Castile
Falls Fishway
Improvements
to the Castile Falls fishway were approved by NOAA
Fisheries in 1999 under special appropriations to the Mitchell
Act, and have been completed as of summer 2005, opening access,
blocked for over 40 years, to over 50 miles of habitat in the upper
Klickitat to salmon and steelhead.
Castile Falls, a
severe natural obstruction consisting of multiple cascades and waterfalls,
was an historic impediment to the upstream migration of the majority
of anadromous fish into the upper Klickitat watershed. The fishway was
first constructed in the early 1960s. Design flaws and improper maintenance
contributed to the failure of the first attempt to provide passage over
the falls. Recently, the Castile Falls Fishway was renovated to bring
it into compliance with NOAA Fisheries' fish passage standards and facilitate
anadromous fish passage to habitats in the upper subbasin. From 2003-2005,
work was completed on the two fishway tunnels within the Castile Falls
complex.
Design improvements
consisted of conversion from a pool-weir style fishway to a vertical
slot fishway to allow passage over a wider range of river flow conditions
and to reduce maintenance needs. Project engineers and biologists have
measured improved flow, attraction flow and energy dissipation factor
(EDF) within the weir-all of which are consistent with industry standards
and which meet criteria for fish passage. Funds were appropriated after
the severe 1996 flood to perform major maintenance activities to this
NOAA Fisheries/Mitchell Act-funded fishway.
Castile
Falls Fishway #10/11 Counting Station Drawings
Castile
Falls Fishway #10/11 Fishway Drawings
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Lyle
Falls Fishway and Adult Trap![YKFP and WDFW staff work up adult salmonids that enter the adult trap at Lyle Falls Fishway before release into the Klickitat River.](Library/images/lyletrap.png)
Lyle Falls, also
known as Klickitat Falls No. 5, is located on the Klickitat River above
the confluence with the Columbia River at river mile (RM) 2.2. Klickitat
Falls No. 5 is approximately 150 feet in length and is bypassed by the
Lyle Falls fishway located on the right bank. Data
on adult fish using the fish ladder is collected daily.
The Washington State
Department of Fisheries (WSDF) began building the original reinforced
concrete fishway at Lyle Falls in 1949. By 1955, more formal facilities
were constructed. The facility is a vertical slot weir covered fishway,
with a three-port entrance pool. Included in the fishway are trapping
and sorting bays. A siphon was retrofitted above the fishway to provide
attraction water in the 1960's. Despite these efforts by the WDF, fish
passage at Lyle Falls met with only limited success. Bedload and debris
accumulations continually entrain material into the fishway, minimizing
exit pool depths and increasing operation and maintenance. The siphon
auxiliary water system designed to increase attraction flows at the
fishway entrance will not hold a charge due to bedload accumulation,
nor is it properly screened and configured to eliminate impingement
and entrainment of juvenile fish.
Passage for summer
and winter steelhead at Lyle Falls can become difficult during low flow
conditions. At low flows, minimal water passes through the fishway,
whose exit channel is often shallow with exposed bedload, resulting
in fish reluctant to enter and exit the fishway. New fish passage technology,
improved since original construction, provides solutions to remedy problems
with the fishway and facilitate increased passage through a wider range
of flows, particularly during low flow conditions. Proper attraction
flows is expected to increase ladder usage, improving escapement estimates
as fish pass PIT-tag
detectors and a video monitoring station. Increased passage through
a properly functioning fishway
will enable the collection of steelhead broodstock for the YKFP integrated
hatchery program.
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Klickitat
Field Office
The Klickitat
Field Office (KFO) is the regional fishery office for the Yakima/Klickitat
Fisheries Project in the Klickitat subbasin and Southern
Ceded Area.
The
KFO is located in Wahkiacus, WA at RM 17 of the Klickitat River, near
the confluence of Swale Creek.
Staff at the KFO
includes Fishery Biologist, Habitat Biologist, Data Manager, Watershed
Planner, Forest Fisheries Biologist, and habitat and fisheries technicians.
Meet
the staff. (Coming soon.)
Physical
address: 1575 Horseshoe Bend Rd., Klickitat,
WA 98628
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Proposed
Facilities
Wahkiacus
Hatchery Acclimation Facility (WHAF)
As identified in
the Klickitat Anadromous Fishery
Master Plan (KMP), transferring U.S.
v. Oregon production stocks (coho and fall Chinook) to the WHAF
accomplishes two primary objectives:
- it frees up critical
water and space at the Klickitat Hatchery, ensuring that optimal rearing
densities and protocols (YKFP and Hatchery
Scientific Review Group [HSRG] guidelines) are met for the two
endemic stocks (Klickitat spring Chinook and Klickitat summer steelhead)
- transferring
coho and fall Chinook production 26 miles downriver minimizes the
impacts of large-scale hatchery releases on wild spring Chinook and
steelhead rearing between the two facilities.
The 26 miles of
river between Klickitat Hatchery (RM 42.6) and WHAF (RM 17) lies within
the 3 EDT reaches (Lower Klickitat, Middle Klickitat and Upper Middle
Klickitat). EDT model output generated from physical habitat surveys
identify these reaches as having the highest potential for restoration
and preservation in the subbasin. Annual steelhead spawner surveys indicate
that 60% of the mainstem spawning occurs in these reaches.
Additionally, release
of well-acclimated coho and fall Chinook from WHAF imprinted to the
local groundwater signature will concentrate spawning in the immediate
proximity of the facility, concentrating natural production in the immediate
vicinity.
Castile
Falls Adult Enumeration Facility (CFEF)
The Castile Falls
Enumeration Facility (CFEF) will provide the ability to enumerate escapement
into the upper Klickitat subbasin, and assess recent improvements to
the Castile Falls Fishway. A counting station will be placed in the
upper CFEF. This structure will be installed at the fishway exit of
the Castile Falls 10/11 Fishway tunnel and will include video monitoring
and PIT-tag detection capabilities, as well as the ability to trap salmon
and steelhead for biological and DNA assessment. The recounting structure
will allow fisheries managers to:
- determine escapement
of Klickitat spring Chinook and summer steelhead into headwater habitats
- assess stock
status and future trends as needed to calculate natural production
and adult-to-adult return rates, and to refine EDT and run forecasting
models used to guide an integrated hatchery program and
habitat restoration actions and set harvest objectives
- conduct video
monitoring to gain critical biological data such as species, run timing,
size, and sex ratio of returning adults; and
- collect age and
DNA information on returning adults.
Castile
Falls #10 & 11 Fishway Counting Station Drawings
Lyle
Falls Fishway Passage Improvements
Bonneville
Power Administration (BPA) has finalized the Environmental Impact Statement for the Lyle Falls Fish Passage Project on the lower Klickitat River in Klickitat
County, Washington. The Final EIS consists of changes to the Draft EIS, copies of written comments and responses to these comments.The
proposed action would modify the existing fishway and be designed to
safely and more effectively allow adult fish to move through the existing
Lyle Falls into spawning areas of the upper reaches of the Klickitat
River. The project would facilitate collection of fish for broodstock
purposes and monitoring of biological information for future fishery
management. Improvements would include reconstructing and lengthening
the fishway and trash racks, upgrading the adult trapping facility,
and adding a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)
tag detector and video monitor.
BPA's environmental review of the project
was initiated in June 2006 with an open public invitation to help ensure
relevant issues, concerns, and alternatives were incorporated into early
project planning. Based on public comments and analysis in the Final EIS, BPA expects to make a decision on any action on the project in Dec. 2008. This record of decision will be made available to the public; activities could begin in Spring 2009.
PUBLIC MEETINGS:
A public meeting was held on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 in Lyle, WA. Earlier
that day, BPA also invited all interested parties to visit the Lyle
Falls Fishway.
BPA hosted another public meeting on the draft EIS on Wednesday, April
16, 2008
in Lyle, WA. During
the meeting, an
overview of the draft EIS was presented, the project was discussed, questions answered and
written comments received. Information on future public meetings
will be made available on the
BPA web site.
Lyle Falls Fish Passage Project Final EIS (November 2008)
KLICKITAT
RIVER PROPOSED FISHWAY IMPROVEMENTS at Lyle Falls Hydraulic Conditions
Report (January 2004)
Lyle
Falls No. 5 Fishway Drawings
Castile
Falls Fishway #10/11 Fishway Drawings
Preliminary
Design Report for Klickitat River Fish Passage Improvements Technical
Report 2001-2005 (YKFP and Harbor Engineering June 2006)
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