Assessing effects of Columbia River Basin anadromous fish flow management on the aquatic ecology of

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Assessing effects of Columbia River Basin
anadromous fish flow management on the aquatic
ecology of the Henrys Fork watershed

• A Proposal By
• The Henrys Fork Foundation
• January 23, 2002

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• 1.7 mil acres in size
• 235K acres of irrigated farmland
• 56 public land
• 40K people
• 3000 mile of rivers, streams and canals

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The Henrys Fork is a regulated hydrologic system
that provides water for irrigation,
hydroelectricity, recreation, and flow
augmentation for salmon
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Providing water for multiple uses under different
weather patterns results in a variety of stream
flow and reservoir conditions
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What happens to fish populations under various
flow regimes and habitat conditions?
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HFF, IDFG, and ISU fisheries research on the
Henrys Fork has focused primarily on juvenile
trout survival and dispersal
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Data on relationship between late-winter
discharge at IP Dam and juvenile trout abundance
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• Project Goal
• Assess the correlation between stream flows and
  fish populations, and identify critical
  thresholds

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Project Objectives
Estimate spring and fall trout population size
Estimate annual winter survival and dispersal
Estimate egg to fry survival in Henrys Lake
Outlet
Estimate upstream migration into Buffalo River
Estimate habitat availability across flow regimes
Correlate above estimates with flow management
data
Continue Long-term Synoptic Habitat Monitoring
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How will the information learned from this
project be used?
Inside the box...

• Inform water management decisions

Outside the box.

• Guide future discussions on instream flows for
  fish and wildlife