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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:7.5pt;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:7.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><img width=224 height=88 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.gif@01D0689D.7FAB20A0" alt="Columbia Basin Bulletin"></span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=right style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:7.5pt;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:7.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:right;line-height:9.0pt'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.cbbulletin.com/433507.aspp"><span style='color:#663366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=12 height=9 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.gif@01D0689D.7FAB20A0" alt="Print this Story"></span><span style='color:#663366;text-decoration:none'> Print this Story</span></a>    <a href="http://www.cbbulletin.com/Email_EmailContent.aspx?id=433507"><span style='color:#663366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=12 height=9 id="_ctl0__ctl0__ctl0_imgEmailImage" src="cid:image003.gif@01D0689D.7FAB20A0" alt="Email this Story"></span><span style='color:#663366;text-decoration:none'> Email this Story </span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%'><tr><td style='background:white;padding:8.25pt 8.25pt 8.25pt 8.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-variant:small-caps;color:black'>Fish Managers Expect 2015 Columbia River Salmon Runs To Top 2 Million Fish; Run By Run Numbers</span></b><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <br>Posted on Friday, March 27, 2015 (PST) <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style='background:white;padding:8.25pt 8.25pt 8.25pt 8.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Columbia River salmon runs should top 2 million fish again in 2015, continuing a trend of record or near-record runs over last decade compared to runs in the 1990s, fish managers reported to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council this month.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>“The 2015 run and the runs of recent years really show a big bounceback since the 1990s,” Bill Tweit of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Council at its March meeting. “We still are in a period of higher than average salmon productivity in the Columbia River. We know it can’t last forever, but it’s more fun than managing scarcity.”</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Run by run, here is an overview:</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Upriver spring chinook (includes Snake River stocks): 2014 was a good year (242,577 fish). Another strong run is expected in 2015 (232,500 fish).</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Upper Columbia summer chinook: The run continues to be strong (78,304 in 2014, 73,000 predicted in 2015), and it will be boosted in future years by increased production at the Colville Tribes’ Chief Joseph Hatchery.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Upper Columbia sockeye: Record-breaking runs (645,140 in 2014; 394,000 predicted in 2015) have become almost commonplace for this species. The largest component of the run spawns in British Columbia. The Wenatchee River portion of the run (118,480) met its production goal in 2014 --enough for a fishery.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Mid-Columbia fall chinook: “Another very, very large run” is expected in 2015, Tweit said. The 2014 run totaled 981,100 fish; the 2015 prediction is 1,319,500).</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Coho upstream of Bonneville Dam: “This run is beginning to show a lot of strength,” despite high variation from year to year, which is typical of coho. The upriver run in 2014 (255,118 fish) was larger than anticipated.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Snake River fall chinook: Another strong run is forecast for 2015 (10,250 fish), said Paul Klein, assistant chief of fisheries for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. He said there were “a tremendous number of redds counted last year.”</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Snake River sockeye: Klein said 2,786 fish, a record number for the endangered species, were counted at Lower Granite Dam in 2014, and the forecast for 2015 is 1,800.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Snake River steelhead: The 2014 run was good, and the 2015 run should be good, too -- “not as high as we enjoyed over the last decade, but not horrible, either,” he said.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Snake River spring/summer chinook: “It’s not a bad year coming up, compared to the last 15 years,” Klein said.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- Snake River coho: Klein said another strong year is anticipated thanks to the ongoing work of the Nez Perce Tribe to rebuild the run. The 2014 run (18,651 fish) was “off the scale,” he said, demonstrating again how variable coho run sizes can be from the same number of hatchery smolts released every year.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Also see: </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- CBB, Feb. 20, 2015, “More Big Numbers Expected For 2015 Fall Chinook Return To Columbia; Third Highest Since 1938” </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.cbbulletin.com/433202.aspx"><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue'>http://www.cbbulletin.com/433202.aspx</span></a></span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>-- CBB, Jan. 30, 2015, “With Strong Return Expected, Spring Chinook Season Set; Tribes, Idaho Urge Caution On Early Fishing” </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.cbbulletin.com/433014.aspx"><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue'>http://www.cbbulletin.com/433014.aspx</span></a></span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=xa-4a73074e66d2b0b0"><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#663366;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=125 height=16 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image004.gif@01D0689D.7FAB20A0" alt="Bookmark and Share"></span></a><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style='background:white;padding:8.25pt 8.25pt 8.25pt 8.25pt'></td></tr></table><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:7.5pt;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:7.5pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black;display:none'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>