency can be implemented if adults are unable to ascend Tumwater Canyon at the rate required to meet BDPII objectives.
CR activities to include: Pre-smolt hauling through ODFW subcontract, fish rearing/acclimation, broodstock collection, spawning, incubation, transportation of eyed eggs to LCR facilities, facility oversight/operations, annual non-technical production reporting (both in WEN and MET but also to include rearing summaries through USFWS subcontracting).