The second-tier database and World Wide Web services described in this scope of work are collectively known as DART (Data Access in Real Time). DART provides direct and timely public access to integrated Columbia Basin environmental, operational, fishery, riverine, ocean and climactic data resources for sound management of the Columbia Basin resources and hydrosystem by federal, state, tribal, public and private entities.

This work does not duplicate services provided by other federal, state, and private services in the region; rather it compliments these services by providing an independent source of integrated public data for more effective access, consideration, analysis, and application and by providing additional analysis capabilities for evaluating water and fishery status and management actions. These services are critical to BPA’s implementation of its fish and wildlife responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The services are available to FWP participants needing integration of data and can be used to implement effective monitoring and evaluation in real-time. The database assists with juvenile and adult mainstem passage analysis and modeling, supporting federal decisions affecting the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). The DART real-time analysis offerings and predictive modeling tools enhance the potential for adaptive management throughout the region.

The principle period of service is March through November during the downstream juvenile and upstream adult salmon migrations; however, data services, analyses, preparation, product development, and follow-up activities occur throughout the calendar year.

DART provides real-time data services in accordance with the Mainstem Amendments and Biological Opinions and aims to anticipate reporting and analysis needs of the region at large. This scope may be modified in the future, subject to requirements of Action Agency implementation of NOAA Fisheries and USFWS Biological Opinions, Federal court-directed remand of one or more biological opinions, and the regional review of information requirements and services.

Routine reporting and analysis by DART provides information on the impacts of the hydrosystem on fish passage. Historical, real-time, and predictive passage statistics provide resources for managing the hydrosystem in relation to migrating and resident stocks. The real-time analysis and modeling tools facilitate adaptive management for fish passage. In addition, the program presents a comprehensive description of fish passage including: pre-season analyses of the impacts of potential hydrosystem operations on migrants; real-time in-season analysis and predictions of smolt migration rate survival and transportation; real-time in-season analysis and predictions of adult upstream run size and migration timing; and post-season assessment of the performance of the pre-season and in-season predictions.


Specific hydrosystem and fish passage analyses provided by DART include:

1.  Detail and summary statistics and analysis of PTAGIS data for juveniles and adults;
2.  Monitoring and reporting detailed status of ESA listed stock migrations in real-time;
3.  In-season real-time run predictions for juvenile and adult stocks with an annual review of run-timing predictions;
4.  Adult and juvenile migration status monitoring within the hydrosystem corridor providing reach-specific and system-level passage information
      for ESA-listed and non-ESA species;
5.  Reports of migrant exposure to environmental and hydrosystem conditions;
6.  Summary and detail Conversion Rate analysis of PIT Tag adult returns.


DART currently addresses specific data integration needs in the region. DART presents an integrated, web-accessible system for tracking and analyzing Columbia River fish passage that allows the public, fish managers and researchers to explore and analyze historical passage seasons, track in real-time the status of current adult and juvenile fish passage through the Columbia River system, evaluate hydrosystem operations on anadromous and resident fish, and explore future and forecasted passage scenarios. Various tools provide sub-basin specific monitoring and evaluation analyses of salmonid passage, survival and adult returns.

Through regional cooperation with numerous federal, state, tribal, and private entities, DART provides (1) support for monitoring and evaluation of scientific research efforts; (2) access to spatially and temporally integrated biological and environmental data; and (3) integration and free exchange of information. The following list documents the major relationships DART maintains with other BPA funded projects (BPA Project Title and Project Number provided where available) and regional entities.

•  Monitoring and Evaluation Statistical Support for Life-Cycle Studies, Project# 1991-051-00
DART Services: Provide raw data, technical support services, database services, and web access to the statistical tools and RM&E analyses produced by this project.
Products: Analyses produced by this project include: Adult Escapement, PIT Tag Survival and Travel Time Analysis, Coded-Wire-Tag Smolt-to-Adult Ratios, adult count adjustor rates, and predictions of smolt outmigration timing.

•  Statistical Support for Salmon, Project# 1989-107-00
DART Services: Collaborate with project to maintain and enhance the Survival and Travel Time Estimates program.
Products: Publicly accessible online analysis tool to generate survival and travel time estimates of user-defined PIT-tagged populations.

•  Modeling and Evaluation Support/CRiSP, Project# 1989-108-00
DART Services: Provide raw data, technical support services, database services, and web access to analyses produced by this project.
Products: Analyses produced by this project include: predictions of smolt outmigration timing, transportation percentages, adult upstream migration timing, and water quality conditions.

•  Yakama Klickitat Fisheries Management, Data and Habitat, Project# 1988-120-25
DART Services: Maintain an ODBC connection to project database and provide synchronized reporting of the YKFP adult passage data.
Products: Publicly accessible reporting of adult passage data from the YKFP.

•  PTAGIS, Project# 1990-080-00
DART Services: Collaborate with project to define data file formats for daily data transfer and provide data quality feedback to PTAGIS and Tag Coordinators. Based on NMFS Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) definitions, DART defines stock composition and aggregates PIT-tagged releases and observations for daily monitoring of ESA stocks. DART also applies a detailed analysis filter of PTAGIS observation to assign detections to specific life stages.
Products: Publicly accessible comprehensive reporting and analysis tools for PTAGIS dataset, including survival, travel time, passage predictions, adult conversion rates, historical run-timing, and ESU stock-specific analyses and reports.

•  Smolt Monitoring, Project# 1987-127-00
DART Services: Provide raw data and web access to the datasets provided by this project.
Products: Publicly accessible reporting of Smolt Indices, Hatchery Releases, and Transportation datasets integrated with river conditions and other datasets.

•  Design and Conduct Monitoring and Evaluation Associated with Re-establishment of Okanogan Basin Natural Production, Project# 2003-022-00
DART Services: Provide raw data and web access to the datasets provided by this Colville Confederated Tribes, Fish and Wildlife Department project.
Products: Publicly accessible reporting of Okanogan Basin screw traps collected counts and Zosel Dam enumerated adult passage datasets integrated with river conditions and other datasets.

•  Monitor Reproduction in Wenatchee River Basin, Project# 2003-039-00
DART Services: Provide raw data and web access to the datasets provided by this Washington Fish and Wildlife Department project.
Products: Publicly accessible reporting of Wenatchee Basin screw traps collected counts and Tumwater Dam enumerated adult passage datasets integrated with river conditions and other datasets.

•  Mid-Columbia Agencies
DART Services: Provide database services, technical support services, and web access to Mid-Columbia screw trap collected counts from Chelan PUD, Douglas PUD, Grant PUD, USACE, USFWS, USGS, Washington State Department of Ecology, WDFW, Colville Tribes, and Yakama Nation.
Products: Support and facilitate collaboration of multiple agencies in the Mid-Columbia River region to integrate juvenile and adult salmon information with river conditions for improved management of these stocks. Publicly accessible reporting and analysis tools for Mid-Columbia smolt passage and adult passage datasets integrated with river conditions.

•  Chelan County PUD, Douglas County PUD, and Grand County PUD
DART Services: Provide database services, technical support services, and web services to Mid-Columbia PUDs. Adult passage data is provided directly to DART by the PUDs.
Products: Publicly accessible reporting and analysis tools for Mid-Columbia adult passage data for Wells, Rocky Reach, Rock Island, and Priest Rapids dams.

•  NOAA COMPASS Regional Juvenile Salmon Passage Model Project
DART Services: Provide database services and technical support services to the COMPASS Project, a regional work group coordinated by NOAA to develop a Columbia Basin smolt passage model that replaced the SIMPAS model.
Products: Integrated datasets of survival, travel-time and environmental conditions for statistical modeling and calibration. Technical support to NOAA hydrosystem scenario analyses for the Columbia-Snake Basin Biological Opinions.

•  Northwest Power and Conservation Council
DART Services: Provide source data and generate daily reports on reservoir elevations and river flow at Columbia Basin dams as requested by the NPCC.
Products: Daily reports of elevations for major U.S. reservoirs and river flow at key Lower Snake and Columbia dams for inclusion in the NPCC’s Power Supply Outlook Update.