Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been an important part of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes way of life for generations, not only as a food source but as an integral piece of their cultural ideology and identity. Tribal member yearly migration patterns were timed to coincide with the return of Chinook salmon to the Upper Salmon River basin, specifically the East Fork Salmon River. The East Fork Salmon River is home to three ESA-listed salmonid fish species; Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout, and was historically a major tributary fishery for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (SBT). Prior to the construction/completion of the four Lower Snake River Dams in 1975, Chinook salmon were relatively abundant within the basin, with annual redd counts, estimated across spawning ground (SGR) survey transects, averaging = 614 ± 248 redds. Since 1975, natural production has been far lower, averaging 104 ± 85 redds annually, with a low of five redds observed on the river in 1995. Adult returns, in most years, remain below the ESA recovery plan abundance threshold for a “large” population; that is, 1000 adults. Moreover, low adult returns constrain harvest opportunities; fewer than 100 fish were harvested from the East Fork over the last 10 years (2007-2016) by Shoshone-Bannock tribal members.

The Crystal Springs Hatchery Program was contracted in early 2010 to develop a conceptual plan for producing two species of fish, Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and Snake River Chinook Salmon, to supplement Tribal fisheries both on and off the Reservation. Approval was based on a program that would produce hatchery fish for release in the Fort Hall Bottoms (Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout), the Yankee Fork Salmon River and Panther Creek (both watersheds would receive Spring/Summer Chinook salmon smolts).

However, in August 2017 a significant issue was identified with the rearing and release of Sockeye Salmon smolts from the IDFG Springfield Hatchery, located approximately one mile north of the proposed Crystal Springs site.  The water chemistry difference between the Springfield Hatchery and release site at Redfish Lake Creek was so dramatic that smolts experienced acute mortality near 100% of the total release within 36 hours.  This issue forced BPA to ‘pause’ the environmental review while we performed a study on Chinook salmon smolts to see if the same issue would arise for this species.

Chinook juveniles for the experiment were obtained from the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery to rear approximately 100,000 Chinook salmon smolts at the Springfield Hatchery for release into the Yankee Fork in April 2019.  Based on the results of this study, where Chinook reared in analogous conditions to the proposed Crystal Springs site, the Tribes determined continuing with the previous plan of rearing Chinook at that location carried a significant risk for a new hatchery program. Through a planning process that spanned almost nine years of research and studies, the Tribes’ technical staff has determined that a full hatchery program in the Yankee Fork, and likely the rearing of Chinook salmon at Crystal Springs may not result in the best possible hatchery program for the Tribes.  Based on the review of available data from these studies, technical staff recommends focusing Chinook hatchery production in Panther Creek and/or the East Fork Salmon River and at the Crystal Springs site for Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout.  From a capital perspective, this construction process would facilitate the immediate construction of a Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Hatchery at the existing site and provide adequate time to locate an in-watershed hatchery for Chinook salmon production in the Salmon River basin.

The Shoshone Bannock Tribes are heavily invested in the survival and restoration of Chinook salmon runs to the Upper Salmon River Basin.  The Survival and Migration of Upper Salmon Chinook program, acting as the “contractor” for the Crystal Springs umbrella contract, has chosen to monitor and evaluate the salmon population in the East Fork Salmon River due to its strong historical, ceremonial, and subsistence bonds, and propagation potential to the Shoshone Bannock Tribes with the redirection of the Crystal Springs program.

The SBT currently operates a rotary screw trap on the East Fork Salmon River to monitor juvenile salmonid production and outmigration characteristics. Screw trap operations at East Fork were initiated as part of the Idaho Supplementation Studies (ISS), and since 2014 (ISS project completion), have continued as SBT-led natural production monitoring. During the mid-2000s, the SBT also conducted some riparian habitat restoration on the East Fork and its tributaries (Herd Creek, Big Boulder Creek), and conducted spawning ground surveys to monitor the efficacy of those efforts. However, no agency is currently committed to monitoring the mainstem East Fork beyond aerial surveys and SGR trend sites. Thus, the full spatial extent of spawning activity within the watershed is not typically documented nor is biological data (age, size, sex, genetics, origin) collected from carcasses or trapping at the weir.

The Tribes will continue researching the barriers inhibiting the increase of Chinook numbers returning to the Upper Salmon River Basin with the Survival and Migration of Upper Salmon Chinook project.  With the collection of data in the East Fork Salmon River, the Tribes goal is to identify the controllable factors limiting the recovery of Snake River spring/summer Chinook Salmon populations in order to develop a viable recovery management plan, supplementation efficacy in the basin, and contribute information for an options paper for the Crystal Springs project. The options paper will be completed by January 2022. Data gathered will be used to estimate total migration, migration timing, survival, adult spawner escapement, and pre-spawn mortalities to provide or validate pre-season forecasts, in-season updates, and harvest management guidelines.  Fish tagging and marking play important roles in stock assessment, research, management, and recovery of salmonid and other fishes in the basin.  Results from tagging investigations influence decisions on hydrosystem management such as water spill at dams and fish transport; harvest regimes in the ocean and river; hatchery practices; and endangered species risk assessment. Year-to-year trends will be identified using data collected as well as conducting critical uncertainties research to provide the necessary information for the assessment of performance metrics and standards.