Critics: Elwha hatchery will hurt salmon recovery

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) – Many people have been looking forward to the removal of two dams on the Olympic Peninsula's Elwha River as a grand experiment in recovering wild salmon runs.

But the fish restoration plan includes planting fish from a new, $16 million tribal hatchery built with taxpayer money – even though studies have shown that the presence of hatchery fish in rivers can hurt wild fish, The Seattle Times reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/onh3sU).

The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe plans to plant not just hatchery salmon but nonnative steelhead out of concern there otherwise won't be enough fish to catch.

“There is this whole philosophy of the Elwha being a living laboratory, when in reality, it is the home of the Elwha tribe,” said Rob Elofson, the tribe's river restoration director. “After waiting 100 years for the dams to come out, they are not willing to wait another 100 years for the fish to recover.”

Scientists at every agency the tribe asked for input on the plan to release hatchery steelhead advised against it – including the National Marine Fisheries Service, National Park Service and state Department of Fish and Wildlife. They argued that nonnative fish could hurt the native steelhead and interbreed with resident fish, weakening the genetic pool.

Jim Lichatowich, author of “Salmon Without Rivers,” argues that the Elwhay is a complex, resilient natural system capable of recovery all on its own. Jack Stanford of the Flathead Lake Biological Station in Montana said wild fish aren't getting the respect they deserve.

“Dams come out, the salmon respond. Simple as that,” Stanford said. “If you put what I call `zoo fish' in there to compete with those that would make new habitat their home ... how can that be anything but counterproductive?”

Some scientists are so concerned about the effect of hatchery fish, especially nonnative ones, that they would rather leave the dams in. The trout that have been trapped above the dams remain wild, even if they haven't been able to express their genetic desire to travel out to sea.

“There could be real genetic compromise,” said Bill McMillan, a retired fish biologist and wild-fish advocate. “For my part, the dams are probably better left in, protecting what remains of a wild ecosystem.”

Construction began in 1910 on the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, located five and 8 1/2 miles from the river's mouth, respectively. The Elwha Dam blocked fish passage to 70 miles of river habitat, including tributaries. Three runs of fish in the Elwha have since been listed as threatened with extinction: chinook, steelhead and bull trout.

For a decade after the dams come down, the river is expected to carry high sediment loads that could directly kill fish, cause gill abrasions and cause fish to stop feeding. The weakest runs have to be protected against extinction until the water quality recovers, said Will Stelle, the Northwest head of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Stelle said the decision to stock the nonnative Chambers Creek steelhead in the Elwha is a matter of treaty rights.

“Were treaty rights not involved and the obligation to provide for continuing fishing opportunities through this transition period not active, then we would not do Chambers Creek,” Stelle said. “But those obligations are real, and they are substantial. Treaty rights are not a bumper sticker. It is a reality, and because of it we have had to reshape and modify the transition program.”

There will already be a five-year moratorium on fishing in the river after the dams come down. Elofson predicted that waiting for native runs to rebuild to fishable levels will take even longer, and he believes any risk posed by nonnative fish has been overstated.

–––

Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com