Presented at Within Our Reach 2012 by: CARL SHRECK - Professor and Leader, Oregon Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife GABE SCHEOSHIPS - Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission CYNDI BAKER - Fisheries Biologist, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs LANCE WYSS - Faculty Research Assistant, Willamette River Basin Lamprey Project, Oregon State University BRIAN McILRAITH - Pacific Lamprey Project Lead, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

1. Within Our Reach
Willamette Pacific Lamprey
Carl B. Schreck
Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

2. Japanese Arctic Lamprey
Harvest from Ishikari River
Data from 2007 Ishikari River Arctic Lamprey
Cultural Conservation & Restoration Project Report

3. /ocean
~1 yr

4. Life Cycle Timeline
= Freshwater
Coho Salmon = Transition
= Ocean
Pacific
Lamprey

5. Pacific Lamprey
Gabe Sheoships – CRITFC/OSU
Lawrence Schwabe - Grande Ronde
Cyndi Baker - Warm Springs
Brian McIlraith - CRITFC
Lance Wyss - OCFWRU/F&W, OSU
Ben Clemens – OSU/ODFW
Siletz & FWS

6. Indigenous Management & Traditional
Ecological Knowledge of Pacific
Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) in
the Willamette River Basin.
Gabe Sheoships
Within Our Reach 2012

7. Introduction
The last century has not been kind
to this species.

8. Pacific Lamprey
Ksuyus’ (Sahaptin)
Heesu’ (Nez Perce)
Eel (Tribal people acquired this
association from European
settlers early 1900s).
Entosphenus tridentatus (Latin)

9. Origin story: Winner takes all
As the legend goes, the lamprey
and sucker fish placed a wager
over a swimming race. The
lamprey lost, and thus lost all of
it’s scales and bones to the
sucker.

10. Seven Drum Washat’ Longhouse
Religion
The creator designated the Ksuyus’ as a
food source for the people, by the
seven gill slits on it’s body.

11. Traditional usage of lamprey

12. Traditional Usage of Ksuyus’
First food honored each year in
ceremony.
Biotherapy.
Omega 3 oils beneficial for hair, skin
tone, many other things.
Fertility promoting qualities.

13. Willamette Falls Fishery
Management
 Pre-Euro immigration, tribes valued Pacific
Lamprey for 10,000 years~.
 Traditional fishing location for:
 Nez Perce
 Yakama tribes
 Warm Springs, Wasco, Pauite
 Umatilla, Cayuse, Walla Walla
 Grande Ronde, Kalapuyan, Mollala
 Chinook, Clackamas, Tualatin

14. Willamette Falls TEK
 Tribes practiced selective seasonal harvest
management of Willamette Run.
 Juvenile freshwater inhabitants
outmigration related to lunar activity.
 Adult fish were known to return to the Falls
when precipitation declined.
 Adult returns have always been “patchy” or
highly variable.

15. Willamette Falls circa 1913

16. Willamette Falls
*Last abundant collection
point for lamprey used in
religious ceremonies by
the tribes.

17. Past traditional harvest sites:
Celilo Falls (Inundation)
Fifteenmile Creek (Poor returns)
Kettle Falls/Columbia River
(Inundation)
Sherars Falls/Deschutes River (Poor
returns)
Savage Rapids Dam/Rogue River
(Poor returns)
Winchester Dam/Umpqua River (Poor
returns)

18. Future Concerns

19. Acknowledgements
 Crow, E. Nez Perce tribe.
 Monroe, J. Freshwaters Illustrated. 2012
 www.critfc.org

20. Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
Cyndi Baker

21. Issue
Declining abundance of lamprey in Columbia River
Abundance of Pacific lamprey in the Willamette Basin
was first estimated in 2010
Willamette Falls provides a opportunity for capturing
and tagging lamprey at fish ladders and inspecting
lamprey at fish ladders and through lamprey harvest
But the area also presents a challenge…large area,
high volume of water, and uncertainties of lamprey
behavior through the falls/ladders

22. Harvest
Lack of
opportunity
in
Columbia
River brings
tribes from
Idaho to
coast
Typically
occurs late
June and
July

25. Mark Recapture - Abundance
Capture lamprey in fish ladder April –September
Mark with PIT tags and visible dart tag
Lamprey are released about 1 mile downstream
Inspecting lamprey for tags (“recaptured fish”) occurs
during tagging
Estimate is made using the number marked (tagged),
recaptured and inspected for tags that had none

26. Year Ladder Horseshoe
2010 22,000 to 34,000 37,000
2011 40,000 to 62,000 58,000

27. Ca. 1910 -1915

28. Presented by: Lawrence Schwabe

29.  Subsistence
 Spiritual
 Medicinal
 Trade & Gift Giving
 Way of Life
“Skakwal” is Chinook Jargon (also known
as chinuk wawa)

30. Project Objectives:
1. Determine timing and movement patterns during upstream
migrations
2. Identify over-wintering locations
3. Determine relative use of primary tributaries for spawning
4. Formulate management recommendations

31. Tagging Summary
2008 (CTGR) 111 tagged lamprey were above the Falls.
Tracked by boat & by 11 fixed telemetry sites.
2009 (CTGR, CRAMER, PGE,OSU) 209 Tagged Lamprey were above the Falls
Tracked by Boat, Plane and 22 fixed telemetry sites.
2010 (CTGR, CRAMER,OSU) 219 tagged lamprey were above the Falls
Tracked by boat, plane and 22 fixed
telemetry sites.
2011-2012 (CTGR) 120 tagged lamprey above the
Falls. Tracking by boat and 22 fixed
sites.

32. Fixed Site Locations
River Mile Mainstem Tributary Organization
24 Clackamas CFS
Willamette Falls
West Linn
26 CTGR
28 Tualatin CTGR
30 Rock Island CFS
37 Molalla CTGR
37 Pudding CFS
46 Champoeg Park CFS
54 Evergreen CTGR
55 Yamhill CTGR
87 Eola CFS
106 Buena Vista CFS
108 Santiam CTGR
108 NF Santiam CFS
108 Luckiamute CTGR
119 Calapooia CTGR
131 Corvallis CFS
133 Mary's CTGR
148 Long Tom CFS
161 Harrisburg CFS
175 Mckenzie CTGR
180 Eugene CTGR
187 Coast Fork CFS

38.  Determine if lamprey
spawn in the mainstem
Willamette River.
 Quantify the amount
and quality of juvenile
rearing habitat.
 Monitor and quantify
lamprey response to
floodplain restoration
work.
 Identify and incorporate
habitat needs for pacific
lamprey into floodplain
restoration design.

40. Tribal Pacific Lamprey
Restoration Plan
For the Columbia River Basin
40

41. 41

42. Collaborative Lamprey
Conservation and
Restoration
• Columbia River Basin Lamprey
Technical Workgroup
• Lamprey Summit III
• June 2012
• Lamprey Conservation Agreement
• Willamette River Management 42
Unit

43. CRITFC Tribal Pacific
Lamprey Restoration Plan
• Mainstem Passage and Habitat
• Tributary Passage and Habitat
• Supplementation/Augmentation
• Contaminants and Water Quality
• Public Outreach and Education
• Research, Monitoring, and
43
Evaluation

44. CRITFC Tribal Pacific
Lamprey Restoration Plan
• Mainstem Passage and Habitat
• Tributary Passage and Habitat
• Supplementation/Augmentation
• Contaminants and Water Quality
• Public Outreach and Education
• Research, Monitoring, and
44
Evaluation

45. Collaborative Lamprey
Conservation and
Restoration
• Other guiding documents
• USACE Pacific Lamprey Passage
Improvements Implementation Plan
• CRITFC Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration
Plan for the Columbia River Basin
• USFWS Pacific Lamprey Assessment and
Template for Conservation Measures 45

46. Monitoring Pacific Lamprey Relative
Abundance and Distribution in the
Willamette River Basin
Lance Wyss, Ben Clemens, Luke Schultz, Gabe Sheoships,
Carl Schreck
Provide information to fill critical knowledge gaps identified
through the recovery and restoration planning processes
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47. REARING

48. 3 streams
Multiple visits
Early May – Mid-June
SPAWNING

49. Larval Sampling Basins
2011, 2012, 2013
2012
2013
Spawning Surveys
Marys River
Thomas Creek
Clear Creek

50. Contaminated Sediments
Siletz Sediment (reference) Portland Harbor Super Fund Site
Credits: Julia Unrein, Rob Chitwood, Carl Schreck

51. Pacific lamprey biology:
critical uncertainties & context
Benjamin J. Clemens
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife

52. Willamette Falls
1913
Source: Clackamas County Historical Society

53. Die-off
Temp. > 20
o

54. Tribal Harvest at
Willamette Falls
K. Kostow, 2002 ODFW white paper; D. Ward 2001 ODFW

55. Willamette
Last stronghold?
Example for other basins?

56. = “Immature” Males
674 mm
525 mm
1 Collection Date
Clemens 2011 Ph.D. dissertation

57. STREAM MATURING TYPE
OCEAN MATURING TYPE
Clemens 2011 Ph.D. dissertatio

58. Clemens, Wyss, McCoun, Schwabe, Courter, Duery, Vaughn & Schreck 2012 Report to CRITFC

59. Lamprey Critical Uncertainties
• Moser et al. 2007 Rev. Fish Biol. Fish.
• Mesa et al. 2009
• Luzier et al. 2009
• Clemens et al. 2010 Fisheries
• Lamprey Tech. Workgroup 2005-2011
• U.S. F& WS 2011
• CRITFC 2011
*We are certain that we are uncertain!

60. Photo credit: Jeremy Monroe , Freshwater Illustrated

61. Lamprey Critical Uncertainties
• Biology (basic; stress, disease; pop’n dynamics)
• Population structure (genetics)
• Habitat (use vs. avail; toxics; thresholds; climate change)
• Ecology (abundance, dist., prey, predators; keystone sp?)
• Monitoring (survey, collection, marking)
• Conservation (limiting factors; aquaculture)
• Management (passage, transloc., dredging, dewatering)
Tangible products needed….

63. Lamprey Critical Uncertainties
• Climate change
• Human pop’n & economic growth
• Ocean conditions
• Pop’n structure
• Monitoring
• Habitat rehab
• Predictive modeling
• Adaptive management
We are not there…yet.

64. Context
• Science
– Explore, Describe, Test, Monitor, Model,
Predict
– Synthesize, Integrate, Refine
• Status and trend monitoring (patterns)
• What does it mean?
• Identify biological mechanisms
• Connect mechanisms with patterns
Ultimate mechanisms?

65. Context: Scale

66. NASA