The hatchery Operations and Maintenance effort is an important component of the overall Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project that is designed to increase salmon production and harvests in the region. Details about the O&M effort were not provided in the proposal. Instead, the proposal referenced other documents, such as the Revised Master Plan and the 2020 annual M&E report that contain considerable information regarding hatchery operations and production. The ISRP encourages the proponents to continue to address issues raised by the ISRP (2020-3, 2020-9). Given these comprehensive reports and recent ISRP reviews, the Operations and Maintenance project is judged to meet scientific review criteria.

Q1: Clearly defined objectives and outcomes

The goal of the Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) is to restore sustainable and harvestable populations of salmon, steelhead and other at-risk species that were historically present in the Yakima subbasin. Specific stock abundance objectives by species for the Yakima Basin were developed in collaboration with the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee and presented on pages 212-249 of the task force’s Phase 2 Report. Specific release goals for Yakima Basin production facilities and programs were stated in the proposal. Nevertheless, the proposal should have provided objectives that describe the functions and expected outcomes from the activities of this specific project, which involve brood stock collection, adult holding, spawning, incubation, rearing, acclimation, and release of fish.

Q2: Methods

Methods and metrics for summarizing annual performance statistics were briefly noted in the proposal, and more comprehensive reports were cited, including the recently reviewed revised Master Plan by ISRP (2020-3).

Q3: Provisions for M&E

The proposal briefly described the adaptive management and annual project review process for the overall YKFP. Reports containing more details were cited. The purpose of these annual reviews is to (re)assess project objectives, to show progress towards those objectives, and to evaluate whether any strategies or assumptions need to be altered in the face of new information gained over the past year. Specific details and examples of this process were not provided.

Q4: Results – benefits to fish and wildlife

The proposal did not specifically describe hatchery production trends, but it did reference the annual M&E report and the Revised Master Plan, both of which have been recently reviewed by the ISRP.

The ISRP reviewed the three YKFP projects as a set. The response for 199506325 is sufficient. See the ISRP comments under that proposal.

The ISRP reviewed the three YKFP projects as a set. As a result, see the ISRP’s review of 199506325 for details on the request for a response. That project should be able to address the request in a coordinated response representing all three YKFP proposals.

See overall comments for the five related Yakima/Klickitat Fishery Projects under proposal 19881205.

Comments specific to this O&M proposal:

This O&M project is identified as a crucial component of the broad YKFP project which mitigates for the federal power projects by supplementing populations and improving habitats. The YKFP O&M project specifically addresses the operation of three facilities critical to the YKFP's supplementation experiment (Cle Elum Facility [CEF], Prosser Fish Facility [PFF], and Marion Drain Facility [MDF]). These facilities handle the bulk of work associated with brood collection and husbandry, incubation and rearing, and acclimation and release for fall and spring Chinook and Coho. As specifically focused on CESRF, PFF, and MDF this project identifies its role within the broader YKFP. However, the broader rationale and significance needs to be described beyond the need for ongoing facilities O&M. More specifically, why the facilities need to be kept going is crucial in terms of the realized or potentially realized benefits of artificial production and supplementation.

The project history was mostly a listing of dollars spent.

The objectives are very brief, but this is all about simply producing fish. Lost are the overarching objectives about restoring wild runs and minimizing risks to native fish. Most of the Methods for the work elements are straightforward. While the earlier disagreements about specific wording in regard to 2x2 factorial breeding designs have been addressed in this version, the ISRP remains generally skeptical about the ability of a broad supplementation program at restoring or even maintaining population viability. That M&E is directly integrated will help to dispel this skepticism if natural productivity is demonstrated as a result of the program.

As the stated objectives are non-biological for this specific project, M&E are not amenable unless there is some actual habitat work being conducted (which is not obvious). As such there is no real science to review here, although review is doable for the broader program. Information transfer needs to occur for biological data (as well as coordination and planning) within the broader YKFP context.

While the facilities and personnel are appropriately large-scale (21+ personnel) at three major (+ satellite) facilities, the timeframe to reach some decisional nexus is not well described.