Reintroduction of Pacific lamprey in the Umatilla River in Northeast Oregon

Reintroduction of Pacific lamprey in the Umatilla River in Northeast Oregon

Goal Restore natural production of Pacific lamprey to self sustaining and harvestable levels.

CTUIR Restoration Strategies Utilize translocation from geographical close donor population as immediate stopgap action Supplementation/Artificial Production (currently no facilities or funding to do this) Habitat improvements and wait for natural re-colonization (requires successful mainstem passage)

Case study Before and after translocation study in the Umatilla River. Case study sampling began in 1998, followed by adult lamprey translocation in 2000. Can translocated adult lampreys increase natural production and restore selfsustaining and harvestable levels of lampreys?

Study Area

CTUIR Translocation Plan Trap and collect 500 adult lamprey at mainstem dams during summer adult up-migration Transfer and maintain adult lamprey at SF Walla Walla Holding Facility till winter Transfer and maintain adult lamprey at Minthorn Springs Adult Lamprey Holding Facility in late winter Translocate adult lamprey in Umatilla River and selected tributaries in spring (May) Monitor all life stages to determine translocation success

Policy Approval of Plan Part of Umatilla Basin lamprey restoration plan approved by CTUIR and NPCC Part of CTUIR MOA lamprey research and restoration project Translocation follows guidelines established by the CBFWA Lamprey Technical Workgroup and the 4 Tribes

Translocation Guidelines Lamprey formerly abundant in Umatilla based on tribal and non-tribal oral histories Extensive flow and habitat enhancements throughout basin, structural improvements ongoing Pre-translocation surveys determined lamprey functionally extirpated Since 2000, project has translocated an average of 1% of the Bonneville count, continued collection not expected to exceed 1% Collection to occur at the John Day Dam; Umatilla River flows into the John Day pool

Translocation Guidelines Trapping to occur behind picketed lead areas With main-stem adult passage of about 50% and targeted individuals are unsuccessful candidates, more survival and production will likely result from translocating adults into the Umatilla River Pre-translocation disease screening by NE Oregon Fish Pathology Lab CTUIR Scientific Take Permits obtained

Translocation Guidelines Federal Authorization to proceed granted by NOAA Letter of access to collection sites received from US Army COE Translocation is followed by comprehensive Umatilla lamprey monitoring and evaluation

Translocation Plan Objectives Translocation creates the means to perform the following objectives: -Implement and evaluate adult holding -Evaluate spawning success in a natural environment -Evaluate juvenile rearing success -Evaluate juvenile outmigration success -Evaluate adult up-migration by radio telemetry -Determine adult return by mark-recapture -Evaluate lamprey passage structures

Can adult Pacific lamprey sexually mature while being held in captivity? Will lampreys survive the translocation activity?

Method

700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Number of adult Pacific lamprey translocated 2000 2001 2 00 2 2003 2004 2005 2 006 2007 2008 2009 Ye ar

Location of Translocation Umatilla River Total 2000: n=600 2001: n=244 2002: n=491 2003: n=484 2004: n=133 2005: n=120 2006: n=198 2007: n=394 2008: n=68 2009: n=325 Total: n=3057 Rkm 98.8 2002: n=150 Rkm 5 2003: n=29 2005: n=15 2006: n=21 2007: n=25 2009: n=25 Rkm 118.4 2000: n=150 2001: n=82 2002: n=100 2003: n= 90 Rkm 4.8 2003: n=25 Iskuulpa Cr. Meacham Cr. Rkm 10 2003: n=115 Rkm 1.8 2009: n=50 SF Umatilla R Rkm 17.5 2000: n=150 2001: n=81 2002: n=100 2003: n=230 2004: n=70 2005: n=55 2006: n=87 2007: n=169 2008: n=42 2009: n=150 Rkm 139.9 2000: n=300 2001: n=81 2002: n=141 2003: n=110 2004: n=63 2005: n=50 2006: n=90 2007: n=200 2008: n=26 2009: n=100

Can translocated Pacific lampreys find habitat for spawning?

Method Nest surveys conducted 2000-2002, 2009 Spot checks 2003-2008 May - July

Umatilla River Nest distribution (2000)

Meacham Creek Nest distribution (2000)

Number of lamprey nests Spawning occurs during first two weeks in June. 2000 2001 2002 2009 81 nests 49 viable nests 67 viable nests, 118 test nests 81 nests, 40 test nests

Can translocated lampreys reproduce?

2001 Egg viability Method Collected egg samples from Umatilla R. & Meacham Ck. Stages 13 14 endpoint

Egg viability 100 Egg viability (%) 80 60 40 20 n = 4 n = 12 0 Umatilla Location Meacham

Does larval density increase after translocating adults?

Method ABP-II Electrofishing unit 2,3,4 pass removal method Sampled 30 index plots 1998 2008 Repeated measures ANOVA

Location of index plots

Larval distribution 80 80 70 1998 70 2001 Larval Density (ind/m 2 ) 60 50 40 30 20 1999 2000 Larval Density (ind/m 2 ) 60 50 40 30 20 2002 2003 10 10 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 Site 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 Site Larval Density (ind/m 2 ) 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2004 2005 2006 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 Site Larval density (ind/m 2 ) 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2007 2008 2009 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 Site

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Larval density in plots Mean Density n=30 Outplant Adults 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Time (Year) Larval Density (ind./m 2 )

Larval statolith ageing (2002) 20 A Frequency 15 10 5 n = 78 0 B 2+ n = 31 Age (year) 1+ 0+ n = 1 n = 46 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Length (mm)

Can adult translocation increase levels of out-migrant metamorphosed lampreys?

Method Rotary-Screw Trap 1998-2009

Juvenile Lamprey Sampled 2000 1800 1600 1400 Smolted Non-Smolted 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 Trapping Season No. of Lampreys

08-09 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 Out-migrant lamprey 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 Trapping Season Metamorphosed lamprey

Are adult lampreys entering the Umatilla River?

Method Portable assessment traps 1999-June 2009 Fished at Three Mile Falls Dam

Method Three Mile Falls Dam Lamprey Passage Structure, July 2009 Operational April-October 4 adult lamprey have passed to date

Three Mile Falls Dam Lamprey Passage Structure

Lamprey Passage Structure Overview of Entrance Rest Box 45 degree ramp Fish ladder entrance Entrance Ramps

Lamprey Passage Structure Exit slide to Counter and Trap Box Overview of Exit Up-well Box PIT tag detector PIT tag hardware Pumps (2 at 75gpm)

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Adult lamprey abundance LPS installed 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Time (Year) No. of Adult Lamprey

Summary Adult lampreys can be held until sexually mature Translocated lampreys successfully built nests Egg viability was relatively high Distribution of larvae increased in headwater areas and moved downstream through time

Summary continued Larvae grew fast Larval density increased through time Likely increase in metamorphosed lamprey levels Large portion of larvae metamorphose in main-stem Columbia River Adult lampreys numbers slightly increased Adults have used the new lamprey passage structure

Possible Bottlenecks Larvae & metamorphosed stage Adult lamprey spawning migration

Irrigation dams - Umatilla R.

Fish screens - canals

Possible Bottlenecks Larvae & metamorphosed stage Adult lamprey spawning migration

Pre-Flow Enhancement Lower Umatilla River 9 8 7 Umatilla River John Day Adult Lamprey 250 200 Discharge (m 3 /second) 6 5 4 3 2 1 150 100 50 0 Adult lamprey count 0-50 6/1/05 7/1/05 8/1/05 9/1/05 10/1/05 Month

Passage Improvements BPA Flow enhancement in lower Umatilla River during adult migration period (July 1- Aug 15) Installation of Lamprey Passage Structure at Three Mile Falls Dam (June 2009) other diversion lamprey passage structures in 2010+

Post-Flow Enhancement Lower Umatilla River Discharge (m 3 /second) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Umatilla River John Day Adult Lamprey 6/1/09 7/1/09 8/1/09 9/1/09 10/1/09 Time 250 200 150 100 50 0-50 Adult lamprey count

What does the future hold??

Funding Funding provided for this project was provided by Bonneville Power Administration critical to continue translocation Based on Columbia run status, funding commitments will be critical to address adult and juvenile passage issues Acknowledgements