Background

The goal of the Yakama Nation Pacific Lamprey Project (YN PLP) is to restore natural production of Pacific lamprey in the YN Ceded Lands, specifically, the Yakima, Klickitat, White Salmon, Little White Salmon, Wind, Rock, Wenatchee, Methow, and Entiat river systems. A growing body of information now exists about lamprey abundance and distribution or limiting factors throughout the Ceded lands as a result of work conducted by YN PLP and partners. Since 2009, the YN PLP has begun performing field surveys in many of these subbasins and has documented wild larval/juvenile Pacific lamprey throughout this geographic range, albeit in very low numbers. In many watersheds we have sampled (except adult translocation watersheds), we now believe Pacific lamprey are either extirpated or "functionally" extirpated.

One of the three primary objectives that will continue over the next couple years is to survey key habitats collecting baseline information that will be used to document long-term status and trend of these local populations and to help develop long-term restoration strategies for each of the named subbasins. Another key objective within this time frame is to identify the threats and limiting factors in each of the subbasins within the YN Ceded Lands and to build the "road map" necessary to fix or resolve these various issues. The final key objective will be to continue evaluating potential supplementation practices, including artificial propagation of larvae/juvenile and translocation of adult lamprey. This last objective is important in developing key management tools to help re-establish or supplement natural populations in selected watersheds.

Over the next year (2016 contract period, March 1, 2016 - February 28, 2017) the YN PLP will continue focusing efforts in surveying key habitats in the Yakima, Entiat, Methow, and other subbasins within the Ceded Lands for lamprey presence / absence, relative abundance, and distribution. We will continue to establish and survey long-term "index-sites" in each of the Ceded Land subbasins, from which to measure status and trend over time. We will evaluate and identify primary limiting factors and potential "threats" in the Ceded Land subbasins and will focus on solutions that will eliminate or reduce the identified impacts. Additionally, the YN PLP intends to finalize and begin implementing a 10-year supplementation research plan, which will identify primary supplementation objectives, locations for larva and adult out-plantings and an associated monitoring strategy. Regional coordination and outreach will also be a key element of the project to maintain and strengthen our partnerships in restoration and to reach out to the public (tribal and non-tribal) about the importance of lamprey.

The long-term project objectives are as follows:
-Consolidate and summarize current and historical information related to Pacific lamprey distribution and abundance within the YN Ceded Lands.
-Monitor larval/juvenile production using a variety of monitoring tools (e.g. genetics, screw traps, VIE and PIT tags, length and weight data, etc.).
-Identify current habitat strongholds for larval/juvenile rearing. Quantify and index relative densities of larvae/juvenile.
-Describe known and/or potential factors, including habitat characteristics, which contribute to relatively strong or weak larval/juvenile growth and production in key (or index) watersheds.
-Identify the key limiting factors that prevent larvae/juvenile from successfully hatching, staging and achieving high levels of productivity in preferred habitats.
-Monitor adult production using a variety of monitoring tools (e.g. dam counts, adult traps, weirs, PIT and radio tags, length and weight data, etc.).
-Identify key areas where adults hold and/or spawn and identify environmental / physiological conditions that trigger spawning to occur.
-Describe known and/or potential factors, including habitat characteristics, which are key to adult holding and/or spawning.
-Identify actions that can be taken to restore or enhance adult holding and spawning.
-Identify adult and larval/juvenile lamprey migration characteristics.
-Identify known and suspected passage barriers (i.e. irrigation diversions and dams) and key limiting factors that prevent adult and larval/juvenile lamprey from successfully migrating (or spawning).
-Initiate small scale re-introductions of artificially propagated lamprey into selected areas within the Yakima Subbasin.
-Continue to translocate adults into watersheds where they have been extirpated, or nearly so, and to monitor productivity of these translocations.