The hatchery Operations and Maintenance effort is an important component of the overall Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project that is designed to increase salmon production and harvests in the region. Details about the O&M effort were not provided in the proposal. Instead, the proposal referenced other documents, such as the Revised Master Plan and the 2020 annual M&E report that contain considerable information regarding hatchery operations and production. The ISRP encourages the proponents to continue to address issues raised by the ISRP (2020-3, 2020-9). Given these comprehensive reports and recent ISRP reviews, the Operations and Maintenance project is judged to meet scientific review criteria.

Q1: Clearly defined objectives and outcomes

The goal of the Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) is to restore sustainable and harvestable populations of salmon, steelhead and other at-risk species that were historically present in the Yakima subbasin. Specific stock abundance objectives by species for the Yakima Basin were developed in collaboration with the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee and presented on pages 212-249 of the task force’s Phase 2 Report. Specific release goals for Yakima Basin production facilities and programs were stated in the proposal. Nevertheless, the proposal should have provided objectives that describe the functions and expected outcomes from the activities of this specific project, which involve brood stock collection, adult holding, spawning, incubation, rearing, acclimation, and release of fish.

Q2: Methods

Methods and metrics for summarizing annual performance statistics were briefly noted in the proposal, and more comprehensive reports were cited, including the recently reviewed revised Master Plan by ISRP (2020-3).

Q3: Provisions for M&E

The proposal briefly described the adaptive management and annual project review process for the overall YKFP. Reports containing more details were cited. The purpose of these annual reviews is to (re)assess project objectives, to show progress towards those objectives, and to evaluate whether any strategies or assumptions need to be altered in the face of new information gained over the past year. Specific details and examples of this process were not provided.

Q4: Results – benefits to fish and wildlife

The proposal did not specifically describe hatchery production trends, but it did reference the annual M&E report and the Revised Master Plan, both of which have been recently reviewed by the ISRP.