MA 56662-00054, PI 1988-115-35 EXP YKFP KLICKITAT HATCHERY/ WAHKIACUS DESIGN      

With this amendment the YN and BPA agree to discontinue design development of the proposed Wahkiacus Hatchery Acclimation Facility (WAF), after June 30, 2014, until such time as Yakama Nation Tribal Council finalizes review and determines an acceptable course of action for that tribally owned property.  The Tribal Council decision document will then be presented to BPA at which time the YN-YKFP and BPA will either reinitiate design actions within this contract, or develop an alternate strategy through the Accord Agreement to meet biological objectives for Klickitat basin stocks.  


PROJECT PURPOSE:

The Klickitat Fishery YKFP expense design Project (Klick D & C) will advance Step 2 design requirements of prioritized capital construction elements listed below.  These elements are guided by the 2012 Klickitat River Anadromous Fisheries Master Plan (KMP), Klickitat Hatchery Complex Program Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and available capital funding. As identified in the KMP, the primary project goal is to increase the natural production, distribution and harvest opportunities for steelhead, spring Chinook, while enhancing the harvest opportunities of fall Chinook, and coho, minimizing potential negative interaction with other salmonids in the Klickitat Subbasin.  The KMP provides the detail of proposed techniques to reform hatchery practices with required new infrastructure and prioritized habitat restoration. The KMP has established biological goals and objectives that will contribute to the accomplishment of the overall goal of increasing fish numbers and distribution within the Subbasin. The biological goals, which are consistent with the NPCC Fish and Wildlife Program (NPCC 2000), are designed to achieve both the biological performance of the target species and improve environmental conditions to allow sustainable populations.

This project will provide the necessary Step 2 Council Review information needed for design work, permitting and construction/facility upgrades, to the proposed Wahkiacus Acclimation Facility and the existing YN-owned, NOAA O&M-funded Klickitat Hatchery near Glenwood, Washington.  As outlined in the KMP, each facility that is upgraded or constructed using hatchery reform principles, will be linked to the recently completed Lyle Falls Fishway Broodstock Collection Facility and Castile Falls Fishway Monitoring Facility.

Priority facilities for design under this contract:

1.  Wahkiacus Hatchery
2.  Klickitat  Hatchery
        
  
GENERAL BACKGROUND:
The Yakama Nation has actively managed fish and wildlife on their Tribal lands for more than 58 years.  During this time, wild and artificially produced spring Chinook (Onchorynchus tshawytscha), fall Chinook (O . tshawytscha), coho (O. kisutch), and steelhead (O. mykiss) in the Klickitat Subbasin have been managed to ensure their long-term existence and provide fishing opportunities in an effort to mitigate for the loss of fisheries due to construction of the Columbia River hydroelectric dams.

The Klickitat Hatchery, Lyle Falls Fishway, and Castile Falls Fishway were built as part of an effort to mitigate for lost fishing opportunities.  The operation of the three facilities, which was previously operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, was transferred to the Yakama Nation in December 2005.  They are operated under the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Program (YKFP). The YKFP uses artificial production to re-establish, supplement, and/or increase natural production of anadromous salmonids and harvest opportunities while maintaining long-term fitness of the target populations and minimizing or avoiding impacts on non-target species.