Some Columbia Salmon, Steelhead Runs Show Improvement In Latest State Report On ESA Runs

The abundance of four listed Columbia salmon and steelhead runs improved in 2024 relative to two years beforehand, and more stocks are on the positive side of a biannual ledger than the past two check-ins, but other listed threatened or endangered fish in the big river and elsewhere in Washington continue to struggle or worse.

That’s the bottom line of the latest State of Salmon in Watersheds report from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, released today and which tracks 14 Chinook, coho, chum, sockeye and summer and winter steelhead stocks on the federal Endangered Species Act list at two-year intervals using WDFW data.

“Overall, there are some modest signs of improvement. More species are approaching their abundance goals or showing signs of progress and fewer species are not keeping pace with recovery,” the executive summary states.

“However, there are still far too many salmon in crisis or not keeping pace with recovery. It will take increased efforts to improve the status of species in crisis and to maintain progress especially in the face of ongoing challenges from climate change and population growth,” it adds.

The four populations showing signs of improvement since 2022 are Lower Columbia coho, Columbia chums and Upper Columbia steelhead and spring Chinook.

While there is no directed fishery on the chums, which mostly return to rivers below Bonneville, the lowest dam on the Columbia, last year saw the first Methow River summer steelhead fishery in nine years, while 2024 served up the best ever coho harvest between Puget Island and Bonneville Dam going all the way back to 1980.

The coho stock moved up from the “Making Progress” category to “Approaching Goal,” the chums and steelhead from “Not Keeping Pace” to “Making Progress,” and the springers from “In Crisis” to “Not Keeping Pace,” which is considered an improvement nonetheless.

Snake River fall Chinook and Hood Canal summer chums continue to feature in the “Approaching Goal” category, where they have been in every report going back to at least 2014 (there was no 2012 report).

In both 2022 and 2020’s reports, only four stocks were in the “Approaching Goal” or “Making Progress” categories combined.

Erik Neatherlin, who heads up the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office, also saw a win in how much money is being invested in habitat and other work benefitting the fish.

“This has allowed more partners to come together to do more for salmon. We know that the only way to have a future for salmon and people is by working together,” he said in a press release.

Nearly a billion dollars – $937 million – has been spent on restoration projects, $483 million on assessments and planning, $327 million on acquisitions, $106 million on monitoring, $99 million on “other”, $77 million on hatcheries, and $47 million on capacity.

While that amounts to a buttload of money, it’s less than half of what’s needed to fund habitat and other work identified in regional recovery plans, per the report.

Still, its accomplishments section lists the correction of 3,866 fish passage barriers, restoration of just under 39,500 acres of riparian habitat, over 13,900 acres of estuary and nearshore areas and 3,443 riparian miles, and 5,100 miles of streams made accessible for salmon between 2005 and 2024.

The report also details many of the challenges facing the fish – predation by marine mammals and birds, 6PPD-quinone and other pollutants, warming waters from climate change and wildfires burning riverside vegetation, among other causes beyond plopping 8 million people down in the West’s smallest state and altering the holy hell out of it and expecting salmon and steelhead to thrive.

Salmon in Watersheds 2024 continues to pin Puget Sound steelhead and Chinook as “In Crisis,” along with Snake River spring/summer Chinook (a big Seattle Times article on Sunday details the lengths state managers are going to to try and get Tucannon springers past walleye and other predacious fish in the dammed lower Snake) and Lake Ozette sockeye.

Mid-Columbia steelhead also dropped into “In Crisis” since 2022, while Snake River Basin steelhead and Lower Columbia Chinook remain in “Not Keeping Pace,” same as two years ago.

State RCO Director Megan Duffy pointed out that salmon and steelhead support recreational as well as commercial fishing industries, tribal cultures and help feed southern resident killer whales.

“It is encouraging to see there is progress but the number of salmon populations still struggling reminds us that now is not the time to let up. We must continue investing in saving salmon so we all may benefit,” Duffy said.

State lawmakers this past legislative session provided $1.1 billion in funding for more court-ordered culvert and fish passage work.