This story originally appeared on Underscore Native News.

Prior to the influx of colonial settlers in the mid-19th century and the eventual development of large dams blocking fish passageway along the river, the Columbia River Basin was teeming with anadromous salmon and steelhead returning from the ocean annually.

Jeremy FiveCrows, communications director for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), said 15 to 20 million adult salmon and steelhead returned to the basin historically, which “represented an annual infusion of so much nutrient wealth that fed this entire ecosystem.”

By the 1990s, that number had dipped to a little over 1 million. It has since grown to more than 2 million, still a far cry from its heyday and not even halfway to a conservation goal of 5 million.

“We all live in an impoverished ecosystem compared to what it was historically,” FiveCrows, Niimiipuu, citizen of the Nez Perce Tribe, said.

Fish conservation has been a priority for many scientists and organizations since the latter half of the 20th century — something that Indigenous people along the river have known is important since time immemorial.

Since the 1980 Northwest Power Act, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC) has been monitoring adult salmon and steelhead returns to the Columbia River Basin.

“Although the NWPCC focuses on the entire Columbia River Basin, the losses we are trying to make up for are due just to hydropower development,” said Kate Self, a program scientist in the council’s Fish and Wildlife Program.

The 10-year rolling average from 2014-2023 stands at 2.3 million fish, which is about the same average of the previous 10 years, according to a Dec. 10 report from the NWPCC. It’s still well below the council’s target, which is 5 million annual returns of adult salmon and steelhead to the Columbia River Basin.

The construction of the hydrosystem throughout the Columbia River Basin cut off almost 50% of all available habitat across the region until some fish passages were built, according to Patty O’Toole, fish and wildlife director for the council. Even with fish passages, restoration faces significant challenges.

“It takes a lot of restoration to keep up with development and population growth,” O’Toole said.

“The status quo is no longer acceptable, especially when you have stocks on the brink of extinction,” said Donella Miller, citizen of Yakama Nation, fisheries science manager at CRITFC. “In the face of climate change, things in the environment are going to become more challenging so we need to move beyond that and take further action.”

Collective conservation efforts

While the rolling average from the last 10 years is still about 50% lower than the numbers that NWPCC would like to see, it does point to success from conservation efforts along the river.

That many returning fish is an improvement from the 1990s when the average dipped to its lowest since the beginning of the program at 1.3 million, according to the report.

“Increased salmon and steelhead abundance in the Columbia River Basin — especially above Bonneville Dam — over the past 40 years marks important progress,” said NWPCC Council Member Louie Pitt, who represents Oregon and is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, according to a press release. “These fish still face severe stresses from climate change, pressures from human population growth in the Basin, and other environmental impacts. Some stocks are struggling right now. We cannot ease up in our collective efforts to help these fish populations grow stronger and larger everywhere we can — including in blocked areas of our Basin such as above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams.”

Salmon and steelhead abundance above the dams, particularly the Bonneville Dam, is crucial for subsistence fishing for Native nations along the river, sport fishing and natural reproduction. It is also essential for the biodiversity and health of the Columbia River Basin.

In the first half of the 20th century, while efforts to protect fish populations did occur, they mostly focused on the lower half of the river to protect commercial fishing and ocean harvest, according to the council’s report. This meant the heaviest losses of salmon and steelhead occurred above the Bonneville Dam.

Native nations throughout the Columbia River Basin have been instrumental in leading restoration efforts, which span across reintroduction programs, hatcheries managed by Native nations and more.

“It goes beyond just our harvest,” Miller said about the importance of salmon and steelhead abundance in the river and above the dams. “But also what the tribes view as our responsibility to maintain and ensure that these species persist for our future generations.”

Beyond climate change, many obstacles stand in the way of fish abundance, including physical ones like dams blocking fish passage and invasive species. Other obstacles stem from “red tape,” according to Miller, with a green light for fish passage projects or structure removal impeding fish passage that could take years.

“People cannot dismiss the amount of work that’s gone into it, because it’s kind of a miracle that the numbers are even flatlined,” FiveCrows said. “The amount of fish that are being produced at the tribal hatcheries, it’s just phenomenal.”

While salmon and steelhead restoration is essential to the basin’s health, and a priority at CRITFC and NWPCC, other crucial species have been more overlooked in conservation.

Miller mentioned lamprey and freshwater mussels as two key species. There cannot solely be a focus on salmon, but instead a holistic approach to ensure long-term success and ecosystem health, she said.

Scientists at the NWPCC agree.

“It’s integral when you are talking about conservation and restoration to include all of the native species,” Self said. “A functioning ecosystem requires all of the players to be healthy, not just the ones you can sell.”

Native nations throughout the Columbia River Basin have been leading this work both technically and scientifically, according to O’Toole. She said that Bonneville contracts with 19 Native nations and Native organizations, with 45% to 50% of all available restoration funding going to those nations and organizations.

Restoration projects are taking place across the basin. Efforts led by Native nations include: freshwater mussel restoration in the Umatilla River led by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; work conducted by the Confederated Colville Tribe to protect wild kokanee populations; the Yakama Nation’s work to restore and reintroduce sturgeon to areas in the mid-Columbia River; and many more.

“Within our culture, everything has its purpose and its place,” Miller said. “So we can’t just look at it as salmon restoration — we’re working to heal Mother Earth.”

Underscore Native News is a nonprofit investigative newsroom committed to Indigenous-centered reporting in the Pacific Northwest. We are supported by foundations and donor contributions. Follow Underscore on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/01/salmon-steelhead-columbia-basin/