Introduction
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) share fish and wildlife co-management responsibility with the Federal Caucus, regional authorities, and local governments in the Walla Walla Subbasin.  In December of 2005, WDFW, ODFW and CTUIR agreed to collaborate on a fish monitoring project proposal to BPA.  BPA decided in early 2007 to only provide funding at the 2006 levels for WDFW and CTUIR projects so ODFW was no longer included in the collaborative proposal.

In June 2007, BPA approved 3 years of continuing funding for the Walla Walla Salmonid Monitoring and Evaluation Project (BPA 2000-039-00).  This collaborative State and Tribal project represents an integration of two existing fish monitoring and evaluation projects (200003900 and 199802000) and is intended to improve coordination, planning and implementation of salmonid monitoring and evaluation in the subbasin.  WDFW and CTUIR project partners retain individual contracts with BPA, but collaborate on the project proposal, budge, statement of work, and data collection, as well as produce a joint annual progress report as the Walla Walla salmonid Monitoring and Evaluation Project (2000-039-00).

Project goals are to describe salmonid life histories, assess current salmonid abundance, productivity and spatial diversity, and evaluate management implications from project results.  This project will monitor and evaluate salmonids within the Walla Walla Subbasin across life histories, taxa, and geographic areas to provide population status and trend information, as well as begin evaluation of effectiveness of habitat modifications, in support of management and recovery planning.  Primary focal species are spring Chinook salmon, and ESA-listed summer steelhead, and bull trout.  Project monitoring and evaluation work will focus on providing critical “Viable Salmonid Population” metrics for fish abundance and population status as recommended in the in the Walla Walla Subbasin Plan and Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan for Southeast Washington.  Project “Work Elements” include Adult Enumeration, Spawning Surveys, Radio-telemetry, Out-migrant monitoring, PIT-tagging, Fish Salvage, Project Management, RM & E Planning, and Project Reporting.  We believe these monitoring and evaluation actions meet the highest priorities for fish population monitoring as identified by the Walla Walla Subbasin Plan and Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan.  Project biological metrics include estimates of adult returns, run timing and spawning escapement; redd counts and distribution; adult movement, passage delay and distribution; out-migrant condition at emigration, abundance, survival and timing; smolt survival and timing to Columbia River interrogation sites, and smolt to adult returns; number of fish salvaged.  Areas of the subbasin to be more intensively monitored include the Walla Walla, Touchet, and Mill Creek drainages.  

Project History
WDFW's initial salmonid monitoring and evaluaton work in the subbasin, under BPA Project number 19980200, occurred from 1998 through early 2007.  Data were collected and summarized to describe water temperatures, stream flows, and provide steelhead and bull trout genetic characterizations and salmonid distribution and abundance, or densities (primarily during summer and spawning seasons).  This included steelhead, bull trout and spring chinook spawning surveys, steelhead and bull trout genetic sampling and analyses, and juvenile fish abundance and distribution surveys, as well as salvage efforts to save salmonids in peril.  This project also included some limited habitat inventory surveys and the identification of passage barriers or other limiting factors.  Both the WDFW and CTUIR projects have contributed substantial information to numerous planning and management processes and guided habitat enhancement efforts.  

The project has provided salmonid status and trend and habitat condition information to managers and researchers working to restore salmonids and their habitats in the Walla Walla River Subbasin.  Staff have assisted in the development and implementation of a variety of critical uncertainty research projects including the delineation of ESA-listed summer steelhead population distribution, relative abundance and genetic structure, and the assessment of ESA-listed bull trout spawning and relative abundance.  Collectively these data have been utilized in a number of plans and management actions including limiting factors analysis, habitat plans, passage restoration, flow augmentation, harvest planning, hatchery master planning, and salmonid recovery planning.  Recently, project staffs worked with regional managers using WDFW and CTUIR data to develop, run, and evaluate the Walla Walla Subbasin Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) model used in the Walla Walla Subbasin Plan, and addendum, and the Salmon Recovery Plan for SE WA.  The project used EDT to quantify the potential of the Walla Walla Subbasin to produce on average thousands of additional spawners via the restoration of specific habitat attributes in priority reaches.  We have assisted with drafting a comprehensive RM&E plan, and produced several progress reports.  This information has been effectively communicated to managers, and a great deal of the information has been archived and made public via the internet.  Past reports for this project are available on the BPA and WDFW web sites at: efw.bpa.gov/searchpublications/ or at http:// www.wdfw.wa.gov/fish/papers/se_wash_repts/ (WDFW website).

Location of Project
Work will be done throughout the Washington portions of the Walla Walla Basin.  Areas of the subbasin to be more intensively monitored include the Walla Walla River,  Touchet River , and Mill Creek drainages.  WDFW staff will work out of their Dayton offices.  Administrative support will be received from the WDFW Offices in Olympia and Spokane.

Management Objective
The WDFW management objective is to restore ESA listed steelhead and bull trout, and assist CTUIR with restoration of reintroduced spring chinook, as appropriate, and monitor the status and trends of these populations and their habitats, as well as help evaluate effectiveness of restoration actions.  WDFW management priorities include maintaining good steelhead fisheries in the basin and meeting the mitigation goals of the Lower Snake River Compensation Program.  WDFW restoration efforts in the Walla Walla Basin have included improving stream flows, restoring adult and juvenile salmonid passage, providing technical assistance and guidance to other agencies or groups, and the public, for protection and enhancement of salmonids (and other fish and wildlife species) and their habitats. Natural and artificial production goals for spring chinook salmon and steelhead in the Walla Walla Basin are not agreed to by the co-managers, although all fishery co-managers agree with the intent of reintroduction of spring chinook salmon in some locations, and to some level (yet to be determined).