LOWER SNAKE RIVER COMPENSATION PLAN
MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF THE FOUR LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS ON FISH
Lower Snake River Dam Construction
Mitigation for Fish Losses
Between 1961 and 1975, four dams were completed on the lower Snake River resulting in an estimated annual loss of 48 percent of returning adult salmon and steelhead.
Ice Harbor Dam. (Photo: USACE)
To compensate for these losses, Congress established the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan to annually release hatchery fish to mitigate for the loss of fishery resources and its impact on tribal, recreational, and commercial harvests.
Click on each dam on the map to the right to learn more about the facilities.
Lower Snake River Compensation Plan
Facilities, Operators, Monitoring, and Benefits
Funded by the Bonneville Power Administration and administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 25 facilities are used to annually produce 22 million juvenile salmon and steelhead for release into the Columbia River Basin.
Hatchery personnel checks eggs at the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery. (Photo: USFWS)
Through cooperative agreements with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the facilities are operated by the states of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Nez Perce Tribe and USFWS hatchery personnel at the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery. (Photo: USFWS)
Combined, the program's facilities produce 22 percent of juvenile salmon and steelhead released above Bonneville Dam as well as 58 percent of releases in the Snake River Basin. These fish are critical to treaty rights, local economies, and fishing opportunities in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
Successful recreational angler with a prized Chinook. (Photo: Glenn Oakley, IDFG)
Monitoring programs provide technical, logistical, and biological information to managers charged with maintaining viable salmon and steelhead populations that provide fisheries.
Fin tissue is collected from a steelhead at the Sawtooth Hatchery for genetics-based research, monitoring, and evaluation projects that provide critical information for fisheries managers.
Program Performance
Aging Infrastructure Prevents Full Mitigation
Unfortunately, inadequate funding prevents the program from achieving its full mitigation requirements.
Hatchery staff inspecting eggs at IDFG's Sawthooth Hatchery. (Photo: Steve Phillips, IDFG)
As facilities have aged, maintenance needs have increased. Limited funding has led operators to defer repairs. Consequently, emergency situations cannot be addressed in real-time, affecting the fish and fisheries they support.
Costs associated with unfunded capital improvements and differed maintenance have been estimated at more than $130 million. Click to learn more about these needs.
Learn More
Click to learn more about the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Program and its hatcheries.
Photo: Roger Phillips, IDFG
