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Salmon Survey Shows Record Numbers by Staff Idaho Mountain Express, February 13, 2015

A record number of fall chinook salmon nests (redds) were counted throughout the Snake River Basin by Idaho Power Co. and cooperating agency and tribal biologists during an annual survey below Hells Canyon Dam, the company reported.

Each fall, Snake River fall chinook returning from the Pacific Ocean lay their eggs in shallow gravel nests. Counting their redds is one way to monitor the health of the fish population. Idaho Power biologists count the redds in the roughly 100-mile stretch of the Snake River from Hells Canyon Dam to Asotin, Wash. Many of the tributaries entering the Snake River are surveyed by biologists from the Nez Perce Tribe and Washington Department of Fisheries.

The 2014 survey, finished in December, identified 2,808 redds in the Snake River -- the third-highest total since intensive surveying began in 1991. In the Clearwater River, 3,078 redds were counted. Other tributaries -- the Grande Ronde, Imnaha and Salmon rivers -- added smaller amounts, resulting in a total count of 6,373.

Related Pages:
Fall Chinook Salmon Spawn in Record Numbers in Snake River by Staff, Indian Country Today, 3//2/13
Group Files to Delist Snake River Fall Chinook by Bill Rudolph, NW Fishletter, 2/5/14