CONTENTS Introduction Intensively Monitored Watersheds Smolt/Adult Monitoring Skagit River Lake Washington Green River Deschutes Hood Canal Dungeness Grays Harbor Lower Columbia River Wenatchee River Trapping Gear Publications Data Salmonscape

Smolt/Adult Monitoring: Lower Columbia River Tributaries [Mill, Abernathy & Germany Creeks] [Cedar Creek] [Coweeman River] Downstream-migrant fence weir Downstream-migrant screw trap Adult trap: resistance board weir at moderate flow Lower Columbia River: Mill, Abernathy & Germany Creeks Location: Tributaries to the Lower Columbia River: Mill Creek at R.M. 53.8, Abernathy at R.M. 54.2, and Germany at R.M. 56.2.  The streams are in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, near Stella, Washington, roughly 100 miles downstream from the Bonneville Dam. History: In response to concerns over declines in natural fish populations in the Columbia River, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed a number of salmon species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Four lower Columbia species (chum, steelhead, chinook and coho) were listed as “threatened”. Of these species, coho populations in the Lower Columbia are least understood, and only limited spawner abundance monitoring has occurred for the other species. Thus, beginning in 2001, WDFW placed smolt traps in three tributaries to evaluate the coho salmon and steelhead trout production. Mill, Abernathy, and Germany Creeks were selected because of their close proximity to each other, and their similarities in size, drainage, and land use. In 2003, these three streams were included as part of the Intensively Monitored Watersheds (IMW) Project. As a result, the project was expanded to include spawning ground surveys for coho, and more intensive surveys for steelhead. Beginning in Spring 2005 we also expanded downstream-migrant trapping operations to monitor chinook and chum fry production. In Fall 2005, we intensified our spawning ground surveys to assess chinook spawner abundance, and installed a resistance-board weir (RBW) near the mouth of Abernathy Creek at R.M. 0.5, to improve estimates of coho abundance. Methods: All downstream-migrant traps are located near the mouth of each stream. In 2001, we constructed fence weirs at Germany and Mill Creeks, and used a 5-ft diameter screw trap at Abernathy. As of 2002, we have used screw traps at all three sites. From 2001 to 2004, smolt trapping in these watersheds began in late-March or early-April, at the beginning of the coho migration, and continued through June, when counts decline. In 2005, however, we advanced the trapping start date to February in order to target the out-migration of ESA-listed chinook and chum. All fish captured are enumerated and identified by species. Hatchery and wild steelhead, and wild coho and cutthroat are checked for PIT-tags. Trap efficiency is estimated throughout the season. Adult coho captured in the Abernathy Creek RBW were PIT-tagged, marked with an opercle punch and released upstream (in 2006, opercle tags were also used). Fish captured at the Abernathy Fish Technology Center (AFTC) trap (R.M. 3.0) are sampled for marks and tags. Spawner abundance is estimated using mark-recapture estimation techniques. Steelhead spawner abundances in all stream and coho abundance in Germany and Mill Creeks are estimated by conducting bi-weekly spawner surveys of the entire watershed accessible to steelhead and coho salmon. Chinook spawner abundance is estimated by marking/tagging and subsequently sampling chinook carcasses on the spawning grounds. Adult weir at low flow Screw trap Available Publications & Data: 2003 Juvenile Salmonid Production Evaluation and Adult Escapement: Intensively Monitored Watersheds (IMW) Annual Report IMW Plan (2004) Appendix A - 2004 Juvenile Salmonid Production Evaluation and Adult Escapement: Intensively Monitored Watersheds (IMW) 2003/6 dataset: Mill Creek catches, trap calibration and size 2003/6 dataset: Germany Creek catches, trap calibration and size 2003/6 dataset: Abernathy Creek catches, trap calibration and size Redd locations from stream surveys (Mill, Germany and Abernathy Creeks): 2006 Spawner abundance estimates (Mill, Germany and Abernathy Creeks): 2006 Lower Columbia River: Cedar Creek Location: Largest tributary of the N.F. Lewis River, below Merwin Dam, in Clark County, Washington. History: The Cedar Creek adult and downstream-migrant traps are operated and maintained by WDFW’s Region 5 staff.  Downstream-migrant evaluation began in 1998. Methods: Juvenile screw trap and adult fishway trap. Available Publications & Data: 2002 Index Watershed Salmon Recovery Monitoring Report 2003 Green River, Wenatchee River and Cedar Creek (NF Lewis) Salmonid Production Evaluation 2004 Juvenile Salmonid Production Evaluation Report Green River, Wenatchee River, and Cedar Creek 2005 Juvenile Salmonid Production Evaluation Report Green River, Dungeness River, and Cedar Creek 2003/5 data: trap calibration for 2003 and 2004, size data for coho, cutthroat and steelhead, and catch data for chinook, coho, steelhead/cutthroat Lower Columbia River: Coweeman River Location: The Coweeman is a third order tributary to the Cowlitz River located in Cowlitz County, Washington. The basin is a moderate gradient system with elevation ranging from near sea level to 846 meters at Coweeman Lake, the headwaters. The watershed is managed for timber production. No hatcheries or dams are present. This basin drains approximately 329 square kilometers. Anadromous salmonid species identified in the Coweeman include Chinook salmon, coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and steelhead. Small numbers of chum salmon may enter the lower basin (WDFW 2003). Hatchery smolt releases of winter-run steelhead occur annually through a cooperative effort with a local fishing club, the Cowlitz Game and Anglers, a private landowner, Pat Rauth, and WDFW. History: To our knowledge, basin-wide juvenile production has never been monitored in the watershed. Monitoring of juvenile fish within the subbasin has been minimal and limited to electrofishing in a Baird Creek index established for juvenile coho stock assessment. Surveys were conducted in 1977 – 79, 1985 - 86 and 1994 – 95. Habitat assessment and monitoring completed within the basin includes: a baseline inventory of large woody debris (Volkhardt 1999), temperature monitoring (Sullivan et al. 1990, Cowltz/Wahkiakum Conservation District unpublished data), flow monitoring (USGS 2004), habitat surveys conducted for EDT (S. VanderPloeg, WDFW, Pers. Comm.), and a salmonid limiting factors analysis (Wade 2000). The Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery and Fish & Wildlife Subbasin Plan (LCFRB 2004a) Volume IIE outlines the most current management and recovery strategy for the Coweeman subbasin, and provides a detailed synopsis of salmonid distribution, life history, diversity, abundance, productivity, hatchery plants and harvest within the subbasin. The Coweeman juvenile trapping operation was conducted as part of a WDFW study of predation on wild juvenile fall Chinook by hatchery steelhead (Sharpe et al., Report in review). Large November smolt Screw trap Methods: A rotary screw trap was operated at river mile 7.5 to capture downstream migrating juvenile fish. Various marks, depending on species, were applied to representative subsamples of captured salmonids, which were then released and recaptured to estimate trap efficiency by time and species. Recapture rates were used to expand the trap catch and generate estimates of total emigration during the trapping season. Available Publications & Data: 2005 Coweeman River Juvenile Salmonid Production Evaluation 2005 trap data