The Lookout Point Dam on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River.
The Lookout Point Dam on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. The dam, at 276 ft, blocks young salmon attempting to migrate downstream. Photo Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Salmon in Oregon's Willamette River Valley

Salmon are trapped behind dams in Oregon's Willamette River Valley, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to address the issue by constructing a novel $450 million trap-and-haul style "vacuum" to suck up juvenile salmon and relocate them to large holding tanks, where they will be subsequently transported downstream via trucks and re-released. UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences researchers Robert Lusardi and Peter Moyle, who published a research article on trap-and-haul programs earlier in 2017, warn that the Corps "should proceed with extreme caution" on the current proposed plan. It is an expensive proposed solution that will likely see poor results. As trap-and-haul programs stress the fish, they are at increased risk of mortality earlier in their life cycle and are unlikely to return in high numbers to spawn as adults. View the full article here

“Transportation of fish, whether it’s juveniles or adults, has a really seismic effect on the fish themselves.” – Dr. Robert Lusardi, Center for Watershed Sciences 

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