The Problem:  Development of the Columbia River Basin hydropower system has created impoundments throughout the basin, severely restricted movements of white sturgeon and two principal food sources (eulachon and Pacific lamprey), and degraded or destroyed white sturgeon spawning and rearing habitat.  As a result, many impounded white sturgeon populations are not as productive as they were before development of the hydropower system.  In some upper Columbia River Basin reaches, the isolated populations may face extirpation.

Project Overview: This project includes a series of closely coordinated and complementary activities being implemented in an orderly progression from initial problem scoping to full-scale restoration and mitigation in the Columbia River downstream from Lake Roosevelt, and in the Snake River downstream from Lower Granite Dam.  The project has evolved from conducting research on white sturgeon in the Columbia River Basin to implementing mitigation activities based on research results, and monitoring the effects of mitigation activities.

This project seeks to ensure healthy populations of white sturgeon so that harvest opportunities for tribal and recreational fishers are sustained.  To accomplish this, white sturgeon stocks in already productive areas will need to be intensively managed to maintain production, while depressed stocks in other areas will need to be rebuilt through a variety of measures.  This project addresses requirements for management of existing fisheries, research to determine factors limiting production in depressed stocks, and implementation of management activities resulting from research on methods to rebuild depressed stocks.   Monitoring of stocks and evaluation of management actions are critical components of this project.

Specific project goals are to (1) ensure persistence of white sturgeon populations, (2) restore and maintain population productivity in impounded reaches to levels similar to that in the unimpounded Lower Columbia River Mainstem, and (3) restore and ensure sustainable white sturgeon fisheries.  The objectives for 2017-2018 include a range of specific tasks that include mitigation actions, monitoring the effects of mitigation actions, and research.  Taken together, the objectives are designed to restore white sturgeon populations in impounded areas so that they can sustain annual harvest or use equivalent to 5 kg/hectare of surface area

FY 2019 also includes the sencond year of 2-years of Council approved White Sturgeon Emerging Priority work funded through the  Cost Saving Workgroup process.  The White Sturgeon Population Status Assessments for Isolated at-Risk Populations in Lower Snake River Impoundments Portion of that work is as follows:

Title:  White Sturgeon Population Status Assessments for Isolated at-Risk Populations in Lower Snake River ImpoundmentsBackground:Snake  River  white  sturgeon  populations  between  Ice  Harbor  Dam  and  Lower Granite  Dam  have  been  impacted  by  the  construction  and  operation  of  Columbia  and  Snake River  dams.    Due  to  infrequent  adult  sturgeon  upstream  passage  and  extensive  changes  in  the ecosystem,  limited  population  assessments  indicated  Snake  River  populations  have  become isolated, have low or no spawning success in many years, low growth rates, and appear to be in decline.  Previous  population  surveys  in  the  three  impoundments  have  been  conducted  through BPA  project  1986-050-00.  Annual  natural  production  (sub-yearling  sampling  for  spawning success)  was  monitored  from  1996  through  2005  in  two  of  the  three  impoundments,  with successful  production  occurring  less  than  20%  of  the  time.  There  has  been  no  monitoring  of natural  production  in  these  impoundments  since  2005  due  to  restrictive  funding.    Snake  River juvenile  and  adult  populations  were  initially  monitored  in  1996  (Ice  Harbor  Reservoir)  and  in 1997 (Lower Monumental and Little Goose reservoirs). Project proponents attempted to schedule follow-up assessments starting in 2004, and again in 2007-09 but funding of BPA project 1986-050-00 was reduced eliminating this assessment element.  Assessments were delayed until 2012 (Lower Monumental and Little Goose reservoirs) and 2014 (Ice Harbor).The 2012 and 2014 population assessments were limited in scope due to reduced BPA budgets. Data  from  the  2012  survey  was  inadequate  to  develop  abundance  estimates  for  the  Lower Monumental  and  Little  Goose  reservoir  populations;  however  the  catch  per  unit  effort  (CPUE) declined  by  at  least  56%  from  the  earlier  surveys.  The  2014  mark-recapture  estimate  for  Ice Harbor  Reservoir  lacked  precision,  but  showed  a  32%  decline  from  1996.  Current  population length  frequency  histograms  are  flat  with  random  variation,  which  suggest  that  there  is  limited spawning success in many  years.  Because of the decline in population status, fishery managers closed all three reservoirs to sturgeon retention in 2015. This closure resultedin a loss of several thousand angler trips a year. The recent population assessment was inadequate because of limited resources,  the  very  small  population,  and  non-standardized  methods  are  needed  for  very  small populations.   Therefore,   we   propose   a   robust stock   assessment   to   assess   each   reservoirs population status, and develop actions to improve the status of these at risk populations.Scope:The  scope  of  this  RFI  addresses  the  first  activity,  which  is  to  conduct  white  sturgeon status  assessments  in  the  lower  Snake  or  Columbia  Rivers.  Other  white  sturgeon  population assessment  generally  occur  at  intervals  less  than  three  years  and  the  time  between  Snake  River assessments has been two decades making this a high priority. Implementation  Activity: Conduct  population  assessments  within  the  three  lowermost  Snake River  impoundments.    We  propose  to  monitor  Ice  Harbor  Reservoir  (IHR)  in  2018  and  Lower Monumental Reservoir (LMR) in 2019.  The key elements of our population assessment include: 1) estimate the population abundance (Nc), population growth rate (?), survival, movement, and individual  growth  rates  based  on  biological  sampling  and  capture-tag-recapture  using  Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags; 2) assess status and trends of key indicators identifiedin the first element for these three isolated populations based on biological sampling and PIT tagging; 3) collect and analyze pectoral fin rays from white sturgeon injected with OTC in 1996 and 1997 to validate aging techniques; and 4) collect and archive genetic samples for analysis to estimate additional viability metrics such as population structure and effective population size (Ne) based
2Snake River Sturgeon Stock Assessment02/22/2017on  genetics  for  future  analysis;  5)  use  the  adaptive  management  framework  to  improve monitoring,  recommendations  and  decisions  for  these  populations  (fishing,  supplementation, flow augmentation, etc.).  In addition, our future efforts include monitor Little Goose Reservoir (LGR) in 2020, and determining factors that limit spawning success.  BPA Funded Projects: BPA Project 1986-050-00 is a joint WDFW, Oregon Department of Fish and  Wildlife(ODFW),  and Columbia  River  Intertribal  Fisheries  Commission  (CRITFC)stock assessment project for white sturgeon in the Columbia River above Bonneville Dam.  Continuing these annualassessments ofColumbia and Snake river white sturgeon populations is essential to determine stock status and assess viability.Management  Purpose:The  primary  purpose  of  the  proposed  project  is  determine  the  stock status  of  these  small  isolated  populations  and  eventually  determine  if  additional  management actions are needed to reverse current negative trends.NPCCFISH &WILDLIFE PROGRAM MEASURES:Implementation  of  additional  sturgeon  measures is  listed  as  an  emerging  priority  of  the Councils  F&W  program  (pages  92  and116).Sturgeon measures   include:STU-6.1Monitor   and   evaluate   white   sturgeon   restoration   actions   and population  responses  to  environmental  conditions  consistent  with  the  Columbia  Basin  White Sturgeon Planning Framework and the Lower Columbia River and Oregon Coast White Sturgeon Conservation Plan(row 312);and STU-6.2Report on the status of sturgeon throughout the basin on a regular basis(row 313).COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN RESEARCH PLAN CRITICAL UNCERTAINTIES:1) Theme Population structure and  diversity,SubthemeStatus  and  trends –assessment:What  is  the  status  of  white  sturgeon populations in the Columbia River Basin?2)SubthemeLife history –sturgeon:What are the size and  age  distribution,  growth,  condition,  and  abundance  of  white  sturgeon  by  sex?3)SubthemeStatus and trends–limiting factors –sturgeon:What is the abundance of juvenile, sub-adult, and adult  white  sturgeon  by  age  class?  This  abundance  estimate  is  needed  to evaluate  overall recruitment success through various traditional and novel capture and/or non-capture methods.4) What are the annual levels of, and variation in, white sturgeon recruitment in spawning areas of the  Columbia  River  Basin?5) Above  Bonneville  Dam:  What  are  white  sturgeon  spawner contributions  to  juvenile  multi-year  cohorts?  This  could  be  estimated  on  a  decadal  basis  using genetic tools.6)Theme Fish propagation,Subtheme Conservation/metapopulations:What are the potential impacts on  wild sturgeon from mixing of  genetic stocks  as part of broodstock and larval fish rearing mitigation efforts?WHITE STURGEON PLANNING FRAMEWORK: Table  21.  Summary  of  research  needs  and/or  critical uncertainties identified by  management unit: Population Status & Trends  identified asa  critical constraint/gap   for   the   Lower   Snake   River   Management   Unit   (page   228).      Needs   and Uncertainties  identified  for  the  Lower  Snake  River  Management  Unit:  “Information   on population  trends  is  lacking  and  periodic  estimates  of  adults  and  subadult  whitesturgeon abundance needs to be conducted more frequently” (page 184).Partners for this activity:The partners for this activity include the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Columbia River  Intertribal Fisheries Commission.
3Snake River Sturgeon Stock Assessment02/22/2017Timeframe  for  implementation:The  Ice  Harbor  Reservoir  2018  stock  assessment  includes preparation  May-June,  field  work  of  ~6  weeks  in  July  &August,    analysis  September –December, and  completion report by  December 2018.  The Lower Monumental Reservoir 2019 stock  assessment  includes  preparation  May-June,  field  work  of  ~6  weeks  in  July  &  August,  analysis September –December, and  completionreport by  December 2019.Additional  Equipment:WDFW  will  use  two  research  vessels  to  conduct  the  survey.    A  third research vessel isdedicated to continuing setline stock assessments with ODFWin the Columbia River  between  Bonneville  and  McNary  dams.    One of WDFW’s vessels will need to be fitted with a generator, hydraulic pot hauler and davit arm, dive door, and wash-down pump in order to deploy  setlines  and  hold  sturgeon  for  sampling.  The  other  primary  equipment  and  supplies  are the gear to construct the setlines to catch the sturgeon.