Presented by Kirk Schroeder of ODFW as part of the Science Progress Report at Within Our Reach 2012.

1. Between the Gravel and the Sea:
Vital Role of the Willamette River for Chinook Salmon
“The Willamette River from a Mountain”
Paul Kane, 1847
Kirk Schroeder
Luke Whitman
Brian Cannon
Paul Olmsted
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Jan Roberts-Dominguez: “Above the Willamette”

2. Willamette Basin:
Largest watershed in
Columbia River
Oregon
70% of Oregon Portland
population Willamette Falls
Largest urban
areas in Oregon
Dams block access to
upper reaches of
Salem
Spring Chinook North Santiam River
rivers
Albany
Corvallis South Santiam River
Spring Chinook
„threatened” species
1999
Harrisburg
Recovery Plan
2011
Eugene-Springfield

3. General Life History – Spring Chinook Salmon
Spawn: late August – late October
Peak migration over Willamette Falls:
Incubation and fry emergence:
April – May
December – April
Rear 2 – 4 years in North Pacific Rear 5 – 15 months
Most Willamette Chinook: 4 – 5 years old Migrate to ocean as smolts
when they return

4. Progress: Starting Point
“Spring chinook salmon are native to the Willamette River, with the mainstem river
primarily a migration corridor for adults and smolts.”
Bonneville Power Administration
FY 2003 Provincial Project Review
Willamette River = Migration Corridor
River Management = “Flushing Flows”
to push fish out of river
Juvenile Chinook: simple life history
hatchery fish emphasis

5. Origins of View
1. Legacy of Willamette as
polluted river
2. Willamette as controlled river
Dams control flow
Hatcheries control fish production

6. Catch of Wild Juvenile Chinook in McKenzie at Leaburg Dam
Migration from Spawning Areas

7. Migration of Juvenile Chinook past Willamette Falls
Tagged at Leaburg Dam in fall or spring
Spring migrants spend < 1 month – 3 months in Willamette
Most Fall migrants overwinter in Willamette

8. Fry Dispersal & Rearing
Santiam basin – early migration
Influence of dams
McKenzie – later migration
Colder water
Migration to lower Willamette & Columbia
Fry dispersed throughout Willamette
by late February to early March
Most migrate as smolts in June & July
March 2011 (1.5 – 3 inches)

9. Long Distance Fry Dispersal – What‟s up with that?
Hypothesis: Adaptation to access productive rearing habitat in Willamette
Visualization of upper Willamette River downstream of McKenzie confluence - 1850
Hulse et al. 2004. Ecological Applications 14: 325–341

10. Willamette Juvenile Chinook Diversity (Spread the Risk)
Spawning Tributary Precocial Male
Fall Spring
Fry Fingerling 2-year
Migrant Migrant
Lower Tributary & Willamette River
Winter-Spring Spring-Summer Summer Fall-Winter Spring
Non-natal
Streams
Fall Feb-
Fry Subyearling
Migrant May
Spring
Migrant
Mar-
May- Jun- (Aug-Sep) Oct- Nov- Feb- Jun
Jan- ?
Jun Jul Dec Jan Apr
Columbia River
May- Mar-
Apr- Apr-
Jul May
May Jun
Ocean

11. Life History Diversity – Spreading the Risks
Spawning Fry Migration
Subyearling
Dave Herasimtschuk © FI
Yearling
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Poor freshwater conditions
Subyearling
Yearling
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6
Poor ocean conditions
Brian Franklin

12. Life History Diversity Provides Stability to Populations
Proportion of returning adult Chinook that migrated as subyearling or yearling smolts
1998 – 2006 brood years
McKenzie North Santiam South Santiam Clackamas
1998 2000 2003 2005

13. Dynamic Rivers provide Diverse Habitats
that support Diverse Life Histories
Pools for larger fish
Refuge areas
during floods
Productive riffles
Narrow channels
with shade
New gravel bars &
Small side channels
islands
Cold water pockets
Shallow edges for fry
Willamette River downstream of McKenzie confluence

14. Challenges Progress = continual growth
“What happens if you get to the cliff and you take one
step forward? Or do you do a 180 turn and take one
step forward?
Which way is progress? The solution to many of the
world‟s problems is to turn around and take a step
forward.”
Doug Tompkins from the documentary 180 South
Full Steam Ahead?

15. Measuring Progress
Life History Diversity Channel complexity
Working Farms & Conservation Native Species Richness
Connect People to River Water Quality
Historic Trajectory
Progress?
Historical Willamette River Channel Change - S. Gregory, L. Ashkenas, D. Oetter, P. Minear, K. Wildman

16. In honor of Jim Sedell (1944 – 2012)
Within the time scale of a person’s
lifetime and the lifetimes of his or her
children and grandchildren, entire
ecosystems change.
Ironically, however, it is within this time
scale that people are most blind to
changes occurring around them.