FISH PASSAGE CENTER 847 NE 19 th Avenue, #250, Portland, OR 97232 Phone: (503) 833-3900 Fax: (503) 232-1259 www.fpc.org/ e-mail us at fpcstaff@fpc.org MEMORANDUM To: From: Fish Passage Advisory Committee (FPAC) FPC Staff Date: December 21, 2018 Subject: Action Notes from December 18, 2018, FPAC meeting On December 18, 2018, FPAC met for its monthly face-to-face meeting. The following people participated in the meeting: Paul Wagner (FPAC Co-Chair NOAA) Tom Lorz (FPAC Co-Chair CRITFC) Brandon Chockley (FPC) Charlie Morrill (WDFW) Dave Benner (FPC) Dave Swank (USFWS) Erick Van Dyke (ODFW) Erin Cooper (FPC) Gabe Sheer (FPC) Jay Hesse (Nez Perce Tribe, via phone) Jennifer Graham (Warm Springs Tribe, via phone) Kyle Dittmer (CRITFC) Russ Kiefer (IDFG, via phone) Tom Iverson (Yakama Nation, via phone) Trevor Conder (NOAA, via phone) AGENDA ITEMS Approval of Notes December 4 notes were approved with minor editorial changes. Water Supply/Flood Control Dave Benner (FPC) provided a summary of the current reservoir operations, water supply forecasts, snowpack estimates, ESP runoff volumes, and recent BON tailrace elevations. See the attached document. \\Mobydick\staff\DOCUMENT\2018_Documents\2018_Files\FPAC\1218\FPAC Notes 121818.doc
Grand Coulee is now refilling and is at 1275, expected to be refilled by the end of the month at 1283. Paul Wagner (NOAA) updated FPAC that drum gate maintenance will not occur at Grand Coulee this year, unless it is required. Bonneville tailwater elevation has ranged between 11.3 and 13.0 for chum operations. Weather Kyle Dittmer (CRITFC) provided a summary of weather conditions and water year status. See attached. High levels of precipitation from pineapple express expected to reduce over next several days. Snow levels will come down over the weekend and precipitation is expected early next week. Paul Wagner (NOAA) updated FPAC on NOAA s prediction of 90% probability of El Niño. Kyle noted that MEI index is getting closer to El Niño threshold. Chum Status and Operations Charlie Morrill (WDFW) noted that Washington is ok with going to protection level (minimum tailwater of 11.3, equating to actual 11.5 ) on or around December 26 th. Protection level means that maximum daytime elevations may exceed 11.5 if necessary. Cconditions have not been good enough to survey redds. Charlie noted that surveys will continue into January. Adult Counting Contract The adult counting contract was awarded to 4 Peaks, but Normandeau has challenged the contract. The review of the contract will take 100 days, meaning the contract cannot start until March 3 rd. This will not allow 4 Peaks enough time to set up prior to the start of counting. How counts will be conducted in the meantime is currently not decided. There will be a meeting on afternoon of January 7, 2019 to discuss options. Fish Field Unit should be circulating a draft of their proposal by the end of this week. Tom Lorz (CRITFC) noted that TAC needs BON counts by 9:00 am on Monday mornings. This is the highest priority. Truck Transportation Dates The COE has asked managers to move the transition date from barge transportation to truck transportation from August 15 to July 15. FPAC members agreed to move the transition date to August 1, but are not decided on July 15. Jay Hesse (Nez Perce Tribe) would rather not move truck transport to July 15. Russ Kiefer (IDFG) agreed that they will follow the lead of the Nez Perce Tribe on this issue. Paul Wagner (NOAA) will send out the latest analysis from Steve Smith (NOAA) on fall Chinook transportation. Page 2 of 5
Trevor Conder (NOAA) stated that from the criteria of temperatures, moving truck transport earlier makes sense. There is less than 1 degree Celsius change in temperature during truck transport. There is more variability in temperatures as the barges move down river. However, there is little empirical data on survival when comparing barge and truck transport. Trevor will forward report provided by Eric Hockersmith (COE) to Alex to be forwarded to the rest of FPAC. Trevor Conder asked how the flex spill agreement will change this plan, since at least one early version of the agreement was to end transportation after the transition to summer spill in 2020 and 2021. Jay Hesse says that is correct. For 2019, there is a commitment to summer spill through the end of August and transportation would occur during this entire period. For 2020 and 2021, the transportation change is proposed to not have transportation from June 20 th through August 15 th, and then spill will be curtailed after August 15 th and transportation reinstated. That transition will be adaptively managed by FPAC. Charlie Morrill (WDFW) mentioned that depending on the year, more than 90% of subyearling Chinook have passed Lower Granite by late June to early July and he may be comfortable using timing as a measure of when to transition to trucking. He would not be uncomfortable with truck transport beginning on July 15 depending on run timing, but does not want that date to be the default. The COE would like an FPAC recommendation by December 20 th. FPAC members agreed to start truck transport on August 1 and will be willing to discuss the July 15 proposal at a later date. Dave Swank (USFWS) stated that it feels like a choice between higher barge temperatures and higher truck straying rates, but with little empirical data for either. Erick Van Dyke (ODFW) added that the ISAB suggested that truck transport could be a bad idea, but there are few data. Paul Wagner (NOAA) pointed out that the ISAB review was for trucking of spring Chinook and steelhead, not fall Chinook. Charlie Morrill asked FPC to put together a summary of the percentage of subyearling Chinook that have passed LGR by July 15 and August 1. Early Start to Juvenile Sampling Tom Lorz (CRITFC) noted that COE agreed to early juvenile sampling at Lower Monumental and John Day in 2019 (March).[It should be noted that the August 31, 2018 JTS from FPAC to the COE on this matter requested early sampling at LMN and MCN in 2019. Clarification as to what the COE agreed to is needed.] Sort by Code The pending Sort by Code request from NMFS will be reviewed at the next FPAC meetings since it will not go into effect until April. FPAC Chair Paul Wagner (NOAA) will be half-time at NOAA beginning in January. Paul will likely remain half-time for up to a year. He may or may not be on FPAC. Page 3 of 5
The NOAA replacement on FPAC could take on the responsibility of chair, after a brief introductory period. Paul Wagner stated that either the chair or co-chair should be from a federal agency. Tom Lorz (CRITFC) stated that this is written into the charter. FPAC members discussed pushing their managers to approve the FPAC charter. Erin Cooper (FPC) pointed out that the FPAC Charter requires the FPAC chair position to rotate between agencies on an annual basis, so after some 10 years of chairing by NOAA, it might not make sense to have a new FPAC member from NOAA chair the meeting. Flex Spill Agreement Tom Lorz (CRITFC) will distribute the final spill agreement to FPAC. The flex spill pattern will be part of the biological assessment for the BiOp. Dave Swank (USFWS) asked what operation will be analyzed? Tom Lorz responded that there will be a COMPASS run of flex spill to compare to block spill. Trevor Conder (NOAA) stated that the new BiOp will likely delayed from the initial January 1 st deadline, so there will be time to analyze the flex spill pattern. The 2014 BiOp will be extended to cover January 1 st until when the next BiOp starts, likely April 1 st. That document will be in effect until the EIS process is completed. Tom Lorz (CRITFC) asked if NOAA is still targeting 2020 for the next BiOp. Trevor stated that it depends on the EIS deadline, which would be 2020 or 2021. Jay Hesse (Nez Perce) stated that the MOP and MIP will be higher (~6 ) than the existing 2014 BiOp. The 2019 operation is to manage to the 120 gas cap for 16 hours a day, with the remaining 8 hours to be performance-level spill. The performance spill will be 35% at John Day and 53% at McNary and 30% at Ice. Of the 8 hours, between 3 and 5 will be in the morning and the rest will be in the afternoon. Other than at Little Goose, it is not required to lower spill to performance spills. At Little Goose, at least 4 hours of performance level spill will be conducted every morning. Brandon Chockley (FPC) asked whether Washington DOE is considering changing the way the 12-hour average TDG is estimated. Charlie Morrill (WDFW) noted that there will be a discussion about this. Tom Lorz (CRITFC) suggested that both states should use the same methodology. In-Stream PIT-tag Detection Charlie Morrill (WDFW) updated FPAC on the proposal for a PIT-tag steering committee (PTSC) subgroup for instream detections sites. This subgroup would be comprised of individuals in the states, tribes, and private industry. There is a draft charter that will be discussed at the PTSC annual meeting in January. Charlie will keep FPAC updated on the results of this work. Coordination TMT Year-end review is tomorrow at CRITFC The next FPAC meeting will be January 8 (9:00 am). The next TMT will be January 2. Page 4 of 5
There is an SCT meeting on Thursday, December 20. Adult count meeting with the Fish Field Unit (January 7). The next FPAC face-to-face will be January 15 (10:00 am) These minutes have been reviewed and approved by the Fish Passage Advisory Committee. Page 5 of 5
FPAC Agenda for Tuesday December 18, 2018 Meeting time: 2:00 PM FPC Conference room Meeting location 1. Approval of notes from December 4, meeting 2. Water supply and reservoir status 3. Weather update and climate forecast 4. Chum operations 5. Adult count contract status 6. Fall Chinook trucking transport start date 7. Sort by code request http://www.ptagis.org/services/separation-bycode/requestdetail/1585/ 8. Co/chairman change discussion 9. 2019 spill operations 10. Other 11. Coordination for other schedule meetings
FISH PASSAGE CENTER 847 NE 19 th Avenue, #250, Portland, OR 97232 Phone: (503) 833-3900 Fax: (503) 232-1259 www.fpc.org/ e-mail us at fpcstaff@fpc.org MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: FPAC David Benner, FPC DATE: December 18 th, 2018 RE: Reservoir Operations/Snowpack/Water Supply/Bonneville TW Grand Coulee Reservoir is at 1,274.8 feet (12-17-18) and has refilled 2.4 feet over the last week. Outflows at Grand Coulee have ranged between 73.0 Kcfs and 84.3 Kcfs over the last week. The most recent STP has Grand Coulee refilling to 1,278.0 feet by December 31 st, 2018. The Libby Reservoir is currently at elevation 2,422.6 feet (12-17-18) and has drafted 4.1 feet over the past week. Daily average outflows at Libby Dam have been 10.4-23.7 Kcfs for the last week. The most recent STP has Libby drafting to 2,415.7 feet by December 31 st, 2018. Hungry Horse is currently at an elevation of 3,541.1 feet (12-17-18) and has drafted 0.8 feet last week. Outflows at Hungry Horse have been 2.4-2.5 Kcfs over the last week. Dworshak is currently at an elevation of 1,519.7 feet (12-17-18) and has held steady over last week. Dworshak outflows have been 1.7 Kcfs. The Brownlee Reservoir was at an elevation of 2,065.8 feet on December 17, 2018 and has drafted 1.3 feet in the last week. Outflows at Hells Canyon have ranged between 8.4 and 19.3 Kcfs over the last four days. \\mobydick\staff\document\2018_documents\2018_files\fpac\1218\fpac summary 12-18-18.docx
12-18-18 Snow Water Equivalent Basin (% Med.) Columbia above the Snake River Confluence Kootenai River in Montana 74 Flathead River 74 Upper Clark Fork River 90 Bitterroot 81 Lower Clark Fork River 77 Idaho Panhandle Region 76 Columbia above Methow 75 Chelan, Entiat, Wenatchee 80 Yakima, Ahtanum 75 Average * 78 Snake River Snake above Palisades 84 Henry Fork, Teton, Willow, Blackfoot, Portneuf 75 Big and Little Wood 52 Big and Little Lost 51 Raft, Goose, Salmon Falls, Bruneau 84 Weiser, Payette, Boise 65 Owyhee Malheur 109 Grande Ronde, Powder, Burnt, Imnaha 73 Clearwater and Salmon 78 Average * 73 Lower Columbia between Bonneville and McNary Umatilla, Walla Walla, Willow 76 Deschutes, Crooked, John Day 70 Lower Columbia, Hood River 41 Average * 62 Page 2 of 7
December 18, 2018 5-day QPF ESP Location The Dalles (Apr- Aug) Grand Coulee (Apr-Aug) Libby Res. Inflow, MT (Apr-Aug) Hungry Horse Res. Inflow, MT (Apr- Aug) Lower Granite Res. Inflow (Apr- July) Brownlee Res. Inflow (Apr-July) Dworshak Res. Inflow (Apr-July) % Average (1981-2010) Runoff Volume (Kaf) 94 82,256 97 55,061 95 5,589 97 1,871 90 17,839 83 4,519 102 2,466 Bonneville Chum Flows and Elevations: Day/Date Bonneville Tailwater Range (ft) 12-11-18 11.7-13.1 12-12-18 11.4-13.1 12-13-18 11.6-13.1 12-14-18 11.6-13.0 12-15-18 11.4-12.7 12-16-18 11.4-12.0 12-17-18 11.3-12.2 Page 3 of 7
Forecast TDA (Apr-Aug) GCL (Apr-Aug) GCL March 31st FC Elevation (ft) Date Actual GCL Elevation (ft) 2018 January Final 100% 98% 1280.9 1/31/2018 1279.3 February Final 108% 114% 1262.2 2/28/2018 1263.1 March final 112% 116% 1256.9 3/31/2018 1249.5 2017 January Final 97% 97% 1283.3 1/31/2017 1283.6 February Final 95% 95% 1283.3 2/28/2017 1269.4 March final 105% 101% 1267.1 3/31/2017 1248.1 2016 January Final 94% 93% 1283.3 1/31/2016 1281.3 February Final 95% 96% 1283.3 2/28/2016 1265.5 March final 99% 99% 1274.7 3/31/2016 1252.7 2015 January Final 100% 100% 1276.7 1/31/2015 1276.2 February Final 95% 98% 1282.7 2/28/2015 1265.7 March final 82% 87% 1283.3 3/31/2015 1253.9 2014 January Final 97% 96% 1276.8 1/31/2014 1275.1 February Final 83% 85% 1283.3 2/28/2014 1272.3 March final 101% 102% 1269.8 3/31/2014 1258.3 2013 January Final 105% 103% 1268.5 1/31/2013 1276.8 February Final 94% 96% 1283.3 2/28/2013 1275.4 March final 92% 95% 1283.3 3/31/2013 1282.1 2012 January Final 83% 74% 1283.3 1/31/2012 1280.2 February Final 91% 94% 1283.3 2/28/2012 1277.4 March final 97% 101% 1270.1 3/31/2012 1257.4 Page 4 of 7
1285.0 1275.0 1265.0 Reservoir Elevation Reservoir Elevation 1255.0 1245.0 1235.0 1225.0 March FC Actual Reservoir Elevation Full Pool 1215.0 Figure 1. Grand Coulee Time 2460.0 2440.0 2420.0 2400.0 2380.0 2360.0 Actual Reservoir Elevation Full Pool Reservoir Elevation March FC 2340.0 2320.0 Figure 2. Libby Time Page 5 of 7
1600.0 1580.0 1560.0 Reservoir Elevation Reservoir Elevation 1540.0 1520.0 1500.0 Actual Reservoir Elevation 1480.0 1460.0 Full Pool Reservoir Elevation March System FC March Local FC 1440.0 Time Figure 3. Dworshak 3560.0 3540.0 3520.0 3500.0 3480.0 Actual Reservoir Elevation Full Pool Reservoir Elevation March FC 3460.0 Figure 4. Hungry Horse Time Page 6 of 7
2080.0 2070.0 Reservoir Elevation 2060.0 2050.0 2040.0 2030.0 2020.0 March FC Actual Reservoir Elevation Full Pool Reservoir Elevation 2010.0 Figure 5. Brownlee Time Page 7 of 7
Mt. Hood Test Site, Oregon (north Oregon Cascades). Elevation 5370 feet. Irish Taylor, Oregon (central Oregon Cascades). Elevation 5540 feet.
Stampede Pass, Washington (central Washington Cascades). Elevation 3850 feet. Mountain Meadows, Idaho (Panhandle, Salmon River drainage). Elevation 6360 feet.
Water Year 2019 Precipitation Monthly Clim Norm 1981-2010 Monthly Seasonal Temp. (degf) Dec 1-17 (Oct. 1 - now) (pro-rated) Portland 69% 72% 2.5 UPPER-COLUMBIA: Kamloops 2% 122% 7.0 Revelstoke 32% 107% 4.5 Cranbrook 49% 78% 5.0 Creston 84% 55% 4.1 average: 42% 90% 5.2 Normal: 1.04 6.18 24.9 MIDDLE-COLUMBIA: Pendleton 54% 84% 2.1 Redmond 26% 39% 3.5 Yakima 49% 79% 4.8 Wenatchee AP 100% 102% 3.6 Omak 84% 69% 5.4 Spokane AP 95% 101% 3.4 average: 68% 79% 3.8 Normal: 0.93 3.17 29.3 LOWER SNAKE: Lewiston 37% 98% 1.3 Pullman 119% 84% 2.4 Stanley 70% 72% -2.8 Challis 21% 62% -4.3 average: 62% 79% -0.9 Normal: 0.63 3.27 24.0 UPPER and MIDDLE SNAKE: McCall 111% 101% -0.1 Ontario 55% 75% 3.7 Boise 107% 106% -0.7 Twin Falls 19% 103% -2.2 Burley 17% 145% 0.9 Pocatello 31% 87% -2.6 Idaho Falls 34% 69% -3.2 average: 53% 98% -0.6 Normal: 0.75 2.94 25.6 Forecasted Daily Rain (in inches), BON dam area: 18-Dec 2.24 19-Dec 0.08 20-Dec 0.71 21-Dec 0.15 22-Dec 0.35 23-Dec 0.75 24-Dec 0.75
Oregon Kate Brown, Governor Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Division 4034 Fairview Industrial Drive SE Salem, OR 97302 (503) 947-6201 FAX (503) 947-6202 www.dfw.state.or.us/ Lieutenant Colonel Christian N. Dietz District Commander, USACE Walla Walla District 201 North 3rd Avenue Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876 Dear Lt. Col. Dietz, I am writing on behalf of the U.S. v. Oregon Policy Committee. The Policy Committee understands that the COE will be initiating a new contract for data collection at fish counting facilities at the federal projects on the Columbia and lower Snake rivers. We would like to express the vital importance of the information from the fish counting programs, and hope that this the following information is useful to the COE in your solicitation for the new contracts. The U.S. v. Oregon Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) generally meets each Monday morning during the passage season and it is very important that dam counts from previous days be available to TAC by 7:00 AM every week day during the passage season. Fish counts are among the most important of all data used for monitoring the status of populations as well as for managing fisheries. In-season, fisheries are managed on daily basis using updated information provided by fish counts. Therefore it is of critical importance to basin fish managers that dam counts are accurate and made available on a timely basis. In-season counts from Bonneville Dam are the number one priority, followed by counts at Lower Granite Dam. Counts at the other projects are important, but the timeliness is not as critical for in-season management. Passage information is also a key component of annual abundance estimation and run size forecasting processes. It is critical to maintain the continuation of all data being currently collected including both jack and adult stages for Chinook and Coho salmon, ladder by ladder counts for all species, clipped and unclipped steelhead counts, and clip rate sampling for Chinook and Coho. Count data based upon ad-clip status should be labeled as clipped and unclipped rather than as wild or hatchery, as there are unclipped hatchery-origin fish within each of the runs. The Corps should include provisions in the contract that evaluate the accuracy of species identification, counts, clip status and jack designations, and report those results in annual reports from the contractor. Another key information need is reflected in current work conducted by WDFW staff examining fall passage at Bonneville to derive bright Chinook vs. tule Chinook ratios, which are a critical fall management need. We request that COE continue to work with WDFW to ensure uninterrupted access to Bonneville Dam from August through October so that WDFW can continue this work. Access for other programs, such as that conducted at the Bonneville Adult Fish Facility, and at Lower Granite Dam are similarly critical and access for these programs must be maintained.
Thank you for your consideration. Feel free to contact TAC Chair Stuart Ellis, at CRITFC if you have any questions. Sincerely, Chris Kern, U.S. v. Oregon Policy Committee Vice Chair