Chief Joseph Hatchery Program
Columbia River Below Chief Joseph Dam and Okanogan Subbasin, Washington

• PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

  
  The Northwest Power and Conservation Council recommended that BPA fund a program sponsored by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation that would assist in the conservation and recovery of summer/fall chinook salmon in the Okanogan subbasin and the Columbia River between the Okanogan River and Chief Joseph Dam. The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program (CJHP) includes construction, operation and maintenance of a hatchery adjacent to the base of the Chief Joseph Dam and a few acclimation ponds throughout the Okanogan subbasin. Adult fish broodstock collection for gathering eggs would occur throughout the project area by various means. Egg incubation and early rearing would occur at the new hatchery. Final rearing and release of juvenile fish would occur at new and existing acclimation ponds. While the focus of the CJHP is on the propagation of summer/fall Chinook salmon, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) also considers the use of the proposed facilities to reintroduce extirpated spring Chinook salmon to their historical habitats in the Okanogan subbasin.
  
  

• CURRENT STATUS:

  
  BPA issued the Chief Joseph Hatchery Program's draft EIS in April 2007 seeking public comment on potential effects of the construction and operation of the CJHP. Public comments were used by project partners to refine the environmental analysis and decide whether to implement the CJHP. A final EIS was released in November 2009; and a Record of Decision to implement the project is expected by January 2010. The US Army Corps of Engineers is a cooperating agency in the analysis.
  
  

• CONTACT:

  
  Mickey Carter, Environmental Project Manager, Bonneville Power Administration - KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 97208-3621; 503-230-5885;e-mail address: macarter@bpa.gov.
  
  

• DOCUMENTS:

  
  Final EIS Public Letter (37Kb pdf) (11/13/09)
  Final EIS Summary (460Kb pdf) (11/09)
  Final EIS (18.9Mb pdf) (11/09)
  Letter to NMFS Accepting EFH Measures (29Kb pdf) (08/05/08)
  NOAA Fisheries Biological Opinion (1.6MB pdf) (07/28/08)
  NOAA Fisheries Biological Opinion Cover Letter (61Kb pdf) (7/25/08)
  Final EIS Figure 2-2 Proposed Hatchery Site Plan (1.9MB pdf) (06/25/07)
  Release of DEIS (letter) (29 KB pdf) (04/25/07)
  Draft EIS for Review (3.2MB pdf) (04/25/07)
  USFWS ESA Concurrence Letter (1MB pdf) (06/09/06)
  Endangered Species Act (ESA) Consult Letter - US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (31Kb pdf) (05/05/06)
  ESA Consult Letter - NOAA Fisheries (32Kb pdf) (05/05/06)
  Biological Assessment (BA) for Chief Joseph Hatchery Program (2.2MB pdf) (05/03/06)
  Public Scoping Letter #2 (31.5Kb pdf) (08/17/05)
  Public Scoping Letter #2 to Tribal Representatives (32.5Kb pdf) (08/16/05)
  Public Scoping Letter (32Kb pdf) (08/02/05)
  Project Scoping Letter to Tribal Representatives (32.3Kb pdf) (08/02/05)
  Notice of Intent (57.4Kb pdf) (07/27/05)
  Comment Form (13.5Kb pdf) (07/27/05)
  Project Map (743Kb pdf) (07/27/05)