Supplement Analysis for the Watershed Management Program EIS (DOE/EIS-0265/SA-103) - Install Fish Screens to Protect ESA Listed Steelhead and Bull Trout in the Walla Walla Basin – Phase II
- Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Portland, OR (United States)
Proposed Action: Install Fish Screens to Protect ESA Listed Steelhead and Bull Trout in the Walla Walla Basin – Phase II Minor Diversion Screen Installations. BPA is proposing to provide cost share for a program that will protect ESA-listed salmonid species in the Walla Walla River Basin through the installation of state and federally approved fish screen on over 300 water diversions in the Walla Walla River Basin. This program will involve a wide variety of projects including the installation of screens for both pump and gravity fed surface water diversions. This project will be implemented in conjunction with the Walla Walla County Conservation District, Columbia County Conservation District, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Walla Walla Community College, Washington Department of Ecology, and local irrigators. ESA-listed steelhead and bull trout are presently at risk in the Walla Walla Basin as a result of a combination of factors that primarily involve insufficient flow, extensive habitat degradation, and mortality from surface water diversions. Unscreened or improperly screened diversions can damage fish scaling and induce stress, both of which can be lethal. They are also known to cause migration delays and increased predation; impinge fish against screen surfaces; or, in cases where screen mesh size is too large, allow juvenile fish to be drawn directly into functioning irrigation systems resulting in direct mortality. The goal of this project is to eliminate imminent mortality risks to ESA-listed fish arising from inadequate irrigation diversions in the Walla Walla Basin by upgrading screens to current state and federal juvenile fish screen standards.
- Research Organization:
- Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Portland, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42)
- OSTI ID:
- 828083
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EIS-0265/SA-103
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Walla Walla River Basin Screening, Annual Report 2002.
Assessment of Salmonids and Their Habitat Conditions in the Walla Walla River Basin within Washington, Annual Report 2002-2003.