Chris Ellings' presentation on Chinook recovery during the 2014 Annual Program Review. Please download and view as a PowerPoint presentation to avoid compatibility issues.

1. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
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Nisqually Chinook Recovery Plan Annual
Review
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
May 28th
, 2014

2. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
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3. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Nisqually Chinook Management: In a Nutshell
• Native Nisqually Chinook Extirpated
• Current Chinook stock is Green River, with no new imports since early
90’s
• Natural production predominately hatchery strays
• Nisqually Chinook Recovery Plan contains aggressive Habitat Restoration
and Protection Actions
▫ Nearly 80% of Nisqually mainstem protected along with large sections
of primary tributaries
▫ Over 900 acres of estuary restored
▫ Miles of tributary habitat restored
• All ‘H’ stock plan developed in 2011, currently in implementation
▫ Reduces harvest of natural origin fish
▫ Uses mainstem weir at RM 12 to remove Chinook hatchery strays
▫ Establishes a small integrated program which feeds a ‘stepping stone’
hatchery program for harvest
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“Whenever you oversimplify, you are being
unjust.”- Ernest Hemingway

4. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
2013 All ‘H’ Review
Habitat:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four
sharpening the axe.” ― Abraham Lincoln
Weir Operations:
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near
him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Harvest:
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” ― Mike Tyson
Hatchery:
“This is the best bad plan we have, sir.” ― Chris Terrio
Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation:
“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of
us who do.”― Isaac Asimov
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5. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will
spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
― Abraham Lincoln
250 acre McKenna Ranch
•High Priority Reach
•Identified in 2004 Off-Channel
Assessment
•Landowner relationship
cultivated for decades
•Landowner expressed interest
in selling to NLT and Tribe
•NLT, SPSSEG, and Tribe received
grant to appraise property and
develop restoration concepts
•NLT and Tribe awarded
$3.5 Million Large Capital PSAR
grant in regionally competitive
process
•Negotiations matured, match
was identified, and P&S agreement
about to be signed
•Landowner Backed Out!
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6. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
“They said you can't go to the moon. They said you can't
put cheese inside a pizza crust, but NASA did it. They had
to, because the cheese kept floating off in space.”
― Stephen Colbert
Petersen Conservation Easement: Protects over 200 acres of high quality habitat
along Nisqually River and Yelm Creek from development.
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Mashel River Protection Projects

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Annual Review
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8. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
"A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore" — Yogi Berra
Ohop Phase 3 Funds secured! Construction starts
summer 2014. Over 6 different funding sources….
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9. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
― William Shakespeare
Thousands of trees
have been planted over
hundreds of acres by
NIT native plant crew.
Additionally, volunteer
events by our partners
in the watershed have
contributed greatly to
reforestation effort.
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10. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Weir Operations:
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your
calculations, if you live near him.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
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11. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”
― Dr. Seuss
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Species Total At Weir
Pink 147,413
Coho-Not Clipped 192
Chinook-Natural Origin 95
Chinook-Hatchery 85
Chum 26
Coho-Clipped 12
Sockeye 9
Large Scale Sucker 2
Cutthroat Trout 1

12. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
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13. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Pinks
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14. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Harvest:
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
― Mike Tyson
• Preseason Expectations
o Forecast
 Marked: 34,296
 Unmarked Hatchery: 2,029
 Unmarked naturals: 1,296
• Total unmarked: 3,325
o Total of: 37,621
o Harvest
 Marked: 8,071
 Unmarked: 756
• Total of 8,827
• HR modeled: 24%
 Beach Seine total encounters modeled: 392
 Experimental gear type total encounters modeled: 50
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15. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
• In-season
▫ Gill net fishery ran as scheduled with increased effort at end of season
▫ Beach Seine fishery effort was lower than preseason expected
▫ Experimental gear type fishery was not implemented
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16. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
“I’m not in this world to live up to your
expectations and you’re not in this world to live up
to mine.”
― Bruce Lee
Post Season
o Gill net fishery HR: 29.8%
 Marked harvested: 9,547
 Unmarked harvested: 1089
• Total of 10,636
o Beach Seine total encounter: 163
o Total run size:
 Marked: 32,075
 Unmarked: 3,658
• Total: 35,733
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Summary:
•Total run size to the river was very close to pre-season forecasts.
•Post season harvest rates were almost 6% higher than predicted.
•In 2012 Nisqually Indian Tribe, in order to preserve fishing time on the river
and help obtain our rebuilding exploitation rate goal, decided to reduce from
3 nets per person to 2 nets per person.
•This regulation preformed perfectly in 2012 and the beginning of 2013.
•Towards the end of the run fishermen started adding people to their boats,
increasing effort within the confines of the regulation.
•The 2014 pre-season modeled regulation has changed from 2 nets per
person to 2 nets per boat.

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Annual Review
Hatchery:
“This is the best bad plan we have, sir.”
― Chris Terrio
Chinook both facilities:
Number Released: 4,033,460
(244,000) into Fort Lewis Lakes
Return Totals: 18,724 adult 3,581 jacks
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Integrated and Stepping Stone
Programs: Not Implemented

18. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation:
“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to
those of us who do.”
― Isaac Asimov
Chinook Escapement Estimate
•Derived from ‘Change-in-Ratio’ formula based on the
removals of hatchery and natural Chinook in fisheries,
hatcheries, and at weir
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Removals Total Marked Unmarked
Sport 3839 3739 100
Commercial Gillnet 10636 9547 1089
Beach Seine 146 146 0
Tangle Net 0 0 0
Hatcheries and Creeks 19267 17669 1598
Total Removals 33888 31101 2786
Weir catch 125 66 59
Escapement above weir 1847
Ad clipped above 975
UM aboved Weir 872
HOR above weir 1034
NOR above weir 813
Escapement below weir 517
HOR below 289
NOR below 228
*Total system escapement 2293
**HOR 1257
***NOR 1036

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Annual Review
“It's great to be a blonde. With low expectations it's very easy to surprise
people.”
- Pamela Anderson
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Annual Review
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21. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Question: Does restoring tidal flow also restore the ecological
functions that support juvenile Chinook salmon?
- How do prey availability, prey energy content, and temperature
regimes integrate to define the range of growth opportunities for
juvenile Chinook in the reconnected habitats?
Tidal channel reconnected in 2009 Unaltered, reference tidal channel

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Annual Review
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“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting
for the steak to cook.”
― Julia Child

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Annual Review
Juvenile Monitoring (Screw Trap)
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Chinook 0+
• VSP Criteria
 adult and juvenile
▫ Productivity
 number of juveniles
per adult
▫ Spatial Distribution
 habitat use
▫ Diversity
 size
 timing
 genetic

24. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Juvenile Monitoring (Screw Trap)
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steelhead
• VSP Criteria
 adult and juvenile
▫ Productivity
 number of juveniles
per adult
▫ Spatial Distribution
 habitat use
▫ Diversity
 size
 timing
 genetic

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Annual Review
Chinook Recovery Plan Monitoring and Adaptive Management
with the PSP and RITT Common Framework Approach
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“Uhhhhh…..”
-Me

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Annual Review
“The reason that everybody likes
planning is that nobody has to do
anything.”
-Jerry Brown
Select 2014 Chinook Plans
•Run weir efficiently and exclude hatchery fish
•Start integrated program
•Meet total Exploitation Rate of 52% on Unmarked
Chinook (estimated NIT harvest rate of 24%)
•Participate in Salish Sea Marine Survival Research
▫ Chinook early marine growth and diet
▫ Steelhead early marine survival
▫ Zooplankton Ecology
•Begin implementation of Upper Mashel River
Protection
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27. Nisqually Chinook
Annual Review
Thank You for Coming!
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