PR 19-24
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, October 23, 2024
CONTACT: Kevin Wingert, BPA, 971-207-8390 or 503-230-5131
Michael-David Bushman, Yakama Nation Fisheries, 509-865-5121 ext. 6345
Upgrades to Klickitat Hatchery to increase spring Chinook salmon
Work will shift hatchery production to incorporate natural-origin broodstock
and boost smolts from 600,000 to 800,000 annually
Portland, Ore. – Members of the Yakama Nation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries, and the Bonneville Power Administration gathered at a hatchery nestled in the 42-river mile of the Klickitat River on October 11 to celebrate the construction, now underway, of upgrades intended to boost the population and resilience of spring Chinook salmon in the river basin.
The Klickitat Hatchery was originally constructed in 1949 and is operated by the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation to rear spring and fall Chinook as well as late-run coho salmon. BPA is spending roughly $35 million to upgrade several components of the hatchery still operating with 75-year-old equipment. That work is focused on improving the spring Chinook population, with plans to increase juvenile production from 600,000 to 800,000 annually.
“BPA is funding the upgrades to enable the Yakama to move from exclusively using hatchery-raised fish for broodstock to incorporate natural-origin broodstock,” said Jason Sweet, executive manager of BPA’s fish and wildlife program. “By integrating natural-origin broodstock, we expect to see greater fitness, production and survival of these salmonids.”
These capital improvements help to fulfill commitments BPA made in the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords Memorandum of Agreement and its subsequent extensions. The project is part of BPA’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the effects of the Federal Columbia River Power System on fish and wildlife in the mainstem Columbia River and its tributaries.
The importance of the event was not lost on the chairman of the Yakama Nation, Gerald Lewis.
"A wonderful day – the sun bearing witness, birds singing, as everyone was there to celebrate with the tribe for 20 years of holding the hatchery together,” Lewis said. “The words spoken by BPA, NOAA, WDFW, BIA, Klickitat County and by YN helped preserve all the work done by the entities coming together as one. The tribe never gave up on our resource of Spring Salmon, Steelhead, Coho and Lamprey. Now with the Fish Accord Agreement, BPA and the Yakama Nation have come together to rebuild the aging hatchery to better support fisheries across the Northwest.
“It is only through prayer and song that Yakama can keep the resources going forward as Elders have been saying since the demise of Celilo. With the help of other entities, we are making progress on our natural resources.”
Other key supporters of the Yakama/Klickitat Fisheries Project were on hand for the celebration as well, including Klickitat County, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
Construction on the upgrades at Klickitat Hatchery began in September and include:
- Improving spring water intakes, discharge piping, and a river pumping station
- Rebuilding the pollution abatement system
- Adding circular rearing tanks and a chemical storage building
- Updating the existing fish ladder and spawning and adult holding infrastructure
Work on the upgrades is expected to be completed in June of 2026 with the first yearlings released from the upgraded facilities in May of 2027.
About BPA
The Bonneville Power Administration, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a nonprofit federal power marketer in the U.S. Department of Energy that sells wholesale, carbon-free hydropower from 31 federal dams in the Columbia River Basin. It also markets the output of the region’s only nuclear plant. BPA delivers this power to more than 140 Northwest electric utilities, serving millions of consumers and businesses in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana and parts of California, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. BPA also owns and operates more than 15,000 circuit miles of high-voltage power lines and 261 substations, and provides transmission service to more than 300 customers. In all, BPA provides nearly a third of the power generated in the Northwest. To mitigate the impacts of the federal dams, BPA implements a fish and wildlife program that includes working with its partners to make the federal dams safer for fish passage. It also pursues cost-effective energy savings and operational solutions that help maintain safe, affordable, reliable electric power for the Northwest. www.bpa.gov
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