European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 13, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Nest of Salmon dead Tutmon in co Umbra River Shore to an indicator of the increase in upriver Bright returning to the River la spawn. Al Jim Klahn associated press fisheries technician Rich Petit. Draped Over lha stanchion in the front of the Woik Boal. Was at a loss to Point out individual Salmon nests Asho peered Inlo 3 Lee of Columbia River water where lha fish had come to spawn. A s All Ono big nost he says throwing up his hands wild All Chinook Salmon at the end of a 350-Milo Odyssey rom the pacing Ocean. Hashed Back and Lorth in front of the boat As it coated Over Verruca bar on a cold Clear Day. Since 1982, there has Boon a steady increase in he Salmon run and the past year s run o Hall a million Lish is the biggest since dams wore built on the Columbia in Iho 1930s, when record keeping began. It s like being in an aquarium marvelled Tony floor a spokesman or the stale department of fisheries the department s 16-loot Boa floated Over a stretch of Iho 50-Milo Long free flowing Haploid reach the last major spawning grounds on the heavily dammed Columbia. Tha reach upstream irom Richlard lows through the led Cral Hanford nuclear reservation. Typically says Joe Hymer. A biological technician a Chinook Redd or nest is 8 feet across and round. The lock and gravel is scrubbed clean of Silt and algae by the spawning Salmon. On Vermuta bar Iacre were Lew round Ness just a docs of locks where reads overlapped each other. All the gravel was swept Elean. The gravel is i ill of eggs Hymer says. The scene  testimony to the Success of the return of upriver in gals the largest run of Salmon returning to the Columbia and Trie largest run m the United slates outside Alaska. Floor says while 20 percent of the fun is hatchery produced. Fully to pc a Cal remains wild from the same stocks that have migrated to Columbia River gravel for thousands of years Over the past year an estimated 540.000 Chinook Salmon returned to Washington Wale s. Hymer says. Nearly half of these fell victim As planned to commercial Lis Cimen. 18.000 were caught in sports fisheries and tens of thousands were caught in Ocean fisheries party thousand got past Tho four dams upriver irom the Ocean to spawn at Hatch bios or in the gravel. This Slock contributes from mean Bay at Washington s Northwest tip along the Washington coast to the lower River commercial and sports Lisheness. And the sport fishery at  floor says. It s probably playing a Biggor role economically than it Ever  gut Salmon Are More than just Good Ealing and a moneymaker for Lis Hormen and sports Supply stores. Indians Revere the Salmon the Lish is no Only food on their table but perhaps their greatest asset since trealy rights on ills them to half the Harvest. Salmon Are also part of the entire Region s social fabric and identity they re almost priceless in that  said Horner. As he guided lha boat along the 600-foot wide fiver bordered by Waist High grasses and Orchards the dry Saddle mountains to the weal. Genetically they Are unique. They Range so far but still return to  after 15 years of Salmon runs ranging from 130.000 to 220.000 Lish the number of wild fish dropped below 100,000 in 1980and 1981.onlya Lew thousand reached spawning grounds. Six years ago our thinking was that we we to going to have a funeral service for another wild Salmon run floor says there was t a unified commitment to rebuilding a run that seemed to be headed Lor  voc fishing irom Alaska to the Columbia and death a the dams also helped reduce the Salmon numbers to says Many factors helped turn Iho fishery around including the participation by a Small army of fisheries biologists and favourable Ocean conditions alter a disastrous Al Nita weather phenomenon also the Northwest Power act passed by Congress deeded Lisheness damaged by Jam building to be rebuilt. A  Canada Salmon treaty Cul Back Canada s Lake of fish along the British Columbia coast. A new spirit of cooperation in the  emerged irom a 1974 Federal court ruling acknowledging the saturday february 13, 19bb indians equal rights to lha Salmon. Floor says the Bottom line was thai the stale was committed to prot cycling the run. The goal under the Northwest Power acl. Is to double Iho Oul Pul of the Columbia River and its tributaries by Tho year 2000 to a total of about 5 million Salmon and Steelhead. Much of the Money paying for Salmon conservation comes from electric ratepayers with the rationale being that the dams producing electricity caused much of tha decline in Salmon runs. Ten dams Range along lha Columbia with grand Coulee dam 550 Miles from the sea barring any Ocean migrating fish. Despite a growing conservationist ethic in the Northwest. Inere Are still projects threatening the Salmon run. Orie proposal is to dredge the Hanford reach Lor a shipping Channel to enable barges to carry cargo As far upriver As Wen Alcho 60 Miles above the reach. This is one of the most damaging projects to come along in a Long  says Phil Peterson regional habitat manager for the department of fisheries the corps of engineers had wanted to build an artificial spawning Channel on the reach this year to determine whether Salmon could be enticed to use to instead of the River s gravel. Bui the Agency delayed the preliminary work on the plan in september. Corps spokesman Steven Fosler says the Agency locked time to obtain permits and several animal and Plant in cries in the Mica might be designated rare or endangered the outcry against construction of a Channel has come from conservationists. Indian tribes sportsmen and the slate fisheries and we life departments Washington s . Senators and rep Sid Morrison whose District includes the Hanford area have prepared legislation to make the reach a wild and Scenic River. North of the reach above priest rapids dam the army wants to expand its Yakima firing Range and is proposing a River crossing training area Peterson says the fisheries department also opposes that project in Par because it would increase the possibility of Oil spills into the Columbia. But he says the dredging project is Tho biggest threat to the returning Chinook we can t hold the line on the Manford reach. I Don t know where we  the stars and stripes Page 17