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Sample records for klickitat river washington

  1. Bull Trout Population Assessment in the White Salmon and Klickitat Rivers, Columbia River Gorge, Washington, 2001 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thiesfeld, Steven L.; McPeak, Ronald H.; McNamara, Brian S. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife); Honanie, Isadore (Confederated Tribes and Bands, Yakama Nation)

    2002-01-01

    We utilized night snorkeling and single pass electroshocking to determine the presence or absence of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus in 26 stream reaches (3,415 m) in the White Salmon basin and in 71 stream reaches (9,005 m) in the Klickitat River basin during summer and fall 2001. We did not find any bull trout in the White Salmon River basin. In the Klickitat River basin, bull trout were found only in the West Fork Klickitat River drainage. We found bull trout in two streams not previously reported: Two Lakes Stream and an unnamed tributary to Fish Lake Stream (WRIA code number 30-0550). We attempted to capture downstream migrant bull trout in the West Fork Klickitat River by fishing a 1.5-m rotary screw trap at RM 4.3 from July 23 through October 17. Although we caught other salmonids, no bull trout were captured. The greatest limiting factor for bull trout in the West Fork Klickitat River is likely the small amount of available habitat resulting in a low total abundance, and the isolation of the population. Many of the streams are fragmented by natural falls, which are partial or complete barriers to upstream fish movement. To date, we have not been able to confirm that the occasional bull trout observed in the mainstem Klickitat River are migrating upstream into the West Fork Klickitat River.

  2. Bull trout population assessment in the White Salmon and Klickitat Rivers, Columbia River Gorge, Washington; ANNUAL fiscal year 2001 annual report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thiesfield, Steven L.

    2002-01-01

    We utilized night snorkeling and single pass electroshocking to determine the presence or absence of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus in 26 stream reaches (3,415 m) in the White Salmon basin and in 71 stream reaches (9,005 m) in the Klickitat River basin during summer and fall 2001. We did not find any bull trout in the White Salmon River basin. In the Klickitat River basin, bull trout were found only in the West Fork Klickitat River drainage. We found bull trout in two streams not previously reported: Two Lakes Stream and an unnamed tributary to Fish Lake Stream (WRIA code number 30-0550). We attempted to capture downstream migrant bull trout in the West Fork Klickitat River by fishing a 1.5-m rotary screw trap at RM 4.3 from July 23 through October 17. Although we caught other salmonids, no bull trout were captured. The greatest limiting factor for bull trout in the West Fork Klickitat River is likely the small amount of available habitat resulting in a low total abundance, and the isolation of the population. Many of the streams are fragmented by natural falls, which are partial or complete barriers to upstream fish movement. To date, we have not been able to confirm that the occasional bull trout observed in the mainstem Klickitat River are migrating upstream into the West Fork Klickitat River

  3. Implementing the ACHIEVE model to prevent and reduce chronic disease in rural Klickitat County, Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horne, Laura; Miller, Katie; Silva, Sandra; Anderson, Lori

    2013-04-18

    In the United States, 133 million people live with 1 or more chronic diseases, which contribute to 7 of 10 deaths annually. To prevent and reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) provided technical assistance and funding to 33 local health departments in Washington State, including the Klickitat County Health Department (KCHD), to implement the Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and Environmental Change (ACHIEVE) model. Klickitat County residents experience higher rates of obesity and overweight than people living in urban areas in the state. KCHD applied the ACHIEVE model to accomplish 2 objectives: 1) to engage the community in community health assessment, action plan development for chronic disease prevention, and implementation of the plan and 2) to work with targeted sectors to promote worksite wellness and to establish community gardens and bicycling and walking trails. KCHD convened and spearheaded the Healthy People Alliance (HPA) to complete a community assessment, develop a community action plan, implement the plan, and evaluate the plan's success. KCHD, working with HPA, accomplished all 5 phases of the ACHIEVE model, expanded a multisector community coalition, developed Little Klickitat River Trail and 3 community gardens, and created and promoted a worksite wellness toolkit. Assistance and training that NACCHO provided through ACHIEVE helped the KCHD engage nontraditional community partners and establish and sustain a community coalition.

  4. Determination of Swimming Speeds and Energetic Demands of Upriver Migrating Fall Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) in the Klickitat River, Washington.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, Richard S.; Geist, David R.; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington

    2002-08-30

    This report describes a study conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the Bonneville Power Administration's Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program during the fall of 2001. The objective was to study the migration and energy use of adult fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) traveling up the Klickitat River to spawn. The salmon were tagged with either surgically implanted electromyogram (EMG) transmitters or gastrically implanted coded transmitters and were monitored with mobile and stationary receivers. Swim speed and aerobic and anaerobic energy use were determined for the fish as they attempted passage of three waterfalls on the lower Klickitat River and as they traversed free-flowing stretches between, below, and above the falls. Of the 35 EMG-tagged fish released near the mouth of the Klickitat River, 40% passed the first falls, 24% passed the second falls, and 20% made it to Lyle Falls. None of the EMG-tagged fish were able to pass Lyle Falls, either over the falls or via a fishway at Lyle Falls. Mean swimming speeds ranged from as low as 52.6 centimeters per second (cm s{sup -1}) between falls to as high as 189 (cm s{sup -1}) at falls passage. Fish swam above critical swimming speeds while passing the falls more often than while swimming between the falls (58.9% versus 1.7% of the transmitter signals). However, fish expended more energy swimming the stretches between the falls than during actual falls passage (100.7 to 128.2 kilocalories [kcals] to traverse areas between or below falls versus 0.3 to 1.0 kcals to pass falls). Relationships between sex, length, and time of day on the success of falls passage were also examined. Average swimming speeds were highest during the day in all areas except at some waterfalls. There was no apparent relationship between either fish condition or length and successful passage of waterfalls in the lower Klickitat River. Female fall chinook salmon, however, had a much lower likelihood of

  5. Avian use of proposed KENETECH and CARES wind farm sites in Klickitat County, Washington. Appendix C to Washington Windplant No. 1 EIS. Technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The Columbia Hills area above (north of) the Columbia River in Klickitat County, in southcentral Washington, is being considered for development of two wind power generation projects that could include the eventual placement of up to 436 wind turbines. The KENETECH Windpower Washington Windplant TM Number 1 project would include placing up to 345 KENETECH 33M-VS turbines, capable of producing up to 115 megawatts (MW), in 39 rows (strings) on a 5,110-hectare (12,630-acre) site. During scoping for these proposed developments, concerns were raised regarding the potential for avian mortality associated with wind farm development. Collision with wind turbine blade, towers, guy wires, and transmission lines, and electrocution from power lines have been identified as sources of avian mortality, particularly raptors, at existing wind farm facilities. To address these concerns, an avian study was conducted at the site in accordance with an avian study plan and protocol developed, with input from a national avian task force, state agencies (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife [WDFW]), and federal agencies (USFWS). The study included four elements: (1) a winter raptor and waterfowl study, (2) spring migration and fall migration studies, (3) a summer resident study, and (4) a raptor breeding study. The study involved extensive field studies conducted by biologists experienced in identifying raptors and other birds

  6. Avian use of proposed KENETECH and CARES wind farm sites in Klickitat County, Washington: Technical report. Appendix D

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The Columbia Hills area above (north of) the Columbia River in Klickitat County, in southcentral Washington, is being considered for development of two wind power generation projects that could include the eventual placement of up to 436 wind turbines. The KENETECH Windpower Washington Windplant trademark Number 1 project would include placing up to 345 KENETECH 33M-VS turbines, capable of producing up to 115 megawatts (MW), in 39 rows (strings) on a 5,110-hectare (12,630-acre) site. The Conservation and Renewable Energy Systems (CARES) Columbia Wind Farm number-sign 1 project would include placing 91 Flowind AWT-26 turbines, capable of generating 25 MW, in 11 rows on a 395-hectare (975-acre) site. During scoping for these proposed developments, concerns were raised regarding the potential for avian mortality associated with wind farm development. Collision with wind turbine blade, towers, guy wires, and transmission lines, and electrocution from power lines have been identified as sources of avian mortality, particularly raptors, at existing wind farm facilities. To address these concerns, an avian study was conducted at the site in accordance with an avian study plan and protocol developed, with input from a national avian task force, state agencies (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife [WDFW]), and federal agencies (USFWS). The study included four elements: (1) a winter raptor and waterfowl study, (2) spring migration and fall migration studies, (3) a summer resident study, and (4) a raptor breeding study. The study involved extensive field studies conducted by biologists experienced in identifying raptors and other birds

  7. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Genetic Studies; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2005-2006 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Busack, Craig A.; Fritts, Anthony L.; Kassler, Todd (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2006-05-01

    This report covers one of many topics under the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project's Monitoring and Evaluation Program (YKFPME). The YKFPME is funded under two BPA contracts, one for the Yakama Nation and the other for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Contract number 22370, Project Number 1995-063-25). A comprehensive summary report for all of the monitoring and evaluation topics will be submitted after all of the topical reports are completed. This approach to reporting enhances the ability of people to get the information they want, enhances timely reporting of results, and provides a condensed synthesis of the whole YKFPME. The current report was completed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

  8. Reproductive Ecology of Yakima River Hatchery and Wild Spring Chinook; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2001-2002 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knudsen, Curtis M. (Oncorh Consulting, Olympia, WA)

    2003-05-01

    This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from Oncorh Consulting to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning, and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the second in a series of reports that address reproductive ecological research and monitoring of spring chinook in the Yakima River basin. In addition to within-year comparisons, between-year comparisons will be made to determine if traits of the wild Naches basin control population, the naturally spawning population in the upper Yakima River and the hatchery control population are diverging over time. This annual report summarizes data collected between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2003. In the future, these data will be compared to previous years to identify general trends and make preliminary comparisons. Supplementation success in the Yakima Klickitat Fishery Project's (YKFP) spring chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) program is defined as increasing natural production and harvest opportunities, while keeping adverse ecological interactions and genetic impacts within acceptable bounds (Busack et al. 1997). Within this context demographics, phenotypic traits, and reproductive ecology have significance because they directly affect natural productivity. In addition, significant changes in locally adapted traits due to hatchery influence, i.e. domestication, would likely be maladaptive resulting in reduced population productivity and fitness (Taylor 1991; Hard 1995). Thus, there is a need to study demographic and phenotypic traits in the YKFP in order to understand hatchery and wild population productivity, reproductive ecology, and the effects of domestication (Busack et al. 1997). Tracking trends in these traits over time is also a critical aspect of domestication monitoring (Busack

  9. Reproductive Ecology of Yakima River Hatchery and Wild Spring Chinook and Juvenile-to-Adult PIT-tag Retention; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2001 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knudsen, Curtis M. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2002-11-01

    This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from Oncorh Consulting to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning, and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the first in an anticipated series of reports that address reproductive ecological research and monitoring of spring chinook in the Yakima River basin. In addition to within-year comparisons, between-year comparisons will be made to determine if traits of the wild Naches basin control population, the naturally spawning population in the upper Yakima River and the hatchery control population are diverging over time. This annual report summarizes data collected between April 1, 2001 and March 31, 2002. In the future, these data will be compared to previous years to identify general trends and make preliminary comparisons.

  10. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Policy/Technical Involvement and Planning, 2001-2002 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Easterbrooks, John A.; Pearsons, Todd N. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2003-03-01

    The Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) is a supplementation project sponsored by the Northwest Power Planning Council (Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program 1994, Measure 7.4K). The objectives of the YKFP are: (1) to test the hypothesis that new supplementation techniques can be used in the Yakima River Basin to increase natural production and to improve harvest opportunities while maintaining the long-term genetic fitness of the wild and native salmonid populations and keeping adverse ecological interactions within acceptable limits (Yakima Fisheries Project Final Environment Impact Statement, 1996); (2) provide knowledge about the use of supplementation, so that it may be used to mitigate effects on anadromous fisheries throughout the Columbia River Basin; (3) to maintain and improve the quantity and productivity of salmon and steelhead habitat, including those areas made accessible by habitat improvements; (4) to ensure that Project implementation remains consistent with the Council's Fish and Wildlife Program; and (5) to implement the Project in a prudent and environmentally sound manner. Current YKFP operations have been designed to test the principles of supplementation (Busack et al. 1997). The Project's experimental design has focused on the following critical uncertainties affecting supplementation: (1) The survival and reproductive success of hatchery fish after release from the hatchery; (2) The impacts of hatchery fish as they interact with non-target species and stocks; and, (3) The effects of supplementation on the long-term genetic fitness of fish stocks. The YKFP endorses an adaptive management policy applied through a project management framework as described in the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Planning Status Report (1995), Fast and Craig (1997), Clune and Dauble 1991. The project is managed by a Policy Group consisting of a representative of the Yakama Nation (YN, lead agency) and a representative of the Washington

  11. Reproductive Ecology of Yakima River Hatchery and Wild Spring Chinook; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knudsen, Curtis M. (Oncorh Consulting, Olympia, WA); Schroder, Steven L. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA); Johnston, Mark V. (yakama Nation, Toppenish, WA)

    2005-05-01

    This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from Oncorh Consulting to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the fourth in a series of reports that address reproductive ecological research and monitoring of spring chinook populations in the Yakima River basin. This annual report summarizes data collected between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005 and includes analyses of historical baseline data, as well. Supplementation success in the Yakima Klickitat Fishery Project's (YKFP) spring chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) program is defined as increasing natural production and harvest opportunities, while keeping adverse ecological interactions and genetic impacts within acceptable bounds (Busack et al. 1997). Within this context demographics, phenotypic traits, and reproductive ecology have significance because they directly affect natural productivity. In addition, significant changes in locally adapted traits due to hatchery influence, i.e. domestication, would likely be maladaptive resulting in reduced population productivity and fitness (Taylor 1991; Hard 1995). Thus, there is a need to study demographic and phenotypic traits in the YKFP in order to understand hatchery and wild population productivity, reproductive ecology, and the effects of domestication (Busack et al. 1997). Tracking trends in these traits over time is also a critical aspect of domestication monitoring (Busack et al. 2004) to determine whether trait changes have a genetic component and, if so, are they within acceptable limits. The first chapter of this report compares first generation hatchery and wild upper Yakima River spring chinook returns over a suite of life-history, phenotypic and demographic traits. The second

  12. Bull Trout Population Assessment in the Columbia River Gorge : Annual Report 2000.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Byrne, Jim; McPeak, Ron

    2001-02-01

    We summarized existing knowledge regarding the known distribution of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) across four sub-basins in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington. The Wind River, Little White Salmon River, White Salmon River, and the Klickitat River sub-basins were analyzed. Cold water is essential to the survival, spawning, and rearing of bull trout. We analyzed existing temperature data, installed Onset temperature loggers in the areas of the four sub-basins where data was not available, and determined that mean daily water temperatures were <15 C and appropriate for spawning and rearing of bull trout. We snorkel surveyed more than 74 km (46.25 mi.) of rivers and streams in the four sub-basins (13.8 km at night and 60.2 km during the day) and found that night snorkeling was superior to day snorkeling for locating bull trout. Surveys incorporated the Draft Interim Protocol for Determining Bull Trout Presence (Peterson et al. In Press). However, due to access and safety issues, we were unable to randomly select sample sites nor use block nets as recommended. Additionally, we also implemented the Bull Trout/Dolly Varden sampling methodology described in Bonar et al. (1997). No bull trout were found in the Wind River, Little White Salmon, or White Salmon River sub-basins. We found bull trout in the West Fork Klickitat drainage of the Klickitat River Sub-basin. Bull trout averaged 6.7 fish/100m{sup 2} in Trappers Creek, 2.6 fish/100m{sup 2} on Clearwater Creek, and 0.4 fish/100m{sup 2} in Little Muddy Creek. Bull trout was the only species of salmonid encountered in Trappers Creek and dominated in Clearwater Creek. Little Muddy Creek was the only creek where bull trout and introduced brook trout occurred together. We found bull trout only at night and typically in low flow regimes. A single fish, believed to be a bull trout x brook trout hybrid, was observed in the Little Muddy Creek. Additional surveys are needed in the West Fork Klickitat and mainstem

  13. Reproductive Ecology of Yakima River Hatchery and Wild Spring Chinook; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2005-2006 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knedsen, Curtis M. (Oncorh Consulting, Olympia, WA); Schroder, Steven L. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA); Johnston, Mark V. (Yakama Nation, Toppenish, WA)

    2006-05-01

    This report covers three of many topics under the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project's Monitoring and Evaluation Program (YKFPME) and was completed by Oncorh Consulting as a contract deliverable to the Yakama Nation and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The YKFPME (Project Number 1995-063-25) is funded under two BPA contracts, one for the Yakama Nation (Contract No. 00022449) and the other for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Contract No. 22370). A comprehensive summary report for all of the monitoring and evaluation topics will be submitted after all of the topical reports are completed. This approach to reporting enhances the ability of people to get the information they want, enhances timely reporting of results, and provides a condensed synthesis of the whole YKFPME.

  14. Bull trout population assessment in the Columbia River Gorge/annual report fy2000; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byrne, Jim; McPeak, Ron

    2001-01-01

    We summarized existing knowledge regarding the known distribution of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) across four sub-basins in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington. The Wind River, Little White Salmon River, White Salmon River, and the Klickitat River sub-basins were analyzed. Cold water is essential to the survival, spawning, and rearing of bull trout. We analyzed existing temperature data, installed Onset temperature loggers in the areas of the four sub-basins where data was not available, and determined that mean daily water temperatures were and lt;15 C and appropriate for spawning and rearing of bull trout. We snorkel surveyed more than 74 km (46.25 mi.) of rivers and streams in the four sub-basins (13.8 km at night and 60.2 km during the day) and found that night snorkeling was superior to day snorkeling for locating bull trout. Surveys incorporated the Draft Interim Protocol for Determining Bull Trout Presence (Peterson et al. In Press). However, due to access and safety issues, we were unable to randomly select sample sites nor use block nets as recommended. Additionally, we also implemented the Bull Trout/Dolly Varden sampling methodology described in Bonar et al. (1997). No bull trout were found in the Wind River, Little White Salmon, or White Salmon River sub-basins. We found bull trout in the West Fork Klickitat drainage of the Klickitat River Sub-basin. Bull trout averaged 6.7 fish/100m(sup 2) in Trappers Creek, 2.6 fish/100m(sup 2) on Clearwater Creek, and 0.4 fish/100m(sup 2) in Little Muddy Creek. Bull trout was the only species of salmonid encountered in Trappers Creek and dominated in Clearwater Creek. Little Muddy Creek was the only creek where bull trout and introduced brook trout occurred together. We found bull trout only at night and typically in low flow regimes. A single fish, believed to be a bull trout x brook trout hybrid, was observed in the Little Muddy Creek. Additional surveys are needed in the West Fork Klickitat and mainstem

  15. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project; Klickitat Only Monitoring and Evaluation, 2002-2003 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sampson, Melvin; Evenson, Rolf

    2003-12-01

    The monitoring and evaluation activities described in this report were determined by consensus of the scientists from the Yakama Nation (YN). Klickitat Subbasin Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activities have been subjected to scientific and technical review by members of YKFP's Science/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) as part of the YKFP's overall M&E proposal. Yakama Nation YKFP project biologists have transformed the conceptual design into the tasks described. This report summarizes progress and results for the following major categories of YN-managed tasks under this contract: (1) Monitoring and Evaluation - Accurately characterize baseline available habitat and salmonid populations pre-habitat restoration and pre-supplementation. (2) EDT Modeling - Identify and evaluate habitat and artificial production enhancement options. (3) Genetics - Characterize the genetic profile of wild steelhead in the Klickitat Basin. (4) Ecological Interactions - Determine the presence of pathogens in wild and naturally produced salmonids in the Klickitat Basin and develop supplementation strategies using this information.

  16. Baseline avian use and behavior at the CARES wind plant site, Klickitat County, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Erickson, W.P.; Johnson, G.D.; Strickland, M.D.; Kronner, K.; Becker, P.S.; Orloff, S.

    2000-01-03

    This report presents a literature review on avian-wind turbine interactions and the results of a one-year avian baseline study conducted in 1998 at the proposed Conservation and Renewable Energy System (CARES) wind development site in Klickitat County, Washington. Avian use of the site ranged from 1.11/survey in the winter to 5.69/survey in the spring. Average use by passerines in the study plots ranged from 1.15 minutes/survey in the winter to 40.98 minutes/survey in the spring. Raptors spent much less time within plots than other groups, ranging from 0.05 minutes/survey in the winter to 0.77 minutes/survey during the fall. Thirteen percent of all flying birds were within the rotor-swept height (25 to 75 m); 41.6% of all raptors were flying at this height. Raptors with the greatest potential turbine exposure are red-tailed hawks and golden eagles. Passerines with the highest turbine exposure are common ravens, American robins, and horned larks. Spatial use data for the site indicate that avian use tends to be concentrated near the rim, indicating that placing turbines away from the rim may reduce risk. Avian use data at the CARES site indicate that if a wind plant is constructed in the future, avian mortality would likely be relatively low.

  17. Baseline avian use and behavior at the CARES wind plant site, Klickitat County, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erickson, W.P.; Johnson, G.D.; Strickland, M.D.; Kronner, K.; Becker, P.S.; Orloff, S.

    2000-01-01

    This report presents a literature review on avian-wind turbine interactions and the results of a one-year avian baseline study conducted in 1998 at the proposed Conservation and Renewable Energy System (CARES) wind development site in Klickitat County, Washington. Avian use of the site ranged from 1.11/survey in the winter to 5.69/survey in the spring. Average use by passerines in the study plots ranged from 1.15 minutes/survey in the winter to 40.98 minutes/survey in the spring. Raptors spent much less time within plots than other groups, ranging from 0.05 minutes/survey in the winter to 0.77 minutes/survey during the fall. Thirteen percent of all flying birds were within the rotor-swept height (25 to 75 m); 41.6% of all raptors were flying at this height. Raptors with the greatest potential turbine exposure are red-tailed hawks and golden eagles. Passerines with the highest turbine exposure are common ravens, American robins, and horned larks. Spatial use data for the site indicate that avian use tends to be concentrated near the rim, indicating that placing turbines away from the rim may reduce risk. Avian use data at the CARES site indicate that if a wind plant is constructed in the future, avian mortality would likely be relatively low

  18. Influences of Stocking Salmon Carcass Analogs on Salmonids in Klickitat River Tributaries, 2001-2005 Completion Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zendt, Joe; Sharp, Bill (Yakama Nation Fisheries, Toppenish, WA)

    2006-09-01

    This report describes the work completed by the Yakama Nation Fisheries Program (YNFP) in the Klickitat subbasin in south-central Washington under BPA innovative project No.200105500--Influences of stocking salmon carcass analogs on salmonids in Columbia River Tributaries. Salmon carcasses historically provided a significant source of marine-derived nutrients to many stream systems in the Columbia basin, and decreased run sizes have led to a loss of this nutrient source in many streams. Partners in this project developed a pathogen-free carcass analog and stocked the analogs in streams with the following objectives: restoring food availability to streams with reduced anadromous salmon returns; mimicking the natural pathways and timing of food acquisition by salmonids; minimizing unintended negative ecological effects; and increasing the growth and survival of salmonids. In the Klickitat subbasin, carcass analogs were stocked in two streams in 2002 and 2003; a third stream was used as a control. Salmonid fish abundance, growth, and stomach contents were monitored in all three streams before and after carcass analog placement. Fish, invertebrate, and periphyton samples were also collected for stable isotope analysis (to determine if nutrients from carcass analogs were incorporated into the stream food web). Water quality samples were also collected to determine if nutrient overloading occurred in streams. Significant differences in growth were found between fish in treated and untreated stream reaches. Fish in treatment reaches exhibited higher instantaneous growth rates approximately one month after the first carcass analog stocking. Stomach contents sampling indicated that salmonid fish routinely consumed the carcass analog material directly, and that stomach fullness of fish in treatment reaches was higher than in untreated reaches in the first few weeks following carcass analog stockings. No significant differences were detected in fish abundance between

  19. Washington Windplant No. 1: Botanical resources field survey. Appendix B to Washington Windplant No. 1 EIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-12-01

    KENETECH Windpower, Inc., has applied to Klickitat County for a conditional use permit to construct and operate a 115 Megawatt windfarm on an approximately 5110 hectare (12,630 acre) site in the Columbia Hills near Goldendale, Washington. A transmission services agreement between the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and utilities purchasing the Project's output will also be required. Klickitat County and BPA initiated the preparation of a joint SEPA/NEPA Environmental Impact Statement, under the authority of the Washington State Environmental Policy Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The EIS addresses, among other issues, the Project's potential impact on rare, threatened or endangered, and sensitive plant species and communities as well as plant species of potential cultural importance. A field survey along potential impact corridors (turbine strings, roadways, and the transmission line alignment) was conducted between April and June, 1994 in order to identify rare plant species, high-quality native plant communities, and plant species of potential cultural importance present in these corridors. In addition, habitat maps of the entire 5110-ha project area were field verified. This report contains the results of that survey and an assessment of the potential project impacts

  20. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Policy/Technical Involvement and Planning, 2002-2003 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pearsons, Todd N.; Easterbrooks, John A. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2003-09-01

    The Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) is a supplementation project sponsored by the Northwest Power Planning Council and funded by the Bonneville Power Administration. The YKFP has adopted the definition of supplementation described by Regional Assessment of Supplementation Program (1992), which is ''the use of artificial propagation in an attempt to maintain or increase natural production while maintaining the long-term fitness of the target population, and keeping the ecological and genetic impacts on nontarget populations within specified biological limits''. Recent scientific reviews of hatchery supplementation continue to highlight the experimental nature and risk of supplementation (Independent Scientific Group 1996; National Research Council 1996; Lichatowich 1999; Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team 2000; Independent Scientific Advisory Board 2003; Hatchery Scientific Review Group 2003). In addition, many of these reviews included recommendations about the best ways to operate a supplementation program. Most of these recommendations were already being done or have been incorporated into the YKFP. The objectives of the YKFP are: (1) to test the hypothesis that new supplementation techniques can be used in the Yakima River Basin to increase natural production and to improve harvest opportunities while maintaining the long-term genetic fitness of the wild and native salmonid populations and keeping adverse ecological interactions within acceptable limits (Yakima Fisheries Project Final Environment Impact Statement, 1996); (2) provide knowledge about the use of supplementation, so that it may be used to mitigate effects on anadromous fisheries throughout the Columbia River Basin; (3) to maintain and improve the quantity and productivity of salmon and steelhead habitat, including those areas made accessible by habitat improvements; (4) to ensure that Project implementation remains consistent with the Council's Fish and

  1. Joint NEPA/SEPA draft environmental impact statement Washington Windplant No. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-02-01

    This is the draft Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed construction and operation of a 115 megawatt Washington Windplant No. 1 by KENETECH Windpower, Inc in Klickitat County, Washington. The Project would be constructed on private land (5,110 hectares) under easement to KENETECH Windpower, Inc., and would include approximately 345 type 33M-VS wind turbines. Alternatives to the Proposed Action include an alternative powerline route; a restricted areas alternative; a subarea development alternative; a no-action alternative

  2. Lower Klickitat Riparian and In-channel Habitat Restoration Project, Annual Report 2001-2002.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Conley, Will

    2003-10-01

    This project focuses on the lower Klickitat River and its tributaries that provide or affect salmonid habitat. The overall goal is to restore watershed health to aid recovery of salmonid stocks in the Klickitat subbasin. An emphasis is placed on restoration and protection of watersheds supporting anadromous fish production, particularly steelhead (Oncorhyncus mykiss) which are listed as 'Threatened' within the Mid-Columbia ESU. Restoration activities are aimed at restoring stream processes by removing or mitigating watershed perturbances and improving habitat conditions and water quality. In addition to steelhead, habitat improvements benefit Chinook (O. tshawytscha) and coho (O. kisutch) salmon, resident rainbow trout, and enhance habitat for many terrestrial and amphibian wildlife species. Protection activities compliment restoration efforts within the subbasin by securing refugia and preventing degradation. Since 90% of the project area is in private ownership, maximum effectiveness will be accomplished via cooperation with state, federal, tribal, and private entities. The project addresses goals and objectives presented in the Klickitat Subbasin Summary and the 1994 NWPPC Fish and Wildlife Program. Feedback from the 2000 Provincial Review process indicated a need for better information management to aid development of geographic priorities. Thus, an emphasis has been placed on database development and a review of existing information prior to pursuing more extensive implementation. Planning and design was initiated on several restoration projects. These priorities will be refined in future reports as the additional data is collected and analyzed. Tasks listed are for the April 1, 2001 to August 31, 2002 contract cycle, for which work was delayed during the summer of 2001 because the contract was not finalized until mid-August 2001. Accomplishments are provided for the September 1, 2001 to August 31, 2002 reporting period. During this reporting period

  3. Reproductive Ecology of Yakima River Hatchery and Wild Spring Chinook; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation Report 3 of 7, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knudsen, Curtis (Oncorh Consulting, Olympia, WA)

    2004-05-01

    This is the third in a series of annual reports that address reproductive ecological research and comparisons of hatchery and wild origin spring chinook in the Yakima River basin. Data have been collected prior to supplementation to characterize the baseline reproductive ecology, demographics and phenotypic traits of the unsupplemented upper Yakima population, however this report focuses on data collected on hatchery and wild spring chinook returning in 2003; the third year of hatchery adult returns. This report is organized into three chapters, with a general introduction preceding the first chapter and summarizes data collected between April 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004 in the Yakima basin. Summaries of each of the chapters in this report are included below. A major component of determining supplementation success in the Yakima Klickitat Fishery Project's spring chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) program is an increase in natural production. Within this context, comparing upper Yakima River hatchery and wild origin fish across traits such as sex ratio, age composition, size-at-age, fecundity, run timing and gamete quality is important because these traits directly affect population productivity and individual fish fitness which determine a population's productivity.

  4. 33 CFR 162.225 - Columbia and Willamette Rivers, Washington and Oregon; administration and navigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... the river as appropriate such temporary speed regulations as he may deem necessary to protect the... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Columbia and Willamette Rivers... NAVIGATION REGULATIONS § 162.225 Columbia and Willamette Rivers, Washington and Oregon; administration and...

  5. Klickitat Cogeneration Project: Final environmental assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-09-01

    To meet BPA's contractual obligation to supply electrical power to its customers, BPA proposes to acquire power generated by Klickitat Cogeneration Project. BPA has prepared an environmental assessment evaluating the proposed project. Based on the EA analysis, BPA's proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for the following reasons: (1)it will not have a significant impact land use, upland vegetation, wetlands, water quality, geology, soils, public health and safety, visual quality, historical and cultural resources, recreation and socioeconomics, and (2) impacts to fisheries, wildlife resources, air quality, and noise will be temporary, minor, or sufficiently offset by mitigation. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact)

  6. Klickitat Cogeneration Project : Final Environmental Assessment.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Klickitat Energy Partners

    1994-09-01

    To meet BPA`s contractual obligation to supply electrical power to its customers, BPA proposes to acquire power generated by Klickitat Cogeneration Project. BPA has prepared an environmental assessment evaluating the proposed project. Based on the EA analysis, BPA`s proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for the following reasons: (1)it will not have a significant impact land use, upland vegetation, wetlands, water quality, geology, soils, public health and safety, visual quality, historical and cultural resources, recreation and socioeconomics, and (2) impacts to fisheries, wildlife resources, air quality, and noise will be temporary, minor, or sufficiently offset by mitigation. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required and BPA is issuing this FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact).

  7. Ephemeral seafloor sedimentation during dam removal: Elwha River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Melissa M.; Warrick, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams from the Elwha River in Washington, USA, resulted in the erosion and transport of over 10 million m3 of sediment from the former reservoirs and into the river during the first two years of the dam removal process. Approximately 90% of this sediment was transported through the Elwha River and to the coast at the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To evaluate the benthic dynamics of increased sediment loading to the nearshore, we deployed a tripod system in ten meters of water to the east of the Elwha River mouth that included a profiling current meter and a camera system. With these data, we were able to document the frequency and duration of sedimentation and turbidity events, and correlate these events to physical oceanographic and river conditions. We found that seafloor sedimentation occurred regularly during the heaviest sediment loading from the river, but that this sedimentation was ephemeral and exhibited regular cycles of deposition and erosion caused by the strong tidal currents in the region. Understanding the frequency and duration of short-term sediment disturbance events is instrumental to interpreting the ecosystem-wide changes that are occurring in the nearshore habitats around the Elwha River delta.

  8. Ephemeral seafloor sedimentation during dam removal: Elwha River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Melissa M.; Warrick, Jonathan A.

    2017-11-01

    The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams from the Elwha River in Washington, USA, resulted in the erosion and transport of over 10 million m3 of sediment from the former reservoirs and into the river during the first two years of the dam removal process. Approximately 90% of this sediment was transported through the Elwha River and to the coast at the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To evaluate the benthic dynamics of increased sediment loading to the nearshore, we deployed a tripod system in ten meters of water to the east of the Elwha River mouth that included a profiling current meter and a camera system. With these data, we were able to document the frequency and duration of sedimentation and turbidity events, and correlate these events to physical oceanographic and river conditions. We found that seafloor sedimentation occurred regularly during the heaviest sediment loading from the river, but that this sedimentation was ephemeral and exhibited regular cycles of deposition and erosion caused by the strong tidal currents in the region. Understanding the frequency and duration of short-term sediment disturbance events is instrumental to interpreting the ecosystem-wide changes that are occurring in the nearshore habitats around the Elwha River delta.

  9. 77 FR 48431 - Safety Zone for Fireworks Display, Pamlico and Tar Rivers; Washington, NC

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-14

    ... near the Pamlico and Tar Rivers to commemorate Beaufort County's 300th anniversary. The temporary... 1625-AA00 Safety Zone for Fireworks Display, Pamlico and Tar Rivers; Washington, NC AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Temporary final rule. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on...

  10. Yakima River Species Interactions Studies; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pearsons, Todd N.; Temple, Gabriel M.; Fritts, Anthony L. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2005-05-01

    This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning, and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the thirteenth of a series of progress reports that address species interactions research and supplementation monitoring of fishes in response to supplementation of salmon and steelhead in the upper Yakima River basin (Hindman et al. 1991; McMichael et al. 1992; Pearsons et al. 1993; Pearsons et al. 1994; Pearsons et al. 1996; Pearsons et al. 1998, Pearsons et al. 1999, Pearsons et al. 2001a, Pearsons et al. 2001b, Pearsons et al. 2002, Pearsons et al. 2003, Pearsons et al. 2004). Journal articles and book chapters have also been published from our work (McMichael 1993; Martin et al. 1995; McMichael et al. 1997; McMichael and Pearsons 1998; McMichael et al. 1998; Pearsons and Fritts 1999; McMichael et al. 1999; McMichael et al. 1999; Pearsons and Hopley 1999; Ham and Pearsons 2000; Ham and Pearsons 2001; Amaral et al. 2001; McMichael and Pearsons 2001; Pearsons 2002, Fritts and Pearsons 2004, Pearsons et al. in press, Major et al. in press). This progress report summarizes data collected between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004. These data were compared to findings from previous years to identify general trends and make preliminary comparisons. Interactions between fish produced as part of the YKFP, termed target species or stocks, and other species or stocks (non-target taxa) may alter the population status of non-target species or stocks. This may occur through a variety of mechanisms, such as competition, predation, and interbreeding (Pearsons et al. 1994; Busack et al. 1997; Pearsons and Hopley 1999). Furthermore, the success of a supplementation program may

  11. Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: river channel and floodplain geomorphic change

    Science.gov (United States)

    East, Amy E.; Pess, George R.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Logan, Joshua; Randle, Timothy J.; Mastin, Mark C.; Minear, Justin T.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Liermann, Martin C.; McHenry, Michael L.; Beechie, Timothy J.; Shafroth, Patrick B.

    2015-01-01

    A substantial increase in fluvial sediment supply relative to transport capacity causes complex, large-magnitude changes in river and floodplain morphology downstream. Although sedimentary and geomorphic responses to sediment pulses are a fundamental part of landscape evolution, few opportunities exist to quantify those processes over field scales. We investigated the downstream effects of sediment released during the largest dam removal in history, on the Elwha River, Washington, USA, by measuring changes in riverbed elevation and topography, bed sediment grain size, and channel planform as two dams were removed in stages over two years.

  12. 77 FR 37356 - Safety Zone for Fireworks Display, Pamlico River; Washington, NC

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-21

    ... 1625-AA00 Safety Zone for Fireworks Display, Pamlico River; Washington, NC AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... life and property of the maritime public from the hazards posed by fireworks displays. This zone is... 300th Anniversary Celebration Fireworks. DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the...

  13. Contaminants of emerging concern in the lower Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington, 2008-11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Richard J.; Moran, Patrick W.; Zaugg, Steven D.; Sevigny, Jennifer M.; Pope, Judy M.

    2014-01-01

    A series of discrete water-quality samples were collected in the lower Stillaguamish River Basin near the city of Arlington, Washington, through a partnership with the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians. These samples included surface waters of the Stillaguamish River, adjacent tributary streams, and paired inflow and outflow sampling at three wastewater treatment plants in the lower river basin. Chemical analysis of these samples focused on chemicals of emerging concern, including wastewater compounds, human-health pharmaceuticals, steroidal hormones, and halogenated organic compounds on solids and sediment. This report presents the methods used and data results from the chemical analysis of these samples

  14. Geomorphic and hydrologic study of peak-flow management on the Cedar River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magirl, Christopher S.; Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Konrad, Christopher P.; Marineau, Mathieu D.

    2012-01-01

    Assessing the linkages between high-flow events, geomorphic response, and effects on stream ecology is critical to river management. High flows on the gravel-bedded Cedar River in Washington are important to the geomorphic function of the river; however, high flows can deleteriously affect salmon embryos incubating in streambed gravels. A geomorphic analysis of the Cedar River showed evidence of historical changes in river form over time and quantified the effects of anthropogenic alterations to the river corridor. Field measurements with accelerometer scour monitors buried in the streambed provided insight into the depth and timing of streambed scour during high-flow events. Combined with a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, the recorded accelerometer disturbances allowed the prediction of streambed disturbance at the burial depth of Chinook and sockeye salmon egg pockets for different peak discharges. Insight gained from these analyses led to the development of suggested monitoring metrics for an ongoing geomorphic monitoring program on the Cedar River.

  15. Hydrologic bibliography of the Columbia River basalts in Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, H.H.; Wildrick, L.

    1978-07-01

    This bibliography is part of the hydrologic data compilation effort of the Columbia Plateau Hydrology Study, Rockwell Hanford Operations' Waste Isolation Program. It includes references on both surface and subsurface hydrology directly or indirectly related to the Washington State portion of the Columbia River basalts. A comprehensive, annotated bibliography of the Pasco Basin (including the Hanford site) hydrology has been prepared for Rockwell Hanford Operations under the Pasco Basin Hydrology Study. In order to avoid unnecessary duplication, no effort was made to include a complete list of bibliographic references on Hanford in this volume

  16. Late Pleistocene and Holocene-Age Columbia River Sediments and Bedforms: Hanford Reach Area, Washington - Part 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    K.R. Fecht, T.E. Marceau

    2006-03-28

    This report presents the results of a geologic study conducted on the lower slopes of the Columbia River Valley in south-central Washington. The study was designed to investigate glaciofluvial and fluvial sediments and bedforms that are present in the river valley and formed subsequent to Pleistocene large-scale cataclysmic flooding of the region.

  17. Yakima River Species Interactions Study; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation Report 7 of 7, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pearsons, Todd N.; Fritts, Anthony L.; Temple, Gabriel M. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2004-05-01

    This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning, and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the twelfth of a series of progress reports that address species interactions research and supplementation monitoring of fishes in response to supplementation of salmon and steelhead in the upper Yakima River basin (Hindman et al. 1991; McMichael et al. 1992; Pearsons et al. 1993; Pearsons et al. 1994; Pearsons et al. 1996; Pearsons et al. 1998, Pearsons et al. 1999, Pearsons et al. 2001a, Pearsons et al. 2001b, Pearsons et al. 2002, Pearsons et al. 2003). Journal articles and book chapters have also been published from our work (McMichael 1993; Martin et al. 1995; McMichael et al. 1997; McMichael and Pearsons 1998; McMichael et al. 1998; Pearsons and Fritts 1999; McMichael et al. 1999; McMichael et al. 1999; Pearsons and Hopley 1999; Ham and Pearsons 2000; Ham and Pearsons 2001; Amaral et al. 2001; McMichael and Pearsons 2001; Pearsons 2002, Fritts and Pearsons 2004, Pearsons et al. in press, Major et al. in press). This progress report summarizes data collected between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. These data were compared to findings from previous years to identify general trends and make preliminary comparisons. Interactions between fish produced as part of the YKFP, termed target species or stocks, and other species or stocks (non-target taxa) may alter the population status of non-target species or stocks. This may occur through a variety of mechanisms, such as competition, predation, and interbreeding (Pearsons et al. 1994; Busack et al. 1997; Pearsons and Hopley 1999). Furthermore, the success of a supplementation program may be limited by strong

  18. Particle tracking for selected groundwater wells in the lower Yakima River Basin, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, Matthew P.

    2015-10-21

    The Yakima River Basin in south-central Washington has a long history of irrigated agriculture and a more recent history of large-scale livestock operations, both of which may contribute nutrients to the groundwater system. Nitrate concentrations in water samples from shallow groundwater wells in the lower Yakima River Basin exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standard, generating concerns that current applications of fertilizer and animal waste may be exceeding the rate at which plants can uptake nutrients, and thus contributing to groundwater contamination.

  19. Determination of Columbia River flow times from Pasco, Washington using radioactive tracers introduced by the Hanford reactors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Jack L.; Perkins, R.W.; Haushild, W.L.

    1966-01-01

    Radioactive tracers introduced into the Columbia River in cooling water from the Hanford reactors were used to measure flow times downstream from Pasco, Washington, as far as Astoria, Oregon. The use of two tracer methods was investigated. One method used the decay of a steady release of Na24 (15-hour half-life) to determine flow times to various downstream locations, and flow times were also determined from the time required for peak concentration of instantaneous releases of I131 (8-day half-life) to reach these locations. Flow times determined from the simultaneous use of the two methods agreed closely. The measured flow times for the 224 miles from Pasco to Vancouver, Washington, ranged from 14.6 to 3.6 days, respectively, for discharges of 108,000 and 630,000 ft3/sec at Vancouver, Washington. A graphic relation for estimating flow times at discharges other than those measured and for several locations between Pasco and Vancouver was prepared from the data of tests made at four river discharges. Some limited data are also presented on the characteristics of dispersion of I131 in the Columbia River.

  20. Groundwater Levels for Selected Wells in the Chehalis River Basin, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fasser, E.T.; Julich, R.J.

    2010-01-01

    Groundwater levels for selected wells in the Chehalis River basin, Washington, are presented on an interactive web-based map to document the spatial distribution of groundwater levels in the study area during late summer 2009. Groundwater level data and well information were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey using standard techniques. The data are stored in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), Ground-Water Site-Inventory (GWSI) System.

  1. Reconnaissance of contaminants in selected wastewater-treatment-plant effluent and stormwater runoff entering the Columbia River, Columbia River Basin, Washington and Oregon, 2008-10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morace, Jennifer L.

    2012-01-01

    Toxic contamination is a significant concern in the Columbia River Basin in Washington and Oregon. To help water managers and policy makers in decision making about future sampling efforts and toxic-reduction activities, a reconnaissance was done to assess contaminant concentrations directly contributed to the Columbia River through wastewater-treatment-plant (WWTP) effluent and stormwater runoff from adjacent urban environments and to evaluate instantaneous loadings to the Columbia River Basin from these inputs.

  2. Geomorphic analysis of the river response to sedimentation downstream of Mount Rainier, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czuba, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Curran, Christopher A.; Johnson, Kenneth H.; Olsen, Theresa D.; Kimball, Halley K.; Gish, Casey C.

    2012-01-01

    A study of the geomorphology of rivers draining Mount Rainier, Washington, was completed to identify sources of sediment to the river network; to identify important processes in the sediment delivery system; to assess current sediment loads in rivers draining Mount Rainier; to evaluate if there were trends in streamflow or sediment load since the early 20th century; and to assess how rates of sedimentation might continue into the future using published climate-change scenarios. Rivers draining Mount Rainier carry heavy sediment loads sourced primarily from the volcano that cause acute aggradation in deposition reaches as far away as the Puget Lowland. Calculated yields ranged from 2,000 tonnes per square kilometer per year [(tonnes/km2)/yr] on the upper Nisqually River to 350 (tonnes/km2)/yr on the lower Puyallup River, notably larger than sediment yields of 50–200 (tonnes/km2)/yr typical for other Cascade Range rivers. These rivers can be assumed to be in a general state of sediment surplus. As a result, future aggradation rates will be largely influenced by the underlying hydrology carrying sediment downstream. The active-channel width of rivers directly draining Mount Rainier in 2009, used as a proxy for sediment released from Mount Rainier, changed little between 1965 and 1994 reflecting a climatic period that was relatively quiet hydrogeomorphically. From 1994 to 2009, a marked increase in geomorphic disturbance caused the active channels in many river reaches to widen. Comparing active-channel widths of glacier-draining rivers in 2009 to the distance of glacier retreat between 1913 and 1994 showed no correlation, suggesting that geomorphic disturbance in river reaches directly downstream of glaciers is not strongly governed by the degree of glacial retreat. In contrast, there was a correlation between active-channel width and the percentage of superglacier debris mantling the glacier, as measured in 1971. A conceptual model of sediment delivery processes

  3. Restoring the Lost Rivers of Washington: Can a city's hydrologic past inform its future?

    OpenAIRE

    Millay, Curtis A.

    2005-01-01

    Washington, D.C., like many older U.S. cities, suffers the woes of rapid urbanization and aging infrastructure. The cityâ s combined sewer and stormwater system dumps millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers over 70 times annually during significant rain events. While many groups, both public and private, attempt to clean the river, billions of dollars are still necessary over several years to remedy the combined sewer overfl ow (CSO) problem alone. Current pla...

  4. Bank Topography, Bathymetry, and Current Velocity of the Lower Elwha River, Clallam County, Washington, May 2006

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curran, Christopher A.; Konrad, Christopher P.; Dinehart, Randal L.; Moran, Edward H.

    2008-01-01

    The removal of two dams from the mainstem of the Elwha River is expected to cause a broad range of changes to the river and nearby coastal ecosystem. The U.S. Geological Survey has documented aspects of the condition of the river to allow analysis of ecological responses to dam removal. This report documents the bank topography, river bathymetry, and current velocity data collected along the lower 0.5 kilometer of the Elwha River, May 15-17, 2006. This information supplements nearshore and beach surveys done in 2006 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound program near the Elwha River delta in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington.

  5. Coastal change from a massive sediment input: Dam removal, Elwha River, Washington, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warrick, Jonathan A.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Stevens, Andrew; Miller, Ian M.; Kaminsky, George M.; Foley, Melissa M.

    2015-01-01

    The removal of two large dams on the Elwha River, Washington, provides an ideal opportunity to study coastal morphodynamics during increased sediment supply. The dam removal project exposed ~21 million cubic meters (~30 million tonnes) of sediment in the former reservoirs, and this sediment was allowed to erode by natural river processes. Elevated rates of sand and gravel sediment transport in the river occurred during dam removal. Most of the sediment was transported to the coast, and this renewed sediment supply resulted in hundreds of meters of seaward expansion of the river delta since 2011. Our most recent survey in January 2015 revealed that a cumulative ~3.5 million m3 of sediment deposition occurred at the delta since the beginning of the dam removal project, and that aggradation had exceeded 8 m near the river mouth. Some of the newly deposited sediment has been shaped by waves and currents into a series of subaerial berms that appear to move shoreward with time.

  6. Development of an Index to Bird Predation of Juvenile Salmonids within the Yakima River, 2000 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grassley, James M.; Grue, Christian E.; Major, III, Walter (University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, Seattle, WA)

    2002-01-01

    Avian predation of fish is suspected to contribute to the loss of juvenile spring chinook salmon in the Yakima Basin, potentially constraining natural production. In 1997 and 1998, the Yakama/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)--whose goal is to increase natural production historically present within the Yakima River--initiated investigations to assess the feasibility of developing an index to avian predation of juvenile salmon within the river. This research--conducted by Dr. Steve Mathews and David Phinney of the University of Washington--confirmed that Ring-billed Gulls and Common Mergansers were the primary avian predators of juvenile salmon, and that under certain conditions could impact migrating smolt populations. Beginning in 1999, the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (WACFWRU) was asked by the YKFP and the WDFW to continue development of avian consumption indices. Monitoring methods developed by Phinney et al. (1998) were adopted (with modifications) and monitoring of impacts to juvenile salmon along river reaches and at areas of high predator/prey concentrations (colloquially referred to as ''hotspots'') continued through 2000. In 2000, piscivorous birds were counted from river banks at hotspots and from a raft or drift boat along river reaches. Consumption by gulls at Hotspots was based on direct observations of foraging success and modeled abundance; consumption by all other piscivorous birds was estimated using published dietary requirements and modeled abundance. Further development of the avian consumption index model provided an estimation of smolt consumption for the 2000 survey season. Seasonal patterns of avian piscivore abundance were identified, diurnal patterns of gull abundance at hotspots were identified, predation indices were calculated for hotspots and spring and summer river reaches, and the efficacy of aerial surveys for estimating bird

  7. Development of an Index to Bird Predation of Juvenile Salmonids within the Yakima River, 1999 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gassley, James M.; Grue, Christian E. (University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Seattle, WA)

    2001-10-01

    Avian predation of fish is suspected to contribute to the loss of juvenile spring chinook salmon in the Yakima Basin, potentially constraining natural production. In 1997 and 1998, the Yakama/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)--whose goal is to increase natural production historically present within the Yakima River--initiated investigations to assess the feasibility of developing an index to avian predation of juvenile salmon within the river. This research--conducted by Dr. Steve Mathews and David Phinney of the University of Washington--confirmed that Ring-billed Gulls and Common Mergansers were the primary avian predators of juvenile salmon, and that under certain conditions could significantly impact migrating smolt populations. Beginning in 1999, the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit was asked by the YKFP and the WDFW to continue development of avian consumption indices. Monitoring methods developed by Mathews and Phinney were adopted (with modifications) and monitoring of impacts to juvenile salmon along river reaches and at areas of high predator/prey concentrations (colloquially referred to as ''hotspots'') continued. New efforts initiated in 1999 included piscivorous bird surveys at smolt acclimation sites operated by the Yakama Nation, monitoring of the North Fork Teanaway River for changes in avian piscivore abundance associated with the installation of the Jack Creek acclimation facility, and aerial surveys seeking to identify avian piscivores along the length of the Yakima River. In 1999, piscivorous birds were counted from river banks at hotspots and from a raft or drift boat along river reaches. Consumption by gulls was based on direct observations of foraging success and modeled abundance; consumption by Common Mergansers (which forage underwater) was estimated using published dietary requirements and modeled abundance. A second-order polynomial

  8. Paleodrainage of the Columbia River system on the Columbia Plateau of Washington State: a summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fecht, K.R.; Reidel, S.P.; Tallman, A.M.

    1985-12-01

    The evolution of the Columbia River drainage system on the Columbia Plateau of Washington in the last 17 My reflects the geologic history of the plateau. We have updated an interpretation of the evolution of the Columbia River system and defined the geomorphic and structural features that have controlled the position of ancestral streams. The sequence of geologic events and the resulting drainage system for various time intervals in the last 17 My are summarized below. 121 refs., 14 figs

  9. Petrology and chemistry of the Huntzinger flow, Columbia River basalt, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, A.W. Jr.

    1976-11-01

    Drill core samples of basalts of the Columbia River Group from the Hanford Reservation reveal a spotted, diabasic flow of up to 60 meters in thickness. These samples and those from the flow outcropping at Wahatis Peak (Saddle Mountains, Washington) were examined in detail to document intraflow textural, mineralogical, and chemical variations, which are of importance in basalt flow correlations. Analyses were by atomic absorption, instrumental neutron activation, electron microprobe, natural gamma well logging, K-Ar age dating, X-ray fluorescence, field (portable) magnetometer, and petrographic microscope.

  10. Chemical concentrations in water and suspended sediment, Green River to Lower Duwamish Waterway near Seattle, Washington, 2016–17

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conn, Kathleen E.; Black, Robert W.; Peterson, Norman T.; Senter, Craig A.; Chapman, Elena A.

    2018-01-05

    From August 2016 to March 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected representative samples of filtered and unfiltered water and suspended sediment (including the colloidal fraction) at USGS streamgage 12113390 (Duwamish River at Golf Course, at Tukwila, Washington) during 13 periods of differing flow conditions. Samples were analyzed by Washington-State-accredited laboratories for a large suite of compounds, including metals, dioxins/furans, semivolatile compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, butyltins, the 209 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and total and dissolved organic carbon. Concurrent with the chemistry sampling, water-quality field parameters were measured, and representative water samples were collected and analyzed for river suspended-sediment concentration and particle-size distribution. The results provide new data that can be used to estimate sediment and chemical loads transported by the Green River to the Lower Duwamish Waterway.

  11. Chemical concentrations and instantaneous loads, Green River to the Lower Duwamish Waterway near Seattle, Washington, 2013–15

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conn, Kathleen E.; Black, Robert W.; Vanderpool-Kimura, Ann M.; Foreman, James R.; Peterson, Norman T.; Senter, Craig A.; Sissel, Stephen K.

    2015-12-23

    In November 2013, U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging equipment was installed at a historical water-quality station on the Duwamish River, Washington, within the tidal influence at river kilometer 16.7 (U.S. Geological Survey site 12113390; Duwamish River at Golf Course at Tukwila, WA). Publicly available, real-time continuous data includes river streamflow, stream velocity, and turbidity. Between November 2013 and March 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey collected representative samples of water, suspended sediment, or bed sediment from the streamgaging station during 28 periods of differing flow conditions. Samples were analyzed by Washington-State-accredited laboratories for a large suite of compounds, including metals, dioxins/furans, semivolatile compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, butytins, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Aroclors and the 209 PCB congeners, volatile organic compounds, hexavalent chromium, and total and dissolved organic carbon. Metals, PCB congeners, and dioxins/furans were frequently detected in unfiltered-water samples, and concentrations typically increased with increasing suspended-sediment concentrations. Chemical concentrations in suspendedsediment samples were variable between sampling periods. The highest concentrations of many chemicals in suspended sediment were measured during summer and early autumn storm periods.

  12. USING THE SEDIMENT QUALITY TRIAD (SQT) APPROACH TO ASSESS SEDIMENTARY CONTAMINATION IN THE ANACOSTIA RIVER, WASHINGTON

    Science.gov (United States)

    Using the Sediment Quality Triad (SQT) Approach to Assess Sedimentary Contamination in the Anacostia River, Washington, D.C. Velinsky, DJ*1, Ashley, JTF1,2, Pinkney, F.3, McGee, BL3 and Norberg-King, TJ.4 1Academy of Natural Sciences-PCER, Philadelphia, PA. 2Philadelphia Universi...

  13. Pathogen Screening of Naturally Produced Yakima River Spring Chinook Smolts; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, Joan B. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2005-05-01

    In the spring of 2004 naturally produced smolts outmigrating from the Yakima River Basin were collected for the sixth year of pathogen screening. This component of the evaluation is to monitor whether introduction of hatchery produced smolts would impact the prevalence of specific pathogens in the naturally produced spring chinook smolts. Increases in prevalence of any of these pathogens could negatively impact the survival of these fish. Since 1999 the Cle Elum Hatchery has been releasing spring chinook salmon smolts into the upper Yakima River to increase natural production. In 1998 and 2000 through 2004 naturally produced smolts were collected for monitoring at the Chandler smolt collection facility on the lower Yakima River. Smolts were collected from mid to late outmigration, with a target of 200 fish each year. The pathogens monitored were infectious hematopoeitic necrosis virus, infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, Flavobacterium psychrophilum, Flavobacterium columnare, Aeromonas salmonicida, Yersinia ruckeri, Edwardsiella ictaluri, Renibacterium salmoninarum and Myxobolus cerebralis. Of these pathogens, only R. salmoninarum was detected in very low levels in the naturally produced smolts outmigrating in 2004. To date, only bacterial pathogens have been detected and prevalences have been low. There have been small variations each year and these changes are attributed to normal fluctuations in prevalence. All of the pathogens detected are widely distributed in Washington State.

  14. Suspended-sediment transport from the Green-Duwamish River to the Lower Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Washington, 2013–17

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senter, Craig A.; Conn, Kathleen E.; Black, Robert W.; Peterson, Norman; Vanderpool-Kimura, Ann M.; Foreman, James R.

    2018-02-28

    The Green-Duwamish River transports watershed-derived sediment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site near Seattle, Washington. Understanding the amount of sediment transported by the river is essential to the bed sediment cleanup process. Turbidity, discharge, suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), and particle-size data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from February 2013 to January 2017 at the Duwamish River, Washington, within the tidal influence at river kilometer 16.7 (USGS streamgage 12113390; Duwamish River at Golf Course at Tukwila, WA). This report quantifies the timing and magnitude of suspended-sediment transported in the Duwamish River. Regression models were developed between SSC and turbidity and SSC and discharge to estimate 15- minute SSC. Suspended-sediment loads were calculated from the computed SSC and time-series discharge data for every 15-minute interval during the study period. The 2014–16 average annual suspended-sediment load computed was 117,246 tons (106,364 metric tons), of which 73.5 percent or (86,191 tons; 78,191 metric tons) was fine particle (less than 0.0625 millimeter in diameter) suspended sediment. The seasonality of this site is apparent when you divide the year into "wet" (October 16– April 15) and "dry" (April 16–October 15) seasons. Most (97 percent) of the annual suspended sediment was transported during the wet season, when brief periods of intense precipitation from storms, large releases from the Howard Hanson Dam, or a combination of both were much more frequent.

  15. Western Pond Turtle Head-starting and Reintroduction; 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Leuven, Susan; Allen, Harriet; Slavin, Kate (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Management Program, Olympia, WA)

    2005-09-01

    This report covers the results of the western pond turtle head-starting and reintroduction project for the period of October 2004-September 2005. Wild hatchling western pond turtles from the Columbia River Gorge were reared at the Woodland Park and Oregon Zoos in 2004 and 2005 as part of the recovery effort for this Washington State endangered species. The objective of the program is to reduce losses to introduced predators like bullfrogs and largemouth bass by raising the hatchlings to a size where they are too large to be eaten by most of these predators. Thirty-five turtles were placed at the Woodland Park Zoo and 53 at the Oregon Zoo. Of these, 77 head-started juvenile turtles were released at three sites in the Columbia Gorge in 2005. Four were held back to attain more growth in captivity. Eleven were released at the Klickitat ponds, 22 at the Klickitat lake, 39 at the Skamania site, and 5 at Pierce National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). This brought the total number of head-start turtles released since 1991 to 257 for the Klickitat ponds, 136 for the Klickitat lake, 206 for the Skamania pond complex, and 255 at Pierce NWR. In 2005, 34 females from the two Columbia Gorge populations were equipped with transmitters and monitored for nesting activity. Twenty-four nests were located and protected; these produced 90 hatchlings. The hatchlings were collected in September and transported to the Oregon and Woodland Park zoos for rearing in the head-start program. During the 2005 field season trapping effort, 486 western pond turtles were captured in the Columbia Gorge, including 430 previously head-started turtles. These recaptures, together with confirmed nesting by head-start females and visual resightings, indicate the program is succeeding in boosting juvenile recruitment to increase the populations. Records were also collected on 216 individual painted turtles captured in 2005 during trapping efforts at Pierce NWR, to gather baseline information on this native

  16. Bathymetry and Near-River Topography of the Naches and Yakima Rivers at Union Gap and Selah Gap, Yakima County, Washington, August 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mastin, M.C.; Fosness, R.L.

    2009-01-01

    Yakima County is collaborating with the Bureau of Reclamation on a study of the hydraulics and sediment-transport in the lower Naches River and in the Yakima River between Union Gap and Selah Gap in Washington. River bathymetry and topographic data of the river channels are needed for the study to construct hydraulic models. River survey data were available for most of the study area, but river bathymetry and near-river topography were not available for Selah Gap, near the confluence of the Naches and Yakima Rivers, and for Union Gap. In August 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey surveyed the areas where data were not available. If possible, the surveys were made with a boat-mounted, single-beam echo sounder attached to a survey-grade Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) global positioning system (GPS). An RTK GPS rover was used on a walking survey of the river banks, shallow river areas, and river bed areas that were impenetrable to the echo sounder because of high densities of macrophytes. After the data were edited, 95,654 bathymetric points from the boat survey with the echo sounder and 1,069 points from the walking survey with the GPS rover were used in the study. The points covered 4.6 kilometers on the Yakima River and 0.6 kilometers on the Naches River. GPS-surveyed points checked within 0.014 to 0.047 meters in the horizontal direction and -0.036 to 0.078 meters in the vertical direction compared to previously established survey control points

  17. Hydrologic bibliography of the Columbia River basalts in Washington with selected annotations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, H.; Wildrick, L.; Pearson, B.

    1979-08-01

    The objective of this compilation is to present a comprehensive listing of the published, unpublished, and open file references pertaining to the surface and subsurface hydrology of the Columbia River basalts within the State of Washington and is presented in support of Rockwell's hydrologic data compilation effort for the Basalt Waste Isolation Program. A comprehensive, annotated bibliography of the Pasco Basin (including the Hanford Site) hydrology has been prepared for Rockwell as part of the Pasco Basin hydrology studies. In order to avoid unnecessary duplication, no effort was made to include a complete list of bibliographic references on Hanford in this volume

  18. Sediment transport in the lower Snake and Clearwater River Basins, Idaho and Washington, 2008–11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Gregory M.; Fosness, Ryan L.; Wood, Molly S.

    2013-01-01

    Sedimentation is an ongoing maintenance problem for reservoirs, limiting reservoir storage capacity and navigation. Because Lower Granite Reservoir in Washington is the most upstream of the four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs on the lower Snake River, it receives and retains the largest amount of sediment. In 2008, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study to quantify sediment transport to Lower Granite Reservoir. Samples of suspended sediment and bedload were collected from streamgaging stations on the Snake River near Anatone, Washington, and the Clearwater River at Spalding, Idaho. Both streamgages were equipped with an acoustic Doppler velocity meter to evaluate the efficacy of acoustic backscatter for estimating suspended-sediment concentrations and transport. In 2009, sediment sampling was extended to 10 additional locations in tributary watersheds to help identify the dominant source areas for sediment delivery to Lower Granite Reservoir. Suspended-sediment samples were collected 9–15 times per year at each location to encompass a range of streamflow conditions and to capture significant hydrologic events such as peak snowmelt runoff and rain-on-snow. Bedload samples were collected at a subset of stations where the stream conditions were conducive for sampling, and when streamflow was sufficiently high for bedload transport. At most sampling locations, the concentration of suspended sediment varied by 3–5 orders of magnitude with concentrations directly correlated to streamflow. The largest median concentrations of suspended sediment (100 and 94 mg/L) were in samples collected from stations on the Palouse River at Hooper, Washington, and the Salmon River at White Bird, Idaho, respectively. The smallest median concentrations were in samples collected from the Selway River near Lowell, Idaho (11 mg/L), the Lochsa River near Lowell, Idaho (11 mg/L), the Clearwater River at Orofino, Idaho (13 mg

  19. Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: coastal geomorphic change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Miller, Ian M.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Ogston, Andrea S.; Eidam, Emily

    2015-01-01

    Two dams on the Elwha River, Washington State, USA trapped over 20 million m3 of mud, sand, and gravel since 1927, reducing downstream sediment fluxes and contributing to erosion of the river's coastal delta. The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, initiated in September 2011, induced massive increases in river sediment supply and provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the geomorphic response of a coastal delta to these increases. Detailed measurements of beach topography and nearshore bathymetry show that ~ 2.5 million m3 of sediment was deposited during the first two years of dam removal, which is ~ 100 times greater than deposition rates measured prior to dam removal. The majority of the deposit was located in the intertidal and shallow subtidal region immediately offshore of the river mouth and was composed of sand and gravel. Additional areas of deposition include a secondary sandy deposit to the east of the river mouth and a muddy deposit west of the mouth. A comparison with fluvial sediment fluxes suggests that ~ 70% of the sand and gravel and ~ 6% of the mud supplied by the river was found in the survey area (within about 2 km of the mouth). A hydrodynamic and sediment transport model, validated with in-situ measurements, shows that tidal currents interacting with the larger relict submarine delta help disperse fine sediment large distances east and west of the river mouth. The model also suggests that waves and currents erode the primary deposit located near the river mouth and transport sandy sediment eastward to form the secondary deposit. Though most of the substrate of the larger relict submarine delta was unchanged during the first two years of dam removal, portions of the seafloor close to the river mouth became finer, modifying habitats for biological communities. These results show that river restoration, like natural changes in river sediment supply, can result in rapid and substantial coastal geomorphological

  20. Western Pond Turtle Head-starting and Reintroduction, 2005-2006 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Leuven, Susan; Allen, Harriet; Slavens, Kate (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Management Program, Olympia, WA)

    2006-11-01

    This report covers the results of the western pond turtle head-starting and reintroduction project for the period of October 2005-September 2006. Wild hatchling western pond turtles from the Columbia River Gorge were reared at the Woodland Park and Oregon zoos in 2005 and 2006 as part of the recovery effort for this Washington State endangered species. The objective of the program is to reduce losses to introduced predators like bullfrogs and largemouth bass by raising the hatchlings to a size where they are too large to be eaten by most of these predators. Twenty-six turtles were placed at the Woodland Park Zoo and 62 at the Oregon Zoo in fall 2005. These turtles joined two that were held back from release in summer 2005 due to their small size. All 90 juvenile turtles were released at three sites in the Columbia Gorge in 2006. Twenty-eight juvenile turtles were released at the Klickitat ponds, 22 at the Klickitat lake, 21 at the Skamania site, and 19 at Pierce National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). This brought the total number of head-start turtles released since 1991 to 944; 285 for the Klickitat ponds, 158 for the Klickitat lake, 227 for the Skamania pond complex, and 274 at Pierce NWR. In 2006, 20 females from the Klickitat population were equipped with transmitters and monitored for nesting activity. Fifteen nests were located and protected; these produced 55 hatchlings. The hatchlings were collected in September and transported to the Oregon and Woodland Park zoos for rearing in the head-start program. One wild hatchling captured in spring 2006 was placed in the head-start program to attain more growth in captivity. During the 2006 field season trapping effort, 414 western pond turtles were captured in the Columbia Gorge, including 374 previously head-started turtles. These recaptures, together with confirmed nesting by head-start females and visual resightings, indicate the program is succeeding in boosting juvenile recruitment to increase the populations

  1. Hydrographs Showing Ground-Water Level Changes for Selected Wells in the Lower Skagit River Basin, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fasser, E.T.; Julich, R.J.

    2009-01-01

    Hydrographs for selected wells in the Lower Skagit River basin, Washington, are presented in an interactive web-based map to illustrate monthly and seasonal changes in ground-water levels in the study area. Ground-water level data and well information were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey using standard techniques and were stored in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), Ground-Water Site-Inventory (GWSI) System.

  2. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Final Report For the Performance Period May 1, 2008 through April 30, 2009.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sampson, Melvin R. [The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation

    2009-07-30

    The Yakima-Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) is a joint project of the Yakama Nation (lead entity) and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and is sponsored in large part by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) with oversight and guidance from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC). It is among the largest and most complex fisheries management projects in the Columbia Basin in terms of data collection and management, physical facilities, habitat enhancement and management, and experimental design and research on fisheries resources. Using principles of adaptive management, the YKFP is attempting to evaluate all stocks historically present in the Yakima subbasin and apply a combination of habitat restoration and hatchery supplementation or reintroduction, to restore the Yakima Subbasin ecosystem with sustainable and harvestable populations of salmon, steelhead and other at-risk species. The original impetus for the YKFP resulted from the landmark fishing disputes of the 1970s, the ensuing legal decisions in United States versus Washington and United States versus Oregon, and the region's realization that lost natural production needed to be mitigated in upriver areas where these losses primarily occurred. The YKFP was first identified in the NPCC's 1982 Fish and Wildlife Program (FWP) and supported in the U.S. v Oregon 1988 Columbia River Fish Management Plan (CRFMP). A draft Master Plan was presented to the NPCC in 1987 and the Preliminary Design Report was presented in 1990. In both circumstances, the NPCC instructed the Yakama Nation, WDFW and BPA to carry out planning functions that addressed uncertainties in regard to the adequacy of hatchery supplementation for meeting production objectives and limiting adverse ecological and genetic impacts. At the same time, the NPCC underscored the importance of using adaptive management principles to manage the direction of the Project. The 1994 FWP reiterated the

  3. 76 FR 59394 - Big Eddy-Knight Transmission Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Bonneville Power Administration Big Eddy-Knight Transmission Project AGENCY... Eddy-Knight Transmission Project in Wasco County, Oregon and Klickitat County, Washington. Construction of the Big Eddy-Knight Transmission Project will accommodate long-term firm transmission requests...

  4. Shallow stratigraphy of the Skagit River Delta, Washington, derived from sediment cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossman, Eric E.; George, Douglas A.; Lam, Angela

    2011-01-01

    Sedimentologic analyses of 21 sediment cores, ranging from 0.4 to 9.6 m in length, reveal that the shallow geologic framework of the Skagit River Delta, western Washington, United States, has changed significantly since 1850. The cores collected from elevations of 3.94 to -2.41 m (relative to mean lower low water) along four cross-shore transects between the emergent marsh and delta front show relatively similar environmental changes across an area spanning ~75 km2. Offshore of the present North Fork Skagit River and South Fork Skagit River mouths where river discharge is focused by diked channels through the delta, the entire 5–7-km-wide tidal flats are covered with 1–2 m of cross-bedded medium-to-coarse sands. The bottoms of cores, collected in these areas are composed of mud. A sharp transition from mud to a cross-bedded sand unit indicates that the tidal flats changed abruptly from a calm environment to an energetic one. This is in stark contrast to the Martha's Bay tidal flats north of the Skagit Bay jetty that was completed in the 1940s to protect the newly constructed Swinomish Channel from flooding and sedimentation. North of the jetty, mud ranging from 1 to 2 m thick drapes a previously silt- and sand-rich tidal flat. The silty sand is a sediment facies that would be expected there where North Fork Skagit River sedimentation occurred prior to jetty emplacement. This report describes the compositional and textural properties of the sediment cores by using geophysical, photographic, x-radiography, and standard sediment grain-size and carbon-analytical methods. The findings help to characterize benthic habitat structure and sediment transport processes and the environmental changes that have occurred across the nearshore of the Skagit River Delta. The findings will be useful for quantifying changes to nearshore marine resources, including impacts resulting from diking, river-delta channelization, shoreline development, and natural variations in fluvial

  5. Changes in sediment volume in Alder Lake, Nisqually River Basin, Washington, 1945-2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czuba, Jonathan A.; Olsen, Theresa D.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Gish, Casey C.

    2012-01-01

    The Nisqually River drains the southwest slopes of Mount Rainier, a glaciated stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of western Washington. The Nisqually River was impounded behind Alder Dam when the dam was completed in 1945 and formed Alder Lake. This report quantifies the volume of sediment deposited by the Nisqually and Little Nisqually Rivers in their respective deltas in Alder Lake since 1945. Four digital elevation surfaces were generated from historical contour maps from 1945, 1956, and 1985, and a bathymetric survey from 2011. These surfaces were used to compute changes in sediment volume since 1945. Estimates of the volume of sediment deposited in Alder Lake between 1945 and 2011 were focused in three areas: (1) the Nisqually River delta, (2) the main body of Alder Lake, along a 40-meter wide corridor of the pre-dam Nisqually River, and (3) the Little Nisqually River delta. In each of these areas the net deposition over the 66-year period was 42,000,000 ± 4,000,000 cubic meters (m3), 2,000,000 ± 600,000 m3, and 310,000 ± 110,000 m3, respectively. These volumes correspond to annual rates of accumulation of 630,000 ± 60,000 m3/yr, 33,000 ± 9,000 m3/yr, and 4,700 ± 1,600 m3/yr, respectively. The annual sediment yield of the Nisqually (1,100 ± 100 cubic meters per year per square kilometer [(m3/yr)/km2]) and Little Nisqually River basins [70 ± 24 (m3/yr)/km2] provides insight into the yield of two basins with different land cover and geomorphic processes. These estimates suggest that a basin draining a glaciated stratovolcano yields approximately 15 times more sediment than a basin draining forested uplands in the Cascade Range. Given the cumulative net change in sediment volume in the Nisqually River delta in Alder Lake, the total capacity of Alder Lake since 1945 decreased about 3 percent by 1956, 8 percent by 1985, and 15 percent by 2011.

  6. Pathogen Screening of Naturally Produced Yakima River Spring Chinook Smolts; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation Report 6 of 7, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, Joan B. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2004-05-01

    In 1999 the Cle Elum Hatchery began releasing spring chinook salmon smolts into the upper Yakima River to increase natural production. Part of the evaluation of this program is to monitor whether introduction of hatchery produced smolts would impact the prevalence of specific pathogens in the naturally produced spring chinook smolts. Increases in prevalence of any of these pathogens could negatively impact the survival of these fish. In 1998 and 2000 through 2003 naturally produced smolts were collected for monitoring at the Chandler smolt collection facility on the lower Yakima River. Smolts were collected from mid to late outmigration, with a target of 200 fish each year. The pathogens monitored were infectious hematopoeitic necrosis virus, infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, Flavobacterium psychrophilum, Flavobacterium columnare, Aeromonas salmonicida, Yersinia ruckeri, Edwardsiella ictaluri, Renibacterium salmoninarum and Myxobolus cerebralis. To date, only the bacterial pathogens have been detected and prevalences have been low. Prevalences have varied each year and these changes are attributed to normal fluctuation of prevalence. All of the pathogens detected are widely distributed in Washington State.

  7. Contaminant removal by wastewater treatment plants in the Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbash, Jack E.; Moran, Patrick W.; Wagner, Richard J.; Wolanek, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Human activities in most areas of the developed world typically release nutrients, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and other contaminants into the environment, many of which reach freshwater ecosystems. In urbanized areas, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical facilities for collecting and reducing the amounts of wastewater contaminants (WWCs) that ultimately discharge to rivers, coastal areas, and groundwater. Most WWTPs use multiple methods to remove contaminants from wastewater. These include physical methods to remove solid materials (primary treatment), biological and chemical methods to remove most organic matter (secondary treatment), advanced methods to reduce the concentrations of various contaminants such as nitrogen, phosphorus and (or) synthetic organic compounds (tertiary treatment), and disinfection prior to discharge (Metcalf and Eddy, Inc., 1979). This study examined the extent to which 114 organic WWCs were removed by each of three WWTPs, prior to discharge to freshwater and marine ecosystems, in a rapidly developing area in northwestern Washington State. Removal percentages for each WWC were estimated by comparing the concentrations measured in the WWTP influents with those measured in the effluents. The investigation was carried out in the 700-mi2Stillaguamish River Basin, the fifth largest watershed that discharges to Puget Sound (fig. 1).

  8. The Fall River Long-Term Site Productivity study in coastal Washington: site characteristics, methods, and biomass and carbon and nitrogen stores before and after harvest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adrian Ares; Thomas A. Terry; Kathryn B. Piatek; Robert B. Harrison; Richard E. Miller; Barry L. Flaming; ChristopherW Licata; Brian D. Strahm; Constance A. Harrington; Rodney Meade; Harry W. Anderson; Leslie C. Brodie; Joseph M. Kraft

    2007-01-01

    The Fall River research site in coastal Washington is an affiliate installation of the North American Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) network, which constitutes one of the world’s largest coordinated research programs addressing forest management impacts on sustained productivity. Overall goals of the Fall River study are to assess effects of biomass removals, soil...

  9. Suspended sediment, turbidity, and stream water temperature in the Sauk River Basin, western Washington, water years 2012-16

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaeger, Kristin L.; Curran, Christopher A.; Anderson, Scott W.; Morris, Scott T.; Moran, Patrick W.; Reams, Katherine A.

    2017-11-01

    The Sauk River is a federally designated Wild and Scenic River that drains a relatively undisturbed landscape along the western slope of the North Cascade Mountain Range, Washington, which includes the glaciated volcano, Glacier Peak. Naturally high sediment loads characteristic of basins draining volcanoes like Glacier Peak make the Sauk River a dominant contributor of sediment to the downstream main stem river, the Skagit River. Additionally, the Sauk River serves as important spawning and rearing habitat for several salmonid species in the greater Skagit River system. Because of the importance of sediment to morphology, flow-conveyance, and ecosystem condition, there is interest in understanding the magnitude and timing of suspended sediment and turbidity from the Sauk River system and its principal tributaries, the White Chuck and Suiattle Rivers, to the Skagit River.Suspended-sediment measurements, turbidity data, and water temperature data were collected at two U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in the upper and middle reaches of the Sauk River over a 4-year period extending from October 2011 to September 2015, and at a downstream location in the lower river for a 5-year period extending from October 2011 to September 2016. Over the collective 5-year study period, mean annual suspended-sediment loads at the three streamgages on the upper, middle, and lower Sauk River streamgages were 94,200 metric tons (t), 203,000 t, and 940,000 t streamgages, respectively. Fine (smaller than 0.0625 millimeter) total suspended-sediment load averaged 49 percent at the upper Sauk River streamgage, 42 percent at the middle Sauk River streamgage, and 34 percent at the lower Sauk River streamgage.

  10. Restoration of Hydrodynamic and Hydrologic Processes in the Chinook River Estuary, Washington ? Feasibility Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khangaonkar, Tarang P.; Breithaupt, Stephen A.; Kristanovich, Felix C.

    2006-01-01

    A hydrodynamic and hydrologic modeling analysis was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of restoring natural estuarine functions and tidal marine wetlands habitat in the Chinook River estuary, located near the mouth of the Columbia River in Washington. The reduction in salmonid populations is attributable primarily to the construction of a Highway 101 overpass across the mouth of the Chinook River in the early 1920s with a tide gate under the overpass. This construction, which was designed to eliminate tidal action in the estuary, has impeded the upstream passage of salmonids. The goal of the Chinook River Restoration Project is to restore tidal functions through the estuary, by removing the tide gate at the mouth of the river, filling drainage ditches, restoring tidal swales, and reforesting riparian areas. The hydrologic model (HEC-HMS) was used to compute Chinook River and tributary inflows for use as input to the hydrodynamic model at the project area boundary. The hydrodynamic model (RMA-10) was used to generate information on water levels, velocities, salinity, and inundation during both normal tides and 100-year storm conditions under existing conditions and under the restoration alternatives. The RMA-10 model was extended well upstream of the normal tidal flats into the watershed domain to correctly simulate flooding and drainage with tidal effects included, using the wetting and drying schemes. The major conclusion of the hydrologic and hydrodynamic modeling study was that restoration of the tidal functions in the Chinook River estuary would be feasible through opening or removal of the tide gate. Implementation of the preferred alternative (removal of the tide gate, restoration of the channel under Hwy 101 to a 200-foot width, and construction of an internal levee inside the project area) would provide the required restorations benefits (inundation, habitat, velocities, and salinity penetration, etc.) and meet flood protection requirements. The

  11. Effects of dams and geomorphic context on riparian forests of the Elwha River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafroth, Patrick B.; Perry, Laura G; Rose, Chanoane A; Braatne, Jeffrey H

    2016-01-01

    Understanding how dams affect the shifting habitat mosaic of river bottomlands is key for protecting the many ecological functions and related goods and services that riparian forests provide and for informing approaches to riparian ecosystem restoration. We examined the downstream effects of two large dams on patterns of forest composition, structure, and dynamics within different geomorphic contexts and compared them to upstream reference conditions along the Elwha River, Washington, USA. Patterns of riparian vegetation in river segments downstream of the dams were driven largely by channel and bottomland geomorphic responses to a dramatically reduced sediment supply. The river segment upstream of both dams was the most geomorphically dynamic, whereas the segment between the dams was the least dynamic due to substantial channel armoring, and the segment downstream of both dams was intermediate due to some local sediment supply. These geomorphic differences were linked to altered characteristics of the shifting habitat mosaic, including older forest age structure and fewer young Populus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa stands in the relatively static segment between the dams compared to more extensive early-successional forests (dominated by Alnus rubra and Salix spp.) and pioneer seedling recruitment upstream of the dams. Species composition of later-successional forest communities varied among river segments as well, with greater Pseudotsuga menziesii and Tsuga heterophylla abundance upstream of both dams, Acer spp. abundance between the dams, and P. balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa and Thuja plicata abundance below both dams. Riparian forest responses to the recent removal of the two dams on the Elwha River will depend largely on channel and geomorphic adjustments to the release, transport, and deposition of the large volume of sediment formerly stored in the reservoirs, together with changes in large wood dynamics.

  12. Organic Compounds in Potomac River Water Used for Public Supply near Washington, D.C., 2003-05

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brayton, Michael J.; Denver, Judith M.; Delzer, Gregory C.; Hamilton, Pixie A.

    2008-01-01

    Organic compounds studied in this U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment generally are man-made, including, in part, pesticides, solvents, gasoline hydrocarbons, personal care and domestic-use products, and refrigerants and propellants. A total of 85 of 277 compounds were detected at least once among the 25 samples collected approximately monthly during 2003-05 at the intake of the Washington Aqueduct, one of several community water systems on the Potomac River upstream from Washington, D.C. The diversity of compounds detected indicate a variety of different sources and uses (including wastewater discharge, industrial, agricultural, domestic, and others) and different pathways (including treated wastewater outfalls located upstream, overland runoff, and ground-water discharge) to drinking-water supplies. Seven compounds were detected year-round in source-water intake samples, including selected herbicide compounds commonly used in the Potomac River Basin and in other agricultural areas across the United States. Two-thirds of the 26 compounds detected most commonly in source water (in at least 20 percent of the samples) also were detected most commonly in finished water (after treatment but prior to distribution). Concentrations for all detected compounds in source and finished water generally were less than 0.1 microgram per liter and always less than human-health benchmarks, which are available for about one-half of the detected compounds. On the basis of this screening-level assessment, adverse effects to human health are expected to be negligible (subject to limitations of available human-health benchmarks).

  13. Two-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling to quantify effects of peak-flow management on channel morphology and salmon-spawning habitat in the Cedar River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czuba, Christiana; Czuba, Jonathan A.; Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Magirl, Christopher S.

    2010-01-01

    The Cedar River in Washington State originates on the western slope of the Cascade Range and provides the City of Seattle with most of its drinking water, while also supporting a productive salmon habitat. Water-resource managers require detailed information on how best to manage high-flow releases from Chester Morse Lake, a large reservoir on the Cedar River, during periods of heavy precipitation to minimize flooding, while mitigating negative effects on fish populations. Instream flow-management practices include provisions for adaptive management to promote and maintain healthy aquatic habitat in the river system. The current study is designed to understand the linkages between peak flow characteristics, geomorphic processes, riverine habitat, and biological responses. Specifically, two-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling is used to simulate and quantify the effects of the peak-flow magnitude, duration, and frequency on the channel morphology and salmon-spawning habitat. Two study reaches, representative of the typical geomorphic and ecologic characteristics of the Cedar River, were selected for the modeling. Detailed bathymetric data, collected with a real-time kinematic global positioning system and an acoustic Doppler current profiler, were combined with a LiDAR-derived digital elevation model in the overbank area to develop a computational mesh. The model is used to simulate water velocity, benthic shear stress, flood inundation, and morphologic changes in the gravel-bedded river under the current and alternative flood-release strategies. Simulations of morphologic change and salmon-redd scour by floods of differing magnitude and duration enable water-resource managers to incorporate model simulation results into adaptive management of peak flows in the Cedar River. PDF version of a presentation on hydrodynamic modelling in the Cedar River in Washington state. Presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2010.

  14. The Influence of Salmon Recolonization on Riparian Communities in the Cedar River, Washington, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moravek, J.; Clipp, H.; Kiffney, P.

    2016-02-01

    Salmon are a valuable resource throughout the Pacific Northwest, but increasing human activity is degrading coastal ecosystems and threatening local salmon populations. Salmon conservation efforts often focus on habitat restoration, including the re-colonization of salmon into historically obstructed areas such as the Cedar River in Washington, USA. However, to assess the long term implications of salmon re-colonization on a landscape scale, it is critical to consider not only the river ecosystem but also the surrounding riparian habitat. Although prior studies suggest that salmon alter riparian food web dynamics, the riparian community on the Cedar River has not yet been characterized. To investigate possible connections between salmon and the riparian habitat after 12 years of re-colonization, we surveyed riparian spider communities along a gradient of salmon inputs (g/m2). In 10-m transects along the banks of the river, we identified spiders and spider webs, collected prey from webs, and characterized nearby aquatic macroinvertebrate communities. We found that the density of aquatic macroinvertebrates, as well as the density of spider prey, both had significant positive relationships with salmon inputs, supporting the hypothesis that salmon provide energy and nutrients for both aquatic and riparian food webs. We also found that spider diversity significantly decreased with salmon inputs, potentially due to confounding factors such as stream gradient or vegetation structure. Although additional information is needed to fully understand this relationship, the significant connection between salmon inputs and spider diversity is compelling motivation for further studies regarding the link between aquatic and riparian systems on the Cedar River. Understanding the connections between salmon and the riparian community is critical to characterizing the long term, landscape-scale implications of sustainable salmon management in the Pacific Northwest.

  15. Survey of Columbia River Basin streams for Columbia pebblesnail Fluminicola columbiana and shortface lanx Fisherola nuttalli

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neitzel, D.A.; Frest, T.J.

    1992-08-01

    At present, there are only two remaining sizable populations of Columbia pebblesnails Fluminicola columbiana; those in the Methow and Okanogan rivers, Washington. Smaller populations survive in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, Washington, and the lower Salmon River, Idaho, and possibly in the middle Snake River, Idaho; Hells Canyon of the Snake River, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, and the Grande Ronde River, Oregon and Washington. Neither large population is at present protected, and there has been a substantial documented reduction in the species' historic range. Large populations of the shortface lanx Fisherolla nuttalli persist in four streams: the Deschutes River, Oregon; the Hanford Reach and Bonneville Dam area of the Columbia River, Washington and Oregon; Hens Canyon of the Snake River, Idaho and Oregon; and the Okanogan River, Washington. Smaller populations, or ones of uncertain size, are known from the lower Salmon and middle Snake rivers, Idaho; the Grande Ronde Washington and Oregon; Imnaha, and John Day rivers, Oregon; and the Methow River, Washington. While substantial range reduction has occurred in this species, and the large populations are not well protected, the problem is not as severe as in the case of the Columbia pebblesnail. Both species appear to have been widespread historically in the mainstem Columbia River and the Columbia River Basin prior to the installation of the current dam system. Both are now apparently reduced within the Columbia River to populations in the Hanford Reach and possibly other sites that are now separated by large areas of unsuitable habitat from those in the river's major tributaries

  16. Using a food web model to inform the design of river restoration—An example at the Barkley Bear Segment, Methow River, north-central Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin, Joseph R.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Dombroski, Daniel

    2018-01-29

    With the decline of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss), habitat restoration actions in freshwater tributaries have been implemented to improve conditions for juveniles. Typically, physical (for example, hydrologic and engineering) based models are used to design restoration alternatives with the assumption that biological responses will be improved with changes to the physical habitat. Biological models rarely are used. Here, we describe simulations of a food web model, the Aquatic Trophic Productivity (ATP) model, to aid in the design of a restoration project in the Methow River, north-central Washington. The ATP model mechanistically links environmental conditions of the stream to the dynamics of river food webs, and can be used to simulate how alternative river restoration designs influence the potential for river reaches to sustain fish production. Four restoration design alternatives were identified that encompassed varying levels of side channel and floodplain reconnection and large wood addition. Our model simulations suggest that design alternatives focused on reconnecting side channels and the adjacent floodplain may provide the greatest increase in fish capacity. These results were robust to a range of discharge and thermal regimes that naturally occur in the Methow River. Our results suggest that biological models, such as the ATP model, can be used during the restoration planning phase to increase the effectiveness of restoration actions. Moreover, the use of multiple modeling efforts, both physical and biological, when evaluating restoration design alternatives provides a better understanding of the potential outcome of restoration actions.

  17. Groundwater remediation of hexavalent chromium along the Columbia River at the Hanford site in Washington state, USA - 59030

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foss, Dyan L.; Charboneau, Briant L.

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site, formerly used for nuclear weapons production, encompasses 1500 square kilometers in southeast Washington State along the Columbia River. A principle threat to the river are the groundwater plumes of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), which affect approximately 9.8 square kilometers, and 4.1 kilometers of shoreline. Cleanup goals are to stop Cr(VI) from entering the river by the end of 2012 and remediate the groundwater plumes to the drinking water standards by the end of 2020. Five groundwater pump-and-treat systems are currently in operation for the remediation of Cr(VI). Since the 1990's, over 13.6 billion L of groundwater have been treated; over 1, 435 kg of Cr(VI) have been removed. This paper describes the unique aspects of the site, its environmental setting, hydrogeology, groundwater-river interface, riverine hydraulic effects, remediation activities completed to date, a summary of the current and proposed pump-and-treat operations, the in situ redox manipulation barrier, and the effectiveness of passive barriers, resins, and treatability testing results of calcium polysulfide, bio-stimulation, and electrocoagulation, currently under evaluation. (authors)

  18. Hydrographs showing groundwater levels for selected wells in the Puyallup River watershed and vicinity, Pierce and King Counties, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, R.C.; Julich, R.J.; Justin, G.B.

    2013-01-01

    Hydrographs of groundwater levels for selected wells in and adjacent to the Puyallup River watershed in Pierce and King Counties, Washington, are presented using an interactive Web-based map of the study area to illustrate changes in groundwater levels on a monthly and seasonal basis. The interactive map displays well locations that link to the hydrographs, which in turn link to the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System, Groundwater Site Inventory System.

  19. Dispersion of Metals from Abandoned Mines and their Effects on Biota in the Methow River, Okanogan County, Washington : Annual Report 3/15/00-3/14/01.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peplow, Dan; Edmonds, Robert

    2001-06-01

    The University of Washington, College of Forest Resources and the Center for Streamside Studies in Seattle, Washington, is being funded by the Bonneville Power Administration to conduct a three-year research project to measure the watershed scale response of stream habitat to abandoned mine waste, the dispersion of metals, and their effects on biota in the Methow River basin. The purpose of this project is to determine if there are processes and pathways that result in the dispersion of metals from their source at abandoned mines to biological receptors in the Methow River. The objectives of this study are the following: (1) Assess ecological risk due to metal contamination from mines near the Methow; (2) Measure impact of metals from mines on groundwater and sediments in Methow River; (3) Measure response of organisms in the Methow River to excess metals in the sediments of the Methow River; (4) Recommend restoration guidelines and biological goals that target identified pathways and processes of metal pollution affecting salmon habitat in the Methow basin; and (5) Submit peer review journal publications. When concluded, this study will contribute to the advancement of current best management practices by describing the processes responsible for the release of metals from small abandoned mine sites in an arid environment, their dispersal pathways, and their chemical and biological impacts on the Methow River. Based on these processes and pathways, specific remediation recommendations will be proposed.

  20. Field-trip guide to the vents, dikes, stratigraphy, and structure of the Columbia River Basalt Group, eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camp, Victor E; Reidel, Stephen P.; Ross, Martin E.; Brown, Richard J.; Self, Stephen

    2017-06-22

    The Columbia River Basalt Group covers an area of more than 210,000 km2 with an estimated volume of 210,000 km3. As the youngest continental flood-basalt province on Earth (16.7–5.5 Ma), it is well preserved, with a coherent and detailed stratigraphy exposed in the deep canyonlands of eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. The Columbia River flood-basalt province is often cited as a model for the study of similar provinces worldwide.This field-trip guide explores the main source region of the Columbia River Basalt Group and is written for trip participants attending the 2017 International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) Scientific Assembly in Portland, Oregon, USA. The first part of the guide provides an overview of the geologic features common in the Columbia River flood-basalt province and the stratigraphic terminology used in the Columbia River Basalt Group. The accompanying road log examines the stratigraphic evolution, eruption history, and structure of the province through a field examination of the lavas, dikes, and pyroclastic rocks of the Columbia River Basalt Group.

  1. Water temperature profiles for reaches of the Raging River during summer baseflow, King County, western Washington, July 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Opatz, Chad C.

    2016-03-22

    Re-introducing wood into rivers where it was historically removed is one approach to improving habitat conditions in rivers of the Pacific Northwest. The Raging River drainage basin, which flows into the Snoqualmie River at Fall City, western Washington, was largely logged during the 20th century and wood was removed from its channel. To improve habitat conditions for several species of anadromous salmonids that spawn and rear in the Raging River, King County Department of Transportation placed untethered log jams in a 250-meter reach where wood was historically removed. The U.S. Geological Survey measured longitudinal profiles of near-streambed temperature during summer baseflow along 1,026 meters of channel upstream, downstream, and within the area of wood placements. These measurements were part of an effort by King County to monitor the geomorphic and biological responses to these wood placements. Near-streambed temperatures averaged over about 1-meter intervals were measured with a fiber‑optic distributed temperature sensor every 30 minutes for 7 days between July 7 and 13, 2015. Vertical temperature profiles were measured coincident with the longitudinal temperature profile at four locations at 0 centimeters (cm) (at the streambed), and 35 and 70 cm beneath the streambed to document thermal dynamics of the hyporheic zone and surface water in the study reach.

  2. Proposed Columbia Wind Farm number-sign 1. Joint NEPA/SEPA draft environmental impact statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-03-01

    This Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) addresses the Columbia Wind Farm number-sign 1 (Project) proposal for construction and operation of a 25 megawatt (MW) wind power project in the Columbia Hills area southeast of Goldendale in Klickitat County, Washington. The Project would be constructed on private land by Conservation and Renewable Energy System (CARES) (the Applicant). An Environmental Impact Statement is required under both NEPA and SEPA guidelines and is issued under Section 102 (2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq and under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) as provided by RCW 43.21C.030 (2) (c). Bonneville Power Administration is the NEPA lead agency; Klickitat County is the nominal SEPA lead agency and CARES is the SEPA co-lead agency for this DEIS. The Project site is approximately 395 hectares (975 acres) in size. The Proposed Action would include approximately 91 model AWT-26 wind turbines. Under the No Action Alternative, the Project would not be constructed and existing grazing and agricultural activities on the site would continue

  3. Proposed Columbia Wind Farm No. 1 : Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Joint NEPA/SEPA.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Klickitat County (Wash.)

    1995-03-01

    This Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) addresses the Columbia Wind Farm {number_sign}1 (Project) proposal for construction and operation of a 25 megawatt (MW) wind power project in the Columbia Hills area southeast of Goldendale in Klickitat County, Washington. The Project would be constructed on private land by Conservation and Renewable Energy System (CARES) (the Applicant). An Environmental Impact Statement is required under both NEPA and SEPA guidelines and is issued under Section 102 (2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq and under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) as provided by RCW 43.21C.030 (2) (c). Bonneville Power Administration is the NEPA lead agency; Klickitat County is the nominal SEPA lead agency and CARES is the SEPA co-lead agency for this DEIS. The Project site is approximately 395 hectares (975 acres) in size. The Proposed Action would include approximately 91 model AWT-26 wind turbines. Under the No Action Alternative, the Project would not be constructed and existing grazing and agricultural activities on the site would continue.

  4. Simulated runoff at many stream locations in the Methow River Basin, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mastin, Mark C.

    2015-01-01

    A collaborative Bureau of Reclamation-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) team has been brought together to incorporate a conceptual geomorphic-habitat model with a process-based trophic model to understand the processes important to stream habitat for anadromous fish populations. The Methow River Basin was selected as a test basin for this hybrid geomorphic-habitat/trophic model, and one of the required model inputs is long-term daily runoff at reaches with potential habitat. Leveraging the existence of a watershed model that was constructed for the Methow River Basin by the USGS, the team approached the USGS at the Washington Water Science Center to resurrect the original model and to simulate runoff at many locations in the basin to test the trophic model. Thirteen new flow-routing sites were added to the model, creating a total of 61 sites in the basin where daily runoff was simulated and provided as output. The input file that contains observed meteorological data that drives the watershed model and observed runoff data for comparisons with simulated runoff was extended from water year 2001 to water year 2013 using data from 18 meteorological sites and 12 observed runoff sites. The watershed model included simulation of 16 irrigation diversions that simulated 50-percent water loss through canal seepage. Irrigation was simulated as a constant application of 0.2 inches per day to during the irrigation season, May 1–October 7.

  5. 40 CFR 81.348 - Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 5/14/01 Attainment The City of Kent and a portion of the Green River valley bounded on the east and... Type Seattle-Tacoma Area: Seattle-Tacoma Urban Area (as defined by the Washington Department of Transportation urban area maps) King County (part) Attainment Pierce County (part) Attainment Snohomish County...

  6. Willapa Bay, Washington Benthic Habitats 1995 Biotic

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In June 1995, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) acquired 295 true color aerial photographs (1:12,000) of Willapa Bay, Washington, from the State of...

  7. Willapa Bay, Washington Benthic Habitats 1995 Geoform

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In June 1995, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) acquired 295 true color aerial photographs (1:12,000) of Willapa Bay, Washington, from the State of...

  8. Willapa Bay, Washington Benthic Habitats 1995 Substrate

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In June 1995, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) acquired 295 true color aerial photographs (1:12,000) of Willapa Bay, Washington, from the State of...

  9. Uranium favorability of tertiary sedimentary rocks of the western Okanogan highlands and of the upper Columbia River valley, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marjaniemi, D.K.; Robins, J.W.

    1975-08-01

    Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the northern portions of the western Okanogan highlands and in the upper Columbia River valley were investigated during a regional study to determine the favorability for potential uranium resources of the Tertiary sedimentary rocks of northeastern Washington. This project involved measurement and sampling of surface sections, collection of samples from isolated outcrops, and chemical and mineralogical analyses of samples. No portion of the project area of this report is rated of high or of medium favorability for potential uranium resources. Low favorability ratings are given to Oroville, Tonasket, and Pine Creek areas of the Okanogan River valley; to the Republic graben; and to the William Lakes, Colville, and Sheep Creek areas of the upper Columbia River valley. All these areas contain some fluvial, poorly sorted feldspathic or arkosic sandstones and conglomerates. These rocks are characterized by very low permeability and a consistently high siliceous matrix suggesting very low initial permeability. There are no known uranium deposits in any of these areas, and low level uranium anomalies are rare

  10. Selected trace-element and synthetic-organic compound data for streambed sediment from the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and Spokane River basins, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, 1998

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckwith, Michael A.

    2002-01-01

    Streambed-sediment samples were collected at 22 sites during the summer of 1998 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Sampling sites in the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and Spokane River basins represented a wide range of environmental conditions including pristine mountain streams and large rivers affected by mining-related and urban activities. Samples were analyzed for 45 inorganic major and trace elements, 109 syn­thetic organic compounds, and carbon. This report pre­sents the selected results of streambed-sediment sampling from the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and Spo­kane River basins in Montana, Idaho, and Washington.

  11. Return to the river: strategies for salmon restoration in the Columbia River Basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard N. Williams; Jack A. Standford; James A. Lichatowich; William J. Liss; Charles C. Coutant; Willis E. McConnaha; Richard R. Whitney; Phillip R. Mundy; Peter A. Bisson; Madison S. Powell

    2006-01-01

    The Columbia River today is a great "organic machine" (White 1995) that dominates the economy of the Pacific Northwest. Even though natural attributes remain—for example, salmon production in Washington State's Hanford Reach, the only unimpounded reach of the mainstem Columbia River—the Columbia and Snake River mainstems are dominated...

  12. Ecology of nonnative Siberian prawn (Palaemon modestus) in the lower Snake River, Washington, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erhardt, John M.; Tiffan, Kenneth F.

    2016-01-01

    We assessed the abundance, distribution, and ecology of the nonnative Siberian prawn Palaemon modestus in the lower Snake River, Washington, USA. Analysis of prawn passage abundance at three Snake River dams showed that populations are growing at exponential rates, especially at Little Goose Dam where over 464,000 prawns were collected in 2015. Monthly beam trawling during 2011–2013 provided information on prawn abundance and distribution in Lower Granite and Little Goose Reservoirs. Zero-inflated regression predicted that the probability of prawn presence increased with decreasing water velocity and increasing depth. Negative binomial models predicted higher catch rates of prawns in deeper water and in closer proximity to dams. Temporally, prawn densities decreased slightly in the summer, likely due to the mortality of older individuals, and then increased in autumn and winter with the emergence and recruitment of young of the year. Seasonal length frequencies showed that distinct juvenile and adult size classes exist throughout the year, suggesting prawns live from 1 to 2 years and may be able to reproduce multiple times during their life. Most juvenile prawns become reproductive adults in 1 year, and peak reproduction occurs from late July through October. Mean fecundity (189 eggs) and reproductive output (11.9 %) are similar to that in their native range. The current use of deep habitats by prawns likely makes them unavailable to most predators in the reservoirs. The distribution and role of Siberian prawns in the lower Snake River food web will probably continue to change as the population grows and warrants continued monitoring and investigation.

  13. Bibliography of the geology of the Columbia Basin and surrounding areas of Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tucker, G.B.; Rigby, J.G.

    1979-07-01

    In the fall of 1977, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources (WDGER), entered into a contract with the US Department of Energy, administered by Rockwell Hanford Operations (Rockwell) in Richland, Washington, as a principal contributor to a geologic study of feasibility of storing radioactive waste within Columbia River basalt. WDGER's responsibility was the production of this bibliography and a reconnaissance geologic map of the sediments overlying the Columbia River Basalt Group in the State of Washington. This bibliography is a compilation of all known published, unpublished, and open-file references dealing with geology and geophysics of the Columbia Basin of eastern Washington. The citations were obtained primarily from the WDGER and Washington State libraries; the Geo-Ref bibliographic system was also utilized. Because the WDGER portion of the study included preparation of a reconnaissance geologic map of surficial deposits in the Columbia Basin, available references dealing with this subject have been annotated. Many abstracts in the annotated section are quotations and have been copied directly from their respective publications

  14. Bibliography of the geology of the Columbia Basin and surrounding areas of Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tucker, G.B.; Rigby, J.G.

    1979-07-01

    In the fall of 1977, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources (WDGER), entered into a contract with the US Department of Energy, administered by Rockwell Hanford Operations (Rockwell) in Richland, Washington, as a principal contributor to a geologic study of feasibility of storing radioactive waste within Columbia River basalt. WDGER's responsibility was the production of this bibliography and a reconnaissance geologic map of the sediments overlying the Columbia River Basalt Group in the State of Washington. This bibliography is a compilation of all known published, unpublished, and open-file references dealing with geology and geophysics of the Columbia Basin of eastern Washington. The citations were obtained primarily from the WDGER and Washington State libraries; the Geo-Ref bibliographic system was also utilized. Because the WDGER portion of the study included preparation of a reconnaissance geologic map of surficial deposits in the Columbia Basin, available references dealing with this subject have been annotated. Many abstracts in the annotated section are quotations and have been copied directly from their respective publications.

  15. Uranium favorability of tertiary sedimentary rocks of the Pend Oreille River valley, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marjaniemi, D.K.; Robins, J.W.

    1975-08-01

    Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the Pend Oreille River valley were investigated in a regional study to determine the favorability for potential uranium resources of northeastern Washington. This project involved measurement and sampling of surface sections, collection of samples from isolated outcrops, chemical and mineralogical analyses of samples, and examination of available water well logs. The Box Canyon Dam area north of Ione is judged to have very high favorability. Thick-bedded conglomerates interbedded with sandstones and silty sandstones compose the Tiger Formation in this area, and high radioactivity levels are found near the base of the formation. Uranophane is found along fracture surfaces or in veins. Carbonaceous material is present throughout the Tiger Formation in the area. Part of the broad Pend Oreille valley surrounding Cusick, Washington, is an area of high favorability. Potential host rocks in the Tiger Formation, consisting of arkosic sandstones interbedded with radioactive shales, probably extend throughout the subsurface part of this area. Carbonaceous material is present and some samples contain high concentrations of uranium. In addition, several other possible chemical indicators were found. The Tiger-Lost Creek area is rated as having medium favorability. The Tiger Formation contains very hard, poorly sorted granite conglomerate with some beds of arkosic sandstone and silty sandstone. The granite conglomerate was apparently derived from source rocks having relatively high uranium content. The lower part of the formation is more favorable than the upper part because of the presence of carbonaceous material, anomalously high concentrations of uranium, and other possible chemical indicators. The area west of Ione is judged to have low favorability, because of the very low permeability of the rocks and the very low uranium content

  16. Effects of catastrophic floods and debris flows on the sediment retention structure, North Fork Toutle River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denlinger, Roger P.

    2012-01-01

    The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 produced a debris avalanche that flowed down the upper reaches of the North Fork Toutle River in southwestern Washington, clogging this drainage with sediment. In response to continuous anomalously high sediment flux into the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers resulting from this avalanche and associated debris flows, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) on the North Fork Toutle River in May 1989. For one decade, the SRS effectively blocked most of the sediment transport down the Toutle River. In 1999, the sediment level behind the SRS reached the elevation of the spillway base. Since then, a higher percentage of sediment has been passing the SRS and increasing the flood risk in the Cowlitz River. Currently (2012), the dam is filling with sediment at a rate that cannot be sustained for its original design life, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is concerned with the current ability of the SRS to manage floods. This report presents an assessment of the ability of the dam to pass large flows from three types of scenarios (it is assumed that no damage to the spillway will occur). These scenarios are (1) a failure of the debris-avalanche blockage forming Castle Lake that produces a dambreak flood, (2) a debris flow from failure of that blockage, or (3) a debris flow originating in the crater of Mount St. Helens. In each case, the flows are routed down the Toutle River and through the SRS using numerical models on a gridded domain produced from a digital elevation model constructed with existing topography and dam infrastructure. The results of these simulations show that a structurally sound spillway is capable of passing large floods without risk of overtopping the crest of the dam. In addition, large debris flows originating from Castle Lake or the crater of Mount St. Helens never reach the SRS. Instead, debris flows fill the braided channels upstream of the dam and reduce its storage

  17. Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: fluvial sediment load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magirl, Christopher S.; Hilldale, Robert C.; Curran, Christopher A.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Straub, Timothy D.; Domanski, Marian M.; Foreman, James R.

    2015-01-01

    The Elwha River restoration project, in Washington State, includes the largest dam-removal project in United States history to date. Starting September 2011, two nearly century-old dams that collectively contained 21 ± 3 million m3 of sediment were removed over the course of three years with a top-down deconstruction strategy designed to meter the release of a portion of the dam-trapped sediment. Gauging with sediment-surrogate technologies during the first two years downstream from the project measured 8,200,000 ± 3,400,000 tonnes of transported sediment, with 1,100,000 and 7,100,000 t moving in years 1 and 2, respectively, representing 3 and 20 times the Elwha River annual sediment load of 340,000 ± 80,000 t/y. During the study period, the discharge in the Elwha River was greater than normal (107% in year 1 and 108% in year 2); however, the magnitudes of the peak-flow events during the study period were relatively benign with the largest discharge of 292 m3/s (73% of the 2-year annual peak-flow event) early in the project when both extant reservoirs still retained sediment. Despite the muted peak flows, sediment transport was large, with measured suspended-sediment concentrations during the study period ranging from 44 to 16,300 mg/L and gauged bedload transport as large as 24,700 t/d. Five distinct sediment-release periods were identified when sediment loads were notably increased (when lateral erosion in the former reservoirs was active) or reduced (when reservoir retention or seasonal low flows and cessation of lateral erosion reduced sediment transport). Total suspended-sediment load was 930,000 t in year 1 and 5,400,000 t in year 2. Of the total 6,300,000 ± 3,200,000 t of suspended-sediment load, 3,400,000 t consisted of silt and clay and 2,900,000 t was sand. Gauged bedload on the lower Elwha River in year 2 of the project was 450,000 ± 360,000 t. Bedload was not quantified in year 1, but qualitative observations using bedload

  18. Effects of Domestication on Predation Mortality and Competitive Dominance; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pearsons, Todd N.; Fritts, Anthony L.; Scott, Jennifer L. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2005-05-01

    This report is intended to satisfy two concurrent needs: (1) provide a contract deliverable from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), with emphasis on identification of salient results of value to ongoing Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) planning, and (2) summarize results of research that have broader scientific relevance. This is the second of a series of progress reports that address the effects of hatchery domestication on predation mortality and competitive dominance in the upper Yakima River basin (Pearsons et al. 2004). This progress report summarizes data collected between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004. Raising fish in hatcheries can cause unintended behavioral, physiological, or morphological changes in chinook salmon due to domestication selection. Domestication selection is defined by Busack and Currens 1995 as, ''changes in quantity, variety, or combination of alleles within a captive population or between a captive population and its source population in the wild as a result of selection in an artificial environment''. Selection in artificial environments could be due to intentional or artificial selection, biased sampling during some stage of culture, or unintentional selection (Busack and Currens 1995). Genetic changes can result in lowered survival in the natural environment (Reisenbichler and Rubin 1999). The goal of supplementation or conservation hatcheries is to produce fish that will integrate into natural populations. Conservation hatcheries attempt to minimize intentional or biased sampling so that the hatchery fish are similar to naturally produced fish. However, the selective pressures in hatcheries are dramatically different than in the wild, which can result in genetic differences between hatchery and wild fish. The selective pressures may be particularly prominent during the freshwater rearing stage where most mortality of wild fish occurs

  19. Rapid River Hatchery - Spring Chinook, Final Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, M.

    1996-05-01

    This report presents the findings of the independent audit of the Rapid River Hatchery (Spring Chinook). The hatchery is located in the lower Snake River basin near Riggins Idaho. The hatchery is used for adult collection, egg incubation, and rearing of spring chinook. The audit was conducted in April 1996 as part of a two-year effort that will include 67 hatcheries and satellite facilities located on the Columbia and Snake River system in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The hatchery operating agencies include the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

  20. 33 CFR 117.1058 - Snake River.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Snake River. 117.1058 Section 117... OPERATION REGULATIONS Specific Requirements Washington § 117.1058 Snake River. (a) The draw of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad bridge across the Snake River at mile 1.5 between Pasco and Burbank is...

  1. Abundance, Distribution and Estimated Consumption (kg fish) of Piscivorous Birds Along the Yakima River, Washington State; Implications for Fisheries Management, 2002 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Major, III, Walter; Grassley, James M.; Ryding, Kristen E. (University of Washington, Quantitive Ecology Program, Seattle, WA)

    2003-05-01

    This report is divided into two chapters. The abstract for chapter one is--Understanding of the abundance and spatial and temporal distributions of piscivorous birds and their potential consumption of fish is an increasingly important aspect of fisheries management. During 1999-2002, we determined the abundance and distribution and estimated the maximum consumption (kg biomass) of fish-eating birds along the length of the Yakima River in Washington State. Sixteen different species were observed during the 4-yr study, but only half of those were observed during all years. Abundance and estimated consumption of fish within the upper and middle sections of the river were dominated by common mergansers (Mergus merganser) which are known to breed in those reaches. Common mergansers accounted for 78 to 94% of the estimated total fish take for the upper river or approximately 28,383 {+-} 1,041 kg over the 4 yrs. A greater diversity of avian piscivores occurred in the lower river and potential impacts to fish populations was more evenly distributed among the species. In 1999-2000, great blue herons potentially accounted for 29 and 36% of the fish consumed, whereas in 2001-2002 American white pelicans accounted for 53 and 55%. We estimated that approximately 75,878 {+-} 6,616 kg of fish were consumed by piscivorous birds in the lower sections of the river during the study. Bird assemblages differed spatially along the river with a greater abundance of colonial nesting species within the lower sections of the river, especially during spring and the nesting season. The abundance of avian piscivores and consumption estimates are discussed within the context of salmonid supplementation efforts on the river and juvenile out-migration. The abstract for chapter two is--Consumption of fish by piscivorous birds may be a significant constraint on efforts to enhance salmonid populations within tributaries to the Columbia River in Washington State. During 1999-2002, we determined the

  2. Transport and deposition of asbestos-rich sediment in the Sumas River, Whatcom County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curran, Christopher A.; Anderson, Scott W.; Barbash, Jack E.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Cox, Stephen E.; Norton, Katherine K.; Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Spanjer, Andrew R.; Foreman, James R.

    2016-02-08

    Heavy sediment loads in the Sumas River of Whatcom County, Washington, increase seasonal turbidity and cause locally acute sedimentation. Most sediment in the Sumas River is derived from a deep-seated landslide of serpentinite that is located on Sumas Mountain and drained by Swift Creek, a tributary to the Sumas River. This mafic sediment contains high amounts of naturally occurring asbestiform chrysotile. A known human-health hazard, asbestiform chrysotile comprises 0.25–37 percent, by mass, of the total suspended sediment sampled from the Sumas River as part of this study, which included part of water year 2011 and all of water years 2012 and 2013. The suspended-sediment load in the Sumas River at South Pass Road, 0.6 kilometers (km) downstream of the confluence with Swift Creek, was 22,000 tonnes (t) in water year 2012 and 49,000 t in water year 2013. The suspended‑sediment load at Telegraph Road, 18.8 km downstream of the Swift Creek confluence, was 22,000 t in water year 2012 and 27,000 t in water year 2013. Although hydrologic conditions during the study were wetter than normal overall, the 2-year flood peak was only modestly exceeded in water years 2011 and 2013; runoff‑driven geomorphic disturbance to the watershed, which might have involved mass wasting from the landslide, seemed unexceptional. In water year 2012, flood peaks were modest, and the annual streamflow was normal. The fact that suspended-sediment loads in water year 2012 were equivalent at sites 0.6 and 18.8 km downstream of the sediment source indicates that the conservation of suspended‑sediment load can occur under normal hydrologic conditions. The substantial decrease in suspended-sediment load in the downstream direction in water year 2013 was attributed to either sedimentation in the intervening river reach, transfer to bedload as an alternate mode of sediment transport, or both.The sediment in the Sumas River is distinct from sediment in most other river systems because of the

  3. Contaminants of legacy and emerging concern in largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsen, Elena B.; Zaugg, Steven D.; Alvarez, David A.; Morace, Jennifer L.; Waite, Ian R.; Counihan, Timothy D.; Hardiman, Jill M.; Torres, Leticia; Patino, Reynaldo; Mesa, Matthew G.; Grove, Robert

    2014-01-01

    We investigated occurrence, transport pathways, and effects of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants and other endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic media and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River. In 2009 and 2010, foodweb sampling at three sites along a gradient of contaminant exposure near Skamania (Washington), Columbia City (Oregon) and Longview (Washington) included water (via passive samplers), bed sediment, invertebrate biomass residing in sediment, a resident fish species (largescale suckers [Catostomus macrocheilus]), and eggs from osprey (Pandion haliaetus). This paper primarily reports fish tissue concentrations. In 2009, composites of fish brain, fillet, liver, stomach, and gonad tissues revealed that overall contaminant concentrations were highest in livers, followed by brain, stomach, gonad, and fillet. Concentrations of halogenated compounds in tissue samples from all three sites ranged from contaminants in the environment lead to bioaccumulation and potential negative effects in multiple levels of the foodweb.

  4. HANFORD SITE RIVER CORRIDOR CLEANUP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BAZZELL, K.D.

    2006-01-01

    In 2005, the US Department of Energy (DOE) launched the third generation of closure contracts, including the River Corridor Closure (RCC) Contract at Hanford. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made on cleaning up the river shore that bordes Hanford. However, the most important cleanup challenges lie ahead. In March 2005, DOE awarded the Hanford River Corridor Closure Contract to Washington Closure Hanford (WCH), a limited liability company owned by Washington Group International, Bechtel National and CH2M HILL. It is a single-purpose company whose goal is to safely and efficiently accelerate cleanup in the 544 km 2 Hanford river corridor and reduce or eliminate future obligations to DOE for maintaining long-term stewardship over the site. The RCC Contract is a cost-plus-incentive-fee closure contract, which incentivizes the contractor to reduce cost and accelerate the schedule. At $1.9 billion and seven years, WCH has accelerated cleaning up Hanford's river corridor significantly compared to the $3.2 billion and 10 years originally estimated by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Predictable funding is one of the key features of the new contract, with funding set by contract at $183 million in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and peaking at $387 million in FY2012. Another feature of the contract allows for Washington Closure to perform up to 40% of the value of the contract and subcontract the balance. One of the major challenges in the next few years will be to identify and qualify sufficient subcontractors to meet the goal

  5. Assessment of Salmonids and their Habitat Conditions in the Walla Walla River Basin of Washington : 2000 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendel, Glen Wesley; Karl, David; Coyle, Terrence

    2001-11-01

    Concerns about the decline of native salmon and trout populations have increased among natural resource managers and the public in recent years. As a result, a multitude of initiatives have been implemented at the local, state, and federal government levels. These initiatives include management plans and actions intended to protect and restore salmonid fishes and their habitats. In 1998 bull trout were listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as ''Threatened'', for the Walla Walla River and its tributaries. Steelhead were listed as ''Threatened'' in 1999 for the mid-Columbia River and its tributaries. These ESA listings emphasize the need for information about the threatened salmonid populations and their habitats. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is entrusted with ''the preservation, protection, and perpetuation of fish and wildlife....[and to] maximize public recreational or commercial opportunities without impairing the supply of fish and wildlife (WAC 77. 12.010).'' In consideration of this mandate, the WDFW submitted a proposal in December 1997 to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for a study to assess salmonid distribution, relative abundance, genetics, and the condition of their habitats in the Walla Walla River basin. The primary purposes of this project are to collect baseline biological and habitat data, to identify major data gaps, and to draw conclusions whenever possible. The study reported herein details the findings of the 2000 field season (March to November, 2000).

  6. Channel-planform evolution in four rivers of Olympic National Park, Washington, U.S.A.: The roles of physical drivers and trophic cascades

    Science.gov (United States)

    East, Amy E.; Jenkins, Kurt J.; Happe, Patricia J.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Beechie, Timothy J.; Mastin, Mark C.; Sankey, Joel B.; Randle, Timothy J.

    2017-01-01

    Identifying the relative contributions of physical and ecological processes to channel evolution remains a substantial challenge in fluvial geomorphology. We use a 74-year aerial photographic record of the Hoh, Queets, Quinault, and Elwha Rivers, Olympic National Park, Washington, U.S.A., to investigate whether physical or trophic-cascade-driven ecological factors—excessive elk impacts after wolves were extirpated a century ago—are the dominant controls on channel planform of these gravel-bed rivers. We find that channel width and braiding show strong relationships with recent flood history. All four rivers have widened significantly in recent decades, consistent with increased flood activity since the 1970s. Channel planform also reflects sediment-supply changes, evident from landslide response on the Elwha River. We surmise that the Hoh River, which shows a multi-decadal trend toward greater braiding, is adjusting to increased sediment supply associated with rapid glacial retreat. In this sediment-routing system with high connectivity, such climate-driven signals appear to propagate downstream without being buffered substantially by sediment storage. Legacy effects of anthropogenic modification likely also affect the Quinault River planform. We infer no correspondence between channel geomorphic evolution and elk abundance, suggesting that trophic-cascade effects in this setting are subsidiary to physical controls on channel morphology. Our findings differ from previous interpretations of Olympic National Park fluvial dynamics and contrast with the classic example of Yellowstone National Park, where legacy effects of elk overuse are apparent in channel morphology; we attribute these differences to hydrologic regime and large-wood availability.

  7. The River Corridor Closure Contract How Washington Closure Hanford is Closing A Unique Department of Energy Project - 12425

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feist, E.T. [Washington Closure Hanford, 2620 Fermi Avenue, Richland, WA 99354 (United States)

    2012-07-01

    Cleanup of the Hanford River Corridor has been one of Hanford Site's top priorities since the early 1990's. This urgency is due to the proximity of hundreds of waste sites to the Columbia River and the groundwater that continues to threaten the Columbia River. In April 2005, the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) awarded the Hanford River Corridor Closure Contract (RCCC), a cost-plus incentive-fee closure contract with a 2015 end date and first of its kind at Hanford Site, to Washington Closure Hanford (WCH), a limited-liability company owned by URS, Bechtel National, and CH2M HILL. WCH is a single-purpose company whose goal is to safely, compliantly, and efficiently accelerate cleanup in the Hanford River Corridor and reduce or eliminate future obligations to DOE-RL for maintaining long-term stewardship over the site. Accelerated performance of the work-scope while keeping a perspective on contract completion presents challenges that require proactive strategies to support the remaining work-scope through the end of the RCCC. This paper outlines the processes to address the challenges of completing work-scope while planning for contract termination. WCH is responsible for cleanup of the River Corridor 569.8 km{sup 2} (220 mi{sup 2}) of the 1,517.7 km{sup 2} (586 mi{sup 2}) Hanford Site's footprint reduction. At the end of calendar year 2011, WCH's closure implementation is well underway. Fieldwork is complete in three of the largest areas within the RCCC scope (Segments 1, 2, and 3), approximately 44.5% of the River Corridor (Figure 3). Working together, DOE-RL and WCH are in the process of completing the 'paper work' that will document the completion of the work-scope and allow DOE-RL to relieve WCH of contractual responsibilities and transition the completed areas to the Long-Term Stewardship Program, pending final action RODs. Within the next 4 years, WCH will continue to complete cleanup of the River

  8. Estimates of ground-water pumpage from the Yakima River Basin aquifer system, Washington, 1960-2000

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaccaro, J.J.; Sumioka, S.S.

    2006-01-01

    Ground-water pumpage in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, was estimated for eight categories of use for 1960-2000 as part of an investigation to assess groundwater availability in the basin. Methods used, pumpage estimates, reliability of the estimates, and a comparison with appropriated quantities are described. The eight categories of pumpage were public water supply, self-supplied domestic (exempt wells), irrigation, frost protection, livestock and dairy operations, industrial and commercial, fish and wildlife propagation, and ground-water claims. Pumpage estimates were based on methods that varied by the category and primarily represent pumpage for groundwater rights. Washington State Department of Ecology’s digital database has 2,874 active ground-water rights in the basin that can withdraw an annual quantity of about 529,231 acre-feet during dry years. Irrigation rights are for irrigation of about 129,570 acres. All but 220 of the rights were associated with well drillers’ logs, allowing for a spatial representation of the pumpage. Five-hundred and sixty of the irrigation rights were estimated to be standby/reserve rights. During this study, another 30 rights were identified that were not in the digital database. These rights can withdraw an annual quantity of about 20,969 acre-feet; about 6,700 acre-feet of these rights are near but outside the basin. In 1960, total annual pumpage in the basin, excluding standby/reserve pumpage, was about 115,776 acre-feet. By 2000, total annual pumpage was estimated to be 395,096 acre-feet, and excluding the standby/reserve rights, the total was 312,284 acre-feet. Irrigation accounts for about 60 percent of the pumpage, followed by public water supply at about 12 percent. The smallest category of pumpage was for livestock use with pumpage estimated to be 6,726 acre-feet. Total annual pumpage in 2000 was about 430 cubic feet per second, which is about 11 percent of the surface-water demand. Maximum pumpage is in July

  9. Biological and chemical characterization of metal bioavailability in sediments from Lake Roosevelt, Columbia River, Washington, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besser, J.M.; Brumbaugh, W.G.; Ivey, C.D.; Ingersoll, C.G.; Moran, P.W.

    2008-01-01

    We studied the bioavailability and toxicity of copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, and lead in sediments from Lake Roosevelt (LR), a reservoir on the Columbia River in Washington, USA that receives inputs of metals from an upstream smelter facility. We characterized chronic sediment toxicity, metal bioaccumulation, and metal concentrations in sediment and pore water from eight study sites: one site upstream in the Columbia River, six sites in the reservoir, and a reference site in an uncontaminated tributary. Total recoverable metal concentrations in LR sediments generally decreased from upstream to downstream in the study area, but sediments from two sites in the reservoir had metal concentrations much lower than adjacent reservoir sites and similar to the reference site, apparently due to erosion of uncontaminated bank soils. Concentrations of acid-volatile sulfide in LR sediments were too low to provide strong controls on metal bioavailability, and selective sediment extractions indicated that metals in most LR sediments were primarily associated with iron and manganese oxides. Oligochaetes (Lumbriculus variegatus) accumulated greatest concentrations of copper from the river sediment, and greatest concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and lead from reservoir sediments. Chronic toxic effects on amphipods (Hyalella azteca; reduced survival) and midge larvae (Chironomus dilutus; reduced growth) in whole-sediment exposures were generally consistent with predictions of metal toxicity based on empirical and equilibrium partitioning-based sediment quality guidelines. Elevated metal concentrations in pore waters of some LR sediments suggested that metals released from iron and manganese oxides under anoxic conditions contributed to metal bioaccumulation and toxicity. Results of both chemical and biological assays indicate that metals in sediments from both riverine and reservoir habitats of Lake Roosevelt are available to benthic invertebrates. These findings will be used as

  10. Juvenile salmonid monitoring in the White Salmon River, Washington, post-Condit Dam removal, 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jezorek, Ian G.; Hardiman, Jill M.

    2017-06-23

    Condit Dam, at river kilometer 5.3 on the White Salmon River, Washington, was breached in 2011 and removed completely in 2012, allowing anadromous salmonids access to habitat that had been blocked for nearly 100 years. A multi-agency workgroup concluded that the preferred salmonid restoration alternative was natural recolonization with monitoring to assess efficacy, followed by a management evaluation 5 years after dam removal. Limited monitoring of salmon and steelhead spawning has occurred since 2011, but no monitoring of juveniles occurred until 2016. During 2016, we operated a rotary screw trap at river kilometer 2.3 (3 kilometers downstream of the former dam site) from late March through May and used backpack electrofishing during summer to assess juvenile salmonid distribution and abundance. The screw trap captured primarily steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss; smolts, parr, and fry) and coho salmon (O. kisutch; smolts and fry). We estimated the number of steelhead smolts at 3,851 (standard error = 1,454) and coho smolts at 1,093 (standard error = 412). In this document, we refer to O. mykiss caught at the screw trap as steelhead because they were actively migrating, but because we did not know migratory status of O. mykiss caught in electrofishing surveys, we simply refer to them as O. mykiss or steelhead/rainbow trout. Steelhead and coho smolts tagged with passive integrated transponder tags were subsequently detected downstream at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Few Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) fry were captured, possibly as a result of trap location or effects of a December 2015 flood. Sampling in Mill, Buck, and Rattlesnake Creeks (all upstream of the former dam site) showed that juvenile coho were present in Mill and Buck Creeks, suggesting spawning had occurred there. We compared O. mykiss abundance data in sites on Buck and Rattlesnake Creeks to pre-dam removal data. During 2016, age-0 O. mykiss were more abundant in Buck Creek than in 2009 or

  11. Assessment of Salmonids and their Habitat Conditions in the Walla Walla River Basin within Washington, 2001 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendel, Glen Wesley; Trump, Jeremy; Karl, David

    2002-12-01

    Concerns about the decline of native salmon and trout populations have increased among natural resource managers and the public in recent years. As a result, a multitude of initiatives have been implemented at the local, state, and federal government levels. These initiatives include management plans and actions intended to protect and restore salmonid fishes and their habitats. In 1998 bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) were listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as ''Threatened'', for the Walla Walla River and its tributaries. Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were listed as ''Threatened'' in 1999 for the mid-Columbia River and its tributaries. These ESA listings emphasize the need for information about these threatened salmonid populations and their habitats. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is entrusted with ''the preservation, protection, and perpetuation of fish and wildlife....[and to] maximize public recreational or commercial opportunities without impairing the supply of fish and wildlife (WAC 77.12.010).'' In consideration of this mandate, the WDFW submitted a proposal in December 1997 to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for a study to assess salmonid distribution, relative abundance, genetics, and the condition of salmonid habitats in the Walla Walla River basin. The primary purposes of this project are to collect baseline biological and habitat data, to identify major data gaps, and to draw conclusions whenever possible. The study reported herein details the findings of the 2001 field season (March to November, 2001).

  12. Assessment of salmonids and their habitat conditions in the Walla Walla River Basin of Washington : 2000 annual report; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendel, Glen Wesley; Karl, David; Coyle, Terrence

    2001-01-01

    Concerns about the decline of native salmon and trout populations have increased among natural resource managers and the public in recent years. As a result, a multitude of initiatives have been implemented at the local, state, and federal government levels. These initiatives include management plans and actions intended to protect and restore salmonid fishes and their habitats. In 1998 bull trout were listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as ''Threatened'', for the Walla Walla River and its tributaries. Steelhead were listed as ''Threatened'' in 1999 for the mid-Columbia River and its tributaries. These ESA listings emphasize the need for information about the threatened salmonid populations and their habitats. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is entrusted with ''the preservation, protection, and perpetuation of fish and wildlife....[and to] maximize public recreational or commercial opportunities without impairing the supply of fish and wildlife (WAC 77.12.010).'' In consideration of this mandate, the WDFW submitted a proposal in December 1997 to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for a study to assess salmonid distribution, relative abundance, genetics, and the condition of their habitats in the Walla Walla River basin. The primary purposes of this project are to collect baseline biological and habitat data, to identify major data gaps, and to draw conclusions whenever possible. The study reported herein details the findings of the 2000 field season (March to November, 2000)

  13. High-resolution digital elevation model of lower Cowlitz and Toutle Rivers, adjacent to Mount St. Helens, Washington, based on an airborne lidar survey of October 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosbrucker, Adam

    2015-01-01

    The lateral blast, debris avalanche, and lahars of the May 18th, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, dramatically altered the surrounding landscape. Lava domes were extruded during the subsequent eruptive periods of 1980–1986 and 2004–2008. More than three decades after the emplacement of the 1980 debris avalanche, high sediment production persists in the Toutle River basin, which drains the northern and western flanks of the volcano. Because this sediment increases the risk of flooding to downstream communities on the Toutle and lower Cowlitz Rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), under the direction of Congress to maintain an authorized level of flood protection, continues to monitor and mitigate excess sediment in North and South Fork Toutle River basins to help reduce this risk and to prevent sediment from clogging the shipping channel of the Columbia River. From October 22–27, 2007, Watershed Sciences, Inc., under contract to USACE, collected high-precision airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) data that cover 273 square kilometers (105 square miles) of lower Cowlitz and Toutle River tributaries from the Columbia River at Kelso, Washington, to upper North Fork Toutle River (below the volcano's edifice), including lower South Fork Toutle River. These data provide a digital dataset of the ground surface, including beneath forest cover. Such remotely sensed data can be used to develop sediment budgets and models of sediment erosion, transport, and deposition. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used these lidar data to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) of the study area. DEMs are fundamental to monitoring natural hazards and studying volcanic landforms, fluvial and glacial geomorphology, and surface geology. Watershed Sciences, Inc., provided files in the LASer (LAS) format containing laser returns that had been filtered, classified, and georeferenced. The USGS produced a hydro-flattened DEM from ground-classified points at

  14. Spatial consistency of chinook salmon redd distribution within and among years in the Cowlitz River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klett, Katherine J.C.; Torgersen, Christian E.; Henning, Julie A.; Murray, Christopher J.

    2013-01-01

    We investigated the spawning patterns of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha on the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, using a unique set of fine- and coarse-scale temporal and spatial data collected during biweekly aerial surveys conducted in 1991–2009 (500 m to 28 km resolution) and 2008–2009 (100–500 m resolution). Redd locations were mapped from a helicopter during 2008 and 2009 with a hand-held GPS synchronized with in-flight audio recordings. We examined spatial patterns of Chinook Salmon redd reoccupation among and within years in relation to segment-scale geomorphic features. Chinook Salmon spawned in the same sections each year with little variation among years. On a coarse scale, 5 years (1993, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2009) were compared for reoccupation. Redd locations were highly correlated among years. Comparisons on a fine scale (500 m) between 2008 and 2009 also revealed a high degree of consistency among redd locations. On a finer temporal scale, we observed that Chinook Salmon spawned in the same sections during the first and last week. Redds were clustered in both 2008 and 2009. Regression analysis with a generalized linear model at the 500-m scale indicated that river kilometer and channel bifurcation were positively associated with redd density, whereas sinuosity was negatively associated with redd density. Collecting data on specific redd locations with a GPS during aerial surveys was logistically feasible and cost effective and greatly enhanced the spatial precision of Chinook Salmon spawning surveys.

  15. Modeled inundation limits of potential lahars from Mount Adams in the White Salmon River Valley, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griswold, Julia P.; Pierson, Thomas C.; Bard, Joseph A.

    2018-05-09

    Lahars large enough to reach populated areas are a hazard at Mount Adams, a massive volcano in the southern Cascade Range of Washington State (fig. 1). It is considered to be still active and has the potential to erupt again. By definition, lahars are gravity-driven flows of water-saturated mixtures of mud and rock (plus or minus ice, wood, and other debris), which originate from volcanoes and have a variety of potential triggering mechanisms (Vallance, 2000; Vallance and Iverson, 2015). Flowing mixtures can range in fluid consistency from something like a milkshake to something more like wet concrete, and they behave like flash floods, in that they can appear suddenly in river channels with little warning and commonly have boulder- or log-choked flow fronts. Lahars are hazardous because they can flow rapidly in confined valleys (commonly 20–35 miles per hour [mph] or 9–16 meters per second [m/s]), can travel more than 100 miles (mi) (161 kilometers [km]) from a source volcano, and can move with incredible destructive force, carrying multi-ton boulders and logs that can act as battering rams (Pierson, 1998). The biggest threats from lahars to downstream communities are present during eruptive activity, and impacts to communities can be dire. For example, a very large eruption-triggered lahar in Colombia in 1985 surprised and killed more than 20,000 people in a large town located about 45 mi (72 km) downstream and out of sight of the volcano that produced it (Pierson and others, 1990).Mount Adams, one of the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range, is a composite stratocone composed primarily of andesite lava flows. It has been the most continuously active volcano within the 480-mi2 Mount Adams volcanic field—a region covering parts of Klickitat, Skamania, Yakima, andLewis Counties and part of the Yakama Nation Reservation in Washington State (Hildreth and Fierstein,1995, 1997). About 500,000 years in age, Mount Adams reached its present size by about 15

  16. Acoustic tag detections of green sturgeon in the Columbia River and Coos Bay estuaries, Washington and Oregon, 2010–11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansel, Hal C.; Romine, Jason G.; Perry, Russell W.

    2017-11-08

    The Columbia River, in Washington and Oregon, and Coos Bay, in Oregon, are economically important shipping channels that are inhabited by several fishes protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Maintenance of shipping channels involves dredge operations to maintain sufficient in-channel depths to allow large ships to navigate the waterways safely. Fishes entrained by dredge equipment often die or experience delayed mortality. Other potential negative effects of dredging include increased turbidity, reductions in prey resources, and the release of harmful contaminants from the dredged sediments. One species of concern is the ESA-listed green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris; Southern Distinct Population Segment). In this study, we used acoustic telemetry to identify habitat use, arrival and departure timing, and the extent of upstream migration of green sturgeon in the Columbia River and Coos Bay to help inform dredge operations to minimize potential take of green sturgeon. Autonomous acoustic receivers were deployed in Coos Bay from the mouth to river kilometer (rkm) 21.6 from October 2009 through October 2010. In the Columbia River Estuary, receivers were deployed between the mouth and rkm 37.8 from April to November in 2010 and 2011. A total of 29 subadult and adult green sturgeon were tagged with temperature and pressure sensor tags and released during the study, primarily in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, Washington, and the Klamath River, Oregon. Green sturgeon detected during the study but released by other researchers also were included in the study.The number of tagged green sturgeon detected in the two estuaries differed markedly. In Coos Bay, only one green sturgeon was detected for about 2 hours near the estuary mouth. In the Columbia River Estuary, 9 green sturgeon were detected in 2010 and 10 fish were detected in 2011. Green sturgeon entered the Columbia River from May through October during both years, with the greatest numbers of fish being

  17. Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: source-to-sink sediment budget and synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warrick, Jonathan A.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; East, Amy E.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Randle, Timothy J.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Pess, George R.; Leung, Vivian; Duda, Jeff J.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding landscape responses to sediment supply changes constitutes a fundamental part of many problems in geomorphology, but opportunities to study such processes at field scales are rare. The phased removal of two large dams on the Elwha River, Washington, exposed 21 ± 3 million m3, or ~ 30 million tonnes (t), of sediment that had been deposited in the two former reservoirs, allowing a comprehensive investigation of watershed and coastal responses to a substantial increase in sediment supply. Here we provide a source-to-sink sediment budget of this sediment release during the first two years of the project (September 2011–September 2013) and synthesize the geomorphic changes that occurred to downstream fluvial and coastal landforms. Owing to the phased removal of each dam, the release of sediment to the river was a function of the amount of dam structure removed, the progradation of reservoir delta sediments, exposure of more cohesive lakebed sediment, and the hydrologic conditions of the river. The greatest downstream geomorphic effects were observed after water bodies of both reservoirs were fully drained and fine (silt and clay) and coarse (sand and gravel) sediments were spilling past the former dam sites. After both dams were spilling fine and coarse sediments, river suspended-sediment concentrations were commonly several thousand mg/L with ~ 50% sand during moderate and high river flow. At the same time, a sand and gravel sediment wave dispersed down the river channel, filling channel pools and floodplain channels, aggrading much of the river channel by ~ 1 m, reducing river channel sediment grain sizes by ~ 16-fold, and depositing ~ 2.2 million m3 of sand and gravel on the seafloor offshore of the river mouth. The total sediment budget during the first two years revealed that the vast majority (~ 90%) of the sediment released from the former reservoirs to the river passed through the fluvial system and was discharged to the coastal

  18. Anticipated sediment delivery to the lower Elwha River during and following dam removal: Chapter 2 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czuba, Christiana R.; Randle, Timothy J.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Czuba, Jonathan A.; Curran, Christopher A.; Konrad, Christopher P.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.

    2011-01-01

    During and after the planned incremental removal of two large, century-old concrete dams between 2011 and 2014, the sediment-transport regime in the lower Elwha River of western Washington will initially spike above background levels and then return to pre-dam conditions some years after complete dam removal. Measurements indicate the upper reaches of the steep-gradient Elwha River, draining the northeast section of the Olympic Mountains, carries between an estimated 120,000 and 290,000 cubic meters of sediment annually. This large load has deposited an estimated 19 million cubic meters of sediment within the two reservoirs formed by the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams. It is anticipated that from 7 to 8 million cubic meters of this trapped sediment will mobilize and transport downstream during and after dam decommissioning, restoring the downstream sections of the sediment-starved river and nearshore marine environments. Downstream transport of sediment from the dam sites will have significant effects on channel morphology, water quality, and aquatic habitat during and after dam removal. Sediment concentrations are expected to be between 200 and 1,000 milligrams per liter during and just after dam removal and could rise to as much as 50,000 milligrams per liter during high flows. Downstream sedimentation in the river channel and flood plain will be potentially large, particularly in the lower Elwha River, an alluvial reach with a wide flood plain. Overall aggradation could be as much as one to several meters. Not all reservoir sediment, however, will be released to the river. Some material will remain on hill slopes and flood plains within the drained reservoirs in quantities that will depend on the hydrology, precipitation, and mechanics of the incising channel. Eventually, vegetation will stabilize this remaining reservoir sediment, and the overall sediment load in the restored river will return to pre-dam levels.

  19. Preliminary assessment of aggradation potential in the North Fork Stillaguamish River downstream of the State Route 530 landslide near Oso, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magirl, Christopher S.; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Anderson, Scott W.; O'Connor, Jim; Robert Aldrich,; Mastin, Mark C.

    2015-12-28

    On March 22, 2014, the State Route 530 Landslide near Oso, Washington, traveled almost 2 kilometers (km), destroyed more than 40 structures, and impounded the North Fork Stillaguamish River to a depth of 8 meters (m) and volume of 3.3×106 cubic meters (m3). The landslide killed 43 people. After overtopping and establishing a new channel through the landslide, the river incised into the landslide deposit over the course of 10 weeks draining the impoundment lake and mobilizing an estimated 280,000±56,000 m3 of predominantly sand-sized and finer sediment. During the first 4 weeks after the landslide, this eroded sediment caused downstream riverbed aggradation of 1–2 m within 1 km of the landslide and 0.4 m aggradation at Whitman Road Bridge, 3.5 km downstream. Winter high flows in 2014–15 were anticipated to mobilize an additional 220,000±44,000 m3 of sediment, potentially causing additional aggradation and exacerbating flood risk downstream of the landslide. Analysis of unit stream power and bed-material transport capacity along 35 km of the river corridor indicated that most fine-grained sediment will transport out of the North Fork Stillaguamish River, although some localized additional aggradation was possible. This new aggradation was not likely to exceed 0.1 m except in reaches within a few kilometers downstream of the landslide, where additional aggradation of up to 0.5 m is possible. Alternative river response scenarios, including continued mass wasting from the landslide scarp, major channel migration or avulsion, or the formation of large downstream wood jams, although unlikely, could result in reaches of significant local aggradation or channel change.

  20. Life history and status of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Potomac River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kieffer, Micah

    2009-01-01

    We collected the first life history information on shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in any of the rivers to Chesapeake Bay, the geographic center of the species range. In the Potomac River, two telemetry-tagged adult females used 124 km of river: a saltwater/freshwater reach at river km (rkm) 63-141 was the foraging-wintering concentration area, and one female migrated to spawn at rkm 187 in Washington, DC. The spawning migration explained the life history context of an adult captured 122 years ago in Washington, DC, supporting the idea that a natal population once lived in the river. Repeated homing migrations to foraging and wintering areas suggested the adults were residents, not transient coastal migrants. All habitats that adults need to complete life history are present in the river. The Potomac River shortnose sturgeon offers a rare opportunity to learn about the natural rebuilding of a sturgeon population.

  1. Low-temperature geothermal resources of Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schuster, J.E. [Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA (United States). Div. of Geology and Earth Resources; Bloomquist, R.G. [Washington State Energy Office, Olympia, WA (United States)

    1994-06-01

    This report presents information on the location, physical characteristics, and water chemistry of low-temperature geothermal resources in Washington. The database includes 941 thermal (>20C or 68F) wells, 34 thermal springs, lakes, and fumaroles, and 238 chemical analyses. Most thermal springs occur in the Cascade Range, and many are associated with stratovolcanoes. In contrast, 97 percent of thermal wells are located in the Columbia Basin of southeastern Washington. Some 83.5 percent are located in Adams, Benton, Franklin, Grant, Walla Walla, and Yakima Counties. Yakima County, with 259 thermal wells, has the most. Thermal wells do not seem to owe their origin to local sources of heat, such as cooling magma in the Earth`s upper crust, but to moderate to deep circulation of ground water in extensive aquifers of the Columbia River Basalt Group and interflow sedimentary deposits, under the influence of a moderately elevated (41C/km) average geothermal gradient.

  2. Travel costs associated with flood closures of state highways near Centralia/Chehalis, Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-01

    This report discusses the travel costs associated with the closure of roads in the greater : Centralia/Chehalis, Washington region due to 100-year flood conditions starting on the Chehalis River. The costs : were computed for roadway closures on I-5,...

  3. Evaluation of the behavior and movement patterns of adult coho salmon and steelhead in the North Fork Toutle River, Washington, 2005-2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liedtke, Theresa L.; Kock, Tobias J.; Rondorf, Dennis W.

    2013-01-01

    The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens severely affected the North Fork Toutle River (hereafter Toutle River), Washington, and threatened anadromous salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) populations in the basin. The Toutle River was further affected in 1989 when a sediment retention structure (SRS) was constructed to trap sediments in the upper basin. The SRS completely blocked upstream volitional passage, so a fish collection facility (FCF) was constructed to trap adult coho salmon (O. kisutch) and steelhead (O. mykiss) so they could be transported upstream of the SRS. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has operated a trap-and-haul program since 1989 to transport coho salmon and steelhead into tributaries of the Toutle River, upstream of the SRS. Although this program has allowed wild coho salmon and steelhead populations to persist in the Toutle River basin, the trap-andhaul program has faced many challenges that may be limiting the effectiveness of the program. We conducted a multi-year evaluation during 2005–2009 to monitor tagged fish in the upper Toutle River to provide information on the movements and behavior of adult coho salmon and steelhead, and to evaluate the efficacy of the FCF. Radio-tagged coho salmon and steelhead were released: (1) in Toutle River tributaries to evaluate the behavior and movements of fish released as part of the trap-and-haul program; (2) between the FCF and SRS to determine if volitional upstream passage through the SRS spillway was possible; (3) in the sediment plain upstream of the SRS to determine if volitional passage through the sediment plain was possible; and (4) downstream of the FCF to evaluate the efficacy of the structure. We also deployed an acoustic camera in the FCF to monitor fish movements near the entrance to the FCF, and in the fish holding vault where coho salmon and steelhead are trapped. A total of 20 radio-tagged coho salmon and 10 radio-tagged steelhead were released into Alder and Hoffstadt

  4. Spatial consistency of Chinook salmon redd distribution within and among years in the Cowlitz River, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klett, Katherine J.; Torgersen, Christian; Henning, Julie; Murray, Christopher J.

    2013-04-28

    We investigated the spawning patterns of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha on the lower Cowlitz River, Washington (USA) using a unique set of fine- and coarse-scale 35 temporal and spatial data collected during bi-weekly aerial surveys conducted in 1991-2009 (500 m to 28 km resolution) and 2008-2009 (100-500 m resolution). Redd locations were mapped from a helicopter during 2008 and 2009 with a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) synchronized with in-flight audio recordings. We examined spatial patterns of Chinook salmon redd reoccupation among and within years in relation to segment-scale geomorphic features. Chinook salmon spawned in the same sections each year with little variation among years. On a coarse scale, five years (1993, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2009) were compared for reoccupation. Redd locations were highly correlated among years resulting in a minimum correlation coefficient of 0.90 (adjusted P = 0.002). Comparisons on a fine scale (500 m) between 2008 and 2009 also revealed a high degree of consistency among redd locations (P < 0.001). On a finer temporal scale, we observed that salmon spawned in the same sections during the first and last week (2008: P < 0.02; and 2009: P < 0.001). Redds were clustered in both 2008 and 2009 (P < 0.001). Regression analysis with a generalized linear model at the 500-m scale indicated that river kilometer and channel bifurcation were positively associated with redd density, whereas sinuosity was negatively associated with redd density. Collecting data on specific redd locations with a GPS during aerial surveys was logistically feasible and cost effective and greatly enhanced the spatial precision of Chinook salmon spawning surveys.

  5. River food webs: Incorporating nature’s invisible fabric into river management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrea Watts; Ryan Bellmore; Joseph Benjamin; Colden Baxter

    2018-01-01

    Increasing the population of spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead in Washington state’s Methow River is a goal of the Upper Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Plan. Spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead are listed as endangered and threatened, respectively, under the Endangered Species Act. Installing logjams and...

  6. Water resources of King County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Donald; Bingham, J.W.; Madison, R.J.; Williams, R.

    1968-01-01

    Although the total supply of water in King County is large, water problems are inevitable because of the large and rapidly expanding population. The county contains a third of the 3 million people in Washington, most of the population being concentrated in the Seattle metropolitan area. King County includes parts of two major physiographic features: the western area is part of the Puget Sound Lowland, and the eastern area is part of the Cascade Range. In these two areas, the terrain, weather, and natural resources (including water) contrast markedly. Average annual precipitation in the county is about 80 inches, ranging from about 30 inches near Puget Sound to more than 150 inches in parts of the Cascades. Annual evapotranspiration is estimated to range from 15 to 24 inches. Average annual runoff ranges from about 15 inches in the lowlands to more than 100 inches in the mountains. Most of the streamflow is in the major basins of the county--the Green-Duwamish, Lake Washington, and Snoqualmie basins. The largest of these is the Snoqualmie River basin (693 square miles), where average annual runoff during the period 1931-60 was about 79 inches. During the same period, annual runoff in the Lake Washington basin ( 607 square miles) averaged about 32 inches, and in the Green-Duwamish River basin (483 square miles), about 46 inches. Seasonal runoff is generally characterized by several high-flow periods in the winter, medium flows in the spring, and sustained low flows in the summer and fall. When floods occur in the county they come almost exclusively between October and March. The threat of flood damage is greatest on the flood plaits of the larger rivers, but in the Green-Duwamish Valley the threat was greatly reduced with the completion of Howard A. Hanson Dam in 1962. In the Snoqualmie River basin, where no such dam exists, the potential damage from a major flood increases each year as additional land is developed in the Snoqualmie Valley. 0nly moderate amounts of

  7. Salmonid Gamete Preservation in the Snake River Basin, Annual Report 2002.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Young, William; Kucera, Paul

    2003-07-01

    In spite of an intensive management effort, chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations in the Northwest have not recovered and are currently listed as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In addition to the loss of diversity from stocks that have already gone extinct, decreased genetic diversity resulting from genetic drift and inbreeding is a major concern. Reduced population and genetic variability diminishes the environmental adaptability of individual species and entire ecological communities. The Nez Perce Tribe (NPT), in cooperation with Washington State University and the University of Idaho, established a germplasm repository in 1992 in order to preserve the remaining salmonid diversity in the region. The germplasm repository provides long-term storage for cryopreserved gametes. Although only male gametes can be cryopreserved, conserving the male component of genetic diversity will maintain future management options for species recovery. NPT efforts have focused on preserving salmon and steelhead gametes from the major river subbasins in the Snake River basin. However, the repository is available for all management agencies to contribute gamete samples from other regions and species. In 2002 a total of 570 viable semen samples were added to the germplasm repository. This included the gametes of 287 chinook salmon from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, upper Grande Ronde River, Imnaha River (Lookingglass Hatchery), Lake Creek, South Fork Salmon River, Johnson Creek, Big Creek, Capehorn Creek, Marsh Creek, Pahsimeroi River (Pahsimeroi Hatchery), and upper Salmon River (Sawtooth Hatchery) and the gametes of 280 steelhead from the North Fork Clearwater River (Dworshak Hatchery), Fish Creek, Little Sheep Creek, Pahsimeroi River (Pahsimeroi Hatchery) and Snake River (Oxbow Hatchery). In addition, gametes from 60 Yakima River spring chinook and 34 Wenatchee River coho salmon were added to the

  8. Hydrogeology along the southern boundary of the Hanford Site between the Yakima and Columbia Rivers, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liikala, T.L.

    1994-09-01

    US Department of Energy (DOE) operations at the Hanford Site, located in southeastern Washington, have generated large volumes of hazardous and radioactive wastes since 1944. Some of the hazardous wastes were discharged to the ground in the 1100 and 3000 Areas, near the city of Richland. The specific waste types and quantities are unknown; however, they probably include battery acid, antifreeze, hydraulic fluids, waste oils, solvents, degreasers, paints, and paint thinners. Between the Yakima and Columbia rivers in support of future hazardous waste site investigations and ground-water and land-use management. The specific objectives were to collect and review existing hydrogeologic data for the study area and establish a water-level monitoring network; describe the regional and study area hydrogeology; develop a hydrogeologic conceptual model of the unconfined ground-water flow system beneath the study area, based on available data; describe the flow characteristics of the unconfined aquifer based on the spatial and temporal distribution of hydraulic head within the aquifer; use the results of this study to delineate additional data needs in support of future Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Studies (RI/FS), Fate and Transport modeling, Baseline Risk Assessments (BRA), and ground-water and land-use management

  9. An annotated bibliography for lamprey habitat in the White Salmon River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, M. Brady

    2012-01-01

    The October 2011 decommissioning of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River at river kilometer (rkm) 5.3 removed a significant fish passage barrier from the White Salmon River basin for the first time in nearly a century. This affords an opportunity to regain a potentially important drainage basin for Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) production. In anticipation of Pacific lamprey recolonization or reintroduction, aquatic resource managers, such as the Yakama Nation (YN), are planning to perform surveys in the White Salmon River and its tributaries. The likely survey objectives will be to investigate the presence of lamprey, habitat conditions, and habitat availability. In preparation for this work, a compilation and review of the relevant aquatic habitat and biological information on the White Salmon River was conducted. References specific to the White Salmon River were collected and an annotated bibliography was produced including reports containing:

  10. Cedar River Chinook genotypes - Estimate relative reproductive success of hatchery and wild fall Chinook salmon in the Cedar River

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — We are using genetic pedigree information to estimate the reproductive success of hatchery and wild fall-run Chinook salmon spawning in the Cedar River, Washington....

  11. Development of an Index to Bird Predation of Juvenile Salmonids within the Yakima River, 2001 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Major, III, Walter; Grue, Christian E.; Ryding, Kristen E. (University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Seattle, WA)

    2002-08-01

    Avian predation of fish is suspected to contribute to the loss of out-migrating juvenile salmonids in the Yakima Basin, potentially constraining natural and artificial production. In 1997 and 1998, the Yakima/ Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP)--whose goal is increasing natural production within the Yakima River--initiated investigations to assess the feasibility of developing an index to avian predation of juvenile salmon within the river. This research confirmed that Ring-billed Gulls and Common Mergansers were the primary avian predators of juvenile salmon (Phinney et al. 1998), and that under certain conditions could significantly impact migrating smolt populations. Beginning in 1999, the Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (WACFWRU) was asked by the YKFP to continue development of avian consumption indices. Monitoring methods developed by Phinney et al. (1998) were adopted (with modifications) and monitoring of impacts to juvenile salmon along river reaches and at areas of high predator/prey concentrations (colloquially referred to as ''hotspots'') has continued each year through 2001. In 2001, piscivorous birds were counted from river banks at hotspots and from a raft or drift boat along river reaches. Consumption by gulls at hotspots was based on direct observations of foraging success and modeled abundance; consumption by all other piscivorous birds was estimated using published dietary requirements and modeled abundance. Seasonal patterns of avian piscivore abundance were identified, diurnal patterns of gull abundance at hotspots were identified, and predation indices were calculated for hotspots and river reaches (for both spring and summer). Changes in survey methods in 2001 included the addition of surveys in the ''Canyon'' reach during spring and altering the method of directly measuring gull feeding rates at hotspots. Primary avian predators in 2001 were &apos

  12. Space Radar Image of Wenatchee, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-01-01

    This spaceborne radar image shows a segment of the Columbia River as it passes through the area of Wenatchee, Washington, about 220 kilometers (136 miles) east of Seattle. The Wenatchee Mountains, part of the Cascade Range, are shown in green at the lower left of the image. The Cascades create a 'rain shadow' for the region, limiting rainfall east of the range to less than 26 centimeters (10 inches) per year. The radar's ability to see different types of vegetation is highlighted in the contrast between the pine forests, that appear in green and the dry valley plain that shows up as dark purple. The cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee are the grid-like areas straddling the Columbia River in the left center of the image. With a population of about 60,000, the region produces about half of Washington state's lucrative apple crop. Several orchard areas appear as green rectangular patches to the right of the river in the lower right center. Radar images such as these can be used to monitor land use patterns in areas such as Wenatchee, that have diverse and rapidly changing urban, agricultural and wild land pressures. This image was acquired by Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) onboard the space shuttle Endeavour on October 10, 1994. The image is 38 kilometers by 45 kilometers (24 miles by 30 miles) and is centered at 47.3 degrees North latitude, 120.1 degrees West longitude. North is toward the upper left. The colors are assigned to different radar frequencies and polarizations of the radar as follows: red is L-band, horizontally transmitted and received; green is L-band, horizontally transmitted, vertically received; and blue is C-band, horizontally transmitted, vertically received. SIR-C/X-SAR, a joint mission of the German, Italian, and United States space agencies, is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth.

  13. Ground water flow velocity in the bank of the Columbia River, Hanford, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballard, S.

    1995-12-01

    To properly characterize the transport of contaminants from the sediments beneath the Hanford Site into the Columbia River, a suite of In Situ Permeable Flow Sensors was deployed to accurately characterize the hydrologic regime in the banks of the river. The three dimensional flow velocity was recorded on an hourly basis from mid May to mid July, 1994 and for one week in September. The first data collection interval coincided with the seasonal high water level in the river while the second interval reflected conditions during relatively low seasonal river stage. Two flow sensors located approximately 50 feet from the river recorded flow directions which correlated very well with river stage, both on seasonal and diurnal time scales. During time intervals characterized by falling river stage, the flow sensors recorded flow toward the river while flow away from the river was recorded during times of rising river stage. The flow sensor near the river in the Hanford Formation recorded a component of flow oriented vertically downward, probably reflecting the details of the hydrostratigraphy in close proximity to the probe. The flow sensor near the river in the Ringold Formation recorded an upward component of flow which dominated the horizontal components most of the time. The upward flow in the Ringold probably reflects regional groundwater flow into the river. The magnitudes of the flow velocities recorded by the flow sensors were lower than expected, probably as a result of drilling induced disturbance of the hydraulic properties of the sediments around the probes. The probes were installed with resonant sonic drilling which may have compacted the sediments immediately surrounding the probes, thereby reducing the hydraulic conductivity adjacent to the probes and diverting the groundwater flow away from the sensors

  14. Lower Columbia River Terminal Fisheries Research Project : Final Environmental Assessment.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

    1995-04-01

    This notice announces BPA`S`s decision to fund the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Clatsop Economic Development Committee for the Lower Columbia River Terminal Fisheries Research Project (Project). The Project will continue the testing of various species/stocks, rearing regimes, and harvest options for terminal fisheries, as a means to increase lower river sport and commercial harvest of hatchery fish, while providing both greater protection of weaker wild stocks and increasing the return of upriver salmon runs to potential Zone 6 Treaty fisheries. The Project involves relocating hatchery smolts to new, additional pen locations in three bays/sloughs in the lower Columbia River along both the Oregon and Washington sides. The sites are Blind Slough and Tongue Point in Clatsop County, Oregon, and Grays Bay/Deep River, Wahkiakum County, Washington. The smolts will be acclimated for various lengths of time in the net pens and released from these sites. The Project will expand upon an existing terminal fisheries project in Youngs Bay, Oregon. The Project may be expanded to other sites in the future, depending on the results of this initial expansion. BPA`S has determined the project is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required, and BPA`S is issuing this FONSI.

  15. Columbia River Component Data Gap Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    L. C. Hulstrom

    2007-10-23

    This Data Gap Analysis report documents the results of a study conducted by Washington Closure Hanford (WCH) to compile and reivew the currently available surface water and sediment data for the Columbia River near and downstream of the Hanford Site. This Data Gap Analysis study was conducted to review the adequacy of the existing surface water and sediment data set from the Columbia River, with specific reference to the use of the data in future site characterization and screening level risk assessments.

  16. Development of a database-driven system for simulating water temperature in the lower Yakima River main stem, Washington, for various climate scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voss, Frank; Maule, Alec

    2013-01-01

    A model for simulating daily maximum and mean water temperatures was developed by linking two existing models: one developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and one developed by the Bureau of Reclamation. The study area included the lower Yakima River main stem between the Roza Dam and West Richland, Washington. To automate execution of the labor-intensive models, a database-driven model automation program was developed to decrease operation costs, to reduce user error, and to provide the capability to perform simulations quickly for multiple management and climate change scenarios. Microsoft© SQL Server 2008 R2 Integration Services packages were developed to (1) integrate climate, flow, and stream geometry data from diverse sources (such as weather stations, a hydrologic model, and field measurements) into a single relational database; (2) programmatically generate heavily formatted model input files; (3) iteratively run water temperature simulations; (4) process simulation results for export to other models; and (5) create a database-driven infrastructure that facilitated experimentation with a variety of scenarios, node permutations, weather data, and hydrologic conditions while minimizing costs of running the model with various model configurations. As a proof-of-concept exercise, water temperatures were simulated for a "Current Conditions" scenario, where local weather data from 1980 through 2005 were used as input, and for "Plus 1" and "Plus 2" climate warming scenarios, where the average annual air temperatures used in the Current Conditions scenario were increased by 1degree Celsius (°C) and by 2°C, respectively. Average monthly mean daily water temperatures simulated for the Current Conditions scenario were compared to measured values at the Bureau of Reclamation Hydromet gage at Kiona, Washington, for 2002-05. Differences ranged between 1.9° and 1.1°C for February, March, May, and June, and were less than 0.8°C for the remaining months of the year

  17. Nearshore circulation and water-column properties in the Skagit River Delta, northern Puget Sound, Washington: juvenile Chinook Salmon habitat availability in the Swinomish Channel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossman, Eric E.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Gelfenbaum, Guy; Curran, Christopher

    2007-01-01

    Time-series and spatial measurements of nearshore hydrodynamic processes and water properties were made in the Swinomish Channel to quantify the net direction and rates of surface water transport that influence habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon along their primary migratory corridor between the Skagit River and Padilla Bay in northern Puget Sound, Washington. During the spring outmigration of Skagit River Chinook between March and June 2007, currents measured with fixed acoustic doppler current profilers (ADCP) at the south and north end of the Swinomish Channel and with roving ADCP revealed that the currents are highly asymmetric with a dominant flow to the north (toward Padilla Bay). Maximum surface current velocities reached 1.5 m/s and were generally uniform across the channel near McGlinn Island Causeway. Transport times for surface water to travel the 11 km from the southern end of Swinomish Channel at McGlinn Island to Padilla Bay ranged from 2.1 hours to 5.5 days. The mean travel time was ~1 day, while 17 percent of the time, transport of water and passive particles occurred within 3.75 hours. Surface water in the Swinomish Channel during this time was generally very saline 20-27 psu, except south of the Rainbow Bridge in the town of La Conner where it ranged 0-15 psu depending on tide and Skagit River discharge. This salinity regime restricts suitable low salinity (

  18. Correlations of turbidity to suspended-sediment concentration in the Toutle River Basin, near Mount St. Helens, Washington, 2010-11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uhrich, Mark A.; Kolasinac, Jasna; Booth, Pamela L.; Fountain, Robert L.; Spicer, Kurt R.; Mosbrucker, Adam R.

    2014-01-01

    Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, Cascades Volcano Observatory, investigated alternative methods for the traditional sample-based sediment record procedure in determining suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) and discharge. One such sediment-surrogate technique was developed using turbidity and discharge to estimate SSC for two gaging stations in the Toutle River Basin near Mount St. Helens, Washington. To provide context for the study, methods for collecting sediment data and monitoring turbidity are discussed. Statistical methods used include the development of ordinary least squares regression models for each gaging station. Issues of time-related autocorrelation also are evaluated. Addition of lagged explanatory variables was used to account for autocorrelation in the turbidity, discharge, and SSC data. Final regression model equations and plots are presented for the two gaging stations. The regression models support near-real-time estimates of SSC and improved suspended-sediment discharge records by incorporating continuous instream turbidity. Future use of such models may potentially lower the costs of sediment monitoring by reducing time it takes to collect and process samples and to derive a sediment-discharge record.

  19. 75 FR 41987 - Regulated Navigation Areas; Bars Along the Coasts of Oregon and Washington; Amendment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-20

    ... Navigation Area (RNA) covering the Umpqua River Bar in Oregon so that it does not include those waters..., telephone 202-366-9826. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulatory Information On April 12, 2010, we published a... Areas (RNA) covering each of the coastal bars in Oregon and Washington. Following implementation of the...

  20. Washington Wildlife Mitigation Projects : Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Washington (State). Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

    1996-08-01

    Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to fund the portion of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement (Agreement) pertaining to wildlife habitat mitigation projects to be undertaken in a cooperative effort with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). This Agreement serves to establish a monetary budget funded by BPA for projects proposed by Washington Wildlife Coalition members and approved by BPA to protect, mitigate, and improve wildlife and/or wildlife habitat within the State of Washington that has been affected by the construction of Federal dams along the Columbia River. This Environmental Assessment examines the potential environmental effects of acquiring and/or improving wildlife habitat within five different project areas. These project areas are located throughout Grant County and in parts of Okanogan, Douglas, Adams, Franklin, Kittias, Yakima, and Benton Counties. The multiple projects would involve varying combinations of five proposed site-specific activities (habitat improvement, operation and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation, access and recreation management, and cultural resource management). All required Federal, State, and tribal coordination, permits and/or approvals would be obtained prior to ground-disturbing activities.

  1. Washington wildlife mitigation projects. Final programmatic environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-08-01

    Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to fund the portion of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement (Agreement) pertaining to wildlife habitat mitigation projects to be undertaken in a cooperative effort with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). This Agreement serves to establish a monetary budget funded by BPA for projects proposed by Washington Wildlife Coalition members and approved by BPA to protect, mitigate, and improve wildlife and/or wildlife habitat within the State of Washington that has been affected by the construction of Federal dams along the Columbia River. This Environmental Assessment examines the potential environmental effects of acquiring and/or improving wildlife habitat within five different project areas. These project areas are located throughout Grant County and in parts of Okanogan, Douglas, Adams, Franklin, Kittias, Yakima, and Benton Counties. The multiple projects would involve varying combinations of five proposed site-specific activities (habitat improvement, operation and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation, access and recreation management, and cultural resource management). All required Federal, State, and tribal coordination, permits and/or approvals would be obtained prior to ground-disturbing activities

  2. Evaluation of the behavior and movement of adult summer steelhead in the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, following collection and release, 2013-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kock, Tobias J.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Gleizes, Chris; Dammers, Wolf

    2014-01-01

    Summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) produced by a hatchery on the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, support a popular sport fishery during June–September each year. Many of these fish return to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery and are held until they are spawned in December. In the past, fishery managers have released some of the steelhead that return to the hatchery at downstream release sites (hereafter referred to as “recycled steelhead”) to increase angling opportunity. The recycling of summer steelhead is a potential use of hatchery fish that can benefit anglers in the lower Cowlitz River, provided these fish are harvested or return to the hatchery. However, recycled steelhead that are not removed from the river could compete against or spawn with wild winter steelhead, which would be a negative consequence of recycling. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) conducted an evaluation during 1998 and recycled 632 summer steelhead. They determined that 55 percent of the recycled steelhead returned to the hatchery and 15 percent of the fish were harvested by anglers. The remaining 30 percent of recycled fish were not known to have been removed from the river. Recycling has not occurred in recent years because definitive studies have not been conducted to determine the fate of the fish that remain in the lower Cowlitz River after being recycled. The U.S. Geological Survey and WDFW conducted a 2-year study during 2012–2014 to quantify recycled steelhead that (1) returned to the hatchery, (2) were captured by anglers, or (3) remained in the river. All recycled steelhead were marked with a Floy® tag and opercle punch, and 20 percent of the recycled fish were radio-tagged to determine post-release behavior and movement patterns, and to describe locations of tagged fish that remained in the river during the spawning period. During 2012–2013, we recycled 549 steelhead and determined that 50 percent of the fish returned to the hatchery, 18 percent

  3. Rapid reservoir erosion, hyperconcentrated flow, and downstream deposition triggered by breaching of 38 m tall Condit Dam, White Salmon River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilcox, Andrew C.; O'Connor, James E.; Major, Jon J.

    2014-01-01

    Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, Washington, a 38 m high dam impounding a large volume (1.8 million m3) of fine-grained sediment (60% sand, 35% silt and clay, and 5% gravel), was rapidly breached in October 2011. This unique dam decommissioning produced dramatic upstream and downstream geomorphic responses in the hours and weeks following breaching. Blasting a 5 m wide hole into the base of the dam resulted in rapid reservoir drawdown, abruptly releasing ~1.6 million m3 of reservoir water, exposing reservoir sediment to erosion, and triggering mass failures of the thickly accumulated reservoir sediment. Within 90 min of breaching, the reservoir's water and ~10% of its sediment had evacuated. At a gauging station 2.3 km downstream, flow increased briefly by 400 m3 s−1during passage of the initial pulse of released reservoir water, followed by a highly concentrated flow phase—up to 32% sediment by volume—as landslide-generated slurries from the reservoir moved downstream. This hyperconcentrated flow, analogous to those following volcanic eruptions or large landslides, draped the downstream river with predominantly fine sand. During the ensuing weeks, suspended-sediment concentration declined and sand and gravel bed load derived from continued reservoir erosion aggraded the channel by >1 m at the gauging station, after which the river incised back to near its initial elevation at this site. Within 15 weeks after breaching, over 1 million m3 of suspended load is estimated to have passed the gauging station, consistent with estimates that >60% of the reservoir's sediment had eroded. This dam removal highlights the influence of interactions among reservoir erosion processes, sediment composition, and style of decommissioning on rate of reservoir erosion and consequent downstream behavior of released sediment.

  4. Assessment of Salmonids and Their Habitat Conditions in the Walla Walla River Basin within Washington, Annual Report 2002-2003.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendel, Glen; Trump, Jeremy; Gembala, Mike

    2003-09-01

    This study began in 1998 to assess salmonid distribution, relative abundance, genetics, and the condition of salmonid habitats in the Walla Walla River basin. Stream flows in the Walla Walla Basin continue to show a general trend that begins with a sharp decline in discharge in late June, followed by low summer flows and then an increase in discharge in fall and winter. Manual stream flow measurements at Pepper bridge showed an increase in 2002 of 110-185% from July-September, over flows from 2001. This increase is apparently associated with a 2000 settlement agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the irrigation districts to leave minimum flows in the river. Stream temperatures in the Walla Walla basin were similar to those in 2001. Upper montane tributaries maintained maximum summer temperatures below 65 F, while sites in mid and lower Touchet and Walla Walla rivers frequently had daily maximum temperatures well above 68 F (high enough to inhibit migration in adult and juvenile salmonids, and to sharply reduce survival of their embryos and fry). These high temperatures are possibly the most critical physiological barrier to salmonids in the Walla Walla basin, but other factors (available water, turbidity or sediment deposition, cover, lack of pools, etc.) also play a part in salmonid survival, migration, and breeding success. The increased flows in the Walla Walla, due to the 2000 settlement agreement, have not shown consistent improvements to stream temperatures. Rainbow/steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) trout represent the most common salmonid in the basin. Densities of Rainbow/steelhead in the Walla Walla River from the Washington/Oregon stateline to Mojonnier Rd. dropped slightly from 2001, but are still considerably higher than before the 2000 settlement agreement. Other salmonids including; bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), and brown trout (Salmo

  5. Geologic map of the Washington West 30’ × 60’ quadrangle, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyttle, Peter T.; Aleinikoff, John N.; Burton, William C.; Crider, E. Allen; Drake, Avery A.; Froelich, Albert J.; Horton, J. Wright; Kasselas, Gregorios; Mixon, Robert B.; McCartan, Lucy; Nelson, Arthur E.; Newell, Wayne L.; Pavlides, Louis; Powars, David S.; Southworth, C. Scott; Weems, Robert E.

    2018-01-02

    The Washington West 30’ × 60’ quadrangle covers an area of approximately 4,884 square kilometers (1,343 square miles) in and west of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The eastern part of the area is highly urbanized, and more rural areas to the west are rapidly being developed. The area lies entirely within the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin and mostly within the Potomac River watershed. It contains part of the Nation's main north-south transportation corridor east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, consisting of Interstate Highway 95, U.S. Highway 1, and railroads, as well as parts of the Capital Beltway and Interstate Highway 66. Extensive Federal land holdings in addition to those in Washington, D.C., include the Marine Corps Development and Education Command at Quantico, Fort Belvoir, Vint Hill Farms Station, the Naval Ordnance Station at Indian Head, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park, Great Falls Park, and Manassas National Battlefield Park. The quadrangle contains most of Washington, D.C.; part or all of Arlington, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, and Stafford Counties in northern Virginia; and parts of Charles, Montgomery, and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland.The Washington West quadrangle spans four geologic provinces. From west to east these provinces are the Blue Ridge province, the early Mesozoic Culpeper basin, the Piedmont province, and the Coastal Plain province. There is some overlap in ages of rocks in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces. The Blue Ridge province, which occupies the western part of the quadrangle, contains metamorphic and igneous rocks of Mesoproterozoic to Early Cambrian age. Mesoproterozoic (Grenville-age) rocks are mostly granitic gneisses, although older metaigneous rocks are found as xenoliths. Small areas of Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks nonconformably overlie Mesoproterozoic rocks. Neoproterozoic granitic rocks of the Robertson River Igneous Suite intruded

  6. Surface hydrologic investigations of the Columbia Plateau Region, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leonhart, L.S.

    1979-07-01

    The Washington State portion of the Columbia Plateau is divided into six hydrologic sub-basins on the basis of the principal surface drainage systems present, structural and topographic relationships, and political and other considerations. Baseline descriptions of the surface water systems and resources are presented for the Columbia Plateau with emphasis on the Pasco Sub-basin. A preliminary evaluation of the hydrologic budget for each sub-basin is derived. For each sub-basin, recharge/discharge relationships arising from precipitation/evapotranspiration/runoff, stream losses and gains, and artificial mechanisms are determined on the basis of available data. The net exchange between surface and groundwater systems is evaluated and relative estimates of the net groundwater flow into or out of the sub-basin are obtained. An evaluation is made of hydrologic risk factors arising from: (1) tributary flooding in eastern Washington; and, (2) major flooding of the Columbia River within the Pasco Sub-basin. Scenarios are presented for credible natural and man-generated catastrophic events

  7. Surface hydrologic investigations of the Columbia Plateau region, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leonhart, L.S.

    1979-01-01

    The Washington State portion of the Columbia Plateau is divided into six hydrologic sub-basins on the basis of the principal surface drainage systems present, structural and topographic relationships, and political and other considerations. Baseline descriptions of the surface water systems and resources are presented for the Columbia Plateau with emphasis on the Pasco Sub-basin. A preliminary evaluation of the hydrologic budget for each sub-basin is derived. For each sub-basin, recharge/discharge relationships arising from precipitation/evapotranspiration/runoff, stream losses and gains, and artificial mechanisms are determined on the basis of available data. The net exchange between surface and ground-water systems is evaluated and relative estimates of the net ground-water flow into or out of the sub-basin are obtained. An evaluation is made of hydrologic risk factors arising from: (1) tributary flooding in eastern Washington; and (2) major flooding of the Columbia River within the Pasco Sub-basin. Scenarios are presented for credible natural and man-generated catastrophic events

  8. Behavior and movement of adult summer steelhead following collection and release, lower Cowlitz River, Washington, 2012--2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kock, Tobias J.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Rondorf, Dennis W.; Gleizes, Chris; Dammers, Wolf; Gibson, Scott; Murphy, Jamie

    2013-01-01

    ) could not be accounted for, which may complicate fisheries management decisions associated with recycling summer steelhead. Findings from the radiotelemetry study suggest that unreported harvest or mortality could explain a large proportion of those fish that were not reported as having been removed from the river. Furthermore, intensive monitoring of the key spawning tributaries failed to detect a single fish during the spawning period. These findings were supported by observations from weir traps operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Our findings indicate that additional research may be warranted to further examine the effects of recycling hatchery summer steelhead in the lower Cowlitz River.

  9. Pesticides in groundwater in the Anacostia River and Rock Creek watersheds in Washington, D.C., 2005 and 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koterba, Michael T.; Dieter, Cheryl A.; Miller, Cherie V.

    2010-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the District Department of the Environment, conducted a groundwater-quality investigation to (a) determine the presence, concentrations, and distribution of selected pesticides in groundwater, and (b) assess the presence of pesticides in groundwater in relation to selected landscape, hydrogeologic, and groundwater-quality characteristics in the shallow groundwater underlying the Anacostia River and Rock Creek watersheds in Washington, D.C. With one exception, well depths were 100 feet or less below land surface. The USGS obtained or compiled ancillary data and information on land use (2001), subsurface sediments, and groundwater samples from 17 wells in the lower Anacostia River watershed from September through December 2005, and from 14 wells in the lower Anacostia River and lower Rock Creek watersheds from August through September 2008. Twenty-seven pesticide compounds, reflecting at least 19 different types of pesticides, were detected in the groundwater samples obtained in 2005 and 2008. No fungicides were detected. In relation to the pesticides detected, degradate compounds were as or more likely to be detected than applied (parent) compounds. The detected pesticides chiefly reflected herbicides commonly used in urban settings for non-specific weed control or insecticides used for nonspecific haustellate insects (insects with specialized mouthparts for sucking liquid) or termite-specific control. Detected pesticides included a combination of pesticides currently (2008) in use, banned or under highly restricted use, and some that had replaced the banned or restricted-use pesticides. The presence of banned and restricted-use pesticides illustrates their continued persistence and resistance to complete degradation in the environment. The presence of the replacement pesticides indicates the susceptibility of the surficial aquifer to contamination irrespective of the changes in the pesticides used. A

  10. A green roof grant program for Washington DC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, P.A.

    2007-01-01

    The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) began its green roof demonstration project with $300,000 in funding provided by the DC Water and Sewer Authority. This paper reviewed the history of the project, its goals and early findings. The main objective was to demonstrate the technical, policy and economic feasibility of installing green roofs on commercial buildings in Washington DC and to promote green roofs as a means to manage storm water and improve water quality through the reduction of excessive runoff. The CBF has issued grants for the installation of 7 green roofs varying in size, design, location, and use. The projects included both new and existing structures designed to improve storm-water management in an urban area with significant pollution stress on the adjacent rivers. This paper provided technical, cost, and performance evaluations of each roof. A public outreach segment provided information to decision-makers to encourage more widespread replication of green roof technology throughout the metropolitan area. Much of the District of Columbia is served by a combined sewer system that becomes overloaded and discharges raw sewage into adjacent rivers during even moderately heavy rains. An average of 75 overflow events each year result in 1.5 billion gallons discharged into the Anacostia River. The installation of green roofs on buildings in the combined sewer area would retain storm water during these heavy rains and reduce the amount of overflow discharges. Apartments, as well as commercial and government buildings with mostly flat roofs are the most likely candidates for green roofs. The demonstration roofs are intended to become models, which all building owners could use as a guide for future plans for construction or re-construction to expand green roof coverage in Washington DC. It was emphasized that although such large-scale replication will take time and financial investments, it is achievable given enough political will and commercial awareness of

  11. Studies of Columbia River water quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onishi, Y.; Johanson, P.A.; Baca, R.G.; Hilty, E.L.

    1976-01-01

    The program to study the water quality of the Columbia River consists of two separate segments: sediment and radionuclide transport and temperature analysis. Quasi-two dimensional (longitudinal and vertical directions) mathematical simulation models were developed for determining radionuclide inventories, their variations with time, and movements of sediments and individual radionuclides in the freshwater region of the Columbia River below Priest Rapids Dam. These codes are presently being applied to the river reach between Priest Rapids and McNary Dams for the initial sensitivity analysis. In addition, true two-dimensional (longitudinal and lateral directions) models were formulated and are presently being programmed to provide more detailed information on sediment and radionuclide behavior in the river. For the temperature analysis program, river water temperature data supplied by the U. S. Geological Survey for six ERDA-sponsored temperature recording stations have been analyzed and cataloged on storage devices associated with ERDA's CDC 6600 located at Richland, Washington

  12. Wind River Watershed Restoration Project; Underwood Conservation District, Annual Report 2002-2003.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    White, Jim

    2004-02-01

    The goal of the Wind River project is to preserve, protect and restore Wind River steelhead. In March, 1998, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed the steelhead of the lower Columbia as 'threatened' under the Endangered Species Act. In 1997, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife rated the status of the Wind River summer run steelhead as critical. Due to the status of this stock, the Wind River summer steelhead have the highest priority for recovery and restoration in the state of Washington's Lower Columbia Steelhead Conservation Initiative. The Wind River Project includes four cooperating agencies. Those are the Underwood Conservation District (UCD), United States Geological Service (USGS), US Forest Service (USFS), and Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW). Tasks include monitoring steelhead populations (USGS and WDFW), Coordinating a Watershed Committee and Technical Advisory Group (UCD), evaluating physical habitat conditions (USFS and UCD), assessing watershed health (all), reducing road sediments sources (USFS), rehabilitating riparian corridors, floodplains, and channel geometry (UCD, USFS), evaluate removal of Hemlock Dam (USFS), and promote local watershed stewardship (UCD, USFS). UCD's major efforts have included coordination of the Wind River Watershed Committee and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), water temperature and water chemistry monitoring, riparian habitat improvement projects, and educational activities. Our coordination work enables the local Watershed Committee and TAC to function and provide essential input to Agencies, and our habitat improvement work focuses on riparian revegetation. Water chemistry and temperature data collection provide information for monitoring watershed conditions and fish habitat, and are comparable with data gathered in previous years. Water chemistry information collected on Trout Creek should, with 2 years data, determine whether pH levels make conditions

  13. Dispersion of Metals from Abandoned Mines and their Effect on Biota in the Methow River, Okanogan County, Washington: Final Report 2002-2003.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peplow, Dan; Edmonds, Robert

    2003-05-15

    A study of mine-waste contamination effects on Methow River habitat on the eastern slopes of the north Cascade Mountains in Washington state, U.S.A., revealed impacts at ecosystem, community, population, individual, tissue, and cellular levels. Ore deposits in the area were mined for gold, silver, copper and zinc until the early 1950's, but the mines are now inactive. An above-and-below-mine approach was used to compare potentially impacted to control sites. The concentrations of eleven trace elements (i.e., Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb, Se, and Zn) in Methow River sediments downstream from the abandoned mine sites were higher than background levels. Exposed trout and caddisfly larvae in the Methow River showed reduced growth compared to controls. Samples of liver from juvenile trout and small intestine from exposed caddisfly larvae were examined for evidence of metal accumulation, cytopathological change, and chemical toxicity. Morphological changes that are characteristic of nuclear apoptosis were observed in caddisfly small intestine columnar epithelial and trout liver nuclei where extensive chromatin condensation and margination was observed. Histopathological studies revealed glycogen bodies were present in the cytosol and nuclei, which are indicators of Type IV Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD IV). This suggests food is being converted into glycogen and stored in the liver but the glycogen is not being converted back normally into glucose for distribution to other tissues in the body resulting in poor growth. Examination of trout hepatocytes by transmission electron microscopy revealed the accumulation of electron dense granules in the mitochondrial matrix. Matrix granules contain mixtures of Cd, Cu, Au, Pb, Ni, and Ti. Contaminated sediments caused adverse biological effects at different levels of biological organization, from the cellular to ecosystem-level responses, even where dissolved metal concentrations in the corresponding surface water met

  14. Details of microearthquake swarms in the Columbia basin, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malone, S.D.; Rothe, G.H.; Smith, S.W.

    1975-01-01

    Three microearthquake swarms in the Columbia River basin of eastern Washington were studied by means of a small portable seismic network. Earthquakes in this area typically occur in swarms, concentrated both temporally and spatially. One unusual characteristic of the three swarms studied was the shallow focal depths of all events. Most events located had depths less than 1 km; none were deeper than 2 km. Composite focal mechanism solutions indicate that more than one fault surface is active in any one swarm. All events had some thrust component with the axis of maximum compression oriented roughly in a north-south direction. (auth)

  15. 2006 Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium (PSLC) Topographic LiDAR: Eastern Washington and River Corridors

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Watershed Sciences, Inc. (WS) collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and southern Canada in October and November,...

  16. Bilateral uric acid nephrolithiasis and ureteral hypertrophy in a free-ranging river otter (Lontra canadensis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grove, Robert A.; Bildfell, Rob; Henny, Charles J.; Buhler, D.R.

    2003-01-01

    We report the first case of uric acid nephrolithiasis in a free-ranging river otter (Lontra canadensis). A 7 yr old male river otter collected from the Skagit River of western Washington (USA) had bilateral nephrolithiasis and severely enlarged ureters (one of 305 examined [0.33%]). The uroliths were 97% uric acid and 3% protein. Microscopic changes in the kidney were confined to expansion of renal calyces, minor loss of medullary tissue, and multifocal atrophy of the cortical tubules. No inflammation was observed in either kidney or the ureters. The ureters were enlarged due to marked hypertrophy of smooth muscle plus dilation of the lumen. Fusion of the major calyces into a single ureteral lumen was several cm distal to that of two adult male otters used as histopathologic control specimens. This case report is part of a large contaminant study of river otters collected from Oregon and Washington. It is important to understand diseases and lesions of the otter as part of our overall evaluation of this population.

  17. Washington Public Power Supply System Nuclear Projects 3 and 5 (Docket Nos. STN 50-508 and 50-509): Final environmental statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-06-01

    The proposed action is the issuance of construction permits to the Washington Public Power Supply System for the construction of the Washington Nuclear Projects 3 and 5 (WNP 3 and 5). The 2170-acre site is predominately forest. Construction-related activities on the site would disturb about 300 acres. The portion of this land not to be used for the plant facilities, parking lots, roads, etc., will be restored by seeding and landscaping. The temporary removal of vegetation will tend to promote erosion. Increased siltation and turbidity can be expected in local rivers and streams during construction, but stringent measures will be undertaken to minimize these effects. A maximum of 72.5 cfs of cooling water will be withdrawn from the Chehalis River of which 12.5 cfs will be returned to the river via pipeline with the dissolved solids concentration increased by a factor of about 6. About 60 cfs will be evaporated to the atmosphere by the cooling towers. Minor and temporary impacts to the biota of the river and its south bank will result from construction activities. The volume of thermal discharge (12.5 cfs) is small compared with the river flow (annual mean is about 6600 cfs) and the effect on the river ecosystem is not expected to be significant. Chemical discharges from the plant, including chlorine, will be diluted to concentrations below those which might adversely affect aquatic biota. The risk associated with accidental radiation exposure will be very low. 37 figs., 58 tabs

  18. Asotin Creek model watershed plan: Asotin County, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The Northwest Power Planning Council completed its ''Strategy for Salmon'' in 1992. This is a plan, composed of four specific elements,designed to double the present production of 2.5 million salmon in the Columbia River watershed. These elements have been called the ''four H's'': (1) improve harvest management; (2) improve hatcheries and their production practices; (3) improve survival at hydroelectric dams; and (4) improve and protect fish habitat. The Asotin Creek Model Watershed Plan is the first to be developed in Washington State which is specifically concerned with habitat protection and restoration for salmon and trout. The plan is consistent with the habitat element of the ''Strategy for Salmon''. Asotin Creek is similar in many ways to other salmon-bearing streams in the Snake River system. Its watershed has been significantly impacted by human activities and catastrophic natural events, such as floods and droughts. It supports only remnant salmon and trout populations compared to earlier years. It will require protection and restoration of its fish habitat and riparian corridor in order to increase its salmonid productivity

  19. 78 FR 15053 - Simpson Lumber Company, LLC, Shelton, Washington; Simpson Lumber Company, LLC, Tacoma, Washington...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-08

    ...,372B] Simpson Lumber Company, LLC, Shelton, Washington; Simpson Lumber Company, LLC, Tacoma, Washington; Simpson Lumber Company, LLC, Longview, Washington; Notice of Revised Determination on Reconsideration On... Reconsideration for the workers and former workers of Simpson Lumber Company, LLC, Shelton, Washington (TA-W-81...

  20. Water quality in the Anacostia River, Maryland and Rock Creek, Washington, D.C.: Continuous and discrete monitoring with simulations to estimate concentrations and yields of nutrients, suspended sediment, and bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Cherie V.; Chanat, Jeffrey G.; Bell, Joseph M.

    2013-01-01

    Concentrations and loading estimates for nutrients, suspended sediment, and E. coli bacteria were summarized for three water-quality monitoring stations on the Anacostia River in Maryland and one station on Rock Creek in Washington, D.C. Both streams are tributaries to the Potomac River in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and contribute to the Chesapeake Bay estuary. Two stations on the Anacostia River, Northeast Branch at Riverdale, Maryland and Northwest Branch near Hyattsville, Maryland, have been monitored for water quality during the study period from 2003 to 2011 and are located near the shift from nontidal to tidal conditions near Bladensburg, Maryland. A station on Paint Branch is nested above the station on the Northeast Branch Anacostia River, and has slightly less developed land cover than the Northeast and Northwest Branch stations. The Rock Creek station is located in Rock Creek Park, but the land cover in the watershed surrounding the park is urbanized. Stepwise log-linear regression models were developed to estimate the concentrations of suspended sediment, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and E. coli bacteria from continuous field monitors. Turbidity was the strongest predictor variable for all water-quality parameters. For bacteria, water temperature improved the models enough to be included as a second predictor variable due to the strong dependence of stream metabolism on temperature. Coefficients of determination (R2) for the models were highest for log concentrations of suspended sediment (0.9) and total phosphorus (0.8 to 0.9), followed by E. coli bacteria (0.75 to 0.8), and total nitrogen (0.6). Water-quality data provided baselines for conditions prior to accelerated implementation of multiple stormwater controls in the watersheds. Counties are currently in the process of enhancing stormwater controls in both watersheds. Annual yields were estimated for suspended sediment, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and E. coli bacteria using

  1. Quality of water in the White River and Lake Tapps, Pierce County, Washington, May-December 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Embrey, S.S.; Wagner, R.J.; Huffman, R.L.; Vanderpool-Kimura, A. M.; Foreman, J.R.

    2012-01-01

    The White River and Lake Tapps are part of a hydropower system completed in 1911–12. The system begins with a diversion dam on the White River that routes a portion of White River water into the southeastern end of Lake Tapps, which functioned as a storage reservoir for power generation. The stored water passed through the hydroelectric facilities at the northwestern end of the lake and returned to the White River through the powerhouse tailrace. Power generation ceased in January 2004, which altered the hydrology of the system by reducing volumes of water diverted out of the river, stored, and released through the powerhouse. This study conducted from May to December 2010 created a set of baseline data collected under a new flow regime for selected reaches of the White River, the White River Canal (Inflow), Lake Tapps Diversion (Tailrace) at the powerhouse, and Lake Tapps.

  2. Columbia River pathway report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-07-01

    This report summarizes the river-pathway portion of the first phase of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project. The HEDR Project is estimating radiation doses that could have been received by the public from the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, in southeastern Washington State. Phase 1 of the river-pathway dose reconstruction effort sought to determine whether dose estimates could be calculated for populations in the area from above the Hanford Site at Priest Rapids Dam to below the site at McNary Dam from January 1964 to December 1966. Of the potential sources of radionuclides from the river, fish consumption was the most important. Doses from drinking water were lower at Pasco than at Richland and lower at Kennewick than at Pasco. The median values of preliminary dose estimates calculated by HEDR are similar to independent, previously published estimates of average doses to Richland residents. Later phases of the HEDR Project will address dose estimates for periods other than 1964--1966 and for populations downstream of McNary Dam. 17 refs., 19 figs., 1 tab

  3. Lithologic Coring in the Lower Anacostia Tidal Watershed, Washington, D.C., July 2002

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenbus, Frederick J.

    2003-01-01

    Little is known about the volumetric flux of ground water to the lower tidal Anacostia River, or whether ground-water flow is an important component of the contaminant load in this part of the Anacostia River. The watershed is in the eastern part of Washington, D.C., and has been subjected to over 200 years of urbanization and modifications of the river channel and nearby land areas. These anthropogenic factors, along with tidal fluctuations in the river, make ground-water data collection and interpretations difficult. The U.S. Geological Survey is cooperating with the District of Columbia Department of Health, Environmental Health Administration, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division, in a study to assess nonpoint-source pollution from ground water into the lower tidal Anacostia River. Lithologic cores from drilling activities conducted during July 2002 in the study area have been interpreted in the context of geologic and hydrogeologic information from previous studies in the lower Anacostia tidal watershed. These interpretations can help achieve the overall project goals of characterizing ground-water flow and contaminant load in the study area. Hydrostratigraphic units encountered during drilling generally consisted of late Pleistocene to Holocene fluvial deposits overlying Cretaceous fluvial/deltaic deposits. Cores collected in Beaverdam Creek and the Anacostia River indicated high- and low-energy environments of deposition, respectively. Two cores collected near the river showed different types of anthropogenic fill underlain by low-energy deposits, which were in turn underlain by sand and gravel. A third core collected near the river consisted primarily of sand and gravel with no artificial fill.

  4. PROTECTING GROUNDWATER & THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT THE HANFORD SITE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    GERBER, M.S.

    2006-06-29

    Along the remote shores of the Columbia River in southeast Washington state, a race is on. Fluor Hanford, a prime cleanup contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at the Hanford Site, is managing a massive, multi-faceted project to remove contaminants from the groundwater before they can reach the Columbia. Despite the daunting nature and size of the problem--about 80 square miles of aquifer under the site contains long-lived radionuclides and hazardous chemicals--significant progress is being made. Many groups are watching, speaking out, and helping. A large. passionate, diverse, and geographically dispersed community is united in its desire to protect the Columbia River--the eighth largest in the world--and have a voice in Hanford's future. Fluor Hanford and the DOE, along with the US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) interact with all the stakeholders to make the best decisions. Together, they have made some remarkable strides in the battle against groundwater contamination under the site.

  5. Geologic map of the Yacolt quadrangle, Clark County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evarts, R.C.

    2006-01-01

    The Yacolt 7.5' quadrangle is situated in the foothills of the western Cascade Range of southwestern Washington approximately 35 km northeast of Portland, Oregon. Since late Eocene time, the Cascade Range has been the locus of an active volcanic arc associated with underthrusting of oceanic lithosphere beneath the North American continent along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Volcanic and shallow-level intrusive rocks emplaced early in the history of the arc underlie most of the Yacolt quadrangle, forming a dissected and partly glaciated terrain with elevations between 250 and 2180 ft (75 and 665 m). The bedrock surface slopes irregularly but steeply to the southwest, forming the eastern margin of the Portland Basin, and weakly consolidated Miocene and younger basin-fill sediments lap up against the bedrock terrain in the southern part of the map area. A deep canyon, carved by the East Fork Lewis River that flows westward out of the Cascade Range, separates Yacolt and Bells Mountains, the two highest points in the quadrangle. Just west of the quadrangle, the river departs from its narrow bedrock channel and enters a wide alluvial floodplain. Bedrock of the Yacolt quadrangle consists of near-horizontal strata of Oligocene volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks that comprise early products of the Cascade volcanic arc. Basalt and basaltic andesite flows predominate. Most were emplaced on the flanks of a large mafic shield volcano and are interfingered with crudely bedded sections of volcanic breccia of probable lahar origin and a variety of well bedded epiclastic sedimentary rocks. At Yacolt Mountain, the volcanogenic rocks are intruded by a body of Miocene quartz diorite that is compositionally distinct from any volcanic rocks in the map area. The town of Yacolt sits in a north-northwest-trending valley apparently formed within a major fault zone. Several times during the Pleistocene, mountain glaciers moved down the Lewis River valley and spread southward into the map area

  6. Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater/surface-water interactions of the upper Yakima River Basin, Kittitas County, central Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Ely, D. Matthew; Hinkle, Stephen R.; Kahle, Sue C.; Welch, Wendy B.

    2014-01-01

    The hydrogeology, hydrology, and geochemistry of groundwater and surface water in the upper (western) 860 square miles of the Yakima River Basin in Kittitas County, Washington, were studied to evaluate the groundwater-flow system, occurrence and availability of groundwater, and the extent of groundwater/surface-water interactions. The study area ranged in altitude from 7,960 feet in its headwaters in the Cascade Range to 1,730 feet at the confluence of the Yakima River with Swauk Creek. A west-to-east precipitation gradient exists in the basin with the western, high-altitude headwaters of the basin receiving more than 100 inches of precipitation per year and the eastern, low-altitude part of the basin receiving about 20 inches of precipitation per year. From the early 20th century onward, reservoirs in the upper part of the basin (for example, Keechelus, Kachess, and Cle Elum Lakes) have been managed to store snowmelt for irrigation in the greater Yakima River Basin. Canals transport water from these reservoirs for irrigation in the study area; additional water use is met through groundwater withdrawals from wells and surface-water withdrawals from streams and rivers. Estimated groundwater use for domestic, commercial, and irrigation purposes is reported for the study area. A complex assemblage of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous bedrock underlies the study area. In a structural basin in the southeastern part of the study area, the bedrock is overlain by unconsolidated sediments of glacial and alluvial origin. Rocks and sediments were grouped into six hydrogeologic units based on their lithologic and hydraulic characteristics. A map of their extent was developed from previous geologic mapping and lithostratigraphic information from drillers’ logs. Water flows through interstitial space in unconsolidated sediments, but largely flows through fractures and other sources of secondary porosity in bedrock. Generalized groundwater-flow directions within the

  7. Development and Testing of Physically-Based Methods for Filling Gaps in Remotely Sensed River Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-30

    Filling Gaps in Remotely Sensed River Data Jonathan M. Nelson US Geological Survey National Research Program Geomorphology and Sediment Transport...the research work carried out under this grant are to develop and test two methods for filling in gaps in remotely sensed river data. The first...information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215

  8. Environmental contaminants in great blue herons (Ardea herodias) from the lower Columbia and Willamette Rivers, Oregon and Washington, USA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, C.M.; Anthony, R.G.

    1999-12-01

    Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) eggs and prey items were collected from six colonies in Oregon and Washington, USA, during 1994 to 1995. Contaminant concentrations, reproductive success, and biomagnification factors were determined and effects of residue levels were measured by H4IIE rat hepatoma bioassays. Mean residue concentrations in heron eggs and prey items were generally low. However, elevated concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected in eggs and prey from Ross Island on the Willamette River. Biomagnification factors varied among sites. Sites were not significantly different in H4IIE tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents (TCDD-EQs), although the TCDD-EQ for Karlson Island was 9 to 20 times greater than that of any other site. Large differences existed between toxic equivalents calculated from egg residue concentrations and TCDD-EQs, which indicated nonadditive interactions among the compounds. Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents and nest failure were positively correlated with TCDD concentration. Fledging and reproductive rates were similar to those determined for healthy heron populations, however, indicating that any adverse effects were occurring at the individual level and not at the colony level. Their results support the use of great blue herons as a biomonitor for contamination in aquatic ecosystems. Their relatively low sensitivity to organochlorine contaminants and high trophic position allows contaminant accumulation and biomagnification without immediate adverse effects that are often seen in other, more sensitive species.

  9. Use of surrogate technologies to estimate suspended sediment in the Clearwater River, Idaho, and Snake River, Washington, 2008-10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Molly S.; Teasdale, Gregg N.

    2013-01-01

    Elevated levels of fluvial sediment can reduce the biological productivity of aquatic systems, impair freshwater quality, decrease reservoir storage capacity, and decrease the capacity of hydraulic structures. The need to measure fluvial sediment has led to the development of sediment surrogate technologies, particularly in locations where streamflow alone is not a good estimator of sediment load because of regulated flow, load hysteresis, episodic sediment sources, and non-equilibrium sediment transport. An effective surrogate technology is low maintenance and sturdy over a range of hydrologic conditions, and measured variables can be modeled to estimate suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), load, and duration of elevated levels on a real-time basis. Among the most promising techniques is the measurement of acoustic backscatter strength using acoustic Doppler velocity meters (ADVMs) deployed in rivers. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, evaluated the use of acoustic backscatter, turbidity, laser diffraction, and streamflow as surrogates for estimating real-time SSC and loads in the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, which adjoin in Lewiston, Idaho, and flow into Lower Granite Reservoir. The study was conducted from May 2008 to September 2010 and is part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lower Snake River Programmatic Sediment Management Plan to identify and manage sediment sources in basins draining into lower Snake River reservoirs. Commercially available acoustic instruments have shown great promise in sediment surrogate studies because they require little maintenance and measure profiles of the surrogate parameter across a sampling volume rather than at a single point. The strength of acoustic backscatter theoretically increases as more particles are suspended in the water to reflect the acoustic pulse emitted by the ADVM. ADVMs of different frequencies (0.5, 1.5, and 3 Megahertz) were tested to

  10. Oil spill response planning on the Columbia river estuary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christopherson, S.K.; Slyman, P.M.

    1993-01-01

    The Columbia River Estuary lies along the Washington-Oregon state boundary on the west coast of the United States. The entire area is environmentally very sensitive with numerous large, shallow bays, exposed mud flats, wetland areas, and central channels having maximum currents of three to four knots. These features make the area very difficult to protect from an oil spill. Spill response is further complicated because of the many different state, federal, and local jurisdictions with mandated responsibilities in oil spill response and environmental protection. Under the leadership of the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Portland, Oregon, a steering group was established to guide the development of a response plan for the Columbia River Estuary. A concerted effort was made to include representatives from response organizations, natural resource agencies, and resource users from federal, state, and local governments, and commercial sectors in the planning process. The first draft of an operational response plan was completed the summer of 1992 through a combination of technical workshops, field trips, and small working groups meeting with local communities. The Columbia River Estuary Response Plan prioritizes areas to protect; identifies specific response strategies for protecting these areas; and outlines the Iogistics needed to implement these strategies, including equipment needs, the location of staging areas, and the identification of pre-designed command posts. The local spill response cooperative and oil transportation industry are using the plan to coordinate the purchase of response equipment and the staging of this equipment at numerous locations along the river. The key to success is ensuring that all the groups responding to an event participate in the planning process together. This process has worked well and will serve as a model for response planning for other areas along the Columbia River and coastal areas of Washington and Oregon

  11. Compilation of geologic, hydrologic, and ground-water flow modeling information for the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahle, Sue C.; Caldwell, Rodney R.; Bartolino, James R.

    2005-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources and Washington Department of Ecology compiled and described geologic, hydrologic, and ground-water flow modeling information about the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) aquifer in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. Descriptions of the hydrogeologic framework, water-budget components, ground- and surface-water interactions, computer flow models, and further data needs are provided. The SVRP aquifer, which covers about 370 square miles including the Rathdrum Prairie, Idaho and the Spokane valley and Hillyard Trough, Washington, was designated a Sole Source Aquifer by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1978. Continued growth, water management issues, and potential effects on water availability and water quality in the aquifer and in the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers have illustrated the need to better understand and manage the region's water resources. The SVRP aquifer is composed of sand, gravel, cobbles, and boulders primarily deposited by a series of catastrophic glacial outburst floods from ancient Glacial Lake Missoula. The material deposited in this high-energy environment is coarser-grained than is typical for most basin-fill deposits, resulting in an unusually productive aquifer with well yields as high as 40,000 gallons per minute. In most places, the aquifer is bounded laterally by bedrock composed of granite, metasedimentary rocks, or basalt. The lower boundary of the aquifer is largely unknown except along the margins or in shallower parts of the aquifer where wells have penetrated its entire thickness and reached bedrock or silt and clay deposits. Based on surface geophysics, the thickness of the aquifer is about 500 ft near the Washington-Idaho state line, but more than 600 feet within the Rathdrum Prairie and more than 700 feet in the Hillyard trough based on drilling records. Depth to water in the aquifer is greatest in the northern

  12. 12 CFR 4.4 - Washington office.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Washington office. 4.4 Section 4.4 Banks and... EXAMINERS Organization and Functions § 4.4 Washington office. The Washington office of the OCC is the main office and headquarters of the OCC. The Washington office directs OCC policy, oversees OCC operations...

  13. Historical changes to Lake Washington and route of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, King County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrzastowski, Michael J.

    1983-01-01

    Lake Washington, in the midst of the greater Seattle metropolitan area of the Puget Sound region (fig. 1), is an exceptional commercial, recreational, and esthetic resource for the region . In the past 130 years, Lake Washington has been changed from a " wild " lake in a wilderness setting to a regulated lake surrounded by a growing metropolis--a transformation that provides an unusual opportunity to study changes to a lake's shoreline and hydrologic characteristics -resulting from urbanization.

  14. RIVER CORRIDOR BUILDINGS 324 and 327 CLEANUP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BAZZELL, K.D.; SMITH, B.A.

    2006-01-01

    A major challenge in the recently awarded River Corridor Closure (RCC) Contract at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site is decontaminating and demolishing (D and D) facilities in the 300 Area. Located along the banks of the Columbia River about one mile north of Richland, Washington, the 2.5 km 2 (1 mi 2 )300 Area comprises only a small part of the 1517 km 2 (586 mi 2 ) Hanford Site. However, with more than 300 facilities ranging from clean to highly contaminated, D and D of those facilities represents a major challenge for Washington Closure Hanford (WCH), which manages the new RCC Project for DOE's Richland Operations Office (RL). A complicating factor for this work is the continued use of nearly a dozen facilities by the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Most of the buildings will not be released to WCH until at least 2009--four years into the seven-year, $1.9 billion RCC Contract. The challenge will be to deactivate, decommission, decontaminate and demolish (D4) highly contaminated buildings, such as 324 and 327, without interrupting PNNL's operations in adjacent facilities. This paper focuses on the challenges associated with the D4 of the 324 Building and the 327 Building

  15. Tracking riverborne sediment and contaminants in Commencement Bay, Washington, using geochemical signatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takesue, Renee K.; Conn, Kathleen E.; Dinicola, Richard S.

    2017-09-29

    Large rivers carry terrestrial sediment, contaminants, and other materials to the coastal zone where they can affect marine biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems. This U.S. Geological Survey study combined river and marine sediment geochemistry and organic contaminant analyses to identify riverborne sediment and associated contaminants at shoreline sites in Commencement Bay, Puget Sound, Washington, that could be used by adult forage fish and other marine organisms. Geochemical signatures distinguished the fine fraction (contaminants were measured in surface sediment did not have measurable 7Be activities in that layer, so their contaminant assemblages were attributed to sources from previous years. Concentrations of organic contaminants (the most common of which were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and fecal sterols) were higher in the contaminants in marine rather than river sediment, indicates that riverborne sediment-bound contaminants are retained in shallow marine habitats of Commencement Bay. The retention of earlier inputs complicates efforts to identify recent inputs and sources. Understanding modern sources and fates of riverborne sediment and contaminants and their potential ecological impacts will therefore require a suite of targeted geochemical studies in such marine depositional environments.

  16. Genetic and Phenotypic Catalog of Native Resident Trout of the interior Columbia River Basin : FY-2001 Report : Populations in the Wenatchee, Entiat, Lake Chelan and Methow River Drainages.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trotter, Patrick C.

    2001-10-01

    The 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council specifies the recovery and preservation of population health of native resident fishes of the Columbia River Basin. Among the native resident species of concern are interior rainbow trout of the Columbia River redband subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri 1 and westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki lewisi. The westslope cutthroat trout has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (American Wildlands et al. 1997). Before at-risk populations can be protected, their presence and status must be established. Where introgression from introduced species is a concern, as in the case of both westslope cutthroat trout and redband rainbow trout, genetic issues must be addressed as well. As is true with native trout elsewhere in the western United States (Behnke 1992), most of the remaining pure populations of these species in the Columbia River Basin are in relatively remote headwater reaches. The objective of this project was to photo-document upper Columbia Basin native resident trout populations in Washington, and to ascertain their species or subspecies identity and relative genetic purity using a nonlethal DNA technique. FY-2001 was year three (and final year) of a project in which we conducted field visits to remote locations to seek out and catalog these populations. In FY-2001 we worked in collaboration with the Wenatchee National Forest to catalog populations in the Wenatchee, Entiat, Lake Chelan, and Methow River drainages of Washington State.

  17. Baseline hydrologic studies in the lower Elwha River prior to dam removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magirl, Christopher S.; Curran, Christopher A.; Sheibley, Rich W.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Czuba, Jonathan A.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Foreman, James R.

    2011-01-01

    After the removal of two large, long‑standing dams on the Elwha River, Washington, the additional load of sediment and wood is expected to affect the hydrology of the lower river, its estuary, and the alluvial aquifer underlying the surrounding flood plain. To better understand the surface-water and groundwater characteristics of the river and estuary before dam removal, several hydrologic data sets were collected and analyzed. An experiment using a dye tracer characterized transient storage, and it was determined that the low‑flow channel of the lower Elwha River was relatively simple; 1–6 percent of the median travel time of dye was attributed to transient‑storage processes. Water data from monitoring wells adjacent to the main‑stem river indicated a strong hydraulic connectivity between stage in the river and groundwater levels in the flood plain. Analysis of temperature data from the monitoring wells showed that changes in the groundwater temperature responded weeks or months after water temperature changed in the river. A seepage investigation indicated that water from the river was moving into the aquifer (losing

  18. Asotin Creek Model Watershed Plan: Asotin County, Washington, 1995.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Browne, Dave

    1995-04-01

    The Northwest Power Planning Council completed its ``Strategy for Salmon'' in 1992. This is a plan, composed of four specific elements,designed to double the present production of 2.5 million salmon in the Columbia River watershed. These elements have been called the ``four H's'': (1) improve harvest management; (2) improve hatcheries and their production practices; (3) improve survival at hydroelectric dams; and (4) improve and protect fish habitat. The Asotin Creek Model Watershed Plan is the first to be developed in Washington State which is specifically concerned with habitat protection and restoration for salmon and trout. The plan is consistent with the habitat element of the ``Strategy for Salmon''. Asotin Creek is similar in many ways to other salmon-bearing streams in the Snake River system. Its watershed has been significantly impacted by human activities and catastrophic natural events, such as floods and droughts. It supports only remnant salmon and trout populations compared to earlier years. It will require protection and restoration of its fish habitat and riparian corridor in order to increase its salmonid productivity.

  19. Geologic map of the Beacon Rock quadrangle, Skamania County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evarts, Russell C.; Fleck, Robert J.

    2017-06-06

    The Beacon Rock 7.5′ quadrangle is located approximately 50 km east of Portland, Oregon, on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge, a scenic canyon carved through the axis of the Cascade Range by the Columbia River. Although approximately 75,000 people live within the gorge, much of the region remains little developed and is encompassed by the 292,500-acre Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, managed by a consortium of government agencies “to pro­tect and provide for the enhancement of the scenic, cultural, recreational and natural resources of the Gorge and to protect and support the economy of the Columbia River Gorge area.” As the only low-elevation corridor through the Cascade Range, the gorge is a critical regional transportation and utilities corridor (Wang and Chaker, 2004). Major state and national highways and rail lines run along both shores of the Columbia River, which also provides important water access to ports in the agricultural interior of the Pacific Northwest. Transmission lines carry power from hydroelectric facilities in the gorge and farther east to the growing urban areas of western Oregon and Washington, and natural-gas pipelines transect the corridor (Wang and Chaker, 2004). These lifelines are highly vulnerable to disruption by earthquakes, landslides, and floods. A major purpose of the work described here is to identify and map geologic hazards, such as faults and landslide-prone areas, to provide more accurate assessments of the risks associated with these features.The steep canyon walls of the map area reveal exten­sive outcrops of Miocene flood-basalt flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group capped by fluvial deposits of the ances­tral Columbia River, Pliocene lavas erupted from the axis of the Cascade arc to the east, and volcanic rocks erupted from numerous local vents. The Columbia River Basalt Group unconformably rests on a sequence of late Oligocene and early Miocene rocks of the ancestral Cascade volcanic arc

  20. Identification of contaminants of concern Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Napier, B.A.; Batishko, N.C.; Heise-Craff, D.A.; Jarvis, M.F.; Snyder, S.F.

    1995-01-01

    The Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA) Project at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is evaluating the current human and ecological risks from contaminants in the Columbia River. The risks to be studied are those attributable to past and present activities on the Hanford Site. The Hanford Site is located in southcentral Washington State near the town of Richland. Human risk from exposure to radioactive and hazardous materials will be addressed for a range of river use options. Ecological risk will be evaluated relative to the health of the current river ecosystem. The overall purpose of the project is to determine if enough contamination exists in the Columbia River to warrant cleanup actions under applicable environmental regulations. This report documents an initial review, from a risk perspective, of the wealth of historical data concerning current or potential contamination in the Columbia River. Sampling data were examined for over 600 contaminants. A screening analysis was performed to identify those substances present in such quantities that they may pose a significant human or ecological risk. These substances will require a more detailed analysis to assess their impact on humans or the river ecosystem

  1. Better Jobs, Brighter Futures, a Stronger Washington. Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The world is changing rapidly. With changes in technology, demographics, and workforce trends, Washington needs colleges to not only keep pace, but lead the way. Washington's 34 community and technical colleges answer that call. The community and technical colleges have proven uniquely positioned to adapt to, embrace, and ignite change. Community…

  2. Ecological setting of the Wind River old-growth forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    David C. Shaw; Jerry F. Franklin; Ken Bible; Jeffrey Klopatek; Elizabeth Freeman; Sarah Greene; Geoffrey G. Parker

    2004-01-01

    The Wind River old-growth forest, in the southern Cascade Range of Washington State, is a cool (average annual temperature, 8.7°C), moist (average annual precipitation, 2223 mm), 500-year-old Douglas-fir-western hemlock forest of moderate to low productivity at 371-m elevation on a less than 10% slope. There is a seasonal snowpack (November-March), and rain-on-snow and...

  3. Oil spill response issues in Washington State

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lempriere, P.R.

    1997-01-01

    Washington State statutes and regulations applicable to oil transport and oil spills were described. Specific provisions of the statutes and regulations and other relevant matters were also discussed. Among these were: (1) Washington State oil spill prevention plans, (2) Washington State oil spill contingency plans, (3) best achievable protection, (4) Intertanko's lawsuit against Washington State, (5) oil spill removal organizations, (6) certificates of financial responsibility in Washington State, (7) extent of potential liability under Washington Law, (8) disposal of cleanup materials, and (9) definition of 'qualified individuals' on marine vessels having the authority to implement removal actions

  4. Assessing fish predation on migrating juvenile steelhead and a retrospective comparison to steelhead survival through the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project, Columbia River, Washington, 2009-11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardiman, Jill M.; Counihan, Timothy D.; Burgess, Dave S.; Simmons, Katrina E.; Holmberg, Glen S.; Rogala, Josh; Polacek, Rochelle

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have been working with the Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County, Washington (Grant PUD), to increase their understanding of predator-prey interactions in the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project (PRP), Columbia River, Washington. For this study, the PRP is defined as the area approximately 6 kilometers upstream of Wanapum Dam to the Priest Rapids Dam tailrace, 397.1 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River. Past year’s low survival numbers of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) through Wanapum and Priest Rapids Dams has prompted Grant PUD, on behalf of the Priest Rapids Coordinating Committee, to focus research efforts on steelhead migration and potential causal mechanisms for low survival. Steelhead passage survival in 2009 was estimated at 0.944 through the Wanapum Development (dam and reservoir) and 0.881 through the Priest Rapids Development and for 2010, steelhead survival was 0.855 for Wanapum Development and 0.904 for Priest Rapids Development. The USGS and WDFW implemented field collection efforts in 2011 for northern pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and walleye (Sander vitreus, formerly Stizostedion vitreum) and their diets in the PRP. For predator indexing, we collected 948 northern pikeminnow, 237 smallmouth bass, 18 walleye, and two largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). The intent of this study was to provide standardized predation indices within individual reaches of the PRP to discern spatial variability in predation patterns. Furthermore, the results of the 2011 study were compared to results of a concurrent steelhead survival study. Our results do not indicate excessively high predation of Oncorhynchus spp. occurring by northern pikeminnow or smallmouth bass in any particular reach throughout the study area. Although we found Oncorhynchus spp. in the predator diets, the relative

  5. Columbia River Hatchery Reform System-Wide Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Warren, Dan [Hatchery Scientific Review Group

    2009-04-16

    for Puget Sound/Coastal Washington hatchery programs, followed by the development in 2005 of a suite of analytical tools to support application of the principles (all reports and tools are available at www.hatcheryreform.us). In 2005, Congress directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries) to replicate the Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project in the Columbia River Basin. The HSRG was expanded to 14 members to include individuals with specific knowledge about the Columbia River salmon and steelhead populations. This second phase was initially envisioned as a one-year review, with emphasis on the Lower Columbia River hatchery programs. It became clear however, that the Columbia River Basin needed to be viewed as an inter-connected ecosystem in order for the review to be useful. The project scope was subsequently expanded to include the entire Basin, with funding for a second year provided by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under the auspices of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's (NPCC) Fish and Wildlife Program. The objective of the HSRG's Columbia River Basin review was to change the focus of the Columbia River hatchery system. In the past, these hatchery programs have been aimed at supplying adequate numbers of fish for harvest as mitigation primarily for hydropower development in the Basin. A new, ecosystem-based approach is founded on the idea that harvest goals are sustainable only if they are compatible with conservation goals. The challenge before the HSRG was to determine whether or not conservation and harvest goals could be met by fishery managers and, if so, how. The HSRG determined that in order to address these twin goals, both hatchery and harvest reforms are necessary. The HSRG approach represents an important change of direction in managing hatcheries in the region. It provides a clear demonstration that current hatchery programs can indeed be redirected to

  6. Assessing the Thermal Environmental Impacts of an Groundwater Heat Pump in Southeastern Washington State

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freedman, Vicky L.; Waichler, Scott R.; Mackley, Rob D.; Horner, Jacob A.

    2012-04-01

    A thermal analysis of a large-scale (e.g., 1900 gpm), open-loop ground source heat pump (GSHP) installed on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) campus in southeastern Washington State has been performed using a numerical modeling approach. Water temperature increases at the upgradient extraction wells in the system and at the downgradient Columbia River are potential concerns, especially since heat rejection to the subsurface will occur year-round. Hence, thermal impacts of the open-loop GSHP were investigated to identify operational scenarios that minimized downgradient environmental impacts at the river, and upgradient temperature drift at the production wells. Simulations examined the sensitivity of the system to variations in pumping rates and injected water temperatures, as well as to hydraulic conductivity estimates of the aquifer. Results demonstrated that both downgradient and upgradient thermal impacts were more sensitive to injection flow rates than estimates of hydraulic conductivity. Higher injection rates at lower temperatures resulted in higher temperature increases at the extraction wells but lower increases at the river. Conversely, lower pumping rates and higher injected water temperatures resulted in a smaller temperature increase at the extraction wells, but higher increases at the river. The scenario with lower pumping rates is operationally more efficient, but does increase the likelihood of a thermal plume discharging into the Columbia River. However, this impact would be mitigated by mixing within the hyporheic zone and the Columbia River. The impact under current operational conditions is negligible, but future increases in heat rejection could require a compromise between maximizing operational efficiency and minimizing temperature increases at the shoreline.

  7. Assessing survival of Mid-Columbia River released juvenile salmonids at McNary Dam, Washington, 2008-09

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Scott D.; Walker, Christopher E.; Brewer, Scott J.; Adams, Noah S.

    2010-01-01

    Few studies have evaluated survival of juvenile salmon over long river reaches in the Columbia River and information regarding the survival of sockeye salmon at lower Columbia River dams is lacking. To address these information gaps, the U.S. Geological Survey was contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the possibility of using tagged fish released in the Mid-Columbia River to assess passage and survival at and downstream of McNary Dam. Using the acoustic telemetry systems already in place for a passage and survival study at McNary Dam, fish released from the tailraces of Wells, Rocky Reach, Rock Island, Wanapum, and Priest Rapids Dams were detected at McNary Dam and at the subsequent downstream arrays. These data were used to generate route-specific survival probabilities using single-release models from fish released in the Mid-Columbia River. We document trends in passage and survival probabilities at McNary Dam for yearling Chinook and sockeye salmon and juvenile steelhead released during studies in the Mid-Columbia River. Trends in the survival and passage of these juvenile salmonid species are presented and discussed. However, comparisons made across years and between study groups are not possible because of differences in the source of the test fish, the type of acoustic tags used, the absence of the use of passive integrated transponder tags in some of the release groups, differences in tagging and release protocols, annual differences in dam operations and configurations, differences in how the survival models were constructed (that is, number of routes that could be estimated given the number of fish detected), and the number and length of reaches included in the analysis (downstream reach length and arrays). Despite these differences, the data we present offer a unique opportunity to examine the migration behavior and survival of a group of fish that otherwise would not be studied. This is particularly true for sockeye salmon because

  8. Geomorphic response of the North Fork Stillaguamish River to the State Route 530 landslide near Oso, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Scott W.; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Wallick, J. Rose; Mastin, Mark C.; Foreman, James R.

    2017-08-03

    On March 22, 2014, the State Route 530 Landslide near Oso, Washington mobilized 8 million cubic meters of unconsolidated Pleistocene material, creating a valley‑spanning deposit that fully impounded the North Fork Stillaguamish River. The river overtopped the 8-meter high debris impoundment within 25 hours and began steadily incising a new channel through the center of the deposit. Repeat topographic surveys, sediment transport measurements, bedload transport models, and observations of downstream channel change were used to document the establishment of that new channel through the landslide and assess the potential for downstream aggradation or channel change that might increase downstream flood hazards.Efficient erosion of the landslide deposit, associated with the steep knickzone formed by the downstream edge of the deposit, resulted in the re-establishment of a 20–40 meters wide, deeply inset channel through the entire deposit by May 2014, 2 months after the landslide. The mean water-surface elevation of the channel through the landslide decreased 7 meters during that 2-month period, and was about 1 meter above the pre-landslide profile in July 2014. The 2014–15 flood season, which included flows near the 0.5 annual exceedance probability discharge (2-year flood), widened the channel tens of meters, and further lowered the water-surface profile 0.5 meter. The planform position evolved slowly as a result of 5–20-meter high banks predominantly composed of clay-rich, cohesive lacustrine material. Erosion of the landslide deposit delivered a total of 820 thousand metric tons of sediment to the North Fork Stillaguamish River over the 18 months following the landslide. The sediment delivery from the deposit was predominantly fine grained: 77 percent (by mass) of the eroded material was silt or clay (less than 0.063 millimeter [mm]), 19 percent sand (0.063–2 mm), and 4 percent pebbles and cobbles (greater than 2 mm).Over the 18 months following the

  9. Uranium favorability of tertiary sedimentary rocks of the western Okanogan highlands and of the upper Columbia River valley, Washington. [Measurement and sampling of surface sections, collection of samples from isolated outcrops, and chemical and mineralogical analyses of samples; no known uranium deposits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marjaniemi, D.K.; Robins, J.W.

    1975-08-01

    Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the northern portions of the western Okanogan highlands and in the upper Columbia River valley were investigated during a regional study to determine the favorability for potential uranium resources of the Tertiary sedimentary rocks of northeastern Washington. This project involved measurement and sampling of surface sections, collection of samples from isolated outcrops, and chemical and mineralogical analyses of samples. No portion of the project area of this report is rated of high or of medium favorability for potential uranium resources. Low favorability ratings are given to Oroville, Tonasket, and Pine Creek areas of the Okanogan River valley; to the Republic graben; and to the William Lakes, Colville, and Sheep Creek areas of the upper Columbia River valley. All these areas contain some fluvial, poorly sorted feldspathic or arkosic sandstones and conglomerates. These rocks are characterized by very low permeability and a consistently high siliceous matrix suggesting very low initial permeability. There are no known uranium deposits in any of these areas, and low level uranium anomalies are rare.

  10. Geohydrology and numerical simulation of groundwater flow in the central Virgin River Basin of Iron and Washington Counties, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heilweil, V.M.; Freethey, G.W.; Wilkowske, C.D.; Stolp, B.J.; Wilberg, D.E.

    2000-01-01

    Because rapid growth of communities in Washington and Iron Counties, Utah, is expected to cause an increase in the future demand for water resources, a hydrologic investigation was done to better understand ground-water resources within the central Virgin River basin. This study focused on two of the principal ground-water reservoirs within the basin: the upper Ash Creek basin ground-water system and the Navajo and Kayenta aquifer system.The ground-water system of the upper Ash Creek drainage basin consists of three aquifers: the uppermost Quaternary basin-fill aquifer, the Tertiary alluvial-fan aquifer, and the Tertiary Pine Valley monzonite aquifer. These aquifers are naturally bounded by the Hurricane Fault and by drainage divides. On the basis of measurements, estimates, and numerical simulations of reasonable values for all inflow and outflow components, total water moving through the upper Ash Creek drainage basin ground-water system is estimated to be about 14,000 acre-feet per year. Recharge to the upper Ash Creek drainage basin ground-water system is mostly from infiltration of precipitation and seepage from ephemeral and perennial streams. The primary source of discharge is assumed to be evapotranspiration; however, subsurface discharge near Ash Creek Reservoir also may be important.The character of two of the hydrologic boundaries of the upper Ash Creek drainage basin ground-water system is speculative. The eastern boundary provided by the Hurricane Fault is assumed to be a no-flow boundary, and a substantial part of the ground-water discharge from the system is assumed to be subsurface outflow beneath Ash Creek Reservoir along the southern boundary. However, these assumptions might be incorrect because alternative numerical simulations that used different boundary conditions also proved to be feasible. The hydrogeologic character of the aquifers is uncertain because of limited data. Differences in well yield indicate that there is considerable

  11. Total dissolved gas, barometric pressure, and water temperature data, lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanner, Dwight Q.; Harrison, Howard E.; McKenzie, Stuart W.

    1996-01-01

    Increased levels of total dissolved gas pressure can cause gas-bubble trauma in fish downstream from dams on the Columbia River. In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey collected data on total dissolved gas pressure, barometric pressure, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen pressure at 11 stations on the lower Columbia River from the John Day forebay (river mile 215.6) to Wauna Mill (river mile 41.9) from March to September 1996. Methods of data collection, review, and processing are described in this report. Summaries of daily minimum, maximum, and mean hourly values are presented for total dissolved gas pressure, barometric pressure, and water temperature. Hourly values for these parameters are presented graphically. Dissolved oxygen data are not presented in this report because the quality-control data show that the data have poor precision and high bias. Suggested changes to monitoring procedures for future studies include (1) improved calibration procedures for total dissolved gas and dissolved oxygen to better define accuracy at elevated levels of supersaturation and (2) equipping dissolved oxygen sensors with stirrers because river velocities at the shoreline monitoring stations probably cannot maintain an adequate flow of water across the membrane surface of the dissolved oxygen sensor.

  12. Multi-Scale Action Effectiveness Research in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary, 2011 - FINAL ANNUAL REPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sather, Nichole K.; Storch, Adam; Johnson, Gary E.; Teel, D. J.; Skalski, J. R.; Bryson, Amanda J.; Kaufmann, Ronald M.; Woodruff, Dana L.; Blaine, Jennifer; Kuligowski, D. R.; Kropp, Roy K.; Dawley, Earl M.

    2012-05-31

    The study reported here was conducted by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the University of Washington (UW), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (USACE). This research project was initiated in 2007 by the Bonneville Power Administration to investigate critical uncertainties regarding juvenile salmon ecology in shallow tidal freshwater habitats of the lower Columbia River. However, as part of the Washington Memorandum of Agreement, the project was transferred to the USACE in 2010. In transferring from BPA to the USACE, the focus of the tidal freshwater research project shifted from fundamental ecology toward the effectiveness of restoration in the Lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE). The research is conducted within the Action Agencies Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP). Data reported herein spans the time period May 2010 to September 2011.

  13. Comparing the Reproductive Success of Yakima River Hatchery-and Wild-Origin Spring Chinook; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2000-2001 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schroder, S.L. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA); Knudsen, C.M. (Oncorh Consulting, Olympia, WA); Rau, J.A. (Cle Elum Supplementation Research, Cle Elum, WA)

    2003-01-01

    In the Yakima Spring Chinook supplementation program, wild fish are brought into the Cle Elum Hatchery, artificially crossed, reared, transferred to acclimation sites, and released into the upper Yakima River as smolts. When these fish mature and return to the Yakima River most of them will be allowed to spawn naturally; a few, however, will be brought back to the hatchery and used for research purposes. In order for this supplementation approach to be successful, hatchery-origin fish must be able to spawn and produce offspring under natural conditions. Recent investigations on salmonid fishes have indicated that exposure to hatchery environments during juvenile life may cause significant behavioral, physiological, and morphological changes in adult fish. These changes appear to reduce the reproductive competence of hatchery fish. In general, males are more affected than females; species with prolonged freshwater rearing periods are more strongly impacted than those with shorter rearing periods; and stocks that have been exposed to artificial culture for multiple generations are more impaired than those with a relatively short exposure history to hatchery conditions.

  14. Tectonic setting of the Wooded Island earthquake swarm, eastern Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakely, Richard J.; Sherrod, Brian L.; Weaver, Craig S.; Rohay, Alan C.; Wells, Ray E.

    2012-01-01

    Magnetic anomalies provide insights into the tectonic implications of a swarm of ~1500 shallow (~1 km deep) earthquakes that occurred in 2009 on the Hanford site,Washington. Epicenters were concentrated in a 2 km2 area nearWooded Island in the Columbia River. The largest earthquake (M 3.0) had first motions consistent with slip on a northwest-striking reverse fault. The swarm was accompanied by 35 mm of vertical surface deformation, seen in satellite interferometry (InSAR), interpreted to be caused by ~50 mm of slip on a northwest-striking reverse fault and associated bedding-plane fault in the underlying Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). A magnetic anomaly over exposed CRBG at Yakima Ridge 40 km northwest of Wooded Island extends southeastward beyond the ridge to the Columbia River, suggesting that the Yakima Ridge anticline and its associated thrust fault extend southeastward in the subsurface. In map view, the concealed anticline passes through the earthquake swarm and lies parallel to reverse faults determined from first motions and InSAR data. A forward model of the magnetic anomaly near Wooded Island is consistent with uplift of concealed CRBG, with the top surface swarm and the thrust and bedding-plane faults modeled from interferometry all fall within the northeastern limb of the faulted anticline. Although fluids may be responsible for triggering the Wooded Island earthquake swarm, the seismic and aseismic deformation are consistent with regional-scale tectonic compression across the concealed Yakima Ridge anticline.

  15. Near-real-time simulation and internet-based delivery of forecast-flood inundation maps using two-dimensional hydraulic modeling--A pilot study for the Snoqualmie River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Joseph L.; Fulford, Janice M.; Voss, Frank D.

    2002-01-01

    A system of numerical hydraulic modeling, geographic information system processing, and Internet map serving, supported by new data sources and application automation, was developed that generates inundation maps for forecast floods in near real time and makes them available through the Internet. Forecasts for flooding are generated by the National Weather Service (NWS) River Forecast Center (RFC); these forecasts are retrieved automatically by the system and prepared for input to a hydraulic model. The model, TrimR2D, is a new, robust, two-dimensional model capable of simulating wide varieties of discharge hydrographs and relatively long stream reaches. TrimR2D was calibrated for a 28-kilometer reach of the Snoqualmie River in Washington State, and is used to estimate flood extent, depth, arrival time, and peak time for the RFC forecast. The results of the model are processed automatically by a Geographic Information System (GIS) into maps of flood extent, depth, and arrival and peak times. These maps subsequently are processed into formats acceptable by an Internet map server (IMS). The IMS application is a user-friendly interface to access the maps over the Internet; it allows users to select what information they wish to see presented and allows the authors to define scale-dependent availability of map layers and their symbology (appearance of map features). For example, the IMS presents a background of a digital USGS 1:100,000-scale quadrangle at smaller scales, and automatically switches to an ortho-rectified aerial photograph (a digital photograph that has camera angle and tilt distortions removed) at larger scales so viewers can see ground features that help them identify their area of interest more effectively. For the user, the option exists to select either background at any scale. Similar options are provided for both the map creator and the viewer for the various flood maps. This combination of a robust model, emerging IMS software, and application

  16. Wind River Watershed Restoration 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Connolly, Patrick J.; Jezorek, Ian G. [U.S. Geological Survey

    2008-11-10

    During 2004, researchers from U.S. Geological Survey's Columbia River Research Laboratory (USGS-CRRL) collected temperature, flow, and habitat data to characterize physical habitat condition and variation within and among tributaries and mainstem sections in the Wind River subbasin. Juvenile salmonid population surveys were conducted within select study areas throughout the subbasin. We expanded our survey coverage of the mainstem Wind River to a reach in the vicinity of Carson National Fish Hatchery to assess effects of non-indigenous Chinook on native steelhead. These efforts add to a database of habitat and fish data collected in the Wind River since 1996. This research contributes to the Wind River Restoration Project, which includes active stream habitat restoration and monitoring of adult and juvenile steelhead populations. We maintained a network of 32 thermographs in the Wind River subbasin during 2004. Additionally, Underwood Conservation District provided us with data from seven thermographs that they maintained during 2004. Thermograph data are identifying areas with chronic high water temperatures and stream sections where high rates of warming are occurring. During 2004, water temperatures at 26 thermograph sites exceeded the 16 C limit for surface waters set by the Washington Department of Ecology. Water temperatures exceeded 20 C at five sites in the Trout Creek watershed. Our thermograph dataset includes information from as early as 1996 at some sites and has become a valuable long-term dataset, which will be crucial in determining bioenergetic relationships with habitat and life-histories. We have monitored salmonid populations throughout the Wind River subbasin by electrofishing and snorkeling. We electrofished four stream sections for population estimates during 2004. In these sections, and others where we simply collected fish without a population estimate, we tagged juvenile steelhead and Chinook salmon with Passive Integrated Transponder

  17. Geomorphology of the Elwha River and its Delta: Chapter 3 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warrick, Jonathan A.; Draut, Amy E.; McHenry, Michael L.; Miller, Ian M.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Beirne, Matthew M.; Stevens, Andrew Stevens; Logan, Joshua B.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.

    2011-01-01

    The removal of two dams on the Elwha River will introduce massive volumes of sediment to the river, and this increase in sediment supply in the river will likely modify the shapes and forms of the river and coastal landscape downstream of the dams. This chapter provides the geologic and geomorphologic background of the Olympic Peninsula and the Elwha River with emphasis on the present river and shoreline. The Elwha River watershed was formed through the uplift of the Olympic Mountains, erosion and movement of sediment throughout the watershed from glaciers, and downslope movement of sediment from gravitational and hydrologic forces. Recent alterations to the river morphology and sediment movement through the river include the two large dams slated to be removed in 2011, but also include repeated bulldozing of channel boundaries, construction and maintenance of flood plain levees, a weir and diversion channel for water supply purposes, and engineered log jams to help enhance river habitat for salmon. The shoreline of the Elwha River delta has changed in location by several kilometers during the past 14,000 years, in response to variations in the local sea-level of approximately 150 meters. Erosion of the shoreline has accelerated during the past 80 years, resulting in landward movement of the beach by more than 200 meters near the river mouth, net reduction in the area of coastal wetlands, and the development of an armored low-tide terrace of the beach consisting primarily of cobble. Changes to the river and coastal morphology during and following dam removal may be substantial, and consistent, long-term monitoring of these systems will be needed to characterize the effects of the dam removal project.

  18. Historical and current forest landscapes in eastern Oregon and Washington Part II: Linking vegetation characteristics to potential fire behavior and related smoke production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark H. Huff; Roger D. Ottmar; Ernesto Alvarado; Robert E. Vihnanek; John F. Lehmkuhl; Paul F. Hessburg; Richard L. Everett

    1995-01-01

    We compared the potential fire behavior and smoke production of historical and current time periods based on vegetative conditions in forty-nine 5100- to 13 5OO-hectare watersheds in six river basins in eastern Oregon and Washington. Vegetation composition, structure, and patterns were attributed and mapped from aerial photographs taken from 1932 to 1959 (historical)...

  19. Wild Steelhead and introduced spring Chinook Salmon in the Wind River, Washington: Overlapping populations and interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jezorek, I.G.; Connolly, P.J.

    2010-01-01

    We investigated interactions of introduced juvenile spring Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha with wild juvenile steelhead O. mykiss in the upper Wind River watershed (rkm 24.6 to rkm 43.8), Washington. Our objective was to determine if the presence of introduced spring Chinook salmon influenced populations of wild juvenile steelhead and if other biotic or abiotic factors influenced distribution and populations of these species. We snorkeled to assess distribution and abundance in one to six stream reaches per year during 2001 through 2007. Juvenile steelhead were found in each sampled reach each year, but juvenile Chinook salmon were not. The upstream extent of distribution of juvenile Chinook salmon varied from rkm 29.7 to 42.5. Our analyses suggest that juvenile Chinook salmon distribution was much influenced by flow during the spawning season. Low flow appeared to limit access of escaped adult Chinook salmon to upper stream reaches. Abundance of juvenile Chinook salmon was also influenced by base flow during the previous year, with base flow occurring post spawn in late August or early September. There were no relationships between juvenile Chinook salmon abundance and number of Chinook salmon spawners, magnitude of winter flow that might scour redds, or abundance of juvenile steelhead. Abundance of age-0 steelhead was influenced primarily by the number of steelhead spawners the previous year, and abundance of age-1 steelhead was influenced primarily by abundance of age-0 steelhead the previous year. Juvenile steelhead abundance did not show a relationship with base or peak flows, nor with number of escaped Chinook salmon adults during the previous year. We did not detect a negative influence of the relatively low abundance of progeny of escaped Chinook salmon on juvenile steelhead abundance. This low abundance of juvenile Chinook salmon was persistent throughout our study and is likely a result of hatchery management and habitat conditions. Should one or

  20. The Columbia River and Tributaries Study, Interim Report, Yakima-Union Gap Flood Damage Reduction, Yakima River Basin, Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-03-01

    observation. Annual usage is about 2,100 man-days for this nonconsumptive pursuit. (7) Mushroom hunting. (8) Swiming in the river and in a few warm-water pools... nutrition than anywhere else. These alluvial lands are life-producing for young and life-sustaining for adult birds. The range of upland birds is keyed to a

  1. Water Quality Sampling Locations Along the Shoreline of the Columbia River, Hanford Site, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peterson, Robert E.; Patton, Gregory W.

    2009-12-14

    As environmental monitoring evolved on the Hanford Site, several different conventions were used to name or describe location information for various sampling sites along the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. These methods range from handwritten descriptions in field notebooks to the use of modern electronic surveying equipment, such as Global Positioning System receivers. These diverse methods resulted in inconsistent archiving of analytical results in various electronic databases and published reports because of multiple names being used for the same site and inaccurate position data. This document provides listings of sampling sites that are associated with groundwater and river water sampling. The report identifies names and locations for sites associated with sampling: (a) near-river groundwater using aquifer sampling tubes; (b) riverbank springs and springs areas; (c) pore water collected from riverbed sediment; and (d) Columbia River water. Included in the listings are historical names used for a particular site and the best available geographic coordinates for the site, as of 2009. In an effort to create more consistency in the descriptive names used for water quality sampling sites, a naming convention is proposed in this document. The convention assumes that a unique identifier is assigned to each site that is monitored and that this identifier serves electronic database management requirements. The descriptive name is assigned for the convenience of the subsequent data user. As the historical database is used more intensively, this document may be revised as a consequence of discovering potential errors and also because of a need to gain consensus on the proposed naming convention for some water quality monitoring sites.

  2. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project: Short Project Overview of Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation in the Upper Yakima Basin; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Policy/Technical Involvement and Planning, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fast, David E.; Bosch, William J.

    2005-09-01

    The Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP) is on schedule to ascertain whether new artificial production techniques can be used to increase harvest and natural production of spring Chinook salmon while maintaining the long-term genetic fitness of the fish population being supplemented and keeping adverse genetic and ecological interactions with non-target species or stocks within acceptable limits. The Cle Elum Supplementation and Research Facility (CESRF) collected its first spring chinook brood stock in 1997, released its first fish in 1999, and age-4 adults have been returning since 2001. In these initial years of CESRF operation, recruitment of hatchery origin fish has exceeded that of fish spawning in the natural environment, but early indications are that hatchery origin fish are not as successful at spawning in the natural environment as natural origin fish when competition is relatively high. When competition is reduced, hatchery fish produced similar numbers of progeny as their wild counterparts. Most demographic variables are similar between natural and hatchery origin fish, however hatchery origin fish were smaller-at-age than natural origin fish. Long-term fitness of the target population is being evaluated by a large-scale test of domestication. Slight changes in predation vulnerability and competitive dominance, caused by domestication, were documented. Distribution of spawners has increased as a result of acclimation site location and salmon homing fidelity. Semi-natural rearing and predator avoidance training have not resulted in significant increases in survival of hatchery fish. However, growth manipulations in the hatchery appear to be reducing the number of precocious males produced by the YKFP and consequently increasing the number of migrants. Genetic impacts to non-target populations appear to be low because of the low stray rates of YKFP fish. Ecological impacts to valued non-target taxa were within containment objectives or impacts that

  3. Regional basalt hydrology of the Columbia Plateau in Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, H.; Barrett, G.; Wildrick, L.

    1979-10-01

    This study is part of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, operated for the US Department of Energy by Rockwell Hanford Operations. The overall purpose of the study is to assess locations within the Columbia River Basalt Group beneath the Hanford Site in south-central Washington suitable for a geologic repository for radioactive waste. This hydrologic study was made to describe the hydrologic characteristics of the basalt units of the Columbia Plateau. This was done by comprehensive data compilation, data interpretation and analysis. Data are presented in the form of maps and tables suitable as input information about the regional hydrology for possible future analysis by computer models. The report includes: an introduction; basic data; interpretation which covers stratigraphic trend surface, water levels, transmissivity and storage of aquifers, recharge, discharge, flow, subbasins, cross sections, references and appendix of record of wells

  4. USGS Activities at Lake Roosevelt and the Upper Columbia River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barton, Cynthia; Turney, Gary L.

    2010-01-01

    Lake Roosevelt (Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake) is the impoundment of the upper Columbia River behind Grand Coulee Dam, and is the largest reservoir within the Bureau of Reclamation's Columbia Basin Project (CBP). The reservoir is located in northeastern Washington, and stretches 151 miles from Grand Coulee Dam north to the Canadian border. The 15-20 miles of the Columbia River downstream of the border are riverine and are under small backwater effects from the dam. Grand Coulee Dam is located on the mainstem of the Columbia River about 90 miles northwest of Spokane. Since the late 1980s, trace-element contamination has been known to be widely present in Lake Roosevelt. Trace elements of concern include arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, and zinc. Contaminated sediment carried by the Columbia River is the primary source of the widespread occurrence of trace-element enrichment present in Lake Roosevelt. In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated a preliminary assessment of environmental contamination of the Lake Roosevelt area (also referred to as Upper Columbia River, UCR site, or UCR/LR site) and has subsequently begun remedial investigations of the UCR site.

  5. Chemical and geochemical studies off the coast of Washington. Progress report, September 1978-August 1979

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpenter, R.

    1979-08-01

    Progress on a series of marine chemical and geochemical investigations involving both laboratory studies and field studies off the coast of Washington are summarized. Most of the field work has been on the Washington continental shelf, slope, and the submarine canyons indenting the shelf north of the Columbia River. The aim is to provide basic data required to characterize underlying chemical and physical processes and their rates which control the distributions, concentrations, and ultimate fate of some of the potentially hazardous agents associated with fossil fuel and nuclear power production or transportation. The studies have followed several main lines of investigation which are in various stages of completion: (1) field studies of the uptake and transport by zooplankton fecal pellets of 210 Po, 210 Pb, and other trace inorganic and organic constituents in a well-studied part of Puget Sound; (2) studies of the behavior of 210 Po and 210 Pb in sediments off the coast of Washington and the application of the 210 Pb determinations in sediment cores to determine sediment accumulation rates for the past 100 years, the depth of the surface mixed layer, and a mixing coefficient for the surface sediments; and (3) investigations of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in some of the same samples of organisms and sediment cores whose accumulation histories for the past 100 years we have determined with the 210 Pb technique

  6. High-resolution digital elevation model of Mount St. Helens crater and upper North Fork Toutle River basin, Washington, based on an airborne lidar survey of September 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosbrucker, Adam

    2014-01-01

    The lateral blast, debris avalanche, and lahars of the May 18th, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, dramatically altered the surrounding landscape. Lava domes were extruded during the subsequent eruptive periods of 1980–1986 and 2004–2008. More than three decades after the emplacement of the 1980 debris avalanche, high sediment production persists in the North Fork Toutle River basin, which drains the northern flank of the volcano. Because this sediment increases the risk of flooding to downstream communities on the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), under the direction of Congress to maintain an authorized level of flood protection, built a sediment retention structure on the North Fork Toutle River in 1989 to help reduce this risk and to prevent sediment from clogging the shipping channel of the Columbia River. From September 16–20, 2009, Watershed Sciences, Inc., under contract to USACE, collected high-precision airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) data that cover 214 square kilometers (83 square miles) of Mount St. Helens and the upper North Fork Toutle River basin from the sediment retention structure to the volcano's crater. These data provide a digital dataset of the ground surface, including beneath forest cover. Such remotely sensed data can be used to develop sediment budgets and models of sediment erosion, transport, and deposition. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used these lidar data to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) of the study area. DEMs are fundamental to monitoring natural hazards and studying volcanic landforms, fluvial and glacial geomorphology, and surface geology. Watershed Sciences, Inc., provided files in the LASer (LAS) format containing laser returns that had been filtered, classified, and georeferenced. The USGS produced a hydro-flattened DEM from ground-classified points at Castle, Coldwater, and Spirit Lakes. Final results averaged about five laser last

  7. Geohydrology and numerical simulation of ground-water flow in the central Virgin River basin of Iron and Washington Countries, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heilweil, V.M.; Freethey, G.W.; Wilkowske, C.D.; Stolp, B.J.; Wilberg, D.E.

    2000-01-01

    Because rapid growth of communities in Washington and Iron Counties, Utah, is expected to cause an increase in the future demand for water resources, a hydrologic investigation was done to better understand ground-water resources within the central Virgin River basin. This study focused on two of the principal ground-water reservoirs within the basin: the upper Ash Creek basin ground-water system and the Navajo and Kayenta aquifer system. The ground-water system of the upper Ash Creek drainage basin consists of three aquifers: the uppermost Quaternary basin-fill aquifer, the Tertiary alluvial-fan aquifer, and the Tertiary Pine Valley monzonite aquifer. These aquifers are naturally bounded by the Hurricane Fault and by drainage divides. On the basis of measurements, estimates, and numerical simulations of reasonable values for all inflow and outflow components, total water moving through the upper Ash Creek drainage basin ground-water system is estimated to be about 14,000 acre-feet per year. Recharge to the upper Ash Creek drainage basin ground-water system is mostly from infiltration of precipitation and seepage from ephemeral and perennial streams. The primary source of discharge is assumed to be evapotranspiration; however, subsurface discharge near Ash Creek Reservoir also may be important. The character of two of the hydrologic boundaries of the upper Ash Creek drainage basin ground-water system is speculative. The eastern boundary provided by the Hurricane Fault is assumed to be a no-flow boundary, and a substantial part of the ground-water discharge from the system is assumed to be subsurface outflow beneath Ash Creek Reservoir along the southern boundary. However, these assumptions might be incorrect because alternative numerical simulations that used different boundary conditions also proved to be feasible. The hydrogeologic character of the aquifers is uncertain because of limited data. Difference in well yield indicate that there is considerable

  8. Methow River Studies, Washington: abundance estimates from Beaver Creek and the Chewuch River screw trap, methodology testing in the Whitefish Island side channel, and survival and detection estimates from hatchery fish releases, 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martens, Kyle D.; Fish, Teresa M.; Watson, Grace A.; Connolly, Patrick J.

    2014-01-01

    Salmon and steelhead populations have been severely depleted in the Columbia River from factors such as the presence of tributary dams, unscreened irrigation diversions, and habitat degradation from logging, mining, grazing, and others (Raymond, 1988). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been funded by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to provide evaluation of on-going Reclamation funded efforts to recover Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed anadromous salmonid populations in the Methow River watershed, a watershed of the Columbia River in the Upper Columbia River Basin, in north-central Washington State (fig. 1). This monitoring and evaluation program was funded to document Reclamation’s effort to partially fulfill the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion (BiOp) (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries Division 2003). This Biological Opinion includes Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPA) to protect listed salmon and steelhead across their life cycle. Species of concern in the Methow River include Upper Columbia River (UCR) spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), UCR summer steelhead (O. mykiss), and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), which are all listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The work done by the USGS since 2004 has encompassed three phases of work. The first phase started in 2004 and continued through 2012. This first phase involved the evaluation of stream colonization and fish production in Beaver Creek following the modification of several water diversions (2000–2006) that were acting as barriers to upstream fish movement. Products to date from this work include: Ruttenburg (2007), Connolly and others (2008), Martens and Connolly (2008), Connolly (2010), Connolly and others (2010), Martens and Connolly (2010), Benjamin and others (2012), Romine and others (2013a), Weigel and others (2013a, 2013b, 2013c), and Martens and others (2014). The second phase, initiated in

  9. More than 100 Years of Background-Level Sedimentary Metals, Nisqually River Delta, South Puget Sound, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takesue, Renee K.; Swarzenski, Peter W.

    2011-01-01

    The Nisqually River Delta is located about 25 km south of the Tacoma Narrows in the southern reach of Puget Sound. Delta evolution is controlled by sedimentation from the Nisqually River and erosion by strong tidal currents that may reach 0.95 m/s in the Nisqually Reach. The Nisqually River flows 116 km from the Cascade Range, including the slopes of Mount Rainier, through glacially carved valleys to Puget Sound. Extensive tidal flats on the delta consist of late-Holocene silty and sandy strata from normal river streamflow and seasonal floods and possibly from distal sediment-rich debris flows associated with volcanic and seismic events. In the early 1900s, dikes and levees were constructed around Nisqually Delta salt marshes, and the reclaimed land was used for agriculture and pasture. In 1974, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on the reclaimed land to protect migratory birds; its creation has prevented further human alteration of the Delta and estuary. In October 2009, original dikes and levees were removed to restore tidal exchange to almost 3 km2 of man-made freshwater marsh on the Nisqually Delta.

  10. Measuring the Economic Benefits of Removing Dams and Restoring the Elwha River: Results of a Contingent Valuation Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loomis, John B.

    1996-02-01

    The contingent valuation method was used to obtain estimates of willingness to pay for removing the two dams on the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State and restoring the ecosystem and the anadromous fishery. Using the dichotomous choice voter referendum format, the mean annual value per household is 59 in Clallam County, 73 for the rest of Washington, and 68 for households in the rest of the United States. The aggregate benefits to residents of the State of Washington is 138 million annually for 10 years and between 3 and 6 billion to all U.S. households. These estimates suggest that the general public would be willing to pay to remove old dams that block salmon migration.

  11. Investigations of Bull Trout (Salvelinus Confluentus), Steelhead Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), and Spring Chinook Salmon (O. Tshawytscha) Interactions in Southeast Washington Streams : 1991 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, Steven W.

    1992-07-01

    Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are native to many tributaries of the Snake River in southeast Washington. The Washington Department of Wildlife (WDW) and the American Fisheries Society (AFS) have identified bull trout as a species of special concern which means that they may become threatened or endangered by relatively, minor disturbances to their habitat. Steelhead trout/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and spring chinook salmon (O.tshawytscha) are also native to several tributaries of the Snake river in southeast Washington. These species of migratory fishes are depressed, partially due to the construction of several dams on the lower Snake river. In response to decreased run size, large hatchery program were initiated to produce juvenile steelhead and salmon to supplement repressed tributary stocks, a practice known as supplementation. There is a concern that supplementing streams with artificially high numbers of steelhead and salmon may have an impact on resident bull trout in these streams. Historically, these three species of fish existed together in large numbers, however, the amount of high-quality habitat necessary for reproduction and rearing has been severely reduced in recent years, as compared to historic amounts. The findings of the first year of a two year study aimed at identifying species interactions in southeast Washington streams are presented in this report. Data was collected to assess population dynamics; habitat utilization and preference, feeding habits, fish movement and migration, age, condition, growth, and the spawning requirements of bull trout in each of four streams. A comparison of the indices was then made between the study streams to determine if bull trout differ in the presence of the putative competitor species. Bull trout populations were highest in the Tucannon River (supplemented stream), followed by Mill Creek (unsupplemented stream). Young of the year bull trout utilized riffle and cascade habitat the most in all

  12. Columbia River : Select Area Fishery Evaluation project : 1995-96 Annual Reports.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirose, Paul; Miller, Marc; Hill, Jim

    1998-06-01

    Water quality monitoring was conducted from November 1994 through October 1996 at five Oregon and three Washington select area study sites in the lower Columbia River. Physicochemical monitoring and aquatic biomonitoring programs were established to profile baseline parameters at each study site and document differences between study sites. Data collected at study sites where fish rearing operations were initiated indicate a potential negative impact on the surrounding benthic invertebrate communities.

  13. Behavior and movement of formerly landlocked juvenile coho salmon after release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kock, Tobias J.; Henning, Julie A.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Royer, Ida M.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Rondorf, Dennis W.

    2011-01-01

    Formerly landlocked Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) juveniles (age 2) were monitored following release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River to determine if they remained in the river or resumed seaward migration. Juvenile Coho Salmon were tagged with a radio transmitter (30 fish) or Floy tag (1050 fish) and their behavior was monitored in the lower Cowlitz River. We found that 97% of the radio-tagged fish remained in the Cowlitz River beyond the juvenile outmigration period, and the number of fish dispersing downstream decreased with increasing distance from the release site. None of the tagged fish returned as spawning adults in the 2 y following release. We suspect that fish in our study failed to migrate because they exceeded a threshold in size, age, or physiological status. Tagged fish in our study primarily remained in the Cowlitz River, thus it is possible that these fish presented challenges to juvenile salmon migrating through the system either directly by predation or indirectly by competition for food or habitat. Given these findings, returning formerly landlocked Coho Salmon juveniles to the free-flowing river apparently provided no benefit to the anadromous population. These findings have management implications in locations where landlocked salmon have the potential to interact with anadromous species of concern.

  14. Testing a ground-based canopy model using the wind river canopy crane

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert Van Pelt; Malcolm P. North

    1999-01-01

    A ground-based canopy model that estimates the volume of occupied space in forest canopies was tested using the Wind River Canopy Crane. A total of 126 trees in a 0.25 ha area were measured from the ground and directly from a gondola suspended from the crane. The trees were located in a low elevation, old-growth forest in the southern Washington Cascades. The ground-...

  15. Site Management and Monitoring Plan (SMMP) for the Mouth of Columbia River- Deep and Shallow Water Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites, OR/WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    This SMMP is intended to provide management and monitoring strategies for disposal in the Mouth of Columbia River- Deep and Shallow Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites on the border of Oregon and Washington.

  16. Water and nutrient budgets for Vancouver Lake, Vancouver, Washington, October 2010-October 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheibley, Rich W.; Foreman, James R.; Marshall, Cameron A.; Welch, Wendy B.

    2014-01-01

    Vancouver Lake, a large shallow lake in Clark County, near Vancouver, Washington, has been undergoing water-quality problems for decades. Recently, the biggest concern for the lake are the almost annual harmful cyanobacteria blooms that cause the lake to close for recreation for several weeks each summer. Despite decades of interest in improving the water quality of the lake, fundamental information on the timing and amount of water and nutrients entering and exiting the lake is lacking. In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a 2-year field study to quantify water flows and nutrient loads in order to develop water and nutrient budgets for the lake. This report presents monthly and annual water and nutrient budgets from October 2010–October 2012 to identify major sources and sinks of nutrients. Lake River, a tidally influenced tributary to the lake, flows into and out of the lake almost daily and composed the greatest proportion of both the water and nutrient budgets for the lake, often at orders of magnitude greater than any other source. From the water budget, we identified precipitation, evaporation and groundwater inflow as minor components of the lake hydrologic cycle, each contributing 1 percent or less to the total water budget. Nutrient budgets were compiled monthly and annually for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and orthophosphate; and, nitrogen loads were generally an order of magnitude greater than phosphorus loads across all sources. For total nitrogen, flow from Lake River at Felida, Washington, made up 88 percent of all inputs into the lake. For total phosphorus and orthophosphate, Lake River at Felida flowing into the lake was 91 and 76 percent of total inputs, respectively. Nutrient loads from precipitation and groundwater inflow were 1 percent or less of the total budgets. Nutrient inputs from Burnt Bridge Creek and Flushing Channel composed 12 percent of the total nitrogen budget, 8 percent of the total phosphorus budget, and 21 percent

  17. Columbia River basin fish and wildlife program strategy for salmon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruff, J.; Fazio, J.

    1993-01-01

    Three species of Snake River salmon have been listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. In response, the Northwest Power Planning Council worked with the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, Indian tribes, federal agencies and interest groups to address the status of Snake River salmon runs in a forum known as the Salmon Summit. The Summit met in 1990 and 1991 and reached agreement on specific, short-term actions. When the Summit disbanded in April 1991, responsibility for developing a regional recovery plan for salmon shifted to the Council. The Council responded with a four-phased process of amending its Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The first three phases. completed in September 1992, pertain to salmon and steelhead. Phase four, scheduled for completion in October 1993, will take up issues of resident fish and wildlife. This paper deals with the first three phases, collectively known as Strategy for Salmon

  18. Reconnaissance of pharmaceuticals and wastewater indicators in streambed sediments of the lower Columbia River basin, Oregon and Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsen, Elena; Furlong, Edward T.; Rosenbauer, Robert

    2014-01-01

    One by-product of advances in modern chemistry is the accumulation of synthetic chemicals in the natural environment. These compounds include contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), some of which are endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) that can have detrimental reproductive effects. The role of sediments in accumulating these types of chemicals and acting as a source of exposure for aquatic organisms is not well understood. Here we present a small-scale reconnaissance of CECs in bed sediments of the lower Columbia River and several tributaries and urban streams. Surficial bed sediment samples were collected from the Columbia River, the Willamette River, the Tualatin River, and several small urban creeks in Oregon. Thirty-nine compounds were detected at concentrations ranging from 1,000 ng [g sediment]-1 dry weight basis. Columbia River mainstem, suggesting a higher risk of exposure to aquatic life in lower order streams. Ten known or suspected EDCs were detected during the study. At least one EDC was detected at 21 of 23 sites sampled; several EDCs were detected in sediment from most sites. This study is the first to document the occurrence of a large suite of CECs in the sediments of the Columbia River basin. A better understanding of the role of sediment in the fate and effects of emerging contaminants is needed.

  19. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Genetic Studies; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation Report 1 of 7, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Busack, Craig A.; Frye, Alice; Kassler, Todd (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2004-05-01

    included as an appendix. In chapter 5 we present a final report on computer simulations of factorial mating designs. Using three different schemes for combining breeding values of fish, we found that full factorial mating offers a substantial increase in effective size over single-pair mating. Although full factorial mating may be too difficult logistically, but a significant proportion of the full factorial mating advantage can be obtained by using 2 x 2 partial factorials. We have developed a method that allows us to determine the relative effective size advantage of mixed partial factorial designs. In chapter 6 we report on an analysis of stock origin of smolts collected at Chandler. The 702 Chinook salmon smolts collected at the Chandler trap in 2003 were screened at 12 microsatellite DNA loci. A new Yakima basin baseline, consisting of spring chinook from the upper Yakima, Naches, and American River populations and fall chinook from the Marion Drain and lower Yakima populations, was created for these same 12 loci. DNA template problems with the tissue collections from the Naches, and American River populations prompted the omission of four loci prior to analysis. The results indicated: 80% Naches spring, 13% American River spring, 7% upper Yakima spring, and less than 1% for the two fall populations combined. The estimated stock proportions in the 2003 Chandler collection differed substantially from those for the 2002 collection. The temporal pattern of sampling in both Chandler smolt collections was not proportional to the observed outmigration in each year, suggesting that both of these estimates should be regarded with caution. Strengthening of the baseline data set will be a high priority for future work with Chandler smolts.

  20. Summary of radiological monitoring of Columbia River water along the Hanford Reach, 1980 through 1989

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dirkes, R.L.

    1994-02-01

    The Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP) is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy (DOE) at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The Columbia River monitoring program, conducted as part of the SESP, provides a historical record of contaminant concentrations in the river attributable to natural causes, worldwide fallout, and operations conducted at the Hanford Site. In addition to ongoing monitoring, special studies are conducted periodically to enhance the understanding of the transport and fate of contaminants in the river. The Columbia River monitoring program includes sampling of river water, river sediment, river-bank springs entering the river, and various types of aquatic biota found in or along the river. These samples are analyzed for radiological constituents and a wide range of chemical parameters. This report describes the water sampling component of the overall Columbia River monitoring program conducted during the years 1980 through 1989 and summarizes the radiological results generated through the program during this time period. The only radionuclides found in the river that were consistently influenced by Hanford were tritium and iodine-129. Strontium-90 and uranium, also attributable to Hanford operations, were present in localized areas within the river near ground-water discharge points; however, these contaminants are quickly dispersed within the river to concentrations similar to background

  1. 2012 Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium (PSLC) Topographic LiDAR: Upper Naches River, Washington

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Watershed Sciences, Inc. (WSI) collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data of the Upper Naches River Valley and Nile Slide area of interest on September 30th,...

  2. AFSC/NMML/CCEP: Diet of Pacific harbor seals at Umpqua River, Oregon and Columbia River, Oregon/Washington during 1994 through 2005

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — From 1994 to 2005, The National Marine Mammal Laboratories' California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA) collected fecal samples at the Umpqua River, Oregon and...

  3. Washington State Biofuels Industry Development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gustafson, Richard [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

    2017-04-09

    The funding from this research grant enabled us to design, renovate, and equip laboratories to support University of Washington biofuels research program. The research that is being done with the equipment from this grant will facilitate the establishment of a biofuels industry in the Pacific Northwest and enable the University of Washington to launch a substantial biofuels and bio-based product research program.

  4. Reconstruction of radionuclide concentrations in the Columbia River from Hanford, Washington to Portland, Oregon, January 1950--January 1971

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walters, W.H.; Gilmore, B.G.; Richmond, M.C.

    1994-05-01

    Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories conducted this study of the Columbia River for the Technical Steering Panel (TSP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project. The HEDR Project was established to estimate the radiation dose that individuals may have received from operations that began at the Hanford Site in 1944. The purpose of the study was to reconstruct concentrations of radionuclides in Columbia River water for estimating doses to humans from the river pathway

  5. Remedial Investigation of Hanford Site Releases to the Columbia River

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lerch, J.A.

    2009-01-01

    In south-central Washington State, the Columbia River flows through the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site. A primary objective of the Hanford Site cleanup mission is protection of the Columbia River, through remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater that resulted from its weapons production mission. Within the Columbia River system, surface water, sediment, and biota samples related to potential Hanford Site hazardous substance releases have been collected since the start of Hanford operations. The impacts of Hanford Site hazardous substance releases to the Columbia River in areas upstream, within, and downstream of the Hanford Site boundary have been previously investigated as mandated by the U.S. Department of Energy requirements under the Atomic Energy Act. The impacts are now being assessed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 via a remedial investigation. The Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Hanford Site Releases to the Columbia River has been developed and issued to initiate the remedial investigation. The work plan establishes a phased approach to characterize contaminants, assess current risks, and determine whether or not there is a need for any cleanup actions. Field investigation activities began in October 2008 and are anticipated to continue into Fall 2009 over a 120 mile stretch of the Columbia River. Information gained from performing this remedial investigation will ultimately be used to help make final regulatory decisions for cleaning up Hanford Site contamination that exists in and along the Columbia River. (authors)

  6. Review of the upper Cenozoic stratigraphy overlying the Columbia River Basalt Group in western Idaho

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strowd, W.B.

    1980-12-01

    This report is a synthesis of information currently available on the rocks that stratigraphically overlie the Columbia River Basalt Group in Idaho. The primary objective is to furnish a brief but comprehensive review of the literature available on upper Cenozoic rocks in western Idaho and to discuss their general stratigraphic relationships. This study also reviews the derivation of the present stratigraphy and notes weaknesses in our present understanding of the geology and the stratigraphy. This report was prepared in support of a study to evaluate the feasibility of nuclear waste storage in the Columbia River Basalt Group of the Pasco Basin, Washington

  7. University of Washington

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The theme of the University of Washington based Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research (CHC) is understanding the biochemical, molecular and exposure...

  8. Transfer of Metasupracrustal Rocks to Midcrustal Depths in the North Cascades Continental Magmatic Arc, Skagit Gneiss Complex, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauer, K. B.; Gordon, S. M.; Miller, R. B.; Vervoort, J. D.; Fisher, C. M.

    2017-12-01

    The metasupracrustal units within the north central Chelan block of the North Cascades Range, Washington, are investigated to determine mechanisms and timescales of supracrustal rock incorporation into the deep crust of continental magmatic arcs. Zircon U-Pb and Hf-isotope analyses were used to characterize the protoliths of metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks from the Skagit Gneiss Complex, metasupracrustal rocks from the Cascade River Schist, and metavolcanic rocks from the Napeequa Schist. Skagit Gneiss Complex metasedimentary rocks have (1) a wide range of zircon U-Pb dates from Proterozoic to latest Cretaceous and (2) a more limited range of dates, from Late Triassic to latest Cretaceous, and a lack of Proterozoic dates. Two samples from the Cascade River Schist are characterized by Late Cretaceous protoliths. Amphibolites from the Napeequa Schist have Late Triassic protoliths. Similarities between the Skagit Gneiss metasediments and accretionary wedge and forearc sediments in northwestern Washington and Southern California indicate that the protolith for these units was likely deposited in a forearc basin and/or accretionary wedge in the Early to Late Cretaceous (circa 134-79 Ma). Sediment was likely underthrust into the active arc by circa 74-65 Ma, as soon as 7 Ma after deposition, and intruded by voluminous magmas. The incorporation of metasupracrustal units aligns with the timing of major arc magmatism in the North Cascades (circa 79-60 Ma) and may indicate a link between the burial of sediments and pluton emplacement.

  9. Genetic and Phenotype [Phenotypic] Catalog of Native Resident Trout of the interior Columbia River Basin : FY-99 Report : Populations of the Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Sanpoil River Basins of Colville National Forest.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trotter, Patrick C.

    2001-05-01

    The 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council specifies the recovery and preservation of population health of native resident fishes of the Columbia River Basin. Among the native resident species of concern are interior rainbow trout of the Columbia River redband subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri 1 and westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki lewisi. The westslope cutthroat trout has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (American Wildlands et al. 1997). Before at-risk populations can be protected, their presence and status must be established. Where introgression from introduced species is a concern, as in the case of both westslope cutthroat trout and redband rainbow trout, genetic issues must be addressed as well. As is true with native trout elsewhere in the western United States (Behnke 1992), most of the remaining pure populations of these species in the Columbia River Basin are in relatively remote headwater reaches. The objective of this project is to photo-document upper Columbia Basin native resident trout populations in Washington, and to ascertain their species or subspecies identity and relative genetic purity using a nonlethal DNA technique. FY-99 was year two of a five-year project in which we conducted field visits to remote locations to seek out and catalog these populations. In FY-99 we worked in collaboration with the Colville National Forest and Kalispel Indian Tribe to catalog populations in the northeastern corner of Washington State.

  10. 75 FR 53266 - United States Army Restricted Area, Designated Portions of Eagle Bay and Eagle River, Fort...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-31

    ... Richardson, Alaska as well as an adjacent portion of Eagle Bay in the Knik Arm. More specifically, the... affected waters of Eagle Bay and Eagle River in order to enhance safety and security. This portion of Eagle... B. Olson), 441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000. Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security...

  11. Beach morphology monitoring in the Elwha River Littoral Cell, 2004-2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warrick, Jonathon A.; George, Douglas A.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Eshleman, Jodi; Gelfenbaum, Guy; Kaminsky, George M.; Schwartz, Andrew K.; Bierne, Matt

    2007-01-01

    This report describes the methods used, data collected, and results of the Beach Morphology Monitoring Program in the Elwha River Littoral Cell, starting in 2004. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Washington State Department of Ecology collaborated in the data collection with the support of the local Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Beach monitoring efforts consisted of collecting topographic and bathymetric horizontal and vertical position data by using a Real Time Kinematic Differential Global Positioning System (RTK-DGPS). The monitoring program was designed to characterize the littoral system of the Elwha River before the scheduled removal of two large dams in 2012. A primary objective of this work is to quantitatively describe the topography and bathymetry of the Elwha River littoral system so that the effects of dam removal may be quantified. Sediment inputs following dam removal are hypothesized to result in (A) larger amounts of fine sediment grain-sizes entering the littoral system and, (B) a reduction or reversal of coastal erosion.

  12. Costs of climate change: Economic value of Yakima River salmon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, D.M.; Shankle, S.A.; Scott, M.J.; Neitzel, D.A.; Chatters, J.C.

    1992-07-01

    This work resulted from a continuing multidisciplinary analysis of species preservation and global change. The paper explores the economic cost of a potential regional warming as it affects one Pacific Northwest natural resource, the spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshcawytscha). Climate change and planned habitat improvements impact the production and economic value of soling chinook salmon of the Yakima River tributary of the Columbia River in eastern Washington. The paper presents a derivation of the total economic value of a chinook salmon, which includes the summation of the existence, commercial, recreational, and capital values of the fish. When currently available commercial, recreational, existence, and capital values for chinook salmon were applied to estimated population changes, the estimated change in the economic value per fish associated with reduction of one fish run proved significant

  13. Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington- Biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.

    2011-01-01

    This report includes chapters that summarize the results of multidisciplinary studies to quantify and characterize the current (2011) status and baseline conditions of the lower Elwha River, its estuary, and the adjacent nearshore ecosystems prior to the historic removal of two long-standing dams that have strongly influenced river, estuary, and nearshore conditions. The studies were conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Multi-disciplinary Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound (MD-CHIPS) project. Chapter 1 is the introductory chapter that provides background and a historical context for the Elwha River dam removal and ecosystem restoration project. In chapter 2, the volume and timing of sediment delivery to the estuary and nearshore are discussed, providing an overview of the sediment stored in the two reservoirs and the expected erosion mechanics of the reservoir sediment deposits after removal of the dams. Chapter 3 describes the geological background of the Olympic Peninsula and the geomorphology of the Elwha River and nearshore. Chapter 4 details a series of hydrological data collected by the MD-CHIPS Elwha project. These include groundwater monitoring, surface water-groundwater interactions in the estuary, an estimated surface-water budget to the estuary, and a series of temperature and salinity measurements. Chapter 5 details the work that has been completed in the nearshore, including the measurement of waves, tides, and currents; the development of a numerical hydrodynamic model; and a description of the freshwater plume entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Chapter 6 includes a characterization of the nearshore benthic substrate developed using sonar, which formed a habitat template used to design scuba surveys of the benthic biological communities. Chapter 7 describes the ecological studies conducted in the lower river and estuary and includes characterization of juvenile salmon diets and seasonal estuary utilization patterns using otolith analysis to

  14. Washington Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, T. J.; Schelling, J.

    2012-12-01

    Washington State has participated in the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) since its inception in 1995. We have participated in the tsunami inundation hazard mapping, evacuation planning, education, and outreach efforts that generally characterize the NTHMP efforts. We have also investigated hazards of significant interest to the Pacific Northwest. The hazard from locally generated earthquakes on the Cascadia subduction zone, which threatens tsunami inundation in less than hour following a magnitude 9 earthquake, creates special problems for low-lying accretionary shoreforms in Washington, such as the spits of Long Beach and Ocean Shores, where high ground is not accessible within the limited time available for evacuation. To ameliorate this problem, we convened a panel of the Applied Technology Council to develop guidelines for construction of facilities for vertical evacuation from tsunamis, published as FEMA 646, now incorporated in the International Building Code as Appendix M. We followed this with a program called Project Safe Haven (http://www.facebook.com/ProjectSafeHaven) to site such facilities along the Washington coast in appropriate locations and appropriate designs to blend with the local communities, as chosen by the citizens. This has now been completed for the entire outer coast of Washington. In conjunction with this effort, we have evaluated the potential for earthquake-induced ground failures in and near tsunami hazard zones to help develop cost estimates for these structures and to establish appropriate tsunami evacuation routes and evacuation assembly areas that are likely to to be available after a major subduction zone earthquake. We intend to continue these geotechnical evaluations for all tsunami hazard zones in Washington.

  15. Science partnership between U.S. Geological Survey and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe—Understanding the Elwha River Dam Removal Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Jeffrey J.; Beirne, Matt M.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.

    2018-04-16

    After nearly a century of producing power, two large hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in Washington State were removed during 2011 to 2014 to restore the river ecosystem and recover imperiled salmon populations. Roughly two-thirds of the 21 million cubic meters of sediment—enough to fill nearly 2 million dump trucks—contained behind the dams was released downstream, which restored natural processes and initiated important changes to the river, estuarine, and marine ecosystems. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, academia, non-governmental organizations, Federal and state agencies, and the U.S. Geological Survey collected key data before, during, and after dam removal to understand the outcomes of this historic project on the Elwha River ecosystem.

  16. Coastal processes of the Elwha River delta: Chapter 5 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warrick, Jonathan A.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Miller, Ian M.; Gelfenbaum, Guy; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.

    2011-01-01

    To understand the effects of increased sediment supply from dam removal on marine habitats around the Elwha River delta, a basic understanding of the region’s coastal processes is necessary. This chapter provides a summary of the physical setting of the coast near the Elwha River delta, for the purpose of synthesizing the processes that move and disperse sediment discharged by the river. One fundamental property of this coastal setting is the difference between currents in the surfzone with those in the coastal waters offshore of the surfzone. Surfzone currents are largely dictated by the direction and size of waves, and the waves that attack the Elwha River delta predominantly come from Pacific Ocean swell from the west. This establishes surfzone currents and littoral sediment transport that are eastward along much of the delta. Offshore of the surfzone the currents are largely influenced by tidal circulation and the physical constraint to flow provided by the delta’s headland. During both ebbing and flooding tides, the flow separates from the coast at the tip of the delta’s headland, and this produces eddies on the downstream side of the headland. Immediately offshore of the Elwha River mouth, this creates a situation in which the coastal currents are directed toward the east much more frequently than toward the west. This suggests that Elwha River sediment will be more likely to move toward the east in the coastal system.

  17. Numerical simulation of groundwater flow for the Yakima River basin aquifer system, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, D.M.; Bachmann, M.P.; Vaccaro, J.J.

    2011-01-01

    A regional, three-dimensional, transient numerical model of groundwater flow was constructed for the Yakima River basin aquifer system to better understand the groundwater-flow system and its relation to surface-water resources. The model described in this report can be used as a tool by water-management agencies and other stakeholders to quantitatively evaluate proposed alternative management strategies that consider the interrelation between groundwater availability and surface-water resources.

  18. Selected hydrologic data for the central Virgin River basin area, Washington and Iron counties, Utah, 1915-97

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkowske, Christopher D.; Heilweil, Victor M.; Wilberg, Dale E.

    1998-01-01

    Hydrologic data were collected in Washington and Iron Counties, Utah, from 1995 to 1997 to better understand the hydrologic system. Data from earlier years also are presented. Data collected from wells include well-completion data, water-level measurements, and physical properties of the water. Data collected from springs and surface-water sites include discharge and physical properties of the water. Selected water samples collected from ground- and surface-water sites were analyzed for isotopes, chlorofluorocarbons, and dissolved gases.

  19. Natural phenomena analyses, Hanford Site, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tallman, A.M.

    1989-01-01

    Probabilistic seismic hazard studies completed for the Washington Public Power Supply System's Nuclear Plant 2 and for the US Department of Energy's N Reactor sites, both on the Hanford Site, suggested that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory seismic exposure estimates were lower than appropriate, especially for sites near potential seismic sources. A probabilistic seismic hazard assessment was completed for those areas that contain process and/or waste management facilities. the lower bound magnitude of 5.0 is used in the hazard analysis and the characteristics of small-magnitude earthquakes relatively common to the Hanford Site are addressed. The recommended ground motion for high-hazard facilities is somewhat higher than the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory model and the ground motion from small-magnitude earthquakes is addressed separately from the moderate- to large-magnitude earthquake ground motion. The severe wind and tornado hazards determined for the Hanford Siste are in agreement with work completed independently using 43 years of site data. The low-probability, high-hazard, design-basis flood at the Hanford Site is dominated by dam failure on the Columbia River. Further evaluation of the mechanisms and probabilities of such flooding is in progress. The Hanford Site is downwind from several active Cascade volcanoes. Geologic and historical data are used to estimate the ashfall hazard

  20. Estimation of potential runoff-contributing areas in the Kansas-Lower Republican River Basin, Kansas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juracek, Kyle E.

    1999-01-01

    Digital soils and topographic data were used to estimate and compare potential runoff-contributing areas for 19 selected subbasins representing soil, slope, and runoff variability within the Kansas-Lower Republican (KLR) River Basin. Potential runoff-contributing areas were estimated separately and collectively for the processes of infiltration-excess and saturation-excess overland flow using a set of environmental conditions that represented high, moderate, and low potential runoff. For infiltration-excess overland flow, various rainfall intensities and soil permeabilities were used. For saturation-excess overland flow, antecedent soil-moisture conditions and a topographic wetness index were used. Results indicated that the subbasins with relatively high potential runoff are located in the central part of the KLR River Basin. These subbasins are Black Vermillion River, Clarks Creek, Delaware River upstream from Muscotah, Grasshopper Creek, Mill Creek (Wabaunsee County), Soldier Creek, Vermillion Creek (Pottawatomie County), and Wildcat Creek. The subbasins with relatively low potential runoff are located in the western one-third of the KLR River Basin, with one exception, and are Buffalo Creek, Little Blue River upstream from Barnes, Mill Creek (Washington County), Republican River between Concordia and Clay Center, Republican River upstream from Concordia, Wakarusa River downstream from Clinton Lake (exception), and White Rock Creek. The ability to distinguish the subbasins as having relatively high or low potential runoff was possible mostly due to the variability of soil permeability across the KLR River Basin.

  1. Qualitative Assessment: Evaluating the Impacts of Climate Change on Endangered Species Act Recovery Actions for the South Fork Nooksack River, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    The South Fork Nooksack River (South Fork) is located in northwest Washington State and is home to nine species of Pacific salmon, including Nooksack early Chinook (aka, spring Chinook salmon), an iconic species for the Nooksack Indian Tribe. The quantity of salmon in the South F...

  2. MANHATTAN PROJECT B REACTOR HANFORD WASHINGTON [HANFORD'S HISTORIC B REACTOR (12-PAGE BOOKLET)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    GERBER MS

    2009-04-28

    The Hanford Site began as part of the United States Manhattan Project to research, test and build atomic weapons during World War II. The original 670-square mile Hanford Site, then known as the Hanford Engineer Works, was the last of three top-secret sites constructed in order to produce enriched uranium and plutonium for the world's first nuclear weapons. B Reactor, located about 45 miles northwest of Richland, Washington, is the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor. Not only was B Reactor a first-of-a-kind engineering structure, it was built and fully functional in just 11 months. Eventually, the shoreline of the Columbia River in southeastern Washington State held nine nuclear reactors at the height of Hanford's nuclear defense production during the Cold War era. The B Reactor was shut down in 1968. During the 1980's, the U.S. Department of Energy began removing B Reactor's support facilities. The reactor building, the river pumphouse and the reactor stack are the only facilities that remain. Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office offers escorted public access to B Reactor along a designated tour route. The National Park Service (NPS) is studying preservation and interpretation options for sites associated with the Manhattan Project. A draft is expected in summer 2009. A final report will recommend whether the B Reactor, along with other Manhattan Project facilities, should be preserved, and if so, what roles the DOE, the NPS and community partners will play in preservation and public education. In August 2008, the DOE announced plans to open B Reactor for additional public tours. Potential hazards still exist within the building. However, the approved tour route is safe for visitors and workers. DOE may open additional areas once it can assure public safety by mitigating hazards.

  3. 2012 Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium (PSLC) Topographic LiDAR: Chehalis River Watershed Area, Washington

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Watershed Sciences, Inc. (WSI) collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data for the Chehalis River Watershed study area on January 28th, February 2nd-7th,...

  4. Overview of Chromium Remediation Technology Evaluations At The Hanford Site, Richland Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morse, J. G.; Hanson, J. P.

    2009-12-01

    This paper will present an overview of the different technologies and the results to date for optimizing and improving the remediation of Cr+6 in the soil and groundwater at the Hanford Site. The Hanford Site, par of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)nuclear weapons complex, encompasses approximately 586 square miles in southeast Washington State. The Columbia River flows through the site (Hanford Reach.) Reactors were located along the Hanford Reach as part of the production process. Sodium dichromate was used as a corrosion inhibitor in the cooling water for the reactors. As a result chromium (Cr+6) is present in the soil and groundwater. Since the mid 90's interim groundwater pump and treat systems have been in place to try and contain or mitigate the migration of contaminated groundwater into the Columbia River. The primary concern being the protection of aquatic spawning habitat for salmon and other species. In order to improve the effectiveness of the remedial actions a number of different technologies have been evaluated and/or deployed. These include, permeable reactive barriers, in-situ bio-stimulation, in-situ chemical reduction, zero-valent iron injection and evaluation of improved above ground treatment technologies. An overview of the technologies and results to date are presented.

  5. Suspended-sediment loads in the lower Stillaguamish River, Snohomish County, Washington, 2014–15

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Scott A.; Curran, Christopher A.; Grossman, Eric E.

    2017-08-03

    Continuous records of discharge and turbidity at a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage in the lower Stillaguamish River were paired with discrete measurements of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) in order to estimate suspended-sediment loads over the water years 2014 and 2015. First, relations between turbidity and SSC were developed and used to translate the continuous turbidity record into a continuous estimate of SSC. Those concentrations were then used to predict suspended-sediment loads based on the current discharge record, reported at daily intervals. Alternative methods were used to in-fill a small number of days with either missing periods of turbidity or discharge records. Uncertainties in our predictions at daily and annual time scales were estimated based on the parameter uncertainties in our turbidity-SSC regressions. Daily loads ranged from as high as 121,000 tons during a large autumn storm to as low as –56 tons, when tidal return flow moved more sediment upstream than river discharge did downstream. Annual suspended-sediment loads for both water years were close to 1.4 ± 0.2 million tons.

  6. Genetic and phenotype catalog of native resident trout of the interior Columbia River Basin: FY-99 report: populations of the Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Sanpoil River Basins of Colville National Forest/ fiscal year 1999 report; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trotter, Patrick C.

    2001-01-01

    The 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council specifies the recovery and preservation of population health of native resident fishes of the Columbia River Basin. Among the native resident species of concern are interior rainbow trout of the Columbia River redband subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri 1 and westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki lewisi. The westslope cutthroat trout has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (American Wildlands et al. 1997). Before at-risk populations can be protected, their presence and status must be established. Where introgression from introduced species is a concern, as in the case of both westslope cutthroat trout and redband rainbow trout, genetic issues must be addressed as well. As is true with native trout elsewhere in the western United States (Behnke 1992), most of the remaining pure populations of these species in the Columbia River Basin are in relatively remote headwater reaches. The objective of this project is to photo-document upper Columbia Basin native resident trout populations in Washington, and to ascertain their species or subspecies identity and relative genetic purity using a nonlethal DNA technique. FY-99 was year two of a five-year project in which we conducted field visits to remote locations to seek out and catalog these populations. In FY-99 we worked in collaboration with the Colville National Forest and Kalispel Indian Tribe to catalog populations in the northeastern corner of Washington State

  7. Physical Drivers Vs. Effects of the Wolf-Elk Trophic Cascade on Fluvial Channel Planform, Olympic National Park, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    East, A. E.; Jenkins, K. J.; Happe, P. J.; Bountry, J.; Beechie, T. J.; Mastin, M. C.; Sankey, J. B.; Randle, T. J.

    2016-12-01

    Identifying the relative contributions of physical and ecological processes to channel evolution remains a substantial challenge in fluvial geomorphology. We use a 74-year aerial photographic record of the Hoh, Queets, Quinault, and Elwha Rivers, Olympic National Park, Washington, U.S.A., to investigate whether physical or trophic-cascade-driven ecological factors—excessive elk impacts after wolves were extirpated a century ago—are the dominant controls on channel planform of these gravel-bed rivers. We find that channel width and braiding show strong relationships with recent flood history; all four rivers have widened significantly in recent decades, consistent with increased flood activity since the 1970s. Channel planform also reflects sediment-supply changes, shown, for example, by the response of the Elwha River to a landslide. We surmise that the Hoh River, which shows a multi-decadal trend toward greater braiding, is adjusting to increased sediment supply associated with rapid glacial retreat. These rivers demonstrate rapid transmission of climatic signals through relatively short sediment-routing systems that lack substantial buffering by sediment storage. We infer no correspondence between channel evolution and elk abundance, suggesting that in this system effects of the wolf-driven trophic cascade are subsidiary to physical controls on channel morphology. Our examinations of stage-discharge history, historical maps, photographs, and descriptions, and empirical geomorphic thresholds do not support a previous conceptual model that these rivers underwent a fundamental geomorphic transition (widening, and a shift from single-thread to braided) resulting from large elk populations in the early 20th century. These findings differ from previous interpretations of Olympic National Park river dynamics, and also contrast with previous findings in Yellowstone National Park, where legacy effects of abundant elk nearly a century ago apparently still affect

  8. The Reaches Project : Ecological and Geomorphic Dtudies Supporting Normative Flows in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, Final Report 2002.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanford, Jack A.; Lorang, Mark N.; Matson, Phillip L. (University of Montana, Flathead Lake Biological Station, Poison, MT)

    2002-10-01

    The Yakima River system historically produced robust annual runs of chinook, sockeye, chum and coho salmon and steelhead. Many different stocks or life history types existed because the physiography of the basin is diverse, ranging from very dry and hot in the high desert of the lower basin to cold and wet in the Cascade Mountains of the headwaters (Snyder and Stanford 2001). Habitat diversity and life history diversity of salmonids are closely correlated in the Yakima Basin. Moreover, habitat diversity for salmonids and many other fishes maximizes in floodplain reaches of river systems (Ward and Stanford 1995, Independent Scientific Group 2000). The flood plains of Yakima River likely were extremely important for spawning and rearing of anadromous salmonids (Snyder and Stanford 2001). However, Yakima River flood plains are substantially degraded. Primary problems are: revetments that disconnect main and side channel habitats; dewatering associated with irrigation that changes base flow conditions and degrades the shallow-water food web; chemical and thermal pollution that prevents proper maturation of eggs and juveniles; and extensive gravel mining within the floodplain reaches that has severed groundwater-channel connectivity, increased thermal loading and increased opportunities for invasions of nonnative species. The Yakima River is too altered from its natural state to allow anything close to the historical abundance and diversity of anadromous fishes. Habitat loss, overharvest and dam and reservoir passage problems in the mainstem Columbia River downstream of the Yakima, coupled with ocean productivity variation, also are implicated in the loss of Yakima fisheries. Nonetheless, in an earlier analysis, Snyder and Stanford (2001) concluded that a significant amount of physical habitat remains in the five floodplain reaches of the mainstem river because habitat-structuring floods do still occur on the remaining expanses of floodplain environment. Assuming main

  9. Data Summary Report for teh Remedial Investigation of Hanford Site Releases to the Columbia River, Hanford Site, Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hulstrom, L.

    2011-02-07

    This data summary report summarizes the investigation results to evaluate the nature and distribution of Hanford Site-related contaminants present in the Columbia River. As detailed in DOE/RL-2008-11, more than 2,000 environmental samples were collected from the Columbia River between 2008 and 2010. These samples consisted of island soil, sediment, surface water, groundwater upwelling (pore water, surface water, and sediment), and fish tissue.

  10. The Columbia River plume as cross-shelf exporter and along-coast barrier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banas, N. S.; MacCready, P.; Hickey, B. M.

    2009-01-01

    An intensive Lagrangian particle-tracking analysis of the July 2004 upwelling period was conducted in a hindcast model of the US Pacific Northwest coast, in order to determine the effect of the Columbia River plume on the fate of upwelled water. The model, implemented using Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), includes variable wind and atmospheric forcing, variable Columbia river flow, realistic boundary conditions from Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM), and 10 tidal constituents. Model skill has been demonstrated in detail elsewhere [MacCready, P., Banas, N.S., Hickey, B.M., Dever, E.P., Liu, Y., 2008. A model study of tide- and wind-induced mixing in the Columbia River estuary and plume. Continental Shelf Research, this issue, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2008.03.015]. Particles were released in the Columbia estuary, along the Washington coastal wall, and along the model's northern boundary at 48°N. Particles were tracked in three dimensions, using both velocities from ROMS and a vertical random displacement representing turbulent mixing. When 25 h of upwelling flow is looped and particles tracked for 12 d, their trajectories highlight a field of transient eddies and recirculations on scales from 5 to 50 km both north and south of the Columbia. Not all of these features are caused by plume dynamics, but the presence of the plume increases the entrainment of inner-shelf water into them. The cumulative effect of the plume's interaction with these transient features is to increase cross-shelf dispersion: 25% more water is transported laterally past the 100 m isobath when river and estuarine effects are included than when they are omitted. This cross-shelf dispersion also disrupts the southward transport of water along the inner shelf that occurs in the model when the Columbia River is omitted. This second effect—increased retention of upwelled water on the Washington shelf—may be partly responsible for the regional-scale alongcoast gradient in chlorophyll biomass

  11. Water-quality assessment of White River between Lake Sequoyah and Beaver Reservoir, Washington County, Arkansas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terry, J.E.; Morris, E.E.; Bryant, C.T.

    1982-01-01

    The Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology and U.S. Geological Survey conducted a water quality assessment be made of the White River and, that a steady-state digital model be calibrated and used as a tool for simulating changes in nutrient loading. The city of Fayetteville 's wastewater-treatment plant is the only point-source discharger of waste effluent to the river. Data collected during synoptic surveys downstream from the wastewater-treatment plan indicate that temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, un-ionized ammonia, total phosphorus, and floating solids and depositable materials did not meet Arkansas stream standards. Nutrient loadings below the treatment plant result in dissolved oxygen concentrations as low as 0.0 milligrams per liter. Biological surveys found low macroinvertebrate organism diversity and numerous dead fish. Computed dissolved oxygen deficits indicate that benthic demands are the most significant oxygen sinks in the river downstream from the wastewater-treatment plant. Benthic oxygen demands range from 2.8 to 11.0 grams per meter squared per day. Model projections indicate that for 7-day, 10-year low-flow conditions and water temperature of 29 degrees Celsius, daily average dissolved oxygen concentrations of 6.0 milligrams per liter can be maintained downstream from the wastewater-treatment plant if effluent concentrations of ultimate carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen are 7.5 (5.0 5-day demand) and 2 milligrams per liter respectively. Model sensitivity analysis indicate that dissolved oxygen concentrations were most sensitive to changes in stream temperature. (USGS)

  12. Preliminary geology of eastern Umtanum Ridge, South-Central Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goff, F.E.

    1981-01-01

    The basalt stratigraphy and geologic structures of eastern Umtanum Ridge have been mapped and studied in detail to help assess the feasibility of nuclear waste terminal storage on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. Eastern Umtanum Ridge is an asymmetric east-west-trending anticline of Columbia River basalt that plunges 5 degrees eastward into the Pasco Basin. Geologic mapping and determination of natural remanent magnetic polarity and chemical composition reveal that flows of the Pomona and Umatilla Members (Saddle Mountains Basalt), Priest Rapids and Frenchman Springs Members (Wanapum Basalt), and Grande Ronde Basalt were erupted as fairly uniform sheets. The Wahluke and Huntzinger flows (Saddle Mountains Basalt) fill a paleovalley cut into Wanapum Basalt. No evidence was found to indicate Quaternary-age movement on any structures in the map area. The basalt strata on the south limb of the Umtanum anticline display relatively little tectonic deformation since Miocene-Pliocene time. Thus, the buried south flank of Umtanum Ridge may provide an excellent location for a nuclear waste repository beneath the Hanford Site.

  13. Preliminary geology of eastern Umtanum Ridge, South-Central Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goff, F.E.

    1981-01-01

    The basalt stratigraphy and geologic structures of eastern Umtanum Ridge have been mapped and studied in detail to help assess the feasibility of nuclear waste terminal storage on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. Eastern Umtanum Ridge is an asymmetric east-west-trending anticline of Columbia River basalt that plunges 5 degrees eastward into the Pasco Basin. Geologic mapping and determination of natural remanent magnetic polarity and chemical composition reveal that flows of the Pomona and Umatilla Members (Saddle Mountains Basalt), Priest Rapids and Frenchman Springs Members (Wanapum Basalt), and Grande Ronde Basalt were erupted as fairly uniform sheets. The Wahluke and Huntzinger flows (Saddle Mountains Basalt) fill a paleovalley cut into Wanapum Basalt. No evidence was found to indicate Quaternary-age movement on any structures in the map area. The basalt strata on the south limb of the Umtanum anticline display relatively little tectonic deformation since Miocene-Pliocene time. Thus, the buried south flank of Umtanum Ridge may provide an excellent location for a nuclear waste repository beneath the Hanford Site

  14. Multi-Scale Action Effectiveness Research in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary, 2012

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, Gary E.; Sather, Nichole K.; Storch, Adam; Johnson, Jeff; Skalski, J. R.; Teel, D. J.; Brewer, Taylor; Bryson, Amanda J.; Dawley, Earl M.; Kuligowski, D. R.; Whitesel, T.; Mallette, Christine

    2013-11-30

    The study reported herein was conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (USACE) by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), University of Washington (UW), and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The goal of the study was to evaluate the ecological benefits of restoration actions for juvenile salmon in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE; rkm 0–234).

  15. The Joseph Barker, Jr. Home: A Comparative Architectural and Historical Study of a 19th Century Brick and Frame Dwelling in Washington County, Ohio,

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-02-01

    anti-slavery debates of 1836 (Williams 1881: 430) and was deeply involved in Washington County politics. At the arrival of John Quincy Adams during a...433) continued with Adams up the Ohio River as far as Pittsburgh. Barker was a frequent participant in political discussions at the store 29 of... Ansel Wood and ca. 1819 by Timothy Love. Patton (1936: 30), on the other hand, dated the construction to ca. 1832-1836 and stated that it was built

  16. Father Secchi Goes to Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, M. F.

    1994-12-01

    In 1848 a small group of Jesuit refugees arrived at Georgetown College near Washington, D.C. Among them was a young priest, Angelo Secchi, who had finished theology studies in Rome, but had not been able to complete his final examinations. This done successfully, Secchi turned to astronomy and the new facilities of the Georgetown College Observatory, directed by its founder, Fr. James Curley. During his two years in Washington, Secchi studied physics, wrote an article on Electrical Rheometry for the Smithsonian Institution, and formed a friendship with Matthew Fontaine Maury of the U.S. Navy, who headed the Chart Service and in 1844 was named superintendent of the National Observatory. This was later named the U.S. Naval Observatory. Secchi's friendships formed during the Washington visit proved most helpful for relations between European astronomers and U.S. colleagues. Secchi, after his return to Rome constructed the Observatory of the Collegio Romano atop the baroque Church of St. Ignatius in Rome and began his work in spectral classification of stars.

  17. Chemical and geochemical studies off the coast of Washington. Progress report, September 1980-July 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpenter, R.

    1981-07-01

    This report summarizes progress from September 1980 through July 1981 on a series of marine chemical and geochemical investigations involving both laboratory studies and field studies off the coast of Washington. Most of the field work has been on the Washington continental shelf, slope, and the submarine canyons indenting the shelf north of the Columbia River. The aim is to provide basic data required to characterize underlying chemical and physical processes and their rates which control the distributions, concentrations, and ultimate fate of some of the potentially hazardous agents associated with fossil fuel and/or nuclear power production or transportation. We are concentrating on several processes which we feel are of special importance in the sea, and developing methodologies and expertise to study them. Laboratory and field experiments and theories derived from them are being used iteratively to investigate: (1) vertical transfer of trace chemicals from surface seawaters to underlying waters and sediments; (2) processes which may transfer certain chemicals from sediments back into the overlying water column; (3) redox processes which besides changing valence states of certain chemicals may alter their precipitation/dissolution tendencies, their biological availability and/or toxicity; and (4) accumulation histories of potentially hazardous chemicals in sediments during the past 100 years

  18. Corrections Education. Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The Washington State Department of Corrections contracts with community colleges to provide basic education and job training at each of the state's 12 adult prisons so upon release, individuals are more likely to get jobs and less likely to return. Washington State community colleges build a bridge for offenders to successfully re-enter…

  19. Aerospace Training. Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2014

    2014-01-01

    Aerospace is an economic powerhouse that generates jobs and fuels our economy. Washington's community and technical colleges produce the world-class employees needed to keep it that way. With about 1,250 aerospace-related firms employing more than 94,000 workers, Washington has the largest concentration of aerospace expertise in the nation. To…

  20. 76 FR 16323 - Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Continuance Referendum

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-23

    ...; FV11-946-1 CR] Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Continuance Referendum AGENCY: Agricultural... conducted among eligible Washington potato growers to determine whether they favor continuance of the marketing order regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Washington. DATES: The referendum will be...

  1. Chemical and geochemical studies off the coast of Washington. Report of progress, May 1974--May 1975

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpenter, R.

    1975-05-01

    Results are reported from studies on the chemical, geological, and geochemical effects of the Columbia River in the northeast Pacific Ocean from May 1974 to May 1975. The studies followed three main lines of investigation: surface chemical studies of the scavenging of various species dissolved in sea water, especially lead-210, by well characterized natural particulates; studies of uptake and transfer of several isotopes, starting with polonium-210, by particularly well defined parts of the marine food web; and studies of the behavior of lead-210 and polonium-210 in sediments off the Washington coast and the application of lead-210 dating to determine sediment accumulation rates over the past 100 years in the coastal zone

  2. 75 FR 14462 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Central Washington University, Department of Anthropology...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-25

    ... Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Ellensburg, WA, and Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State... Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Ellensburg, WA, and the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington... Anthropology, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926-7544, telephone (509) 963-2671 or Dr. Peter...

  3. Evaluation of stream flow effects on smolt survival in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, 2012-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courter, Ian; Garrison, Tommy; Kock, Tobias J.; Perry, Russell W.

    2015-01-01

    The influence of stream flow on survival of emigrating juvenile (smolts) Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and steelhead trout O. mykiss is of key management interest. However, few studies have quantified flow effects on smolt migration survival, and available information does not indicate a consistent flow-survival relationship within the typical range of flows under management control. It is hypothesized that smolt migration and dam passage survival are positively correlated with stream flow because higher flows increase migration rates, potentially reducing exposure to predation, and reduce delays in reservoirs. However, available empirical data are somewhat equivocal concerning the influence of flow on smolt survival and the underlying mechanisms driving this relationship. Stream flow effects on survival of emigrating anadromous salmonids in the Yakima Basin have concerned water users and fisheries managers for over 20 years, and previous studies do not provide sufficient information at the resolution necessary to inform water operations, which typically occur on a small spatiotemporal scale. Using a series of controlled flow releases from 2012-2014, combined with radio telemetry, we quantified the relationship between flow and smolt survival from Roza Dam 208 km downstream to the Yakima River mouth, as well as for specific routes of passage at Roza Dam. A novel multistate mark-recapture model accounted for weekly variation in flow conditions experienced by radio-tagged fish. Groups of fish were captured and radio-tagged at Roza Dam and released at two locations, upstream at the Big Pines Campground (river kilometer [rkm] 211) and downstream in the Roza Dam tailrace (rkm 208). A total of 904 hatchery-origin yearling Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha were captured in the Roza Dam fish bypass, radio-tagged and released upstream of Roza Dam. Two hundred thirty seven fish were released in the tailrace of Roza Dam. Fish released in the tailrace of Roza Dam were tagged

  4. 76 FR 377 - Land Acquisitions; Cowlitz Indian Tribe of Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-04

    ... State of Washington by Auditor's File Nos. G 450664 and G 147358. Parcel II That portion of the... thereof acquired by the State of Washington by deed recorded under Auditor's File Nos. G 140380 and D... recorded under Auditor's File No. F 38759, records of Clark County, Washington, described as follows...

  5. Recent developments: Washington focus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    November was a quiet month in Washington. Although Congress has recessed until 1991, the Senate filled vacancies in party leadership positions created by November's elections. The House is expected to proceed with its changes in early December. The Nuclear Energy Forum was held in Washington, DC on November 11-14 to discuss the status of the nuclear industry in the USA. The Forum, held in conjunction with the American Nuclear Society's annual meeting, assembled a large number of CEO's from US, European, and Far Eastern utilities and vendors. The meeting concluded with an announcement by Philip Bayne, President of NYPA and chairman of the Nuclear Power Oversight Committee (NPOC), of the results of a year-long NPOC study entitled a open-quotes Strategic Plan for Building New Nuclear Power Plants.close quotes

  6. Yakima River Species Interactions Studies, Annual Report 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pearsons, Todd N.; Ham, Kenneth D.; McMichael, Geoffrey A.

    1999-01-01

    Species interactions research and monitoring was initiated in 1989 to investigate ecological interactions among fish in response to proposed supplementation of salmon and steelhead in the upper Yakima River basin. This is the seventh of a series of progress reports that address species interactions research and pre-supplementation monitoring of fishes in the Yakima River basin. Data have been collected prior to supplementation to characterize the ecology and demographics of non-target taxa (NTT) and target taxon, and develop methods to monitor interactions and supplementation success. Major topics of this report are associated with monitoring potential impacts to support adaptive management of NTT and baseline monitoring of fish predation indices on spring chinook salmon smolts. This report is organized into three chapters, with a general introduction preceding the first chapter. This annual report summarizes data collected primarily by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 1998 in the Yakima basin, however these data were compared to data from previous years to identify preliminary trends and patterns

  7. Opportunities for addressing laminated root rot caused by Phellinus sulphuracens in Washington's forests: A Report from the Washington State Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    R. James Cook; Robert L. Edmonds; Ned B. Klopfenstein; Willis Littke; Geral McDonald; Daniel Omdahl; Karen Ripley; Charles G. Shaw; Rona Sturrock; Paul Zambino

    2013-01-01

    This report from the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) is in response to a request from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to "identify approaches and opportunities ripe for research on understanding and managing root diseases of Douglas-fir." Similar to the process used by the National Research Council, the WSAS upon...

  8. Columbia River impact evaluation plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-06-01

    As a result of past practices, four areas of the Hanford Site (the 100, 200, 300, and 1100 Areas) have been included on the US Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA`s) National Priorities List (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. To accomplish the timely cleanup of the past-practice units, the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement), was signed by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), EPA, and the US Department of Energy (DOE). To support the Tri-Party Agreement, milestones were adopted. These milestones represent the actions needed to ensure acceptable progress toward Hanford Site compliance with CERCLA, RCRA, and the Washington State Hazardous Waste Management Act of 1976. This report was prepared to fulfill the requirement of Tri-Party Agreement Milestone M-30-02, which requires a plan to determine cumulative health and environmental impacts to the Columbia River. This plan supplements the CERCLA remedial investigations/feasibility studies (RI/FS) and RCRA facility investigations/corrective measures studies (RFI/CMSs) that will be undertaken in the 100 Area. To support the plan development process, existing information was reviewed and a preliminary impact evaluation based on this information was performed. The purpose of the preliminary impact evaluation was to assess the adequacy of existing data and proposed data collection activities. Based on the results of the evaluation, a plan is proposed to collect additional data or make changes to existing or proposed data collection activities.

  9. Geotechnical soil characterization of intact Quaternary deposits forming the March 22, 2014 SR-530 (Oso) landslide, Snohomish County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riemer, Michael F.; Collins, Brian D.; Badger, Thomas C.; Toth, Csilla; Yu, Yat Chun

    2015-01-01

    During the late morning of March 22, 2014, a devastating landslide occurred near the town of Oso, Washington. The landslide with an estimated volume of 10.9 million cubic yards (8.3 x 106 m3) of both intact glacially deposited and previously disturbed landslide sediments, reached speeds averaging 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour) and crossed the entire 2/3-mile (~1100 m) width of the adjacent North Fork Stillaguamish River floodplain in approximately 60 seconds, resulting in the complete destruction of an entire neighborhood (Iverson and others, 2015). More than 40 homes were destroyed as the debris overran the neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of 43 people.

  10. Columbia River pathway report: phase I of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-07-01

    This report summarizes the river-pathway portion of the first phase of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project. The HEDR Project is estimating radiation doses that could have been received by the public from the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, in southeastern Washington State. Phase 1 of the river-pathway dose reconstruction effort sought to determine whether dose estimates could be calculated for populations in the area from above the Hanford Site at Priest Rapids Dam to below the site at McNary Dam from January 1964 to December 1966. Of the potential sources of radionuclides from the river, fish consumption was the most important. Doses from drinking water were lower at Pasco than at Richland and lower at Kennewick than at Pasco. The median values of preliminary dose estimates calculated by HEDR are similar to independent, previously published estimates of average doses to Richland residents. Later phases of the HEDR Project will address dose estimates for periods other than 1964--1966 and for populations downstream of McNary Dam. 17 refs., 19 figs., 1 tab.

  11. Ecology of Juvenile Salmon in Shallow Tidal Freshwater Habitats in the Vicinity of the Sandy River Delta, Lower Columbia River, 2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sather, Nichole K.; Johnson, Gary E.; Storch, Adam; Teel, David; Skalski, John R.; Jones, Tucker A.; Dawley, Earl M.; Zimmerman, Shon A.; Borde, Amy B.; Mallette, Christine; Farr, R.

    2009-05-29

    The tidal freshwater monitoring (TFM) project reported herein is part of the research, monitoring, and evaluation effort developed by the Action Agencies (Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE], and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) in response to obligations arising from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a result of operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. The project is being performed under the auspices of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (Project No. 2005-001-00). The research is a collaborative effort among the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the University of Washington.

  12. Drivers' use of marijuana in Washington state : traffic tech.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-08-01

    In July 2014, Washington State allowed legal sales of : recreational marijuana. Working with the Washington : Traffic Safety Commission, NHTSA assisted the State in : conducting a roadside study to examine the prevalence : of marijuana use before and...

  13. American River Watershed Investigation, California, Feasibility Report. Part 1. Main Report. Part 2. Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-12-01

    determined more by economic forces than by flood protection. Thus, if inadequate flood protection rendered development in portions of the American River flood...1978 Patwin. In: Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 8 California, Robert F. Heizer , volume editor. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. pp...Norman L. & Arlean H. Towne. 1978 Nisenan. In: Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 8 California, Robert F. Heizer , volume editor. Smithsonian

  14. Thinning shock and response to fertilizer less than expected in young Douglas-fir stand at Wind River Experimental Forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean S. DeBell; Constance A. Harrington; John. Shumway

    2002-01-01

    Three thinning treatments (thinned to 3.7 by 3.7 m, thinned to 4.3 by 4.3 m, and an unthinned control treatment with nominal spacing averaging 2.6 by 2.6 m) were installed in a 10-year-old Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) plantation growing on a low-quality site at the Wind River Experimental Forest in southwest Washington. Two...

  15. Proposed Columbia Wind Farm No. 1 : Final Environmental Impact Statement, Joint NEPA/SEPA.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Klickitat County (Wash.)

    1995-09-01

    CARES proposes to construct and operate the 25 megawatt Columbia Wind Farm No. 1 (Project) in the Columbia Hills area of Klickitat County, Washington known as Juniper Point. Wind is not a constant resource and based on the site wind measurement data, it is estimated that the Project would generate approximately 7 average annual MWs of electricity. BPA proposes to purchase the electricity generated by the Project. CARES would execute a contractual agreement with a wind developer, to install approximately 91 wind turbines and associated facilities to generate electricity. The Project`s construction and operation would include: install concrete pier foundations for each wind turbine; install 91 model AWT-26 wind turbines using 43 m high guyed tubular towers on the pier foundations; construct a new 115/24-kv substation; construct a 149 m{sup 2} steel operations and maintenance building; install 25 pad mount transformers along the turbine access roads; install 4.0 km of underground 24 kv power collection lines to collect power from individual turbines to the end of turbine strings; install 1.2 km of underground communication and transmission lines from each turbine to a pad mount transformer; install 5.6 km of 24 kv wood pole transmission lines to deliver electricity from the pad mount transformers to the Project substation; install 3.2 km of 115 kv wood pole transmission lines to deliver electricity from the Project substation to the Public Utility District No. 1 of Klickitat County(PUD)115 kv Goldendale line; interconnect with the BPA transmission system through the Goldendale line and Goldendale substation owned by the PUD; reconstruct, upgrade, and maintain 8.0 km of existing roads; construct and maintain 6.4 km of new graveled roads along the turbine strings and to individual turbines; and install meteorological towers guyed with rebar anchors on the Project site.

  16. Tucannon River Spring Chinook Captive Broodstock Program Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    N/A

    2000-05-24

    Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is proposing to fund the Tucannon River Spring Chinook Captive Broodstock Program, a small-scale production initiative designed to increase numbers of a weak but potentially recoverable population of spring chinook salmon in the Tucannon River in the State of Washington. BPA has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-l326) evaluating the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required, and BPA is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

  17. Salmon and steelhead in the White Salmon River after the removal of Condit Dam–Planning efforts and recolonization results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Brady; Engle, Rod O; Zendt, Joseph S; Shrier, Frank C; Wilson, Jeremy T; Connolly, Patrick J.

    2016-01-01

    Condit Dam, at river kilometer 5.3 on the White Salmon River, Washington, was breached in 2011 and completely removed in 2012. This action opened habitat to migratory fish for the first time in 100 years. The White Salmon Working Group was formed to create plans for fish salvage in preparation for fish recolonization and to prescribe the actions necessary to restore anadromous salmonid populations in the White Salmon River after Condit Dam removal. Studies conducted by work group members and others served to inform management decisions. Management options for individual species were considered, including natural recolonization, introduction of a neighboring stock, hatchery supplementation, and monitoring natural recolonization for some time period to assess the need for hatchery supplementation. Monitoring to date indicates that multiple species and stocks of anadromous salmonids are finding and spawning in the now accessible and recovering habitat.

  18. Ecological risk assessment of radionuclides in the Columbia River System ''a historical assessment''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friant, S.L.; Brandt, C.A.; Probasco, K.M.

    1993-01-01

    The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site in southcentral Washington State has been the location of nuclear production activities since 1943. Radioactive effluents were discharged to the Columbia River, which runs through the northern portion of the Site and borders it on the east (the Hanford Reach). The assessment was conducted using historical Hanford Site monitoring data for the aquatic environment of the Columbia River over the time period from 1963 to 1964. The time period was chosen because it was then that peak production of nuclear material was occurring and the maximum number of reactors were operational. Exposure characterization consisted of measured radioactivity in water, sediments, and biota. Two approaches were used in assessing ecological risk to Columbia River organisms. In the first approach, environmental exposure data were used to calculate internal dose to a variety of aquatic organisms, including the most sensitive receptors (fish). In the second approach, measured tissue concentrations were used for selected aquatic organisms to calculate organism internal dose directly. Organism dose was used to assess potential toxic effects and assess regulatory compliance. Risk characterization was developed by comparing dose levels in fish and other organisms found in the Columbia River to known concentrations through a hazard quotient for acute dose and developmental effects

  19. Atmospheric Rivers, Climate Change, and the Howard Hanson Dam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, M.; Mass, C.; Shaffer, K.; Brettman, K.

    2017-12-01

    All wintertime extreme precipitation and major flooding events in Western Washington are associated with Atmospheric Rivers (ARs), narrow bands of elevated integrated water vapor transport (IVT) stretching from the tropical Pacific Ocean to the Pacific Northwest coast. Several studies over the last decade have suggested that climate change could impact the intensity, frequency, timing, and structure of Pacific Northwest extreme precipitation. The Howard Hanson Dam is situated on the Green River in the central Cascade Mountains in Western Washington and is operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Seattle. The reservoir behind the dam has two functions: It is the main water supply for the city of Tacoma and is filled during the summer months, and it is empty during winter months when it is used for flood risk management during AR events, protecting billions of dollars of infrastructure downstream. The reservoir is maintained by the Cascade Mountains' abundant winter snowpack and precipitation. Since the reservoir behind Howard Hanson Dam must be empty before the flood season starts and is reliant on snowpack and precipitation to fill in late spring, impacts due to climate change are important for how the USACE operates and manages flood risk and water supply in the future. This work describes changes in the structure, climatology, and seasonality of cool-season atmospheric rivers influencing the west coast of North America by examining the projections of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) climate simulations forced by the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario. There are only slight changes in AR frequency and seasonality between historical (1970-1999) and future (2070-2099) periods considering the most extreme days (99th percentile) in integrated water vapor transport (IVT) along the West Coast, particularly along the southern part of the U.S. west coast, where some changes in the most extreme events are statistically

  20. HANFORD SITE RIVER PROTECTION PROJECT (RPP) TANK FARM CLOSURE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    JARAYSI, M.N.; SMITH, Z.; QUINTERO, R.; BURANDT, M.B.; HEWITT, W.

    2006-01-01

    The U. S. Department of Energy, Office of River Protection and the CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. are responsible for the operations, cleanup, and closure activities at the Hanford Tank Farms. There are 177 tanks overall in the tank farms, 149 single-shell tanks (see Figure 1), and 28 double-shell tanks (see Figure 2). The single-shell tanks were constructed 40 to 60 years ago and all have exceeded their design life. The single-shell tanks do not meet Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 [1] requirements. Accordingly, radioactive waste is being retrieved from the single-shell tanks and transferred to double-shell tanks for storage prior to treatment through vitrification and disposal. Following retrieval of as much waste as is technically possible from the single-shell tanks, the Office of River Protection plans to close the single-shell tanks in accordance with the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order [2] and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 [3] requirements. The double-shell tanks will remain in operation through much of the cleanup mission until sufficient waste has been treated such that the Office of River Protection can commence closing the double-shell tanks. At the current time, however, the focus is on retrieving waste and closing the single-shell tanks. The single-shell tanks are being managed and will be closed in accordance with the pertinent requirements in: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 and its Washington State-authorized Dangerous Waste Regulations [4], US DOE Order 435.1 Radioactive Waste Management [5], the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [6], and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 [7]. The Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, which is commonly referred to as the Tri-Party Agreement or TPA, was originally signed by Department of Energy, the State of Washington, and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1989. Meanwhile, the

  1. Beyond 2001: a silvicultural odyssey to sustaining terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems? Proceedings of the 2001 national silviculture workshop, May 6-10, Hood River, Oregon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharon Parker; Susan Stevens. Hummel

    2002-01-01

    The 2001 National Silviculture Workshop was held in Hood River, Oregon, and hosted by the Mt. Hood National Forest, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and the Pacific Northwest Research Station. The Washington Office Vegetation Management and Protection Research and Forest and Grassland staffs are ongoing sponsors of the biennial workshop, which began in 1973 in...

  2. Salmonid Gamete Preservation in the Snake River Basin, 2001 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armstrong, Robyn; Kucera, Paul

    2002-06-01

    Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations in the Northwest are decreasing. Genetic diversity is being lost at an alarming rate. Along with reduced population and genetic variability, the loss of biodiversity means a diminished environmental adaptability. The Nez Perce Tribe (Tribe) strives to ensure availability of genetic samples of the existing male salmonid population by establishing and maintaining a germplasm repository. The sampling strategy, initiated in 1992, has been to collect and preserve male salmon and steelhead genetic diversity across the geographic landscape by sampling within the major river subbasins in the Snake River basin, assuming a metapopulation structure existed historically. Gamete cryopreservation conserves genetic diversity in a germplasm repository, but is not a recovery action for listed fish species. The Tribe was funded in 2001 by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) to coordinate gene banking of male gametes from Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed steelhead and spring and summer chinook salmon in the Snake River basin. In 2001, a total of 398 viable chinook salmon semen samples from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, upper Grande Ronde River, Lookingglass Hatchery (Imnaha River stock), Lake Creek, the South Fork Salmon River weir, Johnson Creek, Big Creek, Capehorn Creek, Marsh Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery, and Sawtooth Hatchery (upper Salmon River stock) were cryopreserved. Also, 295 samples of male steelhead gametes from Dworshak Hatchery, Fish Creek, Grande Ronde River, Little Sheep Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery and Oxbow Hatchery were also cryopreserved. The Grande Ronde chinook salmon captive broodstock program stores 680 cryopreserved samples at the University of Idaho as a long-term archive, half of the total samples. A total of 3,206 cryopreserved samples from Snake River basin steelhead and

  3. Quality of the ground water in basalt of the Columbia River group, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newcomb, Reuben Clair

    1972-01-01

    The ground water within the 50,000-square-mile area of the layered basalt of the Columbia River Group is a generally uniform bicarbonate water having calcium and sodium in nearly equal amounts as the principal cations. water contains a relatively large amount of silica. The 525 chemical analyses indicate that the prevalent ground water is of two related kinds--a calcium and a sodium water. The sodium water is more common beneath the floors of the main synclinal valleys; the calcium water, elsewhere. In addition to the prevalent type, five special types form a small part of the ground water; four of these are natural and one is artificial. The four natural special types are: (1) calcium sodium chloride waters that rise from underlying sedimentary rocks west of the Cascade Range, (2) mineralized water at or near warm or hot springs, (3) water having unusual ion concentrations, especially of chloride, near sedimentary rocks intercalated at the edges of the basalt, and (4) more mineralized water near one locality of excess carbon dioxide. The one artificial kind of special ground water has resulted from unintentional artificial recharge incidental to irrigation in parts of central Washington. The solids dissolved in the ground water have been picked up on the surface, within the overburden, and from minerals and glasses within the basalt. Evidence for the removal of ions from solution is confined to calcium and magnesium, only small amounts of which are present in some of the sodium-rich water. Minor constituents, such as the heavy metals, alkali metals, and alkali earths, occur in the ground water in trace, or small, amounts. The natural radioactivity of the ground waters is very low. Except for a few of the saline calcium sodium chloride waters and a few occurrences of excessive nitrate, the ground water generally meets the common standards of water good for most ordinary uses, but some of it can be improved by treatment. The water is clear and colorless and has a

  4. Mathematical model simulation of a diesel spill in the Potomac River

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, S.S.; Nicolette, J.P.; Markarian, R.K.

    1995-01-01

    A mathematical modeling technique was used to simulate the transport and fate of approximately 400,000 gallons of spilled diesel fuel and its impact on the aquatic biota in the Potomac River and Sugarland Run. Sugarland Run is a tributary about 21 miles upstream from Washington, DC. The mass balance model predicted the dynamic (spatial and temporal) distribution of spilled oil. The distributions were presented in terms of surface oil slick and sheen, dissolved and undissolved total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the water surface, water column, river sediments, shoreline and atmosphere. The processes simulated included advective movement, dispersion, dissolution, evaporation, volatilization, sedimentation, shoreline deposition, biodegradation, and removal of oil from cleanup operations. The model predicted that the spill resulted in a water column dissolved TPH concentration range of 0.05 to 18.6 ppm in Sugarland Run. The spilled oil traveled 10 miles along Sugarland Run before it reached the Potomac River. At the Potomac River, the water column TPH concentration was predicted to have decreased to the range of 0.0 to 0.43 ppm. These levels were consistent with field samples. To assess biological injury, the model used 4, 8, 24, 48, and 96-hr LC values in computing the fish injury caused by the fuel oil. The model used the maximum running average of dissolved TPH and exposure time to predict levels of fish mortality in the range of 38 to 40% in Sugarland Run. This prediction was consistent with field fisheries surveys. The model also computed the amount of spilled oil that adsorbed and settled into the river sediments

  5. Temporal genetic monitoring of hybridization between native westslope cutthroat trout and introduced rainbow trout in the Stehekin River, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostberg, Carl O.; Chase, Dorothy M.

    2012-01-01

    Introgressive hybridization with introduced rainbow trout (RBT) (Oncorhynchus mykiss) has led to the loss of native cutthroat trout species (O. clarkii) throughout their range, creating conservation concerns. Monitoring temporal hybridization trends provides resource managers with a tool for determining population status and information for establishing conservation goals for native cutthroat trout. In this study, we re-sampled six locations in 2010 within the Stehekin River watershed, North Cascades National Park, which were originally sampled between 1999 and 2003. We used genetic markers to monitor changes in hybridization levels between sampling periods in the native westslope cutthroat trout (WCT) (O. c. lewisi) stemming from past RBT introductions. Additionally, two new locations from the lower Stehekin drainage were added to the baseline data. We found that the frequency of WCT, RBT, and their hybrids was not significantly different between monitoring periods, but that RBT allele frequencies decreased in two locations and increased in one location. We also found a consistent, substantial reduction in the frequency of RBT alleles over the monitoring period in the Stehekin River upstream of Bridge Creek (SR3) compared to the Stehekin River downstream of Bridge Creek (SR1 -2) and within lower Bridge Creek (BR1) although these three locations are confined to a small geographic area (approximately 5 km). Ecological and/or evolutionary processes likely restrict the dispersal of RBT alleles in the Stehekin River upstream of Bridge Creek.

  6. Cumulative effects of logging road sediment on salmonid populations in the Clearwater River, Jefferson County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    C. J. Cederholm; L. M. Reid; E. O. Salo

    1981-01-01

    Abstract - The nature of sediment production from logging roads and the effect of the resulting sediment on salmonid spawning success in the Clearwater River drainage have been studied for eight years. The study includes intensive and extensive analyses of field situations, supplemented by several controlled experiments. It was found that significant amounts (15-25...

  7. An Analysis of Wintertime Winds in Washington, D.C.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Larry K.; Allwine, K Jerry

    2006-06-20

    This report consists of a description of the wintertime climatology of wind speed and wind direction around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Meteorological data for this study were collected at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Reagan National), Dulles International Airport (Dulles), and a set of surface meteorological stations that are located on a number of building tops around the National Mall. A five-year wintertime climatology of wind speed and wind direction measured at Reagan National and Dulles are presented. A more detailed analysis was completed for the period December 2003 through February 2004 using data gathered from stations located around the National Mall, Reagan National, and Dulles. Key findings of our study include the following: * There are systematic differences between the wind speed and wind direction observed at Reagan National and the wind speed and wind direction measured by building top weather stations located in the National Mall. Although Dulles is located much further from the National Mall than Reagan National, there is better agreement between the wind speed and wind direction measured at Dulles and the weather stations in the National Mall. * When the winds are light (less than 3 ms-1 or 7 mph), there are significant differences in the wind directions reported at the various weather stations within the Mall. * Although the mean characteristics of the wind are similar at the various locations, significant, short-term differences are found when the time series are compared. These differences have important implications for the dispersion of airborne contaminants. In support of wintertime special events in the area of the National Mall, we recommend placing four additional meteorological instruments: three additional surface stations, one on the east bank of the Potomac River, one south of the Reflecting Pool (to better define the flow within the Mall), and a surface station near the Herbert C. Hoover Building; and wind

  8. Washington biofuel feedstock crop supply under output price and quantity uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Qiujie; Shumway, C. Richard

    2012-01-01

    Subsidized development of an in-state biofuels industry has received some political support in the state of Washington, USA. Utilizing in-state feedstock supplies could be an efficient way to stimulate biofuel industries and the local economy. In this paper we estimate supply under output price and quantity uncertainty for major biofuel feedstock crops in Washington. Farmers are expected to be risk averse and maximize the utility of profit and uncertainty. We estimate very large Washington price elasticities for corn and sugar beets but a small price elasticity for a third potential feedstock, canola. Even with the large price elasticities for two potential feedstocks, their current and historical production levels in the state are so low that unrealistically large incentives would likely be needed to obtain sufficient feedstock supply for a Washington biofuel industry. Based on our examination of state and regional data, we find low likelihood that a Washington biofuels industry will develop in the near future primarily using within-state biofuel feedstock crops. - Highlights: ► Within-state feedstock crop supplies insufficient for Washington biofuel industry. ► Potential Washington corn and sugar beet supplies very responsive to price changes. ► Feedstock supplies more responsive to higher expected profit than lower risk. ► R and D for conversion of waste cellulosic feedstocks is potentially important policy.

  9. An assessment of interstate safety investment properties in Washington state.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-01

    The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) commissioned the current study, targeting the entire interstate : mainline network in Washington State, to provide strategic direction to multi-biennial investment interstate locations that of...

  10. Toxicity of Anacostia River, Washington, DC, USA, sediment fed to mute swans (Cygnus olor)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyer, W.N.; Day, D.; Melancon, M.J.; Sileo, L.

    2000-01-01

    Sediment ingestion is sometimes the principal route by which waterfowl are exposed to environmental contaminants, and at severely contaminated sites waterfowl have been killed by ingesting sediment. Mute swans (Cygnus olor) were fed a diet for six weeks with a high but environmentally realistic concentration (24%) of sediment from the moderately polluted Anacostia River in the District of Columbia, to estimate the sediment?s toxicity. Control swans were fed the same diet without the sediment. Five organochlorine compounds were detected in the treated diets but none of 22 organochlorine compounds included in the analyses were detected in livers of the treated swans. The concentrations of 24 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons measured in the treated diet were as high as 0.80 mg/kg and they were thought to have been responsible for the observed induction of hepatic microsomal monooxygenase activity in livers. A concentration of 85 mg/kg of lead in the diet was enough to decrease red blood cell ALAD activity but was not high enough to cause more serious effects of lead poisoning. The dietary concentrations of Al, Fe, V, and Ba were high compared to the concentrations of these elements known to be toxic in laboratory feeding studies, but these elements did not accumulate in the livers of the treated swans and probably were not readily available in the sediment. Although ingestion of the Anacostia River sediment caused subtle toxicological effects in swans, we concluded from pathological examinations and weight data that the treated swans remained basically healthy.

  11. Expanding Access and Opportunity: The Washington State Achievers Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramsey, Jennifer; Gorgol, Laura

    2010-01-01

    In 2001, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a 10-year, multi-million dollar initiative, the Washington State Achievers Program (WSA), to increase opportunities for low-income students to attend postsecondary institutions in Washington State. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation granted funds to the College Success Foundation…

  12. Expanding Access and Opportunity: The Washington State Achievers Scholarship

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Colleen

    2011-01-01

    In 2001, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the multi-year, multi-million dollar Washington State Achievers Scholarship program. Concerned about disparities in college participation for low-income students in the state of Washington versus their wealthier peers, the Gates Foundation partnered with the College Success Foundation…

  13. Columbia River: Terminal fisheries research project. 1994 Annual report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirose, P.; Miller, M.; Hill, J.

    1996-12-01

    Columbia River terminal fisheries have been conducted in Youngs Bay, Oregon, since the early 1960`s targeting coho salmon produced at the state facility on the North Fork Klaskanine River. In 1977 the Clatsop County Economic Development Council`s (CEDC) Fisheries Project began augmenting the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife production efforts. Together ODFW and CEDC smolt releases totaled 5,060,000 coho and 411,300 spring chinook in 1993 with most of the releases from the net pen acclimation program. During 1980-82 fall commercial terminal fisheries were conducted adjacent to the mouth of Big Creek in Oregon. All past terminal fisheries were successful in harvesting surplus hatchery fish with minimal impact on nonlocal weak stocks. In 1993 the Northwest Power Planning Council recommended in its` Strategy for Salmon that terminal fishing sites be identified and developed. The Council called on the Bonneville Power Administration to fund a 10-year study to investigate the feasibility of creating and expanding terminal known stock fisheries in the Columbia River Basin. The findings of the initial year of the study are included in this report. The geographic area considered for study extends from Bonneville Dam to the river mouth. The initial year`s work is the beginning of a 2-year research stage to investigate potential sites, salmon stocks, and methodologies; a second 3-year stage will focus on expansion in Youngs Bay and experimental releases into sites with greatest potential; and a final 5-year phase establishing programs at full capacity at all acceptable sites. After ranking all possible sites using five harvest and five rearing criteria, four sites in Oregon (Tongue Point, Blind Slough, Clifton Channel and Wallace Slough) and three in Washington (Deep River, Steamboat Slough and Cathlamet Channel) were chosen for study.

  14. Multiyear Downstream Response to Dam Removal on the White Salmon River, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilcox, A. C.; O'Connor, J. E.; Major, J. J.

    2017-12-01

    The 2011 removal of the 38 m tall Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, Washington was one of the largest dam removals to date, in terms of both dam height and sediment release. We examined the multiyear geomorphic response to this event, through 2015, including in a bedrock-confined canyon and in a less-confined, backwater-influenced pool reach near the river's mouth, to the large, rapid influx of fine reservoir sediment produced by the breach and to subsequent sediment transfer in the free-flowing White Salmon River. In the canyon reach, aggraded sediments were rapidly eroded from riffles, returning them toward pre-breach bed elevations within weeks, but pool aggradation persisted for longer. The downstream, less-confined reach transformed from a deep pool to a narrower pool-riffle channel with alternate bars; multiyear observations showed persistence of bars and of this new and distinct morphology. This downstream reach marks a rare case in post-dam removal channel response; in most dam removals, channels have rapidly reverted toward pre-removal morphology, as in the canyon reach here. Comparison of the multiyear geomorphic evolution of the White Salmon River to other recent large dam removals in the U.S. allows evaluation of the relative influences of antecedent channel morphology, post-breach hydrology, and dam removal style, as well as providing a basis for predicting responses to future dam removals.

  15. Geology and geologic history of the Moscow-Pullman basin, Idaho and Washington, from late Grande Ronde to late Saddle Mountains time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bush, John H; Garwood, Dean L; Dunlap, Pamela

    2016-01-01

    The Moscow-Pullman basin, located on the eastern margin of the Columbia River flood basalt province, consists of a subsurface mosaic of interlayered Miocene sediments and lava flows of the Imnaha, Grande Ronde, Wanapum, and Saddle Mountains Basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group. This sequence is ~1800 ft (550 m) thick in the east around Moscow, Idaho, and exceeds 2300 ft (700 m) in the west at Pullman, Washington. Most flows entered from the west into a topographic low, partially surrounded by steep mountainous terrain. These flows caused a rapid rise in base level and deposition of immature sediments. This field guide focuses on the upper Grande Ronde Basalt, Wanapum Basalt, and sediments of the Latah Formation.Late Grande Ronde flows terminated midway into the basin to begin the formation of a topographic high that now separates a thick sediment wedge of the Vantage Member to the east of the high from a thin layer to the west. Disrupted by lava flows, streams were pushed from a west-flowing direction to a north-northwest orientation and drained the basin through a gap between steptoes toward Palouse, Washington. Emplacement of the Roza flow of the Wanapum Basalt against the western side of the topographic high was instrumental in this process, plugging west-flowing drainages and increasing deposition of Vantage sediments east of the high. The overlying basalt of Lolo covered both the Roza flow and Vantage sediments, blocking all drainages, and was in turn covered by sediments interlayered with local Saddle Mountains Basalt flows. Reestablishment of west-flowing drainages has been slow.The uppermost Grande Ronde, the Vantage, and the Wanapum contain what is known as the upper aquifer. The water supply is controlled, in part, by thickness, composition, and distribution of the Vantage sediments. A buried channel of the Vantage likely connects the upper aquifer to Palouse, Washington, outside the basin. This field guide locates outcrops; relates them to

  16. White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; Annual Progress Report, April 2007 - March 2008.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mallette, Christine [Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

    2009-07-28

    We report on our progress from April 2007 through March 2008 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report C), and Montana State University (MSU; Report D). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete; therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported.

  17. Ground-Water System in the Chimacum Creek Basin and Surface Water/Ground Water Interaction in Chimacum and Tarboo Creeks and the Big and Little Quilcene Rivers, Eastern Jefferson County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonds, F. William; Longpre, Claire I.; Justin, Greg B.

    2004-01-01

    A detailed study of the ground-water system in the unconsolidated glacial deposits in the Chimacum Creek Basin and the interactions between surface water and ground water in four main drainage basins was conducted in eastern Jefferson County, Washington. The study will assist local watershed planners in assessing the status of the water resources and the potential effects of ground-water development on surface-water systems. A new surficial geologic map of the Chimacum Creek Basin and a series of hydrogeologic sections were developed by incorporating LIDAR imagery, existing map sources, and drillers' logs from 110 inventoried wells. The hydrogeologic framework outlined in the study will help characterize the occurrence of ground water in the unconsolidated glacial deposits and how it interacts with the surface-water system. Water levels measured throughout the study show that the altitude of the water table parallels the surface topography and ranges from 0 to 400 feet above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 across the basin, and seasonal variations in precipitation due to natural cycles generally are on the order of 2 to 3 feet. Synoptic stream-discharge measurements and instream mini-piezometers and piezometers with nested temperature sensors provided additional data to refine the positions of gaining and losing reaches and delineate seasonal variations. Chimacum Creek generally gains water from the shallow ground-water system, except near the community of Chimacum where localized losses occur. In the lower portions of Chimacum Creek, gaining conditions dominate in the summer when creek stages are low and ground-water levels are high, and losing conditions dominate in the winter when creek stages are high relative to ground-water levels. In the Quilcene Bay area, three drainage basins were studied specifically to assess surface water/ground water interactions. The upper reaches of Tarboo Creek generally gain water from the shallow ground-water system

  18. 75 FR 71139 - Land Acquisitions; Puyallup Tribe of Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-22

    ... Auditor, in Pierce County, Washington. Except that portion of Lot 3 conveyed to the State of Washington by Deeds recorded under Auditor's file number 689865 and 689858. Together with the East half of the... amendment of Short Plat Nos. 8502210395 and 8403080186, filed with the Pierce County Auditor, in Pierce...

  19. Regional Sediment Budget of the Columbia River Littoral Cell, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buijsman, Maarten C.; Sherwood, C.R.; Gibbs, A.E.; Gelfenbaum, G.; Kaminsky, G.M.; Ruggiero, P.; Franklin, J.

    2002-01-01

    Summary -- In this Open-File Report we present calculations of changes in bathymetric and topographic volumes for the Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and Columbia River entrances and the adjacent coasts of North Beach, Grayland Plains, Long Beach, and Clatsop Plains for four intervals: pre-jetty - 1920s (Interval 1), 1920s - 1950s (Interval 2), 1950s - 1990s (Interval 3), and 1920s 1990s (Interval 4). This analysis is part of the Southwest Washington Coastal Erosion Study (SWCES), the goals of which are to understand and predict the morphologic behavior of the Columbia River littoral cell on a management scale of tens of kilometers and decades. We obtain topographic Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data from a joint project by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), and the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) and bathymetric data from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), USGS, and the DOE. Shoreline data are digitized from T-Sheets and aerial photographs from the USC&GS and National Ocean Service (NOS). Instead of uncritically adjusting each survey to NAVD88, a common vertical land-based datum, we adjust some surveys to produce optimal results according to the following criteria. First, we minimize offsets in overlapping surveys within the same era, and second, we minimize bathymetric changes (relative to the 1990s) in deep water, where we assume minimal change has taken place. We grid bathymetric and topographic datasets using kriging and triangulation algorithms, calculate bathymetric-change surfaces for each interval, and calculate volume changes within polygons that are overlaid on the bathymetric-change surfaces. We find similar morphologic changes near the entrances to Grays Harbor and the Columbia River following jetty construction between 1898 and 1916 at the Grays Harbor entrance and between 1885 and

  20. Hanford Site environmental data for calendar year 1989, surface and Columbia River

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bisping, L.E.; Woodruff, R.K.

    1990-06-01

    Environmental monitoring at the Hanford Site, located in southeastern Washington State, is conducted by Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division, as part of its contract to operate the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy. The data collected provide a historical record of radionuclide and radiation levels attributable to natural causes, worldwide fallout, and Hanford operations. Data are also collected to monitor chemicals on the site and in the Columbia River. Pacific Northwest Laboratory publishes an annual environmental report Hanford Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 1989. That report is a comprehensive source of offsite and onsite environmental monitoring data collected during 1989 by PNL's Environmental Monitoring Program. Appendix C of that report contains data summaries created from raw surface and river monitoring data. This volume contains the actual raw data used to create the summaries. Ground-water monitoring data will be available separately. Questions concerning the data appearing here can be directed to R. K. Woodruff, PNL Project Manager, Surface Environmental Surveillance Project

  1. Uranium favorability of tertiary sedimentary rocks of the Pend Oreille River valley, Washington. [Measurement and sampling of surface sections, collection of samples from isolated outcrops, chemical and mineralogical analyses of samples, and examination of available water logs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marjaniemi, D.K.; Robins, J.W.

    1975-08-01

    Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the Pend Oreille River valley were investigated in a regional study to determine the favorability for potential uranium resources of northeastern Washington. This project involved measurement and sampling of surface sections, collection of samples from isolated outcrops, chemical and mineralogical analyses of samples, and examination of available water well logs. The Box Canyon Dam area north of Ione is judged to have very high favorability. Thick-bedded conglomerates interbedded with sandstones and silty sandstones compose the Tiger Formation in this area, and high radioactivity levels are found near the base of the formation. Uranophane is found along fracture surfaces or in veins. Carbonaceous material is present throughout the Tiger Formation in the area. Part of the broad Pend Oreille valley surrounding Cusick, Washington, is an area of high favorability. Potential host rocks in the Tiger Formation, consisting of arkosic sandstones interbedded with radioactive shales, probably extend throughout the subsurface part of this area. Carbonaceous material is present and some samples contain high concentrations of uranium. In addition, several other possible chemical indicators were found. The Tiger-Lost Creek area is rated as having medium favorability. The Tiger Formation contains very hard, poorly sorted granite conglomerate with some beds of arkosic sandstone and silty sandstone. The granite conglomerate was apparently derived from source rocks having relatively high uranium content. The lower part of the formation is more favorable than the upper part because of the presence of carbonaceous material, anomalously high concentrations of uranium, and other possible chemical indicators. The area west of Ione is judged to have low favorability, because of the very low permeability of the rocks and the very low uranium content. (auth)

  2. Lower Columbia River and Estuary Habitat Monitoring Study, 2011 - Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borde, Amy B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Kaufmann, Ronald M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cullinan, Valerie I. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zimmerman, Shon A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Thom, Ronald M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wright, Cynthia L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2012-03-01

    The Ecosystem Monitoring Program is a collaborative effort between the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership (LCREP), University of Washington, Wetland Ecosystem Team (UW), US Geological Survey, Water Science Center (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-Fisheries, hereafter NOAA), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Marine Sciences Laboratory (PNNL). The goal of the program is to conduct emergent wetland monitoring aimed at characterizing salmonid habitats in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE) from the mouth of the estuary to Bonneville Dam (Figure 1). This is an ecosystem based monitoring program focused on evaluating status and trends in habitat and reducing uncertainties regarding these ecosystems to ultimately improve the survival of juvenile salmonids through the LCRE. This project comprehensively assesses habitat, fish, food web, and abiotic conditions in the lower river, focusing on shallow water and vegetated habitats used by juvenile salmonids for feeding, rearing and refugia. The information is intended to be used to guide management actions associated with species recovery, particularly that of threatened and endangered salmonids. PNNL’s role in this multi-year study is to monitor the habitat structure (e.g., vegetation, topography, channel morphology, and sediment type) as well as hydrologic patterns.

  3. Educator Supply and Demand in Washington State. 2004 Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lashway, Larry; Maloney, Rick; Hathaway, Randy; Bryant, B. J.

    2005-01-01

    This report describes the findings of the third Educator Supply and Demand Research study in the State of Washington. The intent of these Washington studies is to provide data to inform and shape decisions and activities in the following ways: (1) Provide useful information for educational policymakers, including the legislature, the State Board…

  4. Trends and determinants of cycling in the Washington, DC region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    This report analyzes cycling trends, policies, and commuting in the Washington, DC area. The analysis is divided into two parts. : Part 1 focuses on cycling trends and policies in Washington (DC), Alexandria (VA), Arlington County (VA), Fairfax Count...

  5. Alternative Fuels for Washington's School Buses: A Report to the Washington State Legislature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, John Kim; McCoy, Gilbert A.

    This document presents findings of a study that evaluated the use of both propane and compressed natural gas as alternative fuels for Washington State school buses. It discusses air quality improvement actions by state- and federal-level regulators and summarizes vehicle design, development, and commercialization activities by all major engine,…

  6. Automated Groundwater Monitoring of Uranium at the Hanford Site, Washington - 13116

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burge, Scott R. [Burge Environmental, Inc., 6100 South Maple Avenue, no. 114, Tempe, AZ, 85283 (United States); O' Hara, Matthew J. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland, WA, 99352 (United States)

    2013-07-01

    An automated groundwater monitoring system for the detection of uranyl ion in groundwater was deployed at the 300 Area Industrial Complex, Hanford Site, Washington. The research was conducted to determine if at-site, automated monitoring of contaminant movement in the subsurface is a viable alternative to the baseline manual sampling and analytical laboratory assay methods currently employed. The monitoring system used Arsenazo III, a colorimetric chelating compound, for the detection of the uranyl ion. The analytical system had a limit of quantification of approximately 10 parts per billion (ppb, μg/L). The EPA's drinking water maximum contaminant level (MCL) is 30 ppb [1]. In addition to the uranyl ion assay, the system was capable of acquiring temperature, conductivity, and river level data. The system was fully automated and could be operated remotely. The system was capable of collecting water samples from four sampling sources, quantifying the uranyl ion, and periodically performing a calibration of the analytical cell. The system communications were accomplished by way of cellular data link with the information transmitted through the internet. Four water sample sources were selected for the investigation: one location provided samples of Columbia River water, and the remaining three sources provided groundwater from aquifer sampling tubes positioned in a vertical array at the Columbia River shoreline. The typical sampling schedule was to sample the four locations twice per day with one calibration check per day. This paper outlines the instrumentation employed, the operation of the instrumentation, and analytical results for a period of time between July and August, 2012. The presentation includes the uranyl ion concentration and conductivity results from the automated sampling/analysis system, along with a comparison between the automated monitor's analytical performance and an independent laboratory analysis. Benefits of using the automated

  7. Automated Groundwater Monitoring of Uranium at the Hanford Site, Washington - 13116

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burge, Scott R.; O'Hara, Matthew J.

    2013-01-01

    An automated groundwater monitoring system for the detection of uranyl ion in groundwater was deployed at the 300 Area Industrial Complex, Hanford Site, Washington. The research was conducted to determine if at-site, automated monitoring of contaminant movement in the subsurface is a viable alternative to the baseline manual sampling and analytical laboratory assay methods currently employed. The monitoring system used Arsenazo III, a colorimetric chelating compound, for the detection of the uranyl ion. The analytical system had a limit of quantification of approximately 10 parts per billion (ppb, μg/L). The EPA's drinking water maximum contaminant level (MCL) is 30 ppb [1]. In addition to the uranyl ion assay, the system was capable of acquiring temperature, conductivity, and river level data. The system was fully automated and could be operated remotely. The system was capable of collecting water samples from four sampling sources, quantifying the uranyl ion, and periodically performing a calibration of the analytical cell. The system communications were accomplished by way of cellular data link with the information transmitted through the internet. Four water sample sources were selected for the investigation: one location provided samples of Columbia River water, and the remaining three sources provided groundwater from aquifer sampling tubes positioned in a vertical array at the Columbia River shoreline. The typical sampling schedule was to sample the four locations twice per day with one calibration check per day. This paper outlines the instrumentation employed, the operation of the instrumentation, and analytical results for a period of time between July and August, 2012. The presentation includes the uranyl ion concentration and conductivity results from the automated sampling/analysis system, along with a comparison between the automated monitor's analytical performance and an independent laboratory analysis. Benefits of using the automated system as an

  8. Evidence of deepwater spawning of fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): spawning near Ives and Pierce Island of the Columbia River, 1999; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, Robert P.; Dauble, Dennis D.

    2000-01-01

    Fall chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, thought to originate from Bonneville Hatchery, were first noted to be spawning downstream of Bonneville Dam by Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (WDFW) biologists in 1993 (Hymer 1997). Known spawning areas include gravel beds on the Washington side of the river near Hamilton Creek and Ives island. Limited spawning ground surveys were conducted in the area around Ives and Pierce Islands during 1994-1997 and based on these surveys it was believed that fall chinook salmon successfully spawned in this area. The size of this population from 1994 to 1996 was estimated at 1,800 to 5,200 fish (Hymer 1997). Recently, chum salmon were also documented spawning downstream of Bonneville Dam. Chum salmon O. kisutch were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in March, 1999. There are several ongoing investigations to define the physical habitat characteristics associated with fall chinook and chum salmon spawning areas downstream of Bonneville Dam. A major concern is to determine what flows (i.e. surface elevations) are necessary to ensure their long-term survival. Our objective was to locate deepwater spawning locations in the main Columbia River channel and to collect additional data on physical habitat parameters at the site. This objective is consistent with the high priority that the Northwest Power Planning Council's Independent Advisory Board and the salmon managers have placed on determining the importance of mainstem habitats to the production of salmon in the Columbia River Basin

  9. Magnitude, frequency, and trends of floods at gaged and ungaged sites in Washington, based on data through water year 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mastin, Mark C.; Konrad, Christopher P.; Veilleux, Andrea G.; Tecca, Alison E.

    2016-09-20

    An investigation into the magnitude and frequency of floods in Washington State computed the annual exceedance probability (AEP) statistics for 648 U.S. Geological Survey unregulated streamgages in and near the borders of Washington using the recorded annual peak flows through water year 2014. This is an updated report from a previous report published in 1998 that used annual peak flows through the water year 1996. New in this report, a regional skew coefficient was developed for the Pacific Northwest region that includes areas in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and western Montana within the Columbia River drainage basin south of the United States-Canada border, the coastal areas of Oregon and western Washington, and watersheds draining into Puget Sound, Washington. The skew coefficient is an important term in the Log Pearson Type III equation used to define the distribution of the log-transformed annual peaks. The Expected Moments Algorithm was used to fit historical and censored peak-flow data to the log Pearson Type III distribution. A Multiple Grubb-Beck test was employed to censor low outliers of annual peak flows to improve on the frequency distribution. This investigation also includes a section on observed trends in annual peak flows that showed significant trends (p-value Multivariate regression analysis with measured basin characteristics and the AEP statistics at long-term, unregulated, and un-urbanized (defined as drainage basins with less than 5 percent impervious land cover for this investigation) streamgages within Washington and some in Idaho and Oregon that are near the Washington border was used to develop equations to estimate AEP statistics at ungaged basins. Washington was divided into four regions to improve the accuracy of the regression equations; a set of equations for eight selected AEPs and for each region were constructed. Selected AEP statistics included the annual peak flows that equaled or exceeded 50, 20, 10, 4, 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.2 percent

  10. 77 FR 11582 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Central Washington University Department of Anthropology...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-27

    ...: Central Washington University Department of Anthropology, Ellensburg, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Central Washington University Department of Anthropology has... Central Washington University Department of Anthropology. Repatriation of the human remains and associated...

  11. Annual coded wire tag program (Washington) missing production groups : annual report 2000; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dammers, Wolf; Mills, Robin D.

    2002-01-01

    The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funds the ''Annual Coded-wire Tag Program - Missing Production Groups for Columbia River Hatcheries'' project. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) all operate salmon and steelhead rearing programs in the Columbia River basin. The intent of the funding is to coded-wire tag at least one production group of each species at each Columbia Basin hatchery to provide a holistic assessment of survival and catch distribution over time and to meet various measures of the Northwest Power Planning Council's (NWPPC) Fish and Wildlife Program. The WDFW project has three main objectives: (1) coded-wire tag at least one production group of each species at each Columbia Basin hatchery to enable evaluation of survival and catch distribution over time, (2) recover coded-wire tags from the snouts of fish tagged under objective 1 and estimate survival, contribution, and stray rates for each group, and (3) report the findings under objective 2 for all broods of chinook, and coho released from WDFW Columbia Basin hatcheries. Objective 1 for FY-00 was met with few modifications to the original FY-00 proposal. Under Objective 2, snouts containing coded-wire tags that were recovered during FY-00 were decoded. Under Objective 3, this report summarizes available recovery information through 2000 and includes detailed information for brood years 1989 to 1994 for chinook and 1995 to 1997 for coho

  12. Residential Energy Efficiency Potential: Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, Eric J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-11-27

    Energy used by Washington single-family homes that can be saved through cost-effective improvements. Prepared by Eric Wilson and Noel Merket, NREL, and Erin Boyd, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis.

  13. Sediment transport and deposition on a river-dominated tidal flat: An idealized model study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherwood, Christopher R.; Chen, Shih-Nan; Geyer, W. Rockwell; Ralston, David K.

    2010-01-01

    A 3-D hydrodynamic model is used to investigate how different size classes of river-derived sediment are transported, exported and trapped on an idealized, river-dominated tidal flat. The model is composed of a river channel flanked by sloping tidal flats, a configuration motivated by the intertidal region of the Skagit River mouth in Washington State, United States. It is forced by mixed tides and a pulse of freshwater and sediment with various settling velocities. In this system, the river not only influences stratification but also contributes a significant cross-shore transport. As a result, the bottom stress is strongly ebb-dominated in the channel because of the seaward advance of strong river flow as the tidal flats drain during ebbs. Sediment deposition patterns and mass budgets are sensitive to settling velocity. The lateral sediment spreading scales with an advective distance (settling time multiplied by lateral flow speed), thereby confining the fast settling sediment classes in the channel. Residual sediment transport is landward on the flats, because of settling lag, but is strongly seaward in the channel. The seaward transport mainly occurs during big ebbs and is controlled by a length scale ratio Ld/XWL, where Ld is a cross-shore advective distance (settling time multiplied by river outlet velocity), and XWL is the immersed cross-shore length of the intertidal zone. Sediment trapping requires Ld/XWL stratification and reducing tidal range both favor sediment trapping, whereas varying channel geometries and asymmetry of tides has relatively small impacts. Implications of the modeling results on the south Skagit intertidal region are discussed.

  14. Results of the Washington Passive Solar Design/Build Competition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nylen, N.

    1981-01-01

    In an effort to encourage the design, construction, and marketing of moderately priced passive solar homes in Washington state, the Western Solar Utilization Network (Western SUN) recently sponsored the Washington Passive Solar Design/Build Competition. The competition drew an overwhelming response from designers and builders throughout Washington. Thermal performance of the designs was evaluated by a technical review committee, and final selections were made by the Competition Jury in accordance with the following criteria: perceived market acceptance, thermal performance, cost effectiveness, simplicity of design and operation, and completeness of the passive concept. Design contract awards totaling $50,000 were made available to winners in four categories, including single and multi-family, new and remodeled residences. In order to receive the award in its entirety, winning design/build teams are required to construct their design by April, 1983. As a result of the competition, a great deal was learned about the attitudes and knowledge of professionals and the general public regarding the use of solar energy in Washington state. Among the points that will be highlighted in this paper are the following: (1) a design/build competition is an effective vehicle for promoting solar energy among professionals in the housing community as well as the general public; (2) passive solar techniques can contribute significantly to the heating and cooling needs of residential housing throughout the state of Washington; (3) there is a great deal of interest and talent among the designers and builders of solar residences in Washington; and (4) follow-up activities, including the promotion of winning designs, the systematic collection of performance data, and identification of the major obstacles confronting designers and builders of solar homes, are critical to the success of the program in achieving both its short-term and long-term goals.

  15. Spatial and temporal trends in occurrence of emerging and legacy contaminants in the Lower Columbia River 2008-2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarez, David A.; Perkins, Stephanie D.; Nilsen, Elena B.; Morace, Jennifer L.

    2014-01-01

    The Lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, USA, is an important resource for aquatic and terrestrial organisms, agriculture, and commerce. An 86-mile stretch of the river was sampled over a 3 year period in order to determine the spatial and temporal trends in the occurrence and concentration of water-borne organic contaminants. Sampling occurred at 10 sites along this stretch and at 1 site on the Willamette River using the semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) and the polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) passive samplers. Contaminant profiles followed the predicted trends of lower numbers of detections and associated concentrations in the rural areas to higher numbers and concentrations at the more urbanized sites. Industrial chemicals, plasticizers, and PAHs were present at the highest concentrations. Differences in concentrations between sampling periods were related to the amount of rainfall during the sampling period. In general, water concentrations of wastewater-related contaminants decreased and concentrations of legacy contaminants slightly increased with increasing rainfall amounts.

  16. 77 FR 15802 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Central Washington University Department of Anthropology...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-16

    ...: Central Washington University Department of Anthropology, Ellensburg, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Central Washington University Department of Anthropology has... contact the Central Washington University Department of Anthropology. Repatriation of the human remains to...

  17. Neogene fallout tuffs from the Yellowstone hotspot in the Columbia Plateau region, Oregon, Washington and Idaho, USA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara P Nash

    Full Text Available Sedimentary sequences in the Columbia Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest ranging in age from 16-4 Ma contain fallout tuffs whose origins lie in volcanic centers of the Yellowstone hotspot in northwestern Nevada, eastern Oregon and the Snake River Plain in Idaho. Silicic volcanism began in the region contemporaneously with early eruptions of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG, and the abundance of widespread fallout tuffs provides the opportunity to establish a tephrostratigrahic framework for the region. Sedimentary basins with volcaniclastic deposits also contain diverse assemblages of fauna and flora that were preserved during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, including Sucker Creek, Mascall, Latah, Virgin Valley and Trout Creek. Correlation of ashfall units establish that the lower Bully Creek Formation in eastern Oregon is contemporaneous with the Virgin Valley Formation, the Sucker Creek Formation, Oregon and Idaho, Trout Creek Formation, Oregon, and the Latah Formation in the Clearwater Embayment in Washington and Idaho. In addition, it can be established that the Trout Creek flora are younger than the Mascall and Latah flora. A tentative correlation of a fallout tuff from the Clarkia fossil beds, Idaho, with a pumice bed in the Bully Creek Formation places the remarkably well preserved Clarkia flora assemblage between the Mascall and Trout Creek flora. Large-volume supereruptions that originated between 11.8 and 10.1 Ma from the Bruneau-Jarbidge and Twin Falls volcanic centers of the Yellowstone hotspot in the central Snake River Plain deposited voluminous fallout tuffs in the Ellensberg Formation which forms sedimentary interbeds in the CRBG. These occurrences extend the known distribution of these fallout tuffs 500 km to the northwest of their source in the Snake River Plain. Heretofore, the distal products of these large eruptions had only been recognized to the east of their sources in the High Plains of Nebraska and Kansas.

  18. Monitoring fish, wildlife, radionuclides and chemicals at Hanford, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, R.H.

    1989-02-01

    Concern about the effects of potential releases from nuclear and non-nuclear activities on the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site in southeastern Washington has evolved over four decades into a comprehensive environmental monitoring and surveillance program. The program includes field sampling, and chemical and physical analyses of air, surface and ground water, fish, wildlife, soil, foodstuffs, and natural vegetation. In addition to monitoring radioactivity in fish and wildlife, population numbers of key species are determined, usually during the breeding season. Data from monitoring efforts are used to assess the environmental impacts of Hanford operations and calculate the overall radiological dose to humans onsite, at the Site perimeter, or residing in nearby communities. Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawning in the Columbia River at Hanford has increased in recent years with a concomitant increase in winter nesting activity of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). An elk (Cervus elaphus) herd, established by immigration in 1972, is also increasing. Nesting Canada goose (Branta canadensis) and great blue heron (Ardea herodias), and various other animals, e.g., mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) are common. Measured exposure to penetrating radiation and calculated radiation doses to the public are well below applicable regulatory limits. 35 refs., 4 figs

  19. Assessment of managed aquifer recharge at Sand Hollow Reservoir, Washington County, Utah, updated to conditions through 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marston, Thomas M.; Heilweil, Victor M.

    2016-09-08

    Sand Hollow Reservoir in Washington County, Utah, was completed in March 2002 and is operated primarily for managed aquifer recharge by the Washington County Water Conservancy District. From 2002 through 2014, diversions of about 216,000 acre-feet from the Virgin River to Sand Hollow Reservoir have allowed the reservoir to remain nearly full since 2006. Groundwater levels in monitoring wells near the reservoir rose through 2006 and have fluctuated more recently because of variations in reservoir stage and nearby pumping from production wells. Between 2004 and 2014, about 29,000 acre-feet of groundwater was withdrawn by these wells for municipal supply. In addition, about 31,000 acre-feet of shallow seepage was captured by French drains adjacent to the North and West Dams and used for municipal supply, irrigation, or returned to the reservoir. From 2002 through 2014, about 127,000 acre-feet of water seeped beneath the reservoir to recharge the underlying Navajo Sandstone aquifer.Water quality continued to be monitored at various wells in Sand Hollow during 2013–14 to evaluate the timing and location of reservoir recharge as it moved through the aquifer. Changing geochemical conditions at monitoring wells WD 4 and WD 12 indicate rising groundwater levels and mobilization of vadose-zone salts, which could be a precursor to the arrival of reservoir recharge.

  20. 75 FR 52023 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service... of the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke Museum), University of Washington...

  1. 75 FR 36672 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service... of the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke Museum), University of Washington...

  2. Remedial Investigation of Hanford Site Releases to the Columbia River - 13603

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lerch, J.A.; Hulstrom, L.C. [Washington Closure Hanford, LLC, Richland, Washington 99354 (United States); Sands, J.P. [U.S Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, Richland, Washington 99352 (United States)

    2013-07-01

    In south-central Washington State, the Columbia River flows through the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site. A primary objective of the Hanford Site cleanup mission is protection of the Columbia River, through remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater that resulted from its weapons production mission. Within the Columbia River system, surface water, sediment, and biota samples related to potential Hanford Site hazardous substance releases have been collected since the start of Hanford operations. The impacts from release of Hanford Site radioactive substances to the Columbia River in areas upstream, within, and downstream of the Hanford Site boundary have been previously investigated as mandated by the U.S. Department of Energy requirements under the Atomic Energy Act. The Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Hanford Site Releases to the Columbia River [1] was issued in 2008 to initiate assessment of the impacts under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 [2]. The work plan established a phased approach to characterize contaminants, assess current risks, and determine whether or not there is a need for any cleanup actions. Field investigation activities over a 120-mile stretch of the Columbia River began in October 2008 and were completed in 2010. Sampled media included surface water, pore water, surface and core sediment, island soil, and fish (carp, walleye, whitefish, sucker, small-mouth bass, and sturgeon). Information and sample results from the field investigation were used to characterize current conditions within the Columbia River and assess whether current conditions posed a risk to ecological or human receptors that would merit additional study or response actions under CERCLA. The human health and ecological risk assessments are documented in reports that were published in 2012 [3, 4]. Conclusions from the risk assessment reports are being summarized and integrated with remedial investigation

  3. River food web response to large-scale riparian zone manipulations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Timothy Wootton

    Full Text Available Conservation programs often focus on select species, leading to management plans based on the autecology of the focal species, but multiple ecosystem components can be affected both by the environmental factors impacting, and the management targeting, focal species. These broader effects can have indirect impacts on target species through the web of interactions within ecosystems. For example, human activity can strongly alter riparian vegetation, potentially impacting both economically-important salmonids and their associated river food web. In an Olympic Peninsula river, Washington state, USA, replicated large-scale riparian vegetation manipulations implemented with the long-term (>40 yr goal of improving salmon habitat did not affect water temperature, nutrient limitation or habitat characteristics, but reduced canopy cover, causing reduced energy input via leaf litter, increased incident solar radiation (UV and PAR and increased algal production compared to controls. In response, benthic algae, most insect taxa, and juvenile salmonids increased in manipulated areas. Stable isotope analysis revealed a predominant contribution of algal-derived energy to salmonid diets in manipulated reaches. The experiment demonstrates that riparian management targeting salmonids strongly affects river food webs via changes in the energy base, illustrates how species-based management strategies can have unanticipated indirect effects on the target species via the associated food web, and supports ecosystem-based management approaches for restoring depleted salmonid stocks.

  4. Washington State Briefing Book for low-level radioactive waste management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-12-01

    The Washington State Briefing Book is one of a series of state briefing books on low-level radioactive waste management practices. It has been prepared to assist state and federal agency officials in planning for safe low-level radioactive waste disposal. The report contains a profile of low-level radioactive waste generators in Washington. The profile is the result of a survey of NRC licensees in Washington. The briefing book also contains a comprehensive assessment of low-level radioactive waste management issues and concerns as defined by all major interested parties including industry, government, the media, and interest groups. The assessment was developed through personal communications with representatives of interested parties, and through a review of media sources. Lastly, the briefing book provides demographic and socioeconomic data and a discussion of relevant government agencies and activities, all of which may impact waste management practices in Washington.

  5. Washington State Briefing Book for low-level radioactive waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-12-01

    The Washington State Briefing Book is one of a series of state briefing books on low-level radioactive waste management practices. It has been prepared to assist state and federal agency officials in planning for safe low-level radioactive waste disposal. The report contains a profile of low-level radioactive waste generators in Washington. The profile is the result of a survey of NRC licensees in Washington. The briefing book also contains a comprehensive assessment of low-level radioactive waste management issues and concerns as defined by all major interested parties including industry, government, the media, and interest groups. The assessment was developed through personal communications with representatives of interested parties, and through a review of media sources. Lastly, the briefing book provides demographic and socioeconomic data and a discussion of relevant government agencies and activities, all of which may impact waste management practices in Washington

  6. Survival Estimates for the Passage of Juvenile Salmonids through Snake River Dams and Reservoirs, 1994 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muir, William D.

    1995-02-01

    In 1994, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the University of Washington completed the second year of a multi-year study to estimate survival of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) passing through the dams and reservoirs of the Snake River. Actively migrating smolts were collected at selected locations above, at, and below Lower Granite Dam, tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, and released to continue their downstream migration. Survival estimates were calculated using the Single-Release, Modified Single-Release, and Paired-Release Models.

  7. Effects of Mitigative Measures on Productivity of White Sturgeon Populations in the Columbia River Downstream from McNary Dam: Determine Status and Habitat Requirements of White Sturgeon Populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from McNary Dam, 1997-1998 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, David L. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, OR)

    1999-02-01

    The authors report on their progress from April 1997 through March 1998 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS; Report C), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS; Report D), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS; Report E), and Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report F). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete. Therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported. Highlights of results of the work from April 1997 through March 1998 listed.

  8. 77 FR 51564 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-24

    ... Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington... of human remains under the control of the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke Museum...

  9. 77 FR 50157 - Notice of Public Meeting, Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-20

    ...; HAG 12-0260] Notice of Public Meeting, Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council Meeting AGENCY.... Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council... Bureau of Land Management's Eastern Washington and San Juan Resource Management Plan and the U.S. Forest...

  10. Yakima River species interactions studies annual report, 2000; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pearsons, Todd N.

    2001-01-01

    Species interactions research and monitoring was initiated in 1989 to investigate ecological interactions among fish in response to proposed supplementation of salmon and steelhead in the upper Yakima River basin. This is the ninth of a series of progress reports that address species interactions research and supplementation monitoring of fishes in the Yakima River basin. Data have been collected prior to supplementation to characterize the ecology and demographics of non-target taxa (NTT) and target taxon, and develop methods to monitor interactions and supplementation success. Major topics of this report are associated with the chronology of ecological interactions that occur throughout a supplementation program, implementing NTT monitoring prescriptions for detecting potential impacts of hatchery supplementation, hatchery fish interactions, and monitoring fish predation indices. This report is organized into four chapters, with a general introduction preceding the first chapter. This annual report summarizes data collected primarily by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2000 in the Yakima basin, however these data were compared to data from previous years to identify preliminary trends and patterns. Summaries of each of the chapters included in this report are described

  11. Reintroduction of Lower Columbia River Chum Salmon into Duncan Creek, 2007 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hillson, Todd D. [Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

    2009-06-12

    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed Lower Columbia River (LCR) chum salmon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in March, 1999 (64 FR 14508, March 25, 1999). The listing was in response to the reduction in abundance from historical levels of more than one-half million returning adults to fewer than 10,000 present-day spawners. Harvest, habitat degradation, changes in flow regimes, riverbed movement and heavy siltation have been largely responsible for this decline. The timing of seasonal changes in river flow and water temperatures is perhaps the most critical factor in structuring the freshwater life history of this species. This is especially true of the population located directly below Bonneville Dam, where hydropower operations can block access to spawning sites, dewater redds, strand fry, cause scour or fill of redds and increase sedimentation of spawning gravels. Prior to 1997, only two chum salmon populations were recognized as genetically distinct in the Columbia River, although spawning had been documented in many Lower Columbia River tributaries. The first population was in the Grays River (RKm 34), a tributary of the Columbia River, and the second was a group of spawners utilizing the mainstem Columbia River just below Bonneville Dam (RKm 235) adjacent to Ives Island and in Hardy and Hamilton creeks. Using additional DNA samples, Small et al. (2006) grouped chum salmon spawning in the mainstem Columbia River and the Washington State tributaries into three groups: the Coastal, the Cascade and the Gorge. The Coastal group comprises those spawning in the Grays River, Skamokawa Creek and the broodstock used at the Sea Resources facility on the Chinook River. The Cascade group comprises those spawning in the Cowlitz (both summer and fall stocks), Kalama, Lewis, and East Fork Lewis rivers, with most supporting unique populations. The Gorge group comprises those spawning in the mainstem Columbia River from the I-205 Bridge up to

  12. Oceanographic data collected from SATURN-07 by Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP) and assembled by Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observation Systems (NANOOS) in the Columbia River Estuary and North East Pacific Ocean from 2012-05-03 to 2017-01-24 (NCEI Accession 0162184)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0162184 contains biological, chemical and physical data collected at SATURN-07, a fixed station in the Columbia River estuary - Washington/Oregon....

  13. Oceanographic data collected from SATURN-09 by Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP) and assembled by Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observation Systems (NANOOS) in the Columbia River Estuary and North East Pacific Ocean from 2014-09-08 to 2016-06-10 (NCEI Accession 0162185)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0162185 contains biological, chemical and physical data collected at SATURN-09, a fixed station in the Columbia River estuary - Washington/Oregon....

  14. Oceanographic data collected from Elliott Point by Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP) and assembled by Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observation Systems (NANOOS) in the Columbia River Estuary and North East Pacific Ocean from 2004-01-16 to 2017-08-01 (NCEI Accession 0162174)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0162174 contains physical data collected at Elliott Point, a fixed station in the Columbia River estuary - Washington/Oregon. These sensors measure...

  15. Estuarine Response to River Flow and Sea-Level Rise under Future Climate Change and Human Development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Zhaoqing; Wang, Taiping; Voisin, Nathalie; Copping, Andrea E.

    2015-04-01

    Understanding the response of river flow and estuarine hydrodynamics to climate change, land-use/land-cover change (LULC), and sea-level rise is essential to managing water resources and stress on living organisms under these changing conditions. This paper presents a modeling study using a watershed hydrology model and an estuarine hydrodynamic model, in a one-way coupling, to investigate the estuarine hydrodynamic response to sea-level rise and change in river flow due to the effect of future climate and LULC changes in the Snohomish River estuary, Washington, USA. A set of hydrodynamic variables, including salinity intrusion points, average water depth, and salinity of the inundated area, were used to quantify the estuarine response to river flow and sea-level rise. Model results suggest that salinity intrusion points in the Snohomish River estuary and the average salinity of the inundated areas are a nonlinear function of river flow, although the average water depth in the inundated area is approximately linear with river flow. Future climate changes will shift salinity intrusion points further upstream under low flow conditions and further downstream under high flow conditions. In contrast, under the future LULC change scenario, the salinity intrusion point will shift downstream under both low and high flow conditions, compared to present conditions. The model results also suggest that the average water depth in the inundated areas increases linearly with sea-level rise but at a slower rate, and the average salinity in the inundated areas increases linearly with sea-level rise; however, the response of salinity intrusion points in the river to sea-level rise is strongly nonlinear.

  16. White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 2000-2001 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kern, J. Chris; Ward, David L.; Farr, Ruth A. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

    2002-02-01

    We report on our progress from April 2000 through March 2001 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS; Report C), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report D), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS; Report E), and Oregon State University (OSU; Report F). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete; therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported. Highlights of results of our work from April 2000 through March 2001 are listed.

  17. White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam, 1999-2000 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, David L. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, OR)

    2001-04-01

    We report on our progress from April 1999 through March 2000 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS; Report C), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report D), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS; Report E). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete. Therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported. Highlights of results of our work from April 1999 through March 2000 are given.

  18. White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam; 1998-1999 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, David L.

    2000-12-01

    The authors report on their progress from April 1998 through March 1999 on determining the effects of mitigative measures on productivity of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, and on determining the status and habitat requirements of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers upstream from McNary Dam. The study is a cooperative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW; Report A), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW; Report B), U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS; Report C), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS; Report D), Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC; Report E), and the University of Idaho (UI; Report F). This is a multi-year study with many objectives requiring more than one year to complete. Therefore, findings from a given year may be part of more significant findings yet to be reported. Highlights of results of our work from April 1998 through March 1999 are given.

  19. 77 FR 23495 - Notice of Public Meeting, Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-19

    ...; HAG 12-0164] Notice of Public Meeting, Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council Meeting AGENCY... 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern Washington Resource... of Land Management's Eastern Washington and San Juan Resource Management Plan, and the U.S. Forest...

  20. Heat-related illness in Washington State agriculture and forestry sectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spector, June T; Krenz, Jennifer; Rauser, Edmund; Bonauto, David K

    2014-08-01

    We sought to describe heat-related illness (HRI) in agriculture and forestry workers in Washington State. Demographic and clinical Washington State Fund workers' compensation agriculture and forestry HRI claims data (1995-2009) and Washington Agriculture Heat Rule citations (2009-2012) were accessed and described. Maximum daily temperature (Tmax) and Heat Index (HImax) were estimated by claim date and location using AgWeatherNet's weather station network. There were 84 Washington State Fund agriculture and forestry HRI claims and 60 Heat Rule citations during the study period. HRI claims and citations were most common in crop production and support subsectors. The mean Tmax (HImax) was 95°F (99°F) for outdoor HRI claims. Potential HRI risk factors and HRI-related injuries were documented for some claims. Agriculture and forestry HRI cases are characterized by potential work-related, environmental, and personal risk factors. Further work is needed to elucidate the relationship between heat exposure and occupational injuries. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Genetic interpretation of lead-isotopic data from the Columbia River basalt group, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Church, S.E.

    1985-01-01

    Lead-isotopic data for the high-alumina olivine plateau basalts and most of the Colombia River basalt group plot within the Cascade Range mixing array. The data for several of the formations form small, tight clusters and the Nd and Sr isotopic data show discrete variation between these basalt groups. The observed isotopic and trace-element data from most of the Columbia River basalt group can be accounted for by a model which calls for partial melting of the convecting oceanic-type mantle and contamination by fluids derived from continental sediments which were subducted along the trench. These sediments were transported in the low-velocity zone at least 400 km behind the active arc into a back-arc environment represented by the Columbia Plateau province. With time, the zone of melting moved up, resulting in the formation of the Saddle Mt basalt by partial melting of a 2600 m.y.-old sub-continental lithosphere characterized by high Th/U, Th/Pb, Rb/Sr and Nd/Sm ratios and LREE enrichment. Partial melting of old sub-continental lithosphere beneath the continental crust may be an important process in the formation of continental tholeiite flood basalt sequences world-wide. -L.di H.

  2. Spatio-temporal variability in movement, age, and growth of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in a river network based upon PIT tagging and otolith chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin, Joseph R.; Wetzel, Lisa A.; Martens, Kyle D.; Larsen, Kimberly; Connolly, Patrick J.

    2013-01-01

    Connectivity of river networks and the movements among habitats can be critical for the life history of many fish species, and understanding of the patterns of movement is central to managing populations, communities, and the landscapes they use. We combined passive integrated transponder tagging over 4 years and strontium isotopes in otoliths to demonstrate that 25% of the mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) sampled moved between the Methow and Columbia rivers, Washington, USA. Seasonal migrations downstream from the Methow River to the Columbia River to overwinter occurred in autumn and upstream movements in the spring. We observed migration was common during the first year of life, with migrants being larger than nonmigrants. However, growth between migrants and nonmigrants was similar. Water temperature was positively related to the proportion of migrants and negatively related to the timing of migration, but neither was related to discharge. The broad spatio-temporal movements we observed suggest mountain whitefish, and likely other nonanadromous fish, require distant habitats and also suggests that management and conservation strategies to keep connectivity of large river networks are imperative.

  3. Reaching Higher. A Parent's Guide to the Washington Assessment of Learning. Revised = Para llegar mas arriba. Una guia para padres sobre la evaluacion del aprendizaje de los estudiantes del estado de Washington (Washington Assessment of Student Learning). Revisado.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Olympia.

    This guide in English and Spanish is designed to answer questions parents may have about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), including how it will help improve their children's education, how it is scored, and how to use the information it provides. In Washington, clear educational goals for subject content, thinking skills, and…

  4. Oceanographic data collected from Jetty A by Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP) and assembled by Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observation Systems (NANOOS) in the Columbia River Estuary and North East Pacific Ocean from 2003-07-20 to 2016-02-04 (NCEI Accession 0162176)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0162176 contains navigational and physical data collected at Jetty A, a fixed station in the Columbia River estuary - Washington/Oregon. These sensors...

  5. Evaluation of Life History Diversity, Habitat Connectivity, and Survival Benefits Associated with Habitat Restoration Actions in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary, Annual Report 2009

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diefenderfer, Heida L.; Johnson, Gary E.; Sather, Nichole K.; Skalski, John R.; Dawley, Earl M.; Coleman, Andre M.

    2010-08-01

    This report describes the 2009 research conducted under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE or Corps) project EST-09-P-01, titled “Evaluation of Life History Diversity, Habitat Connectivity, and Survival Benefits Associated with Habitat Restoration Actions in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary.” The research was conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Marine Science Laboratory and Hydrology Group, in partnership with the University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Columbia Basin Research, and Earl Dawley (NOAA Fisheries, retired). This Columbia River Fish Mitigation Program project, referred to as “Salmonid Benefits,” was started in FY 2009 to evaluate the state-of-the science regarding the ability to quantify the benefits to listed salmonids1 of habitat restoration actions in the lower Columbia River and estuary.

  6. AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH FOR CONSTRUCTING AN IN-SITU BARRIER FOR STRONTIUM-90 AT THE HANFORD SITE WASHINGTON

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    FABRE RJ

    2008-12-08

    Efforts to reduce the flux of Sr-90 to the Columbia River from Hanford Site 100-N Area past-practice liquid waste disposal sites have been underway since the early 1990s. Termination of all liquid discharges to the ground in 1993 was a major step toward meeting this goal. However, Sr-90 adsorbed on aquifer solids beneath liquid waste disposal sites and extending beneath the near-shore riverbed remains a continuing contaminant source to groundwater and the Columbia River. The initial pump-and-treat system proved to be ineffective as a long-term solution because of the geochemical characteristics of Sr-90. Following an evaluation of potential Sr-90 treatment technologies and their applicability under 100-NR-2 Operable Unit hydrogeologic conditions, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Washington State Department of Ecology agreed to evaluate apatite sequestration as the primary remedial technology, combined with a secondary polishing step utilizing phytoextraction if necessary. Aqueous injection was initiated in July 2005 to assess the efficacy of in-situ apatite along the 100 m of shoreline where Sr-90 concentrations are highest. The remedial technology is being developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company is implementing this technology in the field with support from PNNL.

  7. Tracking an atmospheric river in a warmer climate: from water vapor to economic impacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominguez, Francina; Dall'erba, Sandy; Huang, Shuyi; Avelino, Andre; Mehran, Ali; Hu, Huancui; Schmidt, Arthur; Schick, Lawrence; Lettenmaier, Dennis

    2018-03-01

    Atmospheric rivers (ARs) account for more than 75 % of heavy precipitation events and nearly all of the extreme flooding events along the Olympic Mountains and western Cascade Mountains of western Washington state. In a warmer climate, ARs in this region are projected to become more frequent and intense, primarily due to increases in atmospheric water vapor. However, it is unclear how the changes in water vapor transport will affect regional flooding and associated economic impacts. In this work we present an integrated modeling system to quantify the atmospheric-hydrologic-hydraulic and economic impacts of the December 2007 AR event that impacted the Chehalis River basin in western Washington. We use the modeling system to project impacts under a hypothetical scenario in which the same December 2007 event occurs in a warmer climate. This method allows us to incorporate different types of uncertainty, including (a) alternative future radiative forcings, (b) different responses of the climate system to future radiative forcings and (c) different responses of the surface hydrologic system. In the warming scenario, AR integrated vapor transport increases; however, these changes do not translate into generalized increases in precipitation throughout the basin. The changes in precipitation translate into spatially heterogeneous changes in sub-basin runoff and increased streamflow along the entire Chehalis main stem. Economic losses due to stock damages increase moderately, but losses in terms of business interruption are significant. Our integrated modeling tool provides communities in the Chehalis region with a range of possible future physical and economic impacts associated with AR flooding.

  8. Oceanographic data collected from Hammond Tide Gage by Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP) and assembled by Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observation Systems (NANOOS) in the Columbia River Estuary and North East Pacific Ocean from 2005-06-24 to 2013-02-08 (NCEI Accession 0162194)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0162194 contains navigational and physical data collected at Hammond Tide Gage, a fixed station in the Columbia River estuary - Washington/Oregon....

  9. Ground-Water Flow Model for the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Paul A.; Barber, Michael E.; Contor, Bryce A.; Hossain, Md. Akram; Johnson, Gary S.; Jones, Joseph L.; Wylie, Allan H.

    2007-01-01

    This report presents a computer model of ground-water flow in the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) aquifer in Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho. The aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for more than 500,000 residents in the area. In response to the concerns about the impacts of increased ground-water withdrawals resulting from recent and projected urban growth, a comprehensive study was initiated by the Idaho Department of Water Resources, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Geological Survey to improve the understanding of ground-water flow in the aquifer and of the interaction between ground water and surface water. The ground-water flow model presented in this report is one component of this comprehensive study. The primary purpose of the model is to serve as a tool for analyzing aquifer inflows and outflows, simulating the effects of future changes in ground-water withdrawals from the aquifer, and evaluating aquifer management strategies. The scale of the model and the level of detail are intended for analysis of aquifer-wide water-supply issues. The SVRP aquifer model was developed by the Modeling Team formed within the comprehensive study. The Modeling Team consisted of staff and personnel working under contract with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, personnel working under contract with the Washington Department of Ecology, and staff of the U.S. Geological Survey. To arrive at a final model that has the endorsement of all team members, decisions on modeling approach, methodology, assumptions, and interpretations were reached by consensus. The ground-water flow model MODFLOW-2000 was used to simulate ground-water flow in the SVPR aquifer. The finite-difference model grid consists of 172 rows, 256 columns, and 3 layers. Ground-water flow was simulated from September 1990 through September 2005 using 181 stress periods of 1 month each. The areal extent of the model encompasses an area of

  10. Screening assessment and requirements for a comprehensive assessment: Volume 1, Draft. Columbia River comprehensive impact assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-04-01

    To evaluate the impact to the Columbia River from the Hanford Site-derived contaminants, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Washington State Department of Ecology initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, tribal, stockholder, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. The Team agreed to conduct CRCIA using a phased approach. The initial phase, includes two components: 1) a screening assessment to evaluate the potential impact to the river, resulting from current levels of Hanford-derived contaminants in order to support decisions on Interim Remedial Measures, and 2) a definition of the essential work remaining to provide an acceptable comprehensive river impact assessment. The screening assessment is described in Part I of this report. The essential work remaining is Part II of this report. The objective of the screening assessment is to identify areas where the greatest potential exists for adverse effects on humans or the environment. Part I of this report discusses the scope, technical approach, and results of the screening assessment. Part II defines a new paradigm for predecisional participation by those affected by Hanford cleanup decisions.

  11. Screening assessment and requirements for a comprehensive assessment: Volume 1, Draft. Columbia River comprehensive impact assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-04-01

    To evaluate the impact to the Columbia River from the Hanford Site-derived contaminants, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Washington State Department of Ecology initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, tribal, stockholder, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. The Team agreed to conduct CRCIA using a phased approach. The initial phase, includes two components: 1) a screening assessment to evaluate the potential impact to the river, resulting from current levels of Hanford-derived contaminants in order to support decisions on Interim Remedial Measures, and 2) a definition of the essential work remaining to provide an acceptable comprehensive river impact assessment. The screening assessment is described in Part I of this report. The essential work remaining is Part II of this report. The objective of the screening assessment is to identify areas where the greatest potential exists for adverse effects on humans or the environment. Part I of this report discusses the scope, technical approach, and results of the screening assessment. Part II defines a new paradigm for predecisional participation by those affected by Hanford cleanup decisions

  12. Marijuana, other drugs, and alcohol use by drivers in Washington State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-01

    In Washington State legal sales of marijuana began July 8, 2014. A voluntary, anonymous roadside study was conducted to assess the prevalence of drivers testing positive for alcohol and other drugs, including marijuana, on Washingtons roads. Data ...

  13. Results of chemical, toxicological, and bioaccumulation evaluations of dioxins, furans, and guaicol/organic acids in sediments from the Grays Harbor/Chehalis River area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Word, J.Q.; Ward, J.A.; Squires, A.L.

    1990-09-01

    The Battelle/Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL) was requested by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Seattle District, to assist in planning and conducting sampling, toxicological tests, and chemistry evaluations on sediment samples collected from the Chehalis River in Grays Harbor, Washington. The objectives of the study were to investigate the toxicity and biological effects of sediments that might potentially contain dioxins, furans, and organic acids, as a result of industrial practices in the Grays Harbor area, on sensitive marine species. In addition to the toxicological tests conducted using standard bioassays, sediment chemistry tests were performed to determine levels of selected chemicals, and elutriates of sediments were tested chemically and biologically to determine contaminant mobility in water. Also, bioaccumulation measurements were made to determine chemical mobility in animal tissue. A joint task group, including representatives from the USACE, Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE), Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Washington Department of Fisheries (WDOF), and Region 9 of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) participated in designing the testing program and reviewing data produced by MSL. The results of this analysis will be included in a supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared by the USACE for the Grays Harbor Dredging Program, beginning in early 1990. 13 refs., 5 figs., 8 tabs

  14. Application of ELJ to create and maintain side channels in a dynamic gravel bed river

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crabbe, E.; Crowe Curran, J.; Ockelford, A.

    2017-12-01

    Braided and anastomosing rivers create and maintain a large amount of side channel habitat. Unfortunately, many rivers that were once multi-channel rivers have been constrained to single thread channels as a consequence of land use changes that occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries or earlier. An increasingly common management goal today is the re-creation of self-maintaining side and tributary habitat through as natural means as possible. This work examines the geomorphic history of one such channel and the success of recent rehabilitation efforts. Our case study comes from the South Fork Nooksack River in the Cascades Range in Washington State. The Nooksack River is a gravel and sand bed channel with a snowmelt dominated hydrograph. Engineered log jams (ELJ) have been employed to direct flow into side and chute channels with the larger goals of increasing overall channel complexity and salmon spawning opportunities. ELJs have been constructed on the channel since the 2000s, and the ELJs in the study reaches range in age up to 10 years. The size and design of individual jams within the reach vary, enabling a comparison between jam types. ELJs are evaluated for their ability to maintain gravel bar locations and open tributary channels through the snowmelt season over the reach scale. Additional goals of trapping wood onto the jams and existing bars, stabilizing channel banks, and allowing for the growth of bar vegetation are also examined.

  15. Southwestern Washington 6 arc-second DEM

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 6-second Southwest Washington Elevation Grid provides bathymetric data in ASCII raster format of 6-second resolution in geographic coordinates. This grid is...

  16. Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: Implications for freshwater ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, C.A.; Meyer, J.L.; Poff, N.L.; Hay, L.E.; Georgakakos, A.

    2005-01-01

    We examined impacts of future climate scenarios on flow regimes and how predicted changes might affect river ecosystems. We examined two case studies: Cle Elum River, Washington, and Chattahoochee-Apalachicola River Basin, Georgia and Florida. These rivers had available downscaled global circulation model (GCM) data and allowed us to analyse the effects of future climate scenarios on rivers with (1) different hydrographs, (2) high future water demands, and (3) a river-floodplain system. We compared observed flow regimes to those predicted under future climate scenarios to describe the extent and type of changes predicted to occur. Daily stream flow under future climate scenarios was created by either statistically downscaling GCMs (Cle Elum) or creating a regression model between climatological parameters predicted from GCMs and stream flow (Chattahoochee-Apalachicola). Flow regimes were examined for changes from current conditions with respect to ecologically relevant features including the magnitude and timing of minimum and maximum flows. The Cle Elum's hydrograph under future climate scenarios showed a dramatic shift in the timing of peak flows and lower low flow of a longer duration. These changes could mean higher summer water temperatures, lower summer dissolved oxygen, and reduced survival of larval fishes. The Chattahoochee-Apalachicola basin is heavily impacted by dams and water withdrawals for human consumption; therefore, we made comparisons between pre-large dam conditions, current conditions, current conditions with future demand, and future climate scenarios with future demand to separate climate change effects and other anthropogenic impacts. Dam construction, future climate, and future demand decreased the flow variability of the river. In addition, minimum flows were lower under future climate scenarios. These changes could decrease the connectivity of the channel and the floodplain, decrease habitat availability, and potentially lower the ability

  17. 77 FR 37317 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Lake Washington, Seattle, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-21

    ..., 2012. The deviation allows the floating draw span of the SR 520 Lake Washington Bridge to remain in the... schedule that governs the State Route 520 (SR 520) Bridge across Lake Washington at Seattle, WA. This... allows the bridge to remain in the closed position to allow safe movement of event participants. DATES...

  18. THE PROPOSED NATIONAL ARBORETUM AT WASHINGTON.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coville, F V

    1925-12-25

    Nature. The proposed national arboretum at Washington would contain a permanent living collection of trees and other outdoor plants for purposes of scientific research and education. It would include the trees, shrubs, and perennials used in forestry and horticulture, and the wild relatives of these plants. It would be a bureau of standards for horticulture. It would contain a water garden and a wildrice preserve, and it would serve incidentally as a bird sanctuary. Economic value. The arboretum would make the work of the Department of Agriculture more valuable to the country in many ways, but especially through plant breeding. The development of faster-growing timber trees, improved fruits, and disease-resistant plants generally, through the facilities afforded by the arboretum, would increase profoundly the agricultural wealth and welfare of the United States. Location. The Mount Hamilton and Hickey Hill tracts in the District of Columbia, together with the Anacostia River flats above Benning Bridge, constitute an admirable site for the arboretum, convenient in location and with a great variety of soils. Cost. About 400 acres of the proposed site is already owned by the government. It consists of marsh land, about to be drained by army engineers. The Mount Hamilton and Hickey Hill area, 408 acres, privately owned, was reported by the assessor in January, 1925, to be valued at $343,048, distributed among thirty owners. Maintenance. If the purchase of the Mount Hamilton and Hickey Hill tracts in the fiscal year 1927 is authorized, it is estimated that the cost of maintenance of the arboretum for the first three years would be as follows: 1927. Nothing 1928. $25,000 1929. $50,000.

  19. Timber resource statistics for southwest Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patricia M. Bassett; Daniel D. Oswald

    1981-01-01

    This report summarizes a 1978 timber-resource inventory of six counties in southwest Washington: Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, and Wahkiakum. Detailed tables of forest area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and harvest are presented.

  20. Monitoring recharge in areas of seasonally frozen ground in the Columbia Plateau and Snake River Plain, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mastin, Mark; Josberger, Edward

    2014-01-01

    Seasonally frozen ground occurs over approximately one‑third of the contiguous United States, causing increased winter runoff. Frozen ground generally rejects potential groundwater recharge. Nearly all recharge from precipitation in semi-arid regions such as the Columbia Plateau and the Snake River Plain in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, occurs between October and March, when precipitation is most abundant and seasonally frozen ground is commonplace. The temporal and spatial distribution of frozen ground is expected to change as the climate warms. It is difficult to predict the distribution of frozen ground, however, because of the complex ways ground freezes and the way that snow cover thermally insulates soil, by keeping it frozen longer than it would be if it was not snow covered or, more commonly, keeping the soil thawed during freezing weather. A combination of satellite remote sensing and ground truth measurements was used with some success to investigate seasonally frozen ground at local to regional scales. The frozen-ground/snow-cover algorithm from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, combined with the 21-year record of passive microwave observations from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager onboard a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellite, provided a unique time series of frozen ground. Periodically repeating this methodology and analyzing for trends can be a means to monitor possible regional changes to frozen ground that could occur with a warming climate. The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System watershed model constructed for the upper Crab Creek Basin in the Columbia Plateau and Reynolds Creek basin on the eastern side of the Snake River Plain simulated recharge and frozen ground for several future climate scenarios. Frozen ground was simulated with the Continuous Frozen Ground Index, which is influenced by air temperature and snow cover. Model simulation results showed a decreased occurrence of frozen ground that coincided with

  1. Reconstructing Sediment Supply, Transport and Deposition Behind the Elwha River Dams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beveridge, C.

    2017-12-01

    The Elwha River watershed in Olympic National Park of Washington State, USA is predominantly a steep, mountainous landscape where dominant geomorphic processes include landslides, debris flows and gullying. The river is characterized by substantial variability of channel morphology and fluvial processes, and alternates between narrow bedrock canyons and wider alluvial reaches for much of its length. Literature suggests that the Elwha watershed is topographically and tectonically in steady state. The removal of the two massive hydropower dams along the river in 2013 marked the largest dam removal in history. Over the century long lifespan of the dams, approximately 21 million cubic meters of sediment was impounded behind them. Long term erosion rates documented in this region and reservoir sedimentation data give unprecedented opportunities to test watershed sediment yield models and examine dominant processes that control sediment yield over human time scales. In this study, we aim to reconstruct sediment supply, transport and deposition behind the Glines Canyon Dam (most upstream dam) over its lifespan using a watershed modeling approach. We developed alternative models of varying complexity for sediment production and transport at the network scale driven by hydrologic forcing. We simulate sediment supply and transport in tributaries upstream of the dam. The modeled sediment supply and transport dynamics are based on calibrated formulae (e.g., bedload transport is simulated using Wilcock-Crowe 2003 with modification based on observed bedload transport in the Elwha River). Observational data that aid in our approach include DEM, channel morphology, meteorology, and streamflow and sediment (bedload and suspended load) discharge. We aim to demonstrate how the observed sediment yield behind the dams was influenced by upstream transport supply and capacity limitations, thereby demonstrating the scale effects of flow and sediment transport processes in the Elwha River

  2. Geologic Setting and Hydrogeologic Units of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahle, Sue C.; Olsen, Theresa D.; Morgan, David S.

    2009-01-01

    The Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System (CPRAS) covers approximately 44,000 square miles of northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and western Idaho. The area supports a $6 billion per year agricultural industry, leading the Nation in production of apples and nine other commodities (State of Washington Office of Financial Management, 2007; U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2007). Groundwater availability in the aquifers of the area is a critical water-resource management issue because the water demand for agriculture, economic development, and ecological needs is high. The primary aquifers of the CPRAS are basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) and overlying basin-fill sediments. Water-resources issues that have implications for future groundwater availability in the region include (1) widespread water-level declines associated with development of groundwater resources for irrigation and other uses, (2) reduction in base flow to rivers and associated effects on temperature and water quality, and (3) current and anticipated effects of global climate change on recharge, base flow, and ultimately, groundwater availability. As part of a National Groundwater Resources Program, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study of the CPRAS in 2007 with the broad goals of (1) characterizing the hydrologic status of the system, (2) identifying trends in groundwater storage and use, and (3) quantifying groundwater availability. The study approach includes documenting changes in the status of the system, quantifying the hydrologic budget for the system, updating the regional hydrogeologic framework, and developing a groundwater-flow simulation model for the system. The simulation model will be used to evaluate and test the conceptual model of the system and later to evaluate groundwater availability under alternative development and climate scenarios. The objectives of this study were to update the hydrogeologic framework for the CPRAS using the available

  3. Balancing riparian management and river recreation: methods and applications for exploring floater behavior and their interaction with large wood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biedenweg, Kelly; Akyuz, Kate; Skeele, Rebecca

    2012-08-01

    River managers are tasked with meeting both ecological and human needs. In the Puget Sound lowland, riparian management often includes placing or allowing the presence of large wood to stabilize riverbanks and enhance salmon habitat. Although this practice benefits humans by protecting infrastructure and natural resources, it is unclear how such practices interact with an additional human interest, recreation. Furthermore, we were unable to find studies that describe how an agency can go about researching the interaction between recreation and large wood management practices. This study tested methods for describing and estimating the number of river floaters, where they float in relationship to river projects, the risks they take while floating, and their perceptions of large wood in the river. Selecting a high-use suburban river in Washington State, we used riverside observations, interviews, and an infrared counter to gather data in the summer of 2010. Statistical analyses provided general characteristics of users, trends in engaging in risky behaviors, and estimates of use for the entire season and on the busiest day. Data mapping with GIS presented the density of use along the river and frequency of use of specific float routes. Finally, qualitative analysis of interviews clarified floaters' perspectives of large wood. To address the multiple mandates of river managers, it is important to understand recreation users, the factors that could be putting them at risk, and how the actual users perceive large wood in the river. This study demonstrates methods for scientifically gathering such information and applying it when making riparian management decisions.

  4. To Be a Slave: The Boyhood of Booker T. Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Park Service (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC.

    The Booker T. Washington National Monument preserves and protects the birth site and childhood home of Booker T. Washington, while interpreting his life experiences and significance in U.S. history as the most powerful African American between 1895 and 1915. The park provides a resource for public education and a focal point for continuing…

  5. Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Genetic Studies; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2001-2002 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Busack, Craig A.; Fritts, Anthony L.; Loxterman, Janet (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA)

    2003-05-01

    In chapter 1 we report on studies of the population genetic structure, using DNA microsatellites, of steelhead collected from different locations in the Yakima River basin (Roza Dam, Ahtanum Creek, Toppenish Creek, and Satus Creek) in 2000 and 2001. Of 28 pairwise tests of genotypic differentiation, only the 2000 and 2001 Roza Dam collections and the 2000 and 2001 Satus Creek collections did not exhibit significant differences. Similarly, pairwise tests of genetic differentiation (FST) were significant for all comparisons except the between-years comparisons of Roza Dam, Toppenish Creek, and Satus Creek collections. All tests between populations sampled from different localities were significant, indicating that these collections represent genetically differentiated stocks. In chapter 2 we report on genetic comparisons, again using microsatellites, of the three spring chinook populations in the Yakima basin (Upper Yakima, Naches, and American) with respect to our ability to be able to estimate the proportions of the three populations in mixed smolt samples collected at Chandler. We evaluated this both in terms of mixed fishery analysis, where proportions are estimated, but the likely provenance of any particular fish is unknown, and classification, where an attempt is made to assign individual fish to their population of origin. Simulations were done over the entire ranged of stock proportions observed in the Yakima basin in the last 20+ years. Stock proportions can be estimated very accurately by either method. Chapter 3 reports on our ongoing effort at cryopreserving semen from wild Upper Yakima spring chinook. In 2002, semen from 91 males, more than 50% of those spawned, was cryopreserved. Representation over the spawning season was excellent. Chapters 4,5, and 6 all relate to the continuing development of the domestication study design. Chapter 4 details the ISRP consultations and evolution of the design from last year's preferred alternative to the

  6. Data for the screening assessment. Volume 1: Text, Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miley, T.B.; O'Neil, T.K.; Gilbert, R.O.; Klevgard, L.A.; Walters, T.B.

    1996-06-01

    The Columbia River is a critical resource for residents of the Pacific Northwest. This resource drew the Manhattan Project's planners to the site now called Hanford to produce nuclear weapon materials. Production of those materials has left behind a legacy of chemical and radioactive contamination and materials that have, are, and will continue to pose a threat to the Columbia river for the foreseeable future. To evaluate the impact to the river from this Hanford-derived contamination, the US Department of Energy, US Environmental Protection Agency, and State of Washington Department of Ecology (the Tri-Party agencies) initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, stakeholder, tribal, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. A major CRCIA Team decision was to organize CRCIA into phases, with additional phases to be identified as warranted after completion of the initial phase. The initial phase is comprised of two parts: (1) a screening assessment to evaluate the current impact to the river resulting from Hanford-derived contamination and (2) identification of requirements considered necessary by the CRCIA Management Team for a comprehensive assessment of impact to the river. The purpose of the screening assessment is to support cleanup decisions. The scope of the screening assessment is to evaluate the current risk to humans and the environment resulting from Hanford-derived contaminants. The screening assessment has the primary components of: identifying contaminants to be assessed; identifying a variety of exposure scenarios to evaluate human contaminant exposure; identifying a variety of other species to evaluate ecological contaminant exposure; and assessing risks posed by exposure of humans and other species to the contaminants

  7. Data for the screening assessment. Volume 2: Appendices, Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miley, T.B.; O'Neil, T.K.; Gilbert, R.O.; Klevgard, L.A.; Walters, T.B.

    1996-06-01

    The Columbia River is a critical resource for residents of the Pacific Northwest. This resource drew the Manhattan Project's planners to the site now called Hanford to produce nuclear weapon materials. Production of those materials has left behind a legacy of chemical and radioactive contamination and materials that have, are, and will continue to pose a threat to the Columbia river for the foreseeable future. To evaluate the impact to the river from this Hanford-derived contamination, the US Department of Energy, US Environmental Protection Agency, and State of Washington Department of Ecology (the Tri-Party agencies) initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, stakeholder, tribal, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. A major CRCIA Team decision was to organize CRCIA into phases, with additional phases to be identified as warranted after completion of the initial phase. The initial phase is comprised of two parts: (1) a screening assessment to evaluate the current impact to the river resulting from Hanford-derived contamination and (2) identification of requirements considered necessary by the CRCIA Management Team for a comprehensive assessment of impact to the river. The purpose of the screening assessment is to support cleanup decisions. The scope of the screening assessment is to evaluate the current risk to humans and the environment resulting from Hanford-derived contaminants. The screening assessment has the primary components of: identifying contaminants to be assessed; identifying a variety of exposure scenarios to evaluate human contaminant exposure; identifying a variety of other species to evaluate ecological contaminant exposure; and assessing risks posed by exposure of humans and other species to the contaminants. This volume compiles the data from this study

  8. Timber resource statistics for eastern Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patricia M. Bassett; Daniel D. Oswald

    1983-01-01

    This report summarizes a 1980 timber resource inventory of the 16 forested counties in Washington east of the crest of the Cascade Range. Detailed tables of forest area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and harvest are presented.

  9. Database for the Geologic Map of the Skykomish River 30-Minute by 60-Minute Quadrangle, Washington (I-1963)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabor, R.W.; Frizzell, V.A.; Booth, D.B.; Waitt, R.B.; Whetten, J.T.; Zartman, R.E.

    2006-01-01

    This digital map database has been prepared from the published geologic map of the Skykomish River 30- by 60-minute quadrangle by the senior author. Together with the accompanying text files as PDF, it provides information on the geologic structure and stratigraphy of the area covered. The database delineates map units that are identified by general age and lithology following the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. The authors mapped most of the bedrock geology at 1:100,000 scale, but compiled Quaternary units at 1:24,000 scale. The Quaternary contacts and structural data have been much simplified for the 1:100,000-scale map and database. The spatial resolution (scale) of the database is 1:100,000 or smaller. From the eastern-most edges of suburban Seattle, the Skykomish River quadrangle stretches east across the low rolling hills and broad river valleys of the Puget Lowland, across the forested foothills of the North Cascades, and across high meadowlands to the bare rock peaks of the Cascade crest. The Straight Creek Fault, a major Pacific Northwest structure which almost bisects the quadrangle, mostly separates unmetamorphosed and low-grade metamorphic Paleozoic and Mesozoic oceanic rocks on the west from medium- to high-grade metamorphic rocks on the east. Within the quadrangle the lower grade rocks are mostly Mesozoic melange units. To the east, the higher-grade terrane is mostly the Chiwaukum Schist and related gneisses of the Nason terrane and invading mid-Cretaceous stitching plutons. The Early Cretaceous Easton Metamorphic Suite crops out on both sides of the Straight Creek fault and records it's dextral displacement. On the south margin of the quadrangle, the fault separates the lower Eocene Swauk Formation on the east from the upper Eocene and Oligocene(?) Naches Formation and, farther north, its correlative Barlow Pass Volcanics the west. Stratigraphically equivalent rocks of the Puget Group crop out farther to the west. Rocks of

  10. Tracking an atmospheric river in a warmer climate: from water vapor to economic impacts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Dominguez

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric rivers (ARs account for more than 75 % of heavy precipitation events and nearly all of the extreme flooding events along the Olympic Mountains and western Cascade Mountains of western Washington state. In a warmer climate, ARs in this region are projected to become more frequent and intense, primarily due to increases in atmospheric water vapor. However, it is unclear how the changes in water vapor transport will affect regional flooding and associated economic impacts. In this work we present an integrated modeling system to quantify the atmospheric–hydrologic–hydraulic and economic impacts of the December 2007 AR event that impacted the Chehalis River basin in western Washington. We use the modeling system to project impacts under a hypothetical scenario in which the same December 2007 event occurs in a warmer climate. This method allows us to incorporate different types of uncertainty, including (a alternative future radiative forcings, (b different responses of the climate system to future radiative forcings and (c different responses of the surface hydrologic system. In the warming scenario, AR integrated vapor transport increases; however, these changes do not translate into generalized increases in precipitation throughout the basin. The changes in precipitation translate into spatially heterogeneous changes in sub-basin runoff and increased streamflow along the entire Chehalis main stem. Economic losses due to stock damages increase moderately, but losses in terms of business interruption are significant. Our integrated modeling tool provides communities in the Chehalis region with a range of possible future physical and economic impacts associated with AR flooding.

  11. Precipitation, landsliding, and erosion across the Olympic Mountains, Washington State, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Stephen G.; Wegmann, Karl W.

    2018-01-01

    In the Olympic Mountains of Washington State, landsliding is the primary surface process by which bedrock and hillslope regolith are delivered to river networks. However, the relative importance of large earthquakes versus high magnitude precipitation events to the total volume of landslide material transported to valley bottoms remains unknown in part due to the absence of large historical earthquakes. To test the hypothesis that erosion is linked to precipitation, approximately 1000 landslides were mapped from Google Earth imagery between 1990 and 2015 along a 15 km-wide × 85 km-long (1250 km2) swath across the range. The volume of hillslope material moved by each slide was calculated using previously published area-volume scaling relationships, and the spatial distribution of landslide volume was compared to mean annual precipitation data acquired from the PRISM climate group for the period 1981-2010. Statistical analysis reveals a significant correlation (r = 0.55; p landslide volume and mean annual precipitation, with 98% of landslide volume occurring along the windward, high-precipitation side of the range during the 25-year interval. Normalized to area, this volume yields a basin-wide erosion rate of 0.28 ± 0.11 mm yr- 1, which is similar to previous time-variable estimates of erosion throughout the Olympic Mountains, including those from river sediment yield, cosmogenic 10Be, fluvial terrace incision, and thermochronometry. The lack of large historic earthquakes makes it difficult to assess the relative contributions of precipitation and seismic shaking to total erosion, but our results suggest that climate, and more specifically a sharp precipitation gradient, plays an important role in controlling erosion and landscape evolution over both short and long timescales across the Olympic Mountains.

  12. An Innovative Approach for Constructing an In-Situ Barrier for Strontium-90 at the Hanford Site, Washington - 9325

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thompson, K. M.; Fabre, Russel J.; Vermeul, Vincent R.; Szecsody, James E.; Fellows, Robert J.; Williams, Mark D.; Fruchter, Jonathan S.

    2008-12-10

    Efforts to reduce the flux of Sr-90 to the Columbia River from Hanford Site 100-N Area past-practice liquid waste disposal sites have been underway since the early 1990s. Termination of all liquid discharges to the ground in 1993 was a major step toward meeting this goal. However, Sr 90 adsorbed on aquifer solids beneath liquid waste disposal sites and extending beneath the near-shore riverbed remains a continuing contaminant source to groundwater and the Columbia River. The initial pump-and treat system proved to be ineffective as a long-term solution because of the geochemical characteristics of Sr-90. Following an evaluation of potential Sr-90 treatment technologies and their applicability under 100 NR-2 Operable Unit hydrogeologic conditions, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Washington State Department of Ecology agreed to evaluate apatite sequestration as the primary remedial technology, combined with a secondary polishing step utilizing phytoextraction if necessary. Aqueous injection was initiated in July 2005 to assess the efficacy of in-situ apatite along the 100 m of shoreline where Sr-90 concentrations are highest. The remedial technology is being developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company is implementing this technology in the field with support from PNNL.

  13. Refining aging criteria for northern sea otters in Washington State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuler, Krysten L.; Baker, Bridget B.; Mayer, Karl A.; Perez-Heydrich, Carolina; Holahan, Paula M.; Thomas, Nancy J.; White, C. LeAnn

    2018-01-01

    Measurement of skull ossification patterns is a standard method for aging various mammalian species and has been used to age Russian, Californian, and Alaskan sea otter populations. Cementum annuli counts have also been verified as an accurate aging method for the Alaskan sea otter population. In this study, cementum annuli count results and skull ossification patterns were compared as methods for aging the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) population in Washington State. Significant agreement was found between the two methods suggesting that either method could be used to age the Washington population of otters. This study also found that ossification of the squamosal-jugal suture at the ventral glenoid fossa can be used to differentiate male subadults from adults. To assist field biologists or others without access to cementum annuli or skull ossification analysis techniques, a suite of morphologic, physiologic, and developmental characteristics were analyzed to assess whether a set of these more easily accessible parameters could also predict age class for the Washington population of otters. Tooth condition score, evidence of reproductive activity in females, and tooth eruption pattern were identified as the most useful criteria for classifying Washington sea otters as pups, juveniles, subadults, or adults/aged adults. A simple decision tree based on characteristics accessible in the field or at necropsy was created that can be used to reliably predict age class of Washington sea otters as determined by cementum annuli.

  14. 76 FR 18001 - Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-01

    ... IR] Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing... rate established for the State of Washington Potato Committee (Committee) for the 2011-2012 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0035 to $0.003 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. The Committee locally...

  15. 76 FR 41589 - Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-15

    ... FIR] Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing... established for the State of Washington Potato Committee (Committee) for the 2011-2012 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0035 to $0.003 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. The Committee locally administers...

  16. A Partnership for Modeling the Marine Environment of Puget Sound, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-30

    Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, a joint University of Washington - Oregon State project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. e. A... Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), a joint Washington - Oregon State project to investigate extraction of wave and tidal energy sponsored by

  17. Booker T. Washington's Educational Contributions to Contemporary Practices of Sustainable Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Brett G.

    2014-01-01

    This article discusses Booker T. Washington's educational contributions to contemporary practices of sustainable development. In particular, the article looks at Washington's contributions in the areas of economic sustainability and entrepreneurship, character development, and aesthetics. As states continue to contemplate and evaluate the value of…

  18. 2012-2013 Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium (PSLC) Topographic LiDAR: Hoh River Watershed, Washington (Deliveries 1 and 2)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Watershed Sciences, Inc. (WSI) collected Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data on the Hoh River watershed survey area for the Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium and the...

  19. An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Washington County Mississippi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field explorations have yielded 257 species new to Washington County, Mississippi and Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav.) DC. and Ruellia nudiflora (Engelm. & Gray) Urban new to the state. An annotated list of 796 taxa for Washington County is provided and excludes 62 species that were reported from ...

  20. Washington: a guide to geothermal energy development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bloomquist, R.G.; Basescu, N.; Higbee, C.; Justus, D.; Simpson, S.

    1980-06-01

    Washington's geothermal potential is discussed. The following topics are covered: exploration, drilling, utilization, legal and institutional setting, and economic factors of direct use projects. (MHR)

  1. Passage survival of juvenile steelhead, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon in Lake Scanewa and at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Cowlitz River, Washington, 2010–16

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liedtke, Theresa L.; Kock, Tobias J.; Hurst, William

    2018-04-03

    A multi-year evaluation was conducted during 2010–16 to evaluate passage survival of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and coho salmon (O. kisutch) in Lake Scanewa, and at Cowlitz Falls Dam in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington. Reservoir passage survival was evaluated in 2010, 2011, and 2016, and included the tagging and release of 1,127 juvenile salmonids. Tagged fish were released directly into the Cowlitz and Cispus Rivers, 22.3 and 8.9 km, respectively, upstream of the reservoir, and were monitored as they moved downstream into, and through the reservoir. A single release-recapture survival model was used to analyze detection records and estimate reservoir passage survival, which was defined as successful passage from reservoir entry to arrival at Cowlitz Falls Dam. Tagged fish generally moved quickly downstream of the release sites and, on average, arrived in the dam forebay within 2 d of release. Median travel time from release to first detection at the dam ranged from 0.23 to 0.96 d for juvenile steelhead, from 0.15 to 1.11 d for juvenile coho salmon, and from 0.18 to 1.89 d for juvenile Chinook salmon. Minimum reservoir passage survival probabilities were 0.960 for steelhead, 0.855 for coho salmon and 0.900 for Chinook salmon.Dam passage survival was evaluated at the pilot-study level during 2013–16 and included the tagging and release of 2,512 juvenile salmonids. Juvenile Chinook salmon were evaluated during 2013–14, and juvenile steelhead and coho salmon were evaluated during 2015–16. A paired-release study design was used that included release sites located upstream and downstream of Cowlitz Falls Dam. The downstream release site was positioned at the downstream margin of the dam’s tailrace, which allowed dam passage survival to be measured in a manner that included mortality that occurred in the passage route and in the dam tailrace. More than one-half of the tagged Chinook salmon (52 percent

  2. Supporting response with science: the Oso, Washington, landslide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godt, J.

    2014-12-01

    On 22 March 2014 a large, rapidly moving landslide impacted the community of Steelhead Haven, near Oso, Washington, killing 43 people. The slide displaced about 8 million m3 of sand and silt from a 200-m high glacial terrace destroying 40 homes and burying more than 1.0 km of State Route 530. The landslide temporarily dammed the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River flooding an area of about 1.4 km2. The unusually long travel distance, in excess of 700 m from the base of the slope, and apparent speed of the slide led to the great loss of life and destruction. Landslide science was critical in supporting the response to the disaster. Landslide monitoring, process understanding, pre- and post-event high-resolution digital topography, and numerical simulations were used to advise search operations. Recognizing that buildings and their contents were swept tens to hundreds of meters from their original locations, maps of deposit thickness, and estimates of landslide trajectories were used to develop safer and more efficient search strategies. Teams of county, state, and federal scientists, engineers, and specialists were formed to assess the stability of the landslide dam and to monitor stream flow and the level of the lake impounded by the slide, and to assess the geomorphic response of the river to the landslide for gauging future effects on flood hazards and aquatic ecosystems. Another scientific team assessed the threat of additional landslide activity to search operations. This team's activities included establishing a communications protocol among landslide watch officers and search operations, deploying instrument platforms developed for use on volcanoes (Spiders) to remotely detect ground movement by means of GPS technology and to detect vibrations indicative of landslide movement using seismometers. The team was responsible for monitoring and integrating data from the Spiders and other instruments and making determinations with regards to the potential for

  3. Ecology of Juvenile Salmon in Shallow Tidal Freshwater Habitats in the Vicinity of the Sandy River Delta, Lower Columbia River, 2008 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sather, NK; Johnson, GE; Storch, AJ [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    2009-07-06

    The tidal freshwater monitoring (TFM) project reported herein is part of the research, monitoring, and evaluation effort developed by the Action Agencies (Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE], and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) in response to obligations arising from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a result of operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. The project is being performed under the auspices of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (Project No. 2005-001-00). The research is a collaborative effort among the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the University of Washington. The overarching goal of the TFM project is to bridge the gap in knowledge between tidal freshwater habitats and the early life history attributes of migrating salmon. The research questions include: In what types of habitats within the tidal freshwater area of the Columbia River are juvenile salmon found, when are they present, and under what environmental conditions? What is the ecological contribution of shallow (0-5 m) tidal freshwater habitats to the recovery of ESA-listed salmon in the Columbia River basin? Field data collection for the TFM project commenced in June 2007 and since then has continued monthly at six to nine sites in the vicinity of the Sandy River delta (river kilometer 192-208). While this report includes summary data spanning the 19-month period of study from June 2007 through December 2008, it highlights sampling conducted during calendar year 2008. Detailed data for calendar year 2007 were reported previously. The 2008 research objectives were as follows: (1) Characterize the vegetation composition and percent cover, conventional water quality, water surface elevation, substrate composition, bathymetry, and beach slope at the study sites within the vicinity of the Sandy

  4. 78 FR 48285 - Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-08

    ...; FV13-946-1 FIR] Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate AGENCY: Agricultural... established for the State of Washington Potato Committee (Committee) for the 2013-2014 fiscal year and all subsequent fiscal periods from $0.003 to $0.0025 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. The Committee locally...

  5. Marijuana, other drugs, and alcohol use by drivers in Washington state : appendices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-01

    In Washington State legal sales of marijuana began July 8, 2014. A voluntary, anonymous roadside study was conducted to assess the prevalence of drivers testing positive for alcohol and other drugs, including marijuana, on Washingtons roads. Data ...

  6. 75 FR 14463 - Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Washington, Department of Anthropology, Seattle, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-25

    ... Washington, Department of Anthropology, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice... University of Washington, Department of Anthropology, Seattle, WA. The human remains were removed from... University of Washington, Department of Anthropology and Burke Museum staff in consultation with...

  7. 76 FR 58033 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [2253-665] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke...

  8. 75 FR 36671 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Correction AGENCY: National Park... human remains and associated funerary objects in the possession of the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington...

  9. 76 FR 58034 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [2253-665] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke...

  10. 76 FR 58039 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [2253-665] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum (Burke...

  11. Landslides in the western Columbia Gorge, Skamania County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierson, Thomas C.; Evarts, Russell C.; Bard, Joseph A.

    2016-11-04

    SummaryRecent light detection and ranging (lidar) imagery has allowed us to identify and map a large number of previously unrecognized landslides, or slides, in heavily forested terrain in the western Columbia Gorge, Skamania County, Washington, and it has revealed that the few previously recognized areas of instability are actually composites of multiple smaller landslides. The high resolution of the imagery further reveals that landslides in the map area have complex movement histories and span a wide range of relative ages. Movement histories are inferred from relative landslide locations and crosscutting relations of surface features. Estimated age ranges are based on (1) limited absolute dating; (2) relative fineness of landscape surface textures, calibrated by comparison with surfaces of currently active and dated landslides as interpreted from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), global positioning system (GPS), and historical records; (3) sharpness and steepness of larger-scale surface morphologic features, calibrated by comparison with similar dated features in other regions; (4) degree of surface erosion; and (5) evidence of erosion or deposition by late Pleistocene (15–22 ka) Missoula floods at or below 200 m altitude. The relative age categories are recent (0 to ~1,000 years old), intermediate-age (~1,000 to ~15,000 years old), and old (>~15,000 years old). Within the 221.5 km2 map area, we identified 215 discrete landslides, covering 140.9 km2 (64 percent of the map area). At least 12 of the recent landslides are currently moving or have moved within the last two decades. Mapping for this study expanded the area of previously recognized unstable terrain by 56 percent. Landslide geometries suggest that more than half (62 percent) of these slope failures are translational landslides or composite landslides with translational elements, with failure occurring along gently sloping bedding planes in zones of deeply weathered, locally clay rich

  12. Quantifying the Consumptive Landscape in the Potomac Watershed Upstream From Washington DC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kearns, M.; Zegre, N.; Fernandez, R.

    2017-12-01

    Some of the largest and fastest-growing eastern cities depend upon Appalachian headwaters for their fresh water. Today's relative abundance of water may be at risk: changes in climate and land use could alter the availability of surface water and human consumption could increase to meet the needs of a growing population and economy. Neither the supply of surface water nor the various withdrawals that support our population, irrigation, energy, and industry are distributed uniformly throughout our watersheds. This study correlates surface water withdrawals, consumptive use coefficients, and land-use/land-cover datasets to create a model for quantifying anthropogenic water consumption. The model suggests a method for downscaling and redistributing USGS county-level surface water withdrawals to 30 meter cells. Initially completed for the Potomac River watershed upstream from Washington DC's public supply intake, this approach could easily scale regionally or nationally. When combined with runoff estimates over the same landscape, the net-production or net-consumption of an area of interest may be calculated at high resolution. By better understanding the spatial relationship between hydrologic supply and demand, we can seek to improve the efficiency and security of our water resources.

  13. Collection Development Policy: Federal Government Publications at Eastern Washington University Libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roselle, Ann; Chan, Karen

    This collection development policy serves as a guide for the selection and retention of depository government documents by the Government Publications Unit of the Kennedy Memorial Library of Eastern Washington University (EWU) in Cheney, Washington. The library selects approximately 65 percent of the depository items distributed by the U.S.…

  14. The Impact of Interstate Migration on Human Capital Development in Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaulding, Randy

    2010-01-01

    Washington State is a leader in the innovation economy largely due to the combination of aerospace, software, and biomedical industries centered in the greater Seattle area; and, the state's high level of international trade. Despite Washington's national ranking, the state is overly reliant on importing educated workers from other states and…

  15. Washington Schools Learn from Value Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doleae, Michael L.; Childs, Harvey C.

    1983-01-01

    Results of two value engineering studies have shown that a review early in the design process can help save costs in school construction, maintenance, operation, and replacement. The value engineering concepts and technical manual are being presented throughout the state of Washington. (MLF)

  16. 77 FR 46117 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-10823; 2200-1100-665] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington...

  17. 78 FR 11675 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-12080;2200-1100-665] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington...

  18. Annual coded wire tag program (Washington) missing production groups: annual report for 1997; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byrne, J.; Fuss, H.; Ashbrook, C.

    1998-01-01

    The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funds the ''Annual Coded Wire Tag Program - Missing Production Groups for Columbia River Hatcheries'' project. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) all operate salmon and steelhead rearing programs in the Columbia River basin. The intent of the funding is to coded-wire tag at least one production group of each species at each Columbia Basin hatchery to provide a holistic assessment of survival and catch distribution over time and to meet various measures of the Northwest Power Planning Councils (NWPPC) Fish and Wildlife Program. The WDFW project has three main objectives: (1) coded-wire tag at least one production group of each species at each Columbia Basin hatchery to enable evaluation of survival and catch distribution over time, (2) recover coded-wire tags from the snouts of fish tagged under objective 1 and estimate survival, contribution, and stray rates for each group, and (3) report the findings under objective 2 for all broods of chinook, and coho released from WDFW Columbia Basin hatcheries. Objective 1 for FY-97 was met with few modifications to the original FY-97 proposal. Under Objective 2, snouts containing coded-wire tags that were recovered during FY-97 were decoded. Under Objective 3, survival, contribution and stray rate estimates for the 1991-96 broods of chinook and 1993-96 broods of coho have not been made because recovery data for 1996-97 fisheries and escapement are preliminary. This report summarizes recovery information through 1995

  19. Integrated Digital English Acceleration (I-DEA). Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2015

    2015-01-01

    Washington state has a large and rapidly growing foreign-born population. In 2011, immigrants made up 16.5 percent of Washington's civilian employed workforce, up from 7.1 percent in 1990. These new arrivals create jobs by forming businesses, spending income in local economies and raising employers' productivity. Thanks to project I-DEA…

  20. Preliminary description of hydrologic characteristics and contaminant transport potential of rocks in the Pasco Basin, south-central Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deju, R.A.; Fecht, K.R.

    1979-03-01

    This report aims at consolidating existing data useful in defining the hydrologic characteristics of the Pasco Basin within south-central Washington. It also aims at compiling the properties required to evaluate contaminant transport potential within individual subsurface strata in this basin. The Pasco Basin itself is a tract of semi-arid land covering about 2,000 square miles in south-central Washington. The regional geology of this basin is dominated by tholeiitic flood basalts of the Columbia Plateau. The surface hydrology of the basin is dominated by the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia rivers. Short-lived ephemeral streams may flow for a short period of time after a heavy rainfall or snowmelt. The subsurface hydrology of the Pasco Basin is characterized by an unconfined aquifer carrying the bulk of the water discharged within the basin. This aquifer overlies a series of confined aquifers carrying progressively smaller amounts of groundwater as a function of depth. The hydraulic properties of the various aquifers and non-water-bearing strata are characterized and reported. A summary of the basic properties is tabulated. The hydrochemical data obtained are summarized. The contaminant transport properties of the rocks in the Pasco Basin are analyzed with emphasis on the dispersion and sorption coefficients and the characteristics of the potential reactions between emplaced waste and the surrounding medium. Some basic modeling considerations of the hydrogeologic systems in the basin with a brief discussion of model input requirements and their relationship to available data are presented

  1. Monitoring fluvial erosion of the Oso landslide, Washington, using repeat Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, S. W.; Magirl, C. S.; Keith, M. K.

    2015-12-01

    On March 22, 2014, the Oso landslide, located in northwestern Washington State, catastrophically mobilized about 8 million m3 of mixed glacial sediment, creating a valley-wide blockage that impounded the North Fork Stillaguamish River to a height of 8 m. The river overtopped the landslide blockage within several days and incised a new channel through predominately fine-grained, cohesive glaciolacustrine sediment in the center of the deposit. Our research focuses on the evolution of this new channel. Using a consumer-grade digital camera mounted on a fixed wing-aircraft, we used structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry to produce 25 cm digital elevation models (DEMs) of the channel at one-month intervals between November 2014 and July 2015. A large RTK GPS validation dataset and inter-survey comparisons documents sub-decimeter vertical and horizontal accuracies. In combination with aerial lidar surveys acquired in March and April 2014, this dataset provides a uniquely resolved look at the erosion of a landslide dam. The newly-formed channel incised rapidly, lowering to within a meter of its pre-slide elevation by May 2014 despite modest flows. During high flows of the 2014-2015 winter flood season, erosion was dominated by channel widening of tens of meters with an overall stable planform. Incision fully returned the channel to pre-slide elevations by December 2014. A total of 510,000 +/- 50,000 m3 of material was eroded between March 2014 and July 2015, split evenly between the initial period of incision and the later period of widening. Sediment yield and channel morphology showed asymptotic trends towards stability. Measurements of deposit bulk density and grain size allowed conversion of volumetric sediment yields to mass yields by size classes. Over the 16 months after the slide, the river eroded about 0.82 +/- 0.1 Mt of sediment, of which 0.78 Mt was finer than 2mm. This yield agrees within 15% of an independent estimate based on concurrent sediment gaging

  2. Washington (Wash) C. Winn: In Memoriam

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2012-03-08

    Dr. Mike Miller and Dr. David Walker dicuss the career and life of noted clinical biologist, Dr. Washington C. Winn Jr.  Created: 3/8/2012 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 3/12/2012.

  3. Salmonid Gamete Preservation in the Snake River Basin : 2000 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armstrong, Robyn; Kucera, Paul A. [Nez Perce Tribe. Dept. of Fisheries Resource Management, Lapwai, ID (US)

    2001-06-01

    a long-term archive, half of the total samples. A total of 2,420 cryopreserved samples from Snake River basin steelhead and spring and summer chinook salmon, from 1992 through 2000, are stored in two independent locations at the University of Idaho and Washington State University. Two large freezer tanks are located at each university, each of which holds approximately 25% of the cryopreserved sperm. One tank at each university is considered long-term archival storage, while the other is short-term. Fertility trials were conducted at each university to test the viability of the cryopreserved chinook salmon sperm. The experiments on the 2000 frozen and thawed sperm at both universities found a fertility rate of 60-70%. This document also summarizes 1999-2000 steelhead genetic analysis report. The results of mitochondrial, nuclear DNA and microsatellite analysis found differences and shared haplotypes between the stocks of fish sampled for cryopreservation. Recommendations for future gene banking efforts include the need for establishment of a regional genome resource bank, a greater emphasis on cryopreserving wild fish, continued fertility trials, exploring field cryopreservation and genetic analysis on all fish represented in the germplasm repository.

  4. Strain distribution and model for formation of eastern Umtanum Ridge anticline, south-central Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Price, E.H.

    1979-10-01

    Umtanum Ridge in south-central Washington is the topographic expression of a complex anticline within the Yakima Fold system in the Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group. The Yakima Fold system, which is partly contained within the Hanford Site, is an example of a layered basalt sequence folded near the surface of the earth. The Pasco Basin stratigraphic nomenclature is used in this repot. Rockwelll Hanford Operations, under contract to the US Department of Energy, is investigating the feasibility of therminal high-level nuclear waste storage in mined repositories in basalt beneath the Hanford Site. Because thereis essentially no basalt within the Site that has not been involved in some folding, any potential location for a repository will be either on the limbs or near the hinge zone of a Yakima Fold structure. Umtanum Ridge is the best exposed Yakima Fold structure in the vicinity of the Site for studying the nature and three-dimensional style of deformation of a multilayered basalt sequence. The structural geometry, distribution of strain within the Umtanum structure and deformational mechanisms of the Umtanum Ridge are discussed.

  5. Strain distribution and model for formation of eastern Umtanum Ridge anticline, south-central Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price, E.H.

    1979-10-01

    Umtanum Ridge in south-central Washington is the topographic expression of a complex anticline within the Yakima Fold system in the Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group. The Yakima Fold system, which is partly contained within the Hanford Site, is an example of a layered basalt sequence folded near the surface of the earth. The Pasco Basin stratigraphic nomenclature is used in this repot. Rockwelll Hanford Operations, under contract to the US Department of Energy, is investigating the feasibility of therminal high-level nuclear waste storage in mined repositories in basalt beneath the Hanford Site. Because thereis essentially no basalt within the Site that has not been involved in some folding, any potential location for a repository will be either on the limbs or near the hinge zone of a Yakima Fold structure. Umtanum Ridge is the best exposed Yakima Fold structure in the vicinity of the Site for studying the nature and three-dimensional style of deformation of a multilayered basalt sequence. The structural geometry, distribution of strain within the Umtanum structure and deformational mechanisms of the Umtanum Ridge are discussed

  6. River Protection Project (RPP) Dangerous Waste Training Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    POHTO, R.E.

    2000-03-09

    This supporting document contains the training plan for dangerous waste management at River Protection Project TSD Units. This document outlines the dangerous waste training program developed and implemented for all Treatment, Storage, and Disposal (TSD) Units operated by River Protection Project (RPP) in the Hanford 200 East, 200 West and 600 Areas and the <90 Day Accumulation Area at 209E. Operating TSD Units managed by RPP are: the Double-Shell Tank (DST) System, 204-AR Waste Unloading Facility, Grout, and the Single-Shell Tank (SST) System. The program is designed in compliance with the requirements of Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-303-330 and Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 265.16 for the development of a written dangerous waste training program and the Hanford Facility Permit. Training requirements were determined by an assessment of employee duties and responsibilities. The RPP training program is designed to prepare employees to operate and maintain the Tank Farms in a safe, effective, efficient, and environmentally sound manner. In addition to preparing employees to operate and maintain the Tank Farms under normal conditions, the training program ensures that employees are prepared to respond in a prompt and effective manner should abnormal or emergency conditions occur. Emergency response training is consistent with emergency responses outlined in the following Building Emergency Plans: HNF-IP-0263-TF and HNF-=IP-0263-209E.

  7. River Protection Project (RPP) Dangerous Waste Training Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    POHTO, R.E.

    2000-01-01

    This supporting document contains the training plan for dangerous waste management at River Protection Project TSD Units. This document outlines the dangerous waste training program developed and implemented for all Treatment, Storage, and Disposal (TSD) Units operated by River Protection Project (RPP) in the Hanford 200 East, 200 West and 600 Areas and the <90 Day Accumulation Area at 209E. Operating TSD Units managed by RPP are: the Double-Shell Tank (DST) System, 204-AR Waste Unloading Facility, Grout, and the Single-Shell Tank (SST) System. The program is designed in compliance with the requirements of Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-303-330 and Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 265.16 for the development of a written dangerous waste training program and the Hanford Facility Permit. Training requirements were determined by an assessment of employee duties and responsibilities. The RPP training program is designed to prepare employees to operate and maintain the Tank Farms in a safe, effective, efficient, and environmentally sound manner. In addition to preparing employees to operate and maintain the Tank Farms under normal conditions, the training program ensures that employees are prepared to respond in a prompt and effective manner should abnormal or emergency conditions occur. Emergency response training is consistent with emergency responses outlined in the following Building Emergency Plans: HNF-IP-0263-TF and HNF-=IP-0263-209E

  8. Effects of groundwater withdrawals from the Hurricane Fault zone on discharge of saline water from Pah Tempe Springs, Washington County, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Philip M.

    2018-04-10

    Pah Tempe Springs, located in Washington County, Utah, contribute about 95,000 tons of dissolved solids annually along a 1,500-foot gaining reach of the Virgin River. The river gains more than 10 cubic feet per second along the reach as thermal, saline springwater discharges from dozens of orifices located along the riverbed and above the river on both banks. The spring complex discharges from fractured Permian Toroweap Limestone where the river crosses the north-south trending Hurricane Fault. The Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program is evaluating the feasibility of capturing and desalinizing the discharge of Pah Tempe Springs to improve downstream water quality in the Virgin River. The most viable plan, identified by the Bureau of Reclamation in early studies, is to capture spring discharge by pumping thermal groundwater from within the Hurricane Fault footwall damage zone and to treat this water prior to returning it to the river.Three multiple-day interference tests were conducted between November 2013 and November 2014, wherein thermal groundwater was pumped from fractured carbonate rock in the fault damage zone at rates of up to 7 cubic feet per second. Pumping periods for these tests lasted approximately 66, 74, and 67 hours, respectively, and the tests occurred with controlled streamflows of approximately 2.0, 3.5, and 24.5 cubic feet per second, respectively, in the Virgin River upstream from the springs reach. Specific conductance, water temperature, and discharge were monitored continuously in the river (upstream and downstream of the springs reach) at selected individual springs, and in the pumping discharge during each of the tests. Water levels were monitored in three observation wells screened in the thermal system. Periodic stream and groundwater samples were analyzed for dissolved-solids concentration and the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen. Additional discrete measurements of field parameters (specific

  9. Washington Phase II Fish Diversion Screen Evaluations in the Yakima River Basin, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vucelick, Jessica; McMichael, Geoffrey; Chamness, Mickie [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    2006-02-01

    In 2004, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) evaluated 25 Phase II fish screen sites in the Yakima River Basin as part of a multi-year project for the Bonneville Power Administration on the effectiveness of fish screening devices. PNNL collected data to determine whether velocities in front of the screens and in the bypasses met the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries, formerly the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)) criteria to promote safe and timely fish passage. In addition, PNNL conducted underwater video surveys to evaluate the environmental and operational conditions of the screen sites with respect to fish passage. Based on evaluations in 2004, PNNL concluded that: (1) In general, water velocity conditions at the screen sites met fish passage criteria set by NOAA Fisheries. (2) Conditions at most facilities would be expected to provide for safe juvenile fish passage. (3) Automated cleaning brushes generally functioned properly; chains and other moving parts were typically well-greased and operative. (4) Removal of sediment buildup and accumulated leafy and woody debris could be improved at some sites. (5) Conditions at some facilities indicate that operation and/or maintenance should be modified to improve passage conditions for juvenile fish. For example, Taylor has had problems meeting bypass flow and submergence operating criteria since the main river channel shifted away from the site 2 years ago, and Fruitvale consistently has had problems meeting bypass flow criteria when the water is low. (6) Continued problems at Gleed point to design flaws. This site should be considered for redesign or replacement.

  10. Evaluation of water resource economics within the Pasco Basin, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leaming, G.F.

    1981-01-01

    The Columbia River basalt beneath the Hanford Site in south-central Washington is being considered for possible use as a terminal repository medium for high-level nuclear waste. Such underground storage would require that the facility be contiguous to at least a portion of the ambient groundwater system of the Pasco Basin. This report attempts to evaluate the economic factors and conditions related to the water resources of the Pasco Basin and the probable economic effects associated with selected hypothetical changes in local water demand and supply as a basis for eventual selection of credible water supply alternatives and more detailed analyses of the consequences of such alternative selection. It is most likely that total demand for water for consumptive uses in the Pasco Basin will increase from nearly 2.0 million acre-feet per year in 1980 to almost 2.8 million acre-feet in 2010, with total demand slightly more than 3.6 million acre-feet per year in 2080. The Columbia River and other surface streams constitute the source of more than 99 percent of the water available each year for all uses, both consumptive and non-consumptive, in the Pasco Basin. It is estimated that pumped groundwater accounted for 3 percent of the value of all water supplied to consumers of water in the Pasco Basin in 1980. Groundwater's share of the total cost is proportionately higher than groundwater's share of total use because it is generally more costly to acquire than is surface water and the value of water is considered equivalent to its cost of acquisition. Because groundwater represents such a small part of the total water supply and demand within the Pasco Basin, it is concluded that if the development of a nuclear waste repository on the Hanford Site were to result in changes in the groundwater supply during the next 100 years, the economic impact on the overall water supply picture for the entire basin would be insignificant

  11. 78 FR 64006 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-25

    ... inventory of human remains under the control of the Burke Museum. The human remains were removed from Island....R50000] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of... Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington (Burke Museum), has completed an inventory of...

  12. 78 FR 59955 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-30

    ... completion of an inventory of human remains under the control of the Burke Museum, Seattle, WA. The human....R50000] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of... Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington (Burke Museum), has completed an inventory of...

  13. Laboratory analysis of diet of Pacific harbor seals at Umpqua River, Oregon and Columbia River, Oregon/Washington conducted from 1994-06-23 to 2005-09-03 (NCEI Accession 0139413)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — From 1994 to 2005, The National Marine Mammal Laboratories' California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA) collected fecal samples at the Umpqua River, Oregon and...

  14. NSA Diana Wueger Published in Washington Quarterly

    OpenAIRE

    Grant, Catherine L.

    2016-01-01

    National Security Affairs (NSA) News NSA Faculty Associate for Research Diana Wueger has recently had an article titled “India’s Nuclear-Armed Submarines: Deterrence or Danger?” published in the Washington Quarterly.

  15. Death with dignity in Washington patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Leo H; Elliott, Michael A; Jung Henson, Lily; Gerena-Maldonado, Elba; Strom, Susan; Downing, Sharon; Vetrovs, Jennifer; Kayihan, Paige; Paul, Piper; Kennedy, Kate; Benditt, Joshua O; Weiss, Michael D

    2016-11-15

    To describe the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients who sought medication under the Washington State Death with Dignity (DWD) Act since its inception in 2009. Chart review at 3 tertiary medical centers in the Seattle/Puget Sound region and comparison to publicly available data of ALS and all-cause DWD cohorts from Washington and Oregon. In Washington State, 39 patients with ALS requested DWD from the University of Washington, Virginia Mason, and Swedish Medical Centers beginning in 2009. The median age at death was 65 years (range 46-86). Seventy-seven percent of the patients used the prescriptions. All of the patients who used the medications passed away without complications. The major reasons for patients to request DWD as reported by participating physicians were loss of autonomy and dignity and decrease in enjoyable activities. Inadequate pain control, financial cost, and loss of bodily control were less commonly indicated. These findings were similar to those of the 92 patients who sought DWD in Oregon. In Washington and Oregon, the percentage of patients with ALS seeking DWD is higher compared to the cancer DWD cohort. Furthermore, compared to the all-cause DWD cohort, patients with ALS are more likely to be non-Hispanic white, married, educated, enrolled in hospice, and to have died at home. Although a small number, ALS represents the disease with the highest proportion of patients seeking to participate in DWD. Patients with ALS who choose DWD are well-educated and have access to palliative or life-prolonging care. The use of the medications appears to be able to achieve the patients' goals without complications. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

  16. 78 FR 59964 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-30

    ....S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains under the control of the Burke Museum....R50000] Notice of Inventory Completion: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of... Washington (Burke Museum), and Central Washington University have completed an inventory of human remains, in...

  17. River water pollution condition in upper part of Brantas River and Bengawan Solo River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roosmini, D.; Septiono, M. A.; Putri, N. E.; Shabrina, H. M.; Salami, I. R. S.; Ariesyady, H. D.

    2018-01-01

    Wastewater and solid waste from both domestic and industry have been known to give burden on river water quality. Most of river water quality problem in Indonesia has start in the upper part of river due to anthropogenic activities, due to inappropriate land use management including the poor wastewater infrastructure. Base on Upper Citarum River Water pollution problem, it is interesting to study the other main river in Java Island. Bengawan Solo River and Brantas River were chosen as the sample in this study. Parameters assessed in this study are as follows: TSS, TDS, pH, DO, and hexavalent chromium. The status of river water quality are assess using STORET method. Based on (five) parameters, STORET value showed that in Brantas River, Pagerluyung monitoring point had the worst quality relatively compared to other monitoring point in Brantas River with exceeding copper, lead and tin compared to the stream standard in East Java Provincial Regulation No. 2 in 2008. Brantas River was categorized as lightly polluted river based on monitoring period 2011-2015 in 5 monitoring points, namely Pendem, Sengguruh, Kademangan, Meritjan and Kertosono.

  18. Fuel management at Washington State Ferries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brodeur, P.; Olds, J.

    2008-01-01

    This presentation discussed Washington State Ferry (WSF) operations and provided details of a biodiesel research and demonstration project. Washington has the largest ferry system in the United States, with a total of 28 vessels that operate on 10 routes through 20 terminals. Routes vary by transit times, navigational challenges, and the proximity to population centres. WSF fuel and emissions management initiatives include exhaust emission studies, clean fuel initiatives, machinery upgrades, fuel conservation initiatives, and biodiesel testing. The organization is also using waste heat recovery and a positive restraint system. The WSF biodiesel pilot program was conducted using soy-derived fuels with a purifier disk stack. The program is in agreement with recent legislation requiring that 2 per cent of annual diesel fuel sales are from biodiesel fuels, and state legislation requiring that state agencies use a minimum of 20 per cent biodiesel blends in diesel-powered vessels and vehicles. Details of project partnerships were included. tabs., figs

  19. Predicting recolonization patterns and interactions between potamodromous and anadromous salmonids in response to dam removal in the Elwha River, Washington State, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brenkman, S.J.; Pess, G.R.; Torgersen, C.E.; Kloehn, K.K.; Duda, J.J.; Corbett, S.C.

    2008-01-01

    The restoration of salmonids in the Elwha River following dam removal will cause interactions between anadromous and potamodromous forms as recolonization occurs in upstream and downstream directions. Anadromous salmonids are expected to recolonize historic habitats, and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) isolated above the dams for 90 years are expected to reestablish anadromy. We summarized the distribution and abundance of potamodromous salmonids, determined locations of spawning areas, and mapped natural barriers to fish migration at the watershed scale based on data collected from 1993 to 2006. Rainbow trout were far more abundant than bull trout throughout the watershed and both species were distributed up to river km 71. Spawning locations for bull trout and rainbow trout occurred in areas where we anticipate returning anadromous fish to spawn. Nonnative brook trout were confined to areas between and below the dams, and seasonal velocity barriers are expected to prevent their upstream movements. We hypothesize that the extent of interaction between potamodromous and anadromous salmonids will vary spatially due to natural barriers that will limit upstream-directed recolonization for some species of salmonids. Consequently, most competitive interactions will occur in the main stem and floodplain downstream of river km 25 and in larger tributaries. Understanding future responses of Pacific salmonids after dam removal in the Elwha River depends upon an understanding of existing conditions of the salmonid community upstream of the dams prior to dam removal.

  20. Guidelines for monitoring and adaptively managing restoration of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) on the Elwha River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, R.J.; Duda, J.J.; Pess, G.R.; Zimmerman, M.; Crain, P.; Hughes, Z.; Wilson, A.; Liermann, M.C.; Morley, S.A.; McMillan, J.; Denton, K.; Warheit, K.

    2014-01-01

    As of January, 2014, the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha River, Washington, represents the largest dam decommissioning to date in the United States. Dam removal is the single largest step in meeting the goals of the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 (The Elwha Act) — full restoration of the Elwha River ecosystem and its native anadromous fisheries (Section 3(a)). However, there is uncertainty about project outcomes with regards to salmon populations, as well as what the ‘best’ management strategy is to fully restore each salmon stock. This uncertainty is due to the magnitude of the action, the large volumes of sediment expected to be released during dam removal, and the duration of the sediment impact period following dam removal. Our task is further complicated by the depleted state of the native salmonid populations remaining in the Elwha, including four federally listed species. This situation lends itself to a monitoring and adaptive management approach to resource management, which allows for flexibility in decision-making processes in the face of uncertain outcomes.

  1. Numerical simulation of groundwater movement and managed aquifer recharge from Sand Hollow Reservoir, Hurricane Bench area, Washington County, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marston, Thomas M.; Heilweil, Victor M.

    2012-01-01

    The Hurricane Bench area of Washington County, Utah, is a 70 square-mile area extending south from the Virgin River and encompassing Sand Hollow basin. Sand Hollow Reservoir, located on Hurricane Bench, was completed in March 2002 and is operated primarily as a managed aquifer recharge project by the Washington County Water Conservancy District. The reservoir is situated on a thick sequence of the Navajo Sandstone and Kayenta Formation. Total recharge to the underlying Navajo aquifer from the reservoir was about 86,000 acre-feet from 2002 to 2009. Natural recharge as infiltration of precipitation was approximately 2,100 acre-feet per year for the same period. Discharge occurs as seepage to the Virgin River, municipal and irrigation well withdrawals, and seepage to drains at the base of reservoir dams. Within the Hurricane Bench area, unconfined groundwater-flow conditions generally exist throughout the Navajo Sandstone. Navajo Sandstone hydraulic-conductivity values from regional aquifer testing range from 0.8 to 32 feet per day. The large variability in hydraulic conductivity is attributed to bedrock fractures that trend north-northeast across the study area.A numerical groundwater-flow model was developed to simulate groundwater movement in the Hurricane Bench area and to simulate the movement of managed aquifer recharge from Sand Hollow Reservoir through the groundwater system. The model was calibrated to combined steady- and transient-state conditions. The steady-state portion of the simulation was developed and calibrated by using hydrologic data that represented average conditions for 1975. The transient-state portion of the simulation was developed and calibrated by using hydrologic data collected from 1976 to 2009. Areally, the model grid was 98 rows by 76 columns with a variable cell size ranging from about 1.5 to 25 acres. Smaller cells were used to represent the reservoir to accurately simulate the reservoir bathymetry and nearby monitoring wells; larger

  2. Southwestern Washington 1/3 arc-second DEM

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 1/3-second Southwest Washington Elevation Grid provides bathymetric data in ASCII raster format of 1/3-second resolution in geographic coordinates. This grid is...

  3. Annual trace-metal load estimates and flow-weighted concentrations of cadmium, lead, and zinc in the Spokane River basin, Idaho and Washington, 1999-2004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donato, Mary M.

    2006-01-01

    Streamflow and trace-metal concentration data collected at 10 locations in the Spokane River basin of northern Idaho and eastern Washington during 1999-2004 were used as input for the U.S. Geological Survey software, LOADEST, to estimate annual loads and mean flow-weighted concentrations of total and dissolved cadmium, lead, and zinc. Cadmium composed less than 1 percent of the total metal load at all stations; lead constituted from 6 to 42 percent of the total load at stations upstream from Coeur d'Alene Lake and from 2 to 4 percent at stations downstream of the lake. Zinc composed more than 90 percent of the total metal load at 6 of the 10 stations examined in this study. Trace-metal loads were lowest at the station on Pine Creek below Amy Gulch, where the mean annual total cadmium load for 1999-2004 was 39 kilograms per year (kg/yr), the mean estimated total lead load was about 1,700 kg/yr, and the mean annual total zinc load was 14,000 kg/yr. The trace-metal loads at stations on North Fork Coeur d'Alene River at Enaville, Ninemile Creek, and Canyon Creek also were relatively low. Trace-metal loads were highest at the station at Coeur d'Alene River near Harrison. The mean annual total cadmium load was 3,400 kg/yr, the mean total lead load was 240,000 kg/yr, and the mean total zinc load was 510,000 kg/yr for 1999-2004. Trace-metal loads at the station at South Fork Coeur d'Alene River near Pinehurst and the three stations on the Spokane River downstream of Coeur d'Alene Lake also were relatively high. Differences in metal loads, particularly lead, between stations upstream and downstream of Coeur d'Alene Lake likely are due to trapping and retention of metals in lakebed sediments. LOADEST software was used to estimate loads for water years 1999-2001 for many of the same sites discussed in this report. Overall, results from this study and those from a previous study are in good agreement. Observed differences between the two studies are attributable to streamflow

  4. Missoula flood dynamics and magnitudes inferred from sedimentology of slack-water deposits on the Columbia Plateau, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, G.A.

    1993-01-01

    Sedimentological study of late Wisconsin, Missoula-flood slack-water sediments deposited along the Columbia and Tucannon Rivers in southern Washington reveals important aspects of flood dynamics. Most flood facies were deposited by energetic flood surges (velocities>6 m/sec) entering protected areas along the flood tract, or flowing up and then directly out of tributary valleys. True still-water facies are less voluminous and restricted to elevations below 230 m. High flood stages attended the initial arrival of the flood wave and were not associated with subsequent hydraulic ponding upslope from channel constrictions. Among 186 flood beds studied in 12 sections, 57% have bioturbated tops, and about half of these bioturbated beds are separated from overlying flood beds by nonflood sediments. A single graded flood bed was deposited at most sites during most floods. Sequences in which 2-9 graded beds were deposited during a single flood are restricted to low elevations. These sequences imply complex, multi-peaked hydrographs in which the first flood surge was generally the largest, and subsequent surges were attenuated by water already present in slack-water areas. Slack-water - sediment stratigraphy suggests a wide range of flood discharges and volumes. Of >40 documented late Wisconsin floods that inundated the Pasco Basin, only about 20 crossed the Palouse-Snake divide. Floods younger than the set-S tephras from Mount St.Helens were generally smaller than earlier floods of late Wisconsin age, although most still crossed the Palouse-Snake divide. These late floods primarily traversed the Cheney-Palouse scabland because stratigraphy of slack-water sediment along the Columbia River implies that the largest flood volumes did not enter the Pasco Basin by way of the Columbia River. 47 refs., 17 figs., 2 tabs

  5. A 2015 comparison of operational performance : Washington state ferries to ferry operators worldwide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-01

    This report provides an update to the 2010 report A Comparison of Operational Performance: : Washington State Ferries to Ferry Operators Worldwide, observing changes in Washington State : Ferries, 23 other ferry systems, and the ferry industry ...

  6. Development and Implementation of the Waste Management Information System to Support Hanford's River Corridor Cleanup

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nolan, L M [Washington Closure Hanford, LLC, 3070 George Washington Way, Richland, WA 99354 (United States)

    2006-07-01

    This paper describes the development of a Waste Information Management System (WMIS) to support the waste designation, transportation, and disposal processes used by Washington Closure Hanford, LLC to support cleanup of the Columbia River Corridor. This waste, primarily consisting of remediated burial sites and building demolition debris, is disposed at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF), which is located in the center of the Hanford Site (an approximately 1460 square kilometers site). WMIS uses a combination of bar-code scanning, hand-held computers, and strategic employment of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag system to track each waste shipment from waste generation to disposal. (authors)

  7. LiDAR (Terrain), THURSTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON, USA

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Fugro EarthData Company furnished the collection, processing, and development of LiDAR for 825 square miles in Washington (805 square miles of Thurston County and 20...

  8. 78 FR 17229 - Notice of Public Meeting, Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLORW00000 L102000000.ML0000 13XL1109AF.HAG13-0139] Notice of Public Meeting, Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council AGENCY: Bureau of... the Eastern Washington Resource Advisory Council. The meeting on March 21, 2013, has been cancelled...

  9. Improving Immunization Coverage in a Rural School District in Pierce County, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Robin M.; Cook, Carolyn; Yerxa, Mary E.; Marshall, James H.; Pulos, Elizabeth; Rollosson, Matthew P.

    2012-01-01

    Washington State has some of the highest percentages of school immunization exemptions in the country. We compared school immunization records in a rural school district in Pierce County, Washington, to immunization records in the state immunization information system (IIS) and parent-held records. Correcting school immunization records resulted…

  10. Anacostia River fringe wetlands restoration project: final report for the five-year monitoring program (2003 through 2007)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krafft, Cairn C.; Hammerschlag, Richard S.; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.

    2009-01-01

    The 6-hectare (ha) freshwater tidal Anacostia River Fringe Wetlands (Fringe Wetlands) were reconstructed along the mainstem of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC (Photograph 1, Figure 1) during the summer of 2003. The Fringe Wetlands consist of two separate planting cells. Fringe A, located adjacent to Lower Kingman Island, on the west bank of the Anacostia River, occupies 1.6 ha; Fringe B, located on the east bank of the Anacostia River, occupies 4.4 ha. This project is the third in a series of freshwater tidal wetland reconstructions on the Anacostia River designed and implemented by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District and District Department of the Environment (DDOE) on lands managed by the National Park Service (NPS). The first was Kenilworth Marsh, reconstructed in 1993 (Syphax and Hammerschlag 2005); the second was Kingman Marsh, reconstructed in 2000 (Hammerschlag et al. 2006). Kenilworth and Kingman were both constructed in low-energy backwaters of the Anacostia. However, the Fringe Wetlands, which were constructed on two pre-existing benches along the high-energy mainstem, required sheet piling to provide protection from erosive impacts of increased flow and volume of water associated with storm events during the establishment phase (Photograph 2). All three projects required the placement of dredged sediment materials to increase elevations enough to support emergent vegetation (Photograph 3). The purpose of all three wetland reconstruction projects was to restore pieces of the once extensive tidal freshwater marsh habitat that bordered the Anacostia River historically, prior to the dredge and fill operations and sea wall installation that took place there in the early to mid-1900's (Photograph 4).

  11. 76 FR 58031 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [2253-665] Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum...

  12. El Consenso de Washington: aciertos, yerros y omisiones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the economic and social development of Latin America after nearly two decades of macroeconomic policies and reforms in line with the “Washington Consensus”. It shows that these policies did lower inflation and induced an export boom, but failed to boost domestic investment and to remove the balance of payments binding constraint on the region’s long–term path of economic expansion. Four alternative explanations of such poor performance of the Washington Consensus are compared. It is argued, in particular, that, contrary to mainstream opinion, in Latin America there is no clear association between the depth of macroeconomic reforms and economic growth performance.

  13. Doctors of Osteopathy Licensed in Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senters, Jo

    Based on information gathered by the Health Manpower Project through a survey cosponsored with the Washington Osteopathic Medical Association, this report begins with a statement of philosophy of osteopathic medicine and proceeds to comment on where such professional education is available. Remarks on the type of educational background of the…

  14. Changing Housing Patterns in Metropolitan Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grier, George; Grier, Eunice

    1975-01-01

    This testimony, before a public hearing of the New York City Commission on Human Rights in May 1974, summarizes extensive studies of changing minority residential patterns in metropolitan Washington and less extensive studies of other groups; the prospects for future desegregation and for using the growing economic potential of minority families…

  15. Timber resource statistics for western Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coffin D. MacLean; Patricia M. Bassett; Glenn. Yeary

    1992-01-01

    This report summarizes a 1988-90 timber resource inventory of 19 counties in western Washington: Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom. Detailed tables of forest area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and harvest are presented.

  16. Behavior of medically-derived 131I in the tidal Potomac River

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rose, Paula S.; Smith, Joseph P.; Cochran, J. Kirk; Aller, Robert C.; Swanson, R. Lawrence

    2013-01-01

    Iodine-131 (t 1/2 = 8.04 d) is administered to patients for treatment of thyroid disorders, excreted by patients and discharged to surface waters via sewage effluent. Radionuclides generally behave like their stable analogs; therefore, medically-derived 131 I is useful as a transport-reaction tracer of anthropogenic inputs and the aquatic biogeochemistry of iodine. Iodine-131 was measured in Potomac River water and sediments in the vicinity of the Blue Plains Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP), Washington, DC, USA. Concentrations measured in sewage effluent from Blue Plains WPCP and in the Potomac River suggest a relatively continuous source of this radionuclide. The range of 131 I concentrations detected in surface water was 0.076 ± 0.006 to 6.07 ± 0.07 Bq L −1 . Iodine-131 concentrations in sediments ranged from 1.3 ± 0.8 to 117 ± 2 Bq kg −1 dry weight. Partitioning in the sewage effluent from Blue Plains and in surface waters indicated that 131 I is associated with colloidal and particulate organic material. The behavior of medically-derived 131 I in the Potomac River is consistent with the nutrient-like behavior of natural iodine in aquatic environments. After discharge to the river via sewage effluent, it is incorporated into biogenic particulate material and deposited in sediments. Solid phase sediment profiles of 131 I indicated rapid mixing or sedimentation of particulate debris and diagenetic remineralization and recycling on short time scales. - Highlights: ► Medically-derived 131 I was measured in sewage effluent, river water, and sediments. ► Sediment 210 Pb and 7 Be profiles help characterize the sedimentary environment. ► 131 I flux to sediments in study area is ∼ 1% of that discharged in sewage effluent. ► 131 I distributions constrain reaction-transport processes to weekly time scales. ► Collectively these data are used to better understand iodine biogeochemistry

  17. 78 FR 53235 - 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-28

    ... Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom By the President of the United States of America A... waters of the reflecting pool, to the proud base of the Washington Monument. They were men and women..., and justice for all. The March on Washington capped off a summer of discontent, a time when the...

  18. Physicochemical characteristics of the hyporheic zone affect redd site selection of chum and fall chinook salmon, Columbia River, 2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geist, David R.

    2001-01-01

    Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) may historically have been the most abundant species of Columbia River salmon, contributing as much as 50% of the total biomass of all salmon in the Pacific Ocean prior to the 1940's (Neave 1961). By the 1950's, however, run sizes to the Columbia River dropped dramatically and in 1999 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed Columbia River chum salmon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; NMFS 1999). Habitat degradation, water diversions, harvest, and artificial propagation are the major human-induced factors that have contributed to the species decline (NMFS 1998). Columbia River chum salmon spawn exclusively in the lower river below Bonneville Dam, including an area near Ives Island. The Ives Island chum salmon are part of the Columbia River evolutionary significant unit (ESU) for this species, and are included in the ESA listing. In addition to chum salmon, fall chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) also spawn at Ives Island. Spawning surveys conducted at Ives Island over the last several years show that chum and fall chinook salmon spawned in clusters in different locations (US Fish and Wildlife Service and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, unpublished data). The presence of redd clusters suggested that fish were selecting specific habitat features within the study area (Geist and Dauble 1998). Understanding the specific features of these spawning areas is needed to quantify the amount of habitat available to each species so that minimum flows can be set to protect fish and maintain high quality habitat

  19. A Grape Production Guide for Vocational Agriculture Instructors in Washington. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padelford, Stewart L.; Cvancara, Joseph G., Ed.

    This curriculum guide is intended to provide vocational agriculture instructors with an up-to-date resource dealing with grape production in Washington. Addressed in the individual units of the guide are the following topics: the history of grape production; grape types important to Washington; site selection for a vineyard; establishment and…

  20. River-corridor habitat dynamics, Lower Missouri River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobson, Robert B.

    2010-01-01

    Intensive management of the Missouri River for navigation, flood control, and power generation has resulted in substantial physical changes to the river corridor. Historically, the Missouri River was characterized by a shifting, multithread channel and abundant unvegetated sandbars. The shifting channel provided a wide variety of hydraulic environments and large areas of connected and unconnected off-channel water bodies.Beginning in the early 1800s and continuing to the present, the channel of the Lower Missouri River (downstream from Sioux City, Iowa) has been trained into a fast, deep, single-thread channel to stabilize banks and maintain commercial navigation. Wing dikes now concentrate the flow, and revetments and levees keep the channel in place and disconnect it from the flood plain. In addition, reservoir regulation of the Missouri River upstream of Yankton, South Dakota, has substantially changed the annual hydrograph, sediment loads, temperature regime, and nutrient budgets.While changes to the Missouri River have resulted in broad social and economic benefits, they have also been associated with loss of river-corridor habitats and diminished populations of native fish and wildlife species. Today, Missouri River stakeholders are seeking ways to restore some natural ecosystem benefits of the Lower Missouri River without compromising traditional economic uses of the river and flood plain.

  1. Medicinal Cannabis: A Survey Among Health Care Providers in Washington State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlini, Beatriz H; Garrett, Sharon B; Carter, Gregory T

    2017-02-01

    Washington State allows marijuana use for medical (since 1998) and recreational (since 2012) purposes. The benefits of medicinal cannabis (MC) can be maximized if clinicians educate patients about dosing, routes of administration, side effects, and plant composition. However, little is known about clinicians' knowledge and practices in Washington State. An anonymous online survey assessed providers' MC knowledge, beliefs, clinical practices, and training needs. The survey was disseminated through health care providers' professional organizations in Washington State. Descriptive analysis compared providers who had and had not authorized MC for patients. Survey results informed the approach and content of an online training on best clinical practices of MC. Four hundred ninety-four health care providers responded to the survey. Approximately two-third were women, aged 30 to 60 years, and working in family or internal medicine. More than half of the respondents were legally allowed to write MC authorizations per Washington State law, and 27% of those had issued written MC authorizations. Overall, respondents reported low knowledge and comfort level related to recommending MC. Respondents rated MC knowledge as important and supported inclusion of MC training in medical/health provider curriculum. Most Washington State providers have not received education on scientific basis of MC or training on best clinical practices of MC. Clinicians who had issued MC authorizations were more likely to have received MC training than those who had not issued MC authorization. The potential of MCs to benefit some patients is hindered by the lack of comfort of clinicians to recommend it. Training opportunities are badly needed to address these issues.

  2. Food and feeding of juvenile chinook salmon in the central Columbia River in relation to thermal discharges and other environmental features

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker, C.D. [Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (United States). Ecosystems Dept.

    1970-08-01

    The relationship of thermal discharges from operating Hanford reactors to food and feeding of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the central Columbia River, Washington was studied in 1968 and 1969. The primary objectives were to (1) evaluate the food composition and feeding activities of the fish and (2) determine if heated effluents influenced their welfare. Environmental conditions (seasonal changes in river temperatures and flow volumes) in relation to thermal requirements of young chinook are detailed. Data on food organisms utilized by the fish in 1968 and 1969 are presented, whereas analyses for possible thermal effects are based on the more extensive 1969 data. No consistent differences attributable to thermal increments were evident. The lack of detectable effects apparently results from the fact that the main discharge plumes occur in midriver and the effluents are well mixed before reaching inshore feeding areas. The transient nature of fish at each sampling site and the availability of food organisms in the river drift are ecological factors affecting critical thermal evaluation.

  3. National Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1981. Hearings before the Committee on Environment and Public Works, United States Senate, Ninety-Seventh Congress, First Session on S. 1662, October 31, 1981, Richland, Washington; November 9, 1981, Washington, DC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1982-01-01

    Hearings were held on October 31, 1981 in Richland, Washington and on November 9, 1981 in Washington, DC to discuss the effort in S. 1662 to establish a national policy and an environmentally acceptable program for managing nuclear wastes from domestic commercial activities. The Richland hearing was held in recognition that Washington State will bear the major impact of the legislation. Witnesses at the Washington, DC hearing included officials from states that are potential sites for radioactive waste storage and disposal facilities. The hearing record includes the testimony of 16 witnesses in Richland and seven in Washington, DC, followed by a reprint of S. 1662 and additional material submitted for the record

  4. Washington Irving and the American Indian.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littlefield, Daniel F., Jr.

    1979-01-01

    Some modern scholars feel that Washington Irving vacillated between romanticism and realism in his literary treatment of the American Indian. However, a study of all his works dealing with Indians, placed in context with his non-Indian works, reveals that his attitude towards Indians was intelligent and enlightened for his time. (CM)

  5. Mycobacterial infection in Northern snakehead (Channa argus) from the Potomac River catchment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Densmore, Christine L.; Iwanowicz, L.R.; Henderson, A.P.; Iwanowicz, D.D.; Odenkirk, J.S.

    2016-01-01

    The Northern snakehead, Channa argus (Cantor), is a non-native predatory fish that has become established regionally in some temperate freshwater habitats within the United States. Over the past decade, Northern snakehead populations have developed within aquatic ecosystems throughout the eastern USA, including the Potomac River system within Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Since this species was initially observed in this region in 2002, the population has expanded considerably (Odenkirk & Owens 2007). In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, populations of Northern snakehead exist in the lower Potomac River and Rappahannock Rivers on the Western shore of the Bay, and these fish have also been found in middle or upper reaches of river systems on the Eastern shore of the Bay, including the Nanticoke and Wicomico Rivers among others. Over the past several years, many aspects of Northern snakehead life history in the Potomac River have been described, including range and dispersal patterns, microhabitat selection and diet (Lapointe, Thorson & Angermeier 2010; Saylor, Lapointe & Angermeier 2012; Lapointe, Odenkirk & Angermeier 2013). However, comparatively little is known about their health status including susceptibility to parasitism and disease and their capacity to serve as reservoirs of disease for native wildlife. Although considered hardy by fisheries biologists, snakehead fish have demonstrated susceptibility to a number of described piscine diseases within their native range and habitat in Asia. Reported pathogens of significance in snakehead species in Asia include snakehead rhabdovirus (Lio-Po et al. 2000), aeromonad bacteria (Zheng, Cao & Yang 2012), Nocardia (Wang et al. 2007) andMycobacterium spp. (Chinabut, Limsuwan & Chantatchakool 1990; ). Mycobacterial isolates recovered from another snakehead species (Channa striata) in the previous studies have included M. marinum and M. fortuitum, as identified through molecular

  6. Report : public transportation in Washington State, 1984

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-10-01

    This report is an update of the Public Transportation in Washington State publication, dated December 1981. In order to reflect the changes that have occurred since that time, this report contains the most current data obtainable. Chapter One of this...

  7. Risk assessment for the reintroduction of anadromous salmonids upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams, Northeastern Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardiman, Jill M.; Breyta, Rachel B.; Haskell, Craig A.; Ostberg, Carl O.; Hatten, James R.; Connolly, Patrick J.

    2017-09-12

    The Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT; Spokane, Colville, Kootenai, Coeur d’Alene, and Kalispel Tribes) and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife want to reintroduce anadromous salmonids to their historical range to restore ecosystem function and lost cultural and spiritual relationships in the upper Columbia River, northeastern Washington. The UCUT contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey to assess risks to resident taxa (existing fish populations in the reintroduction area upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams) and reintroduced salmon associated with reintroduction. We developed a risk assessment framework for reintroduction of anadromous salmonids upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams. To accomplish this goal, we applied strategies identified in previous risk assessment frameworks for reintroduction. The risk assessment is an initial step towards an anadromous reintroduction strategy. An initial list of potential donor sources for reintroduction species was developed from previous published sources for Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) donors in the Transboundary Reach of the Columbia River, British Columbia; an ecological risk assessment of upper Columbia River hatchery programs on non-target taxa of concern; and a review of existing hatchery programsDuring two workshops, we further identified and ranked potential donor sources of anadromous Redband Trout (steelhead; O. mykiss), Chinook Salmon, Sockeye Salmon (O. nerka), and Coho Salmon (O. kisutch). We also identified resident fish populations of interest and their primary habitat, location, status, and pathogen concerns to determine the potential risks of reintroduction. Species were deemed of interest based on resource management and potential interactions (that is, genetics, competition, and predation) with introduced species. We developed tables of potential donors by species and characterized potential sources (hatchery and natural origins), populations (individual runs

  8. Scientific Framework for Stormwater Monitoring by the Washington State Department of Transportation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheibley, R.W.; Kelly, V.J.; Wagner, R.J.

    2009-01-01

    The Washington State Department of Transportation municipal stormwater monitoring program, in operation for about 8 years, never has received an external, objective assessment. In addition, the Washington State Department of Transportation would like to identify the standard operating procedures and quality assurance protocols that must be adopted so that their monitoring program will meet the requirements of the new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System municipal stormwater permit. As a result, in March 2009, the Washington State Department of Transportation asked the U.S. Geological Survey to assess their pre-2009 municipal stormwater monitoring program. This report presents guidelines developed for the Washington State Department of Transportation to meet new permit requirements and regional/national stormwater monitoring standards to ensure that adequate processes and procedures are identified to collect high-quality, scientifically defensible municipal stormwater monitoring data. These include: (1) development of coherent vision and cooperation among all elements of the program; (2) a comprehensive approach for site selection; (3) an effective quality assurance program for field, laboratory, and data management; and (4) an adequate database and data management system.

  9. Evaluating Cumulative Ecosystem Response to Restoration Projects in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary, 2009

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, Gary E.; Diefenderfer, Heida L.; Borde, Amy B.; Bryson, Amanda J.; Cameron, April; Coleman, Andre M.; Corbett, C.; Dawley, Earl M.; Ebberts, Blaine D.; Kauffman, Ronald; Roegner, G. Curtis; Russell, Micah T.; Silva, April; Skalski, John R.; Thom, Ronald M.; Vavrinec, John; Woodruff, Dana L.; Zimmerman, Shon A.

    2010-10-26

    This is the sixth annual report of a seven-year project (2004 through 2010) to evaluate the cumulative effects of habitat restoration actions in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE). The project, called the Cumulative Effects Study, is being conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District (USACE) by the Marine Sciences Laboratory of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Pt. Adams Biological Field Station of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST), and the University of Washington. The goal of the Cumulative Effects Study is to develop a methodology to evaluate the cumulative effects of multiple habitat restoration projects intended to benefit ecosystems supporting juvenile salmonids in the 235-km-long LCRE. Literature review in 2004 revealed no existing methods for such an evaluation and suggested that cumulative effects could be additive or synergistic. From 2005 through 2009, annual field research involved intensive, comparative studies paired by habitat type (tidal swamp versus marsh), trajectory (restoration versus reference site), and restoration action (tidegate replacement vs. culvert replacement vs. dike breach).

  10. Westport, Washington Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Westport, Washington Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) model....

  11. Evaluation of the Contribution of Fall Chinook Salmon Reared at Columbia River Hatcheries to the Pacific Salmon Fisheries, 1989 Final Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vreeland, Robert R.

    1989-10-01

    In 1979 this study was initiated to determine the distribution, contribution, and value of artificially propagated fall chinook salmon from the Columbia River. Coded wire tagging (CWT) of hatchery fall chinook salmon began in 1979 with the 1978 brood and was completed in 1982 with the 1981 brood of fish at rearing facilities on the Columbia River system. From 18 to 20 rearing facilities were involved in the study each brood year. Nearly 14 million tagged fish, about 4% of the production, were released as part of this study over the four years, 1979 through 1982. Sampling for recoveries of these tagged fish occurred from 1980 through 1986 in the sport and commercial marine fisheries from Alaska through California, Columbia River fisheries, and returns to hatcheries and adjacent streams. The National Marine Fisheries Service coordinated this study among three fishery agencies: US Fish and Wildfire Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Fisheries. The objectives of this study were to determine the distribution, fishery contribution, survival, and value of the production of fall chinook salmon from each rearing facility on the Columbia River system to Pacific coast salmon fisheries. To achieve these objectives fish from each hatchery were given a distinctive CWT. 81 refs., 20 figs., 68 tabs.

  12. The Path to Advanced Practice Licensure for Clinical Nurse Specialists in Washington State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoonover, Heather

    The aim of this study was to provide a review of the history and process to obtaining advanced practice licensure for clinical nurse specialists in Washington State. Before 2016, Washington State licensed certified nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and certified nurse anesthetists under the designation of an advanced registered nurse practitioner; however, the state did not recognize clinical nurse specialists as advanced practice nurses. The work to drive the rule change began in 2007. The Washington Affiliate of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists used the Power Elite Theory to guide advocacy activities, building coalitions and support for the desired rule changes. On January 8, 2016, the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission voted to amend the state's advanced practice rules, including clinical nurse specialists in the designation of an advanced practice nurse. Since the rule revision, clinical nurse specialists in Washington State have been granted advanced registered nurse practitioner licenses. Driving changes in state regulatory rules requires diligent advocacy, partnership, and a deep understanding of the state's rule-making processes. To be successful in changing rules, clinical nurse specialists must build strong partnerships with key influencers and understand the steps in practice required to make the desired changes.

  13. 78 FR 2429 - Notice of Inventory Completion: The Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-11

    ... construction. Archaeologists working for the Washington Archaeological Research Center at Washington State... Reservation. Historical, ethnographic, linguistic, and archaeological information links the site to the...

  14. Evaluating ballot initiative support for legalised marijuana: The case of Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collingwood, Loren; O'Brien, Ben Gonzalez; Dreier, Sarah

    2018-03-11

    In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first U.S. states to legalise recreational marijuana. By 2016, eight states and the District of Columbia had legalised recreational marijuana, with more expected to consider it in 2018. Despite this trend, little academic research explains what drives ballot-initiative vote choice on marijuana legalisation. This paper uses a pre-election random sample voter survey to examine the individual characteristics that correlated with Washington voters' support for legal recreational marijuana. We find that voting on marijuana ballot initiatives largely reflects public opinion about marijuana and is particularly shaped voters' political ideology, party affiliation, religious affiliation and practice, and education. Notably, we find that those reporting experiences (i.e., someone they know) with the criminal justice system are more supportive of legalisation than those who do not. We conclude that marijuana legalisation voting behavior generally aligns with public opinion on the issue. However, one key aspect of Washington's legalisation campaign-the criminal injustices of marijuana illegality-helped shape Washington state voting behavior. Further research is needed to examine if, when, and in what contexts criminal justice campaign themes are likely to strengthen or undermine future states' marijuana legalisation efforts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Crash Fatality Rates After Recreational Marijuana Legalization in Washington and Colorado.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydelotte, Jayson D; Brown, Lawrence H; Luftman, Kevin M; Mardock, Alexandra L; Teixeira, Pedro G R; Coopwood, Ben; Brown, Carlos V R

    2017-08-01

    To evaluate motor vehicle crash fatality rates in the first 2 states with recreational marijuana legalization and compare them with motor vehicle crash fatality rates in similar states without recreational marijuana legalization. We used the US Fatality Analysis Reporting System to determine the annual numbers of motor vehicle crash fatalities between 2009 and 2015 in Washington, Colorado, and 8 control states. We compared year-over-year changes in motor vehicle crash fatality rates (per billion vehicle miles traveled) before and after recreational marijuana legalization with a difference-in-differences approach that controlled for underlying time trends and state-specific population, economic, and traffic characteristics. Pre-recreational marijuana legalization annual changes in motor vehicle crash fatality rates for Washington and Colorado were similar to those for the control states. Post-recreational marijuana legalization changes in motor vehicle crash fatality rates for Washington and Colorado also did not significantly differ from those for the control states (adjusted difference-in-differences coefficient = +0.2 fatalities/billion vehicle miles traveled; 95% confidence interval = -0.4, +0.9). Three years after recreational marijuana legalization, changes in motor vehicle crash fatality rates for Washington and Colorado were not statistically different from those in similar states without recreational marijuana legalization. Future studies over a longer time remain warranted.

  16. Natural phenomena hazards, Hanford Site, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conrads, T.J.

    1998-01-01

    This document presents the natural phenomena hazard loads for use in implementing DOE Order 5480.28, Natural Phenomena Hazards Mitigation, and supports development of double-shell tank systems specifications at the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. The natural phenomena covered are seismic, flood, wind, volcanic ash, lightning, snow, temperature, solar radiation, suspended sediment, and relative humidity

  17. Willingness to pay for non angler recreation at the lower Snake River reservoirs

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKean, J.R.; Johnson, D.; Taylor, R.G.; Johnson, Richard L.

    2005-01-01

    This study applied the travel cost method to estimate demand for non angler recreation at the impounded Snake River in eastern Washington. Net value per person per recreation trip is estimated for the full non angler sample and separately for camping, boating, water-skiing, and swimming/picnicking. Certain recreation activities would be reduced or eliminated and new activities would be added if the dams were breached to protect endangered salmon and steelhead. The effect of breaching on non angling benefits was found by subtracting our benefits estimate from the projected non angling benefits with breaching. Major issues in demand model specification and definition of the price variables are discussed. The estimation method selected was truncated negative binomial regression with adjustment for self selection bias.

  18. 76 FR 14045 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate a Cultural Item: Museum of Anthropology at Washington State...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-15

    ...: Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University, Pullman, WA AGENCY: National Park Service... Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University, Pullman, WA, that meets the definition of..., a copper pendant was given to the Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University for intended...

  19. Riparian soil development linked to forest succession above and below dams along the Elwha River, Washington, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Laura G; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Perakis, Steven

    2017-01-01

    Riparian forest soils can be highly dynamic, due to frequent fluvial disturbance, erosion, and sediment deposition, but effects of dams on riparian soils are poorly understood. We examined soils along toposequences within three river segments located upstream, between, and downstream of two dams on the Elwha River to evaluate relationships between riparian soil development and forest age, succession, and channel proximity, explore dam effects on riparian soils, and provide a baseline for the largest dam removal in history. We found that older, later-successional forests and geomorphic surfaces contained soils with finer texture and greater depth to cobble, supporting greater forest floor mass, mineral soil nutrient levels, and cation exchange. Forest stand age was a better predictor than channel proximity for many soil characteristics, though elevation and distance from the channel were often also important, highlighting how complex interactions between fluvial disturbance, sediment deposition, and biotic retention regulate soil development in this ecosystem. Soils between the dams, and to a lesser extent below the lower dam, had finer textures and higher mineral soil carbon, nitrogen, and cation exchange than above the dams. These results suggested that decreased fluvial disturbance below the dams, due to reduced sediment supply and channel stabilization, accelerated soil development. In addition, reduced sediment supply below the dams may have decreased soil phosphorus. Soil δ15N suggested that salmon exclusion by the dams had no discernable effect on nitrogen inputs to upstream soils. Recent dam removal may alter riparian soils further, with ongoing implications for riparian ecosystems.

  20. History of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Washington University in Saint Louis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Marc R

    2016-01-01

    The Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Washington University evolved a century ago to address what many considered to be the last surgical frontier, diseases of the chest. In addition, as one of the first training programs in thoracic surgery, Washington University has been responsible for educating more thoracic surgeons than nearly any other program in the world. Beginning with Evarts A. Graham and continuing through to Ralph J. Damiano Jr., the leaders of the division have had a profound impact on the field of cardiothoracic surgery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Concentrations and loads of cadmium, lead, and zinc measured near the peak of the 1999 snowmelt-runoff hydrographs for 42 water-quality stations, Coeur d'Alene River basin, Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Paul F.

    2000-01-01

    The Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the Spokane River Basin of northern Idaho and eastern Washington included extensive data-collection activities to determine the nature and extent of trace-element contamination within the basin. The U.S. Geological Survey designed and implemented synoptic sampling of the 1999 snowmelt-runoff event at 42 water- quality stations during the 1999 water year. The distribution of the 42 stations was as follows: North Fork Coeur d’Alene River and tributaries, 4 stations; South Fork Coeur d’Alene River, 13 stations; Canyon, Ninemile, and Pine Creeks, 4 stations each; other tributaries to South Fork Coeur d’Alene River, 10 stations; and main stem Coeur d’Alene River, 3 stations. The objective was to synoptically collect discharge and water-quality data in order to significantly improve the estimation of trace-element loads from multiple contributing source areas during the snowmelt-runoff event. Discharge and water-quality data were collected near the peak discharge during late May 1999. Each station was sampled for whole-water recoverable and dissolved concentrations and loads of cadmium, lead, and zinc.

  2. Basic Education for Adults: Pathways to College and Careers for Washington's Emerging Workforce. Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2015

    2015-01-01

    This brief describes the Basic Education for Adults (BEdA) programs that bridge the gap between school and work, thereby creating pathways to college and careers for Washington's emerging workforce. BEdA programs teach foundational skills--reading, writing, math, technology and English language--so adults can move through college and into…

  3. 76 FR 28066 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate a Cultural Item: Museum of Anthropology at Washington State...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-13

    ... Cultural Item: Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University, Pullman, WA AGENCY: National Park... possession of the Museum of Anthropology at Washington State University, Pullman, WA, that meets the... notice. One lot of stone, bone, and glass beads was given to the Museum of Anthropology at Washington...

  4. Transient groundwater chemistry near a river: Effects on U(VI) transport in laboratory column experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Jun; Haggerty, Roy; Stoliker, Deborah L.; Kent, Douglas B.; Istok, Jonathan D.; Greskowiak, Janek; Zachara, John M.

    2011-01-01

    In the 300 Area of a U(VI)-contaminated aquifer at Hanford, Washington, USA, inorganic carbon and major cations, which have large impacts on U(VI) transport, change on an hourly and seasonal basis near the Columbia River. Batch and column experiments were conducted to investigate the factors controlling U(VI) adsorption/desorption by changing chemical conditions over time. Low alkalinity and low Ca concentrations (Columbia River water) enhanced adsorption and reduced aqueous concentrations. Conversely, high alkalinity and high Ca concentrations (Hanford groundwater) reduced adsorption and increased aqueous concentrations of U(VI). An equilibrium surface complexation model calibrated using laboratory batch experiments accounted for the decrease in U(VI) adsorption observed with increasing (bi)carbonate concentrations and other aqueous chemical conditions. In the column experiment, alternating pulses of river and groundwater caused swings in aqueous U(VI) concentration. A multispecies multirate surface complexation reactive transport model simulated most of the major U(VI) changes in two column experiments. The modeling results also indicated that U(VI) transport in the studied sediment could be simulated by using a single kinetic rate without loss of accuracy in the simulations. Moreover, the capability of the model to predict U(VI) transport in Hanford groundwater under transient chemical conditions depends significantly on the knowledge of real-time change of local groundwater chemistry.

  5. 75 FR 27550 - Electrical Interconnection of the Juniper Canyon I Wind Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Bonneville Power Administration Electrical Interconnection of the Juniper Canyon I Wind Project AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION... would be generated from their proposed Juniper Canyon I Wind Energy Project (Wind Project) in Klickitat...

  6. Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST). Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2014

    2014-01-01

    Washington's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST) quickly teaches students literacy, work, and college-readiness skills so they can move through school and into living wage jobs faster. Pioneered by Washington's community and technical colleges, I-BEST uses a team-teaching approach to combine college-readiness classes…

  7. Environmental monitoring at Hanford by the state of Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conklin, A.W.; Mooney, R.R.; Erickson, J.L.

    1990-01-01

    The Department of Social and Health Services' Office of Radiation Protection (ORP), Washington State's radiation control agency, has a mandate to protect the public from radiation. In 1985, ORP was instructed by the legislature to establish a statewide environmental radiological base line, beginning with Hanford, to verify federal environmental programs, and to enforce federal and state Clean Air Acts. The primary mission of the agency is to protect public health by active involvement in Hanford monitoring and oversight. The state's program was designed not to duplicate but to supplement existing programs and to identify any sampling gaps or problems. Split, side-by-side, and independent samples are collected, with analysis performed by the state's own laboratory. Media sampled have included surface and drinking water, seep and ground water, fruits and vegetables, milk, soils, and air particulates; ambient radiation levels have been determined. Special activities have included split sampling of river seeps with multiple agencies, preliminary dose assessment of early Hanford releases, investigations of 129 I in the environment and in Franklin County drinking water, verification of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) data on erroneous alarms at the Hanford Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant, split sampling with a DOE headquarters survey, and participation in several General Accounting Office investigations and a National Academy of Sciences review. The independence of ORP programs guarantees that the public has access to environmental data on the activities of DOE and its contractors. We will describe the interrelationship of ORP and Hanford programs and present results of ORP activities

  8. Evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower complexes on large rivers in Eastern Washington

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arntzen, Evan V.; Miller, Benjamin L.; O' Toole, Amanda C.; Niehus, Sara E.; Richmond, Marshall C.

    2013-03-15

    Water bodies, such as freshwater lakes, are known to be net emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4). In recent years, significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from tropical, boreal, and mid-latitude reservoirs have been reported. At a time when hydropower is increasing worldwide, better understanding of seasonal and regional variation in GHG emissions is needed in order to develop a predictive understanding of such fluxes within man-made impoundments. We examined power-producing dam complexes within xeric temperate locations in the northwestern United States. Sampling environments on the Snake (Lower Monumental Dam Complex) and Columbia Rivers (Priest Rapids Dam Complex) included tributary, mainstem, embayment, forebay, and tailrace areas during winter and summer 2012. At each sampling location, GHG measurement pathways included surface gas flux, degassing as water passed through dams during power generation, ebullition within littoral embayments, and direct sampling of hyporheic pore-water. Measurements were also carried out in a free-flowing reach of the Columbia River to estimate unaltered conditions. Surface flux resulted in very low emissions, with reservoirs acting as a sink for CO2 (up to –262 mg m-2 d-1, which is within the range previously reported for similarly located reservoirs). Surface flux of methane remained below 1 mg CH4 m-2d-1, a value well below fluxes reported previously for temperate reservoirs. Water passing through hydroelectric projects acted as a sink for CO2 during winter and a small source during summer, with mean degassing fluxes of –117 and 4.5 t CO2 d-1, respectively. Degassing of CH4 was minimal, with mean fluxes of 3.1 × 10-6 and –5.6 × 10-4 t CH4 d-1 during winter and summer, respectively. Gas flux due to ebullition was greater in coves located within reservoirs than in coves within the free flowing Hanford Reach–and CH4 flux exceeded that of CO2. Methane emissions varied widely across sampling locations

  9. Endangered Species Case - Washington Toxics Coalition v. EPA

    Science.gov (United States)

    This Web page provides information on the Washington Toxics Coalition v. EPA case, related to protection of Pacific salmon and steelhead, and links to the biological opinions issued by the NMFS and EPA’s responses.

  10. Are the Columbia River Basalts, Columbia Plateau, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, USA, a viable geothermal target? A preliminary analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Erick R.; Williams, Colin F.; Tolan, Terry; Kaven, Joern Ole

    2016-01-01

    The successful development of a geothermal electric power generation facility relies on (1) the identification of sufficiently high temperatures at an economically viable depth and (2) the existence of or potential to create and maintain a permeable zone (permeability >10-14 m2) of sufficient size to allow efficient long-term extraction of heat from the reservoir host rock. If both occur at depth under the Columbia Plateau, development of geothermal resources there has the potential to expand both the magnitude and spatial extent of geothermal energy production. However, a number of scientific and technical issues must be resolved in order to evaluate the likelihood that the Columbia River Basalts, or deeper geologic units under the Columbia Plateau, are viable geothermal targets.Recent research has demonstrated that heat flow beneath the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System may be higher than previously measured in relatively shallow (characteristic of natural hydrothermal reservoirs. From a hydraulic perspective, Columbia River Basalts are typically divided into dense, impermeable flow interiors and interflow zones comprising the top of one flow, the bottom of the overlying flow, and any sedimentary interbed. Interflow zones are highly variable in texture but, at depths 10-14 m2) interflows are documented at depths up to ~1,400 m. If the elevated permeability in these zones persists to greater depths, they may provide natural permeability of sufficient magnitude to allow their exploitation as conventional geothermal reservoirs. Alternatively, if the permeability in these interflow zones is less than 10-14 m2 at depth, it may be possible to use hydraulic and thermal stimulation to enhance the permeability of both the interflow zones and the natural jointing within the low-permeability interior portions of individual basalt flows in order to develop Enhanced/Engineered Geothermal System (EGS) reservoirs. The key challenge for an improved Columbia Plateau

  11. Identification of the Spawning, Rearing, and Migratory Requirements of Fall Chinook Salmon in the Columbia River Basin, Annual Report 1994.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rondorf, Dennis W.; Tiffan, Kenneth F.

    1996-08-01

    Spawning ground surveys were conducted in 1994 as part of a five year study of Snake River chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawyacha begun in 1991. Observations of fall chinook salmon spawning in the Snake River were limited to infrequent aerial red counts in the years prior to 1987. From 1987-1990, red counts were made on a limited basis by an interagency team and reported by the Washington Department of Fisheries. Starting in 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and other cooperating agencies and organizations, expanded the scope of spawning ground surveys to include: (1) additional aerial surveys to improve red counts and provide data on the timing of spawning; (2) the validation (ground truthing) of red counts from aerial surveys to improve count accuracy; (3) underwater searches to locate reds in water too deep to allow detection from the air; and (4) bathymetric mapping of spawning sites for characterizing spawning habitat. This document is the 1994 annual progress report for selected studies of fall chinook salmon. The studies were undertaken because of the growing concern about the declining salmon population in the Snake River basin.

  12. 77 FR 61782 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Olympia, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-11

    ... Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission at the address below by November 13, 2012. ADDRESSES: Alicia... affiliated with the human remains should contact Alicia Woods, Washington State Parks and Recreation...

  13. 78 FR 13887 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Olympia, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-01

    ... Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission at the address below by April 1, 2013. ADDRESSES: Alicia... contact Alicia Woods, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, PO Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504...

  14. Washington Public Libraries Online: Collaborating in Cyberspace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wildin, Nancy

    1997-01-01

    Discussion of public libraries, the Internet, and the World Wide Web focuses on development of a Web site in Washington. Highlights include access to the Internet through online public access catalogs; partnerships between various types of libraries; hardware and software; HTML training; content design; graphics design; marketing; evaluation; and…

  15. Timber resource statistics for the Olympic Peninsula, Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patricia M. Bassett; Daniel D. Oswald

    1961-01-01

    This report summarizes a 1978-79 timber resource inventory of five counties in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington: Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Mason, and Thurston. Detailed tables of forest area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and harvest are presented.

  16. Recidivism of Supermax Prisoners in Washington State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovell, David; Johnson, L. Clark; Cain, Kevin C.

    2007-01-01

    This study of recidivism among Washington supermax prisoners used a retrospective matched control design, matching supermax prisoners one-to-one with nonsupermax prisoners on mental illness status and up to eight recidivism predictors. Supermax prisoners committed new felonies at a higher rate than nonsupermax controls, but the difference was not…

  17. [Health assessment of river ecosystem in Haihe River Basin, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Li-Xia; Sun, Ran-Hao; Chen, Li-Ding

    2014-10-01

    With the development of economy, the health of river ecosystem is severely threatened because of the increasing effects of human activities on river ecosystem. In this paper, the authors assessed the river ecosystem health in aspects of chemical integrity and biological integrity, using the criterion in water quality, nutrient, and benthic macroinvertebrates of 73 samples in Haihe River Basin. The research showed that the health condition of river ecosystem in Haihe River Basin was bad overall since the health situation of 72. 6% of the samples was "extremely bad". At the same time, the health situation in Haihe River Basin exhibited obvious regional gathering effect. We also found that the river water quality was closely related to human activities, and the eutrophication trend of water body was evident in Haihe River Basin. The biodiversity of the benthic animal was low and lack of clean species in the basin. The indicators such as ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were the key factors that affected the river ecosystem health in Haihe River Basin, so the government should start to curb the deterioration of river ecosystem health by controlling these nutrients indicators. For river ecosystem health assessment, the multi-factors comprehensive evaluation method was superior to single-factor method.

  18. 78 FR 78808 - Proposed Flood Elevation Determinations for Pierce County, Washington, and Incorporated Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-27

    ...-2013-0002; Internal Agency Docket No. FEMA-B-7748] Proposed Flood Elevation Determinations for Pierce... proposed rule concerning proposed flood elevation determinations for Pierce County, Washington, and... sources in Pierce County, Washington. On April 16, 2012, FEMA published a proposed rulemaking at 77 FR...

  19. 77 FR 48535 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Olympia, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-14

    ...: Alicia Woods, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, P.O. Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504-2650... it satisfies the criteria in 43 CFR 10.11(c)(1) should contact Alicia Woods, Washington State Parks...

  20. River habitat assessment for ecological restoration of Wei River Basin, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tao; Wang, Shuo; Li, Xiaoping; Wu, Ting; Li, Li; Chen, Jia

    2018-04-11

    As an important composition component of river ecosystems, river habitats must undergo quality assessment to potentially provide scientific basis for river ecological restoration. Substrate composition, habitat complexity, bank erosion degree, river meandering degree, human activity intensity, vegetation buffer width, water quality, and water condition were determined as indicators for river habitat assessment. The comprehensive habitat quality index (CHQI) was established for the Wei River Basin. In addition, the indicator values were determined on the basis of a field investigation at 12 national hydrological stations distributed across the Wei, Jing, and Beiluo Rivers. The analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the indicator weights and thus distinguish the relative importance of the assessment indicator system. Results indicated that the average CHQIs for the Wei, Jing, and Beiluo Rivers were 0.417, 0.508, and 0.304, respectively. The river habitat quality for the three rivers was well. As for the whole river basin, the river habitat quality for 25% of the cross section was very well, the other 25% was well, and the 50% remaining was in critical state. The river habitat quality of the Jing River was better than that of the Wei and Beiluo Rivers.

  1. Factors Affecting the Occurrence and Distribution of Pesticides in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, 2000

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Henry M.

    2007-01-01

    The Yakima River Basin is a major center of agricultural production. With a cultivated area of about 450,000 ha (hectares), the region is an important producer of tree fruit, grapes, hops, and dairy products as well as a variety of smaller production crops. To control pest insects, weeds, and fungal infections, about 146 pesticide active ingredients were applied in various formulations during the 2000 growing season. Forty-six streams or drains in the Yakima River Basin were sampled for pesticides in July and October of 2000. Water samples also were collected from 11 irrigation canals in July. The samples were analyzed for 75 of the pesticide active ingredients applied during the 2000 growing season - 63 percent of the pesticides were detected. An additional 14 pesticide degradates were detected, including widespread occurrence of 2 degradates of DDT. The most frequently detected herbicide was 2,4-D, which was used on a variety of crops and along rights-of-way. It was detected in 82 percent of the samples collected in July. The most frequently detected insecticide was azinphos-methyl, which was used primarily on tree fruit. It was detected in 37 percent of the samples collected in July. All occurrences of azinphos-methyl exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency recommended chronic concentration for the protection of aquatic organisms. More than 90 percent of the July samples and 79 percent of the October samples contained two or more pesticides, with a median of nine in July and five in October. The most frequently occurring herbicides in mixtures were atrazine, 2,4-D, and the degradate deethylatrazine. The most frequently occurring insecticides in mixtures were azinphos-methyl, carbaryl, and p,p'-DDE (a degradate of DDT). A greater number of pesticides and higher concentrations were found in July than in October, reflecting greater usage and water availability for transport during the summer growing and irrigation season. Most of the samples collected in

  2. Bull trout in the Boundary System: managing connectivity and the feasibility of a reintroduction in the lower Pend Oreille River, northeastern Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, Jason B.; Taylor, Eric B.; Allendorf, Fred W.

    2014-01-01

    Many of the World’s rivers are influenced by large dams (>15 m high) most of which have fragmented formerly continuous habitats, and significantly altered fish passage, natural flow, temperature, and sediment fluxes (Nilsson and others, 2005; Arthington, 2012; Liermann and others, 2012). In the Pacific Northwest, dams on major rivers have been a major focus for fishery managers, primarily in regard to passage of anadromous salmonids (principally Pacific salmon and steelhead trout [Oncorhynchus mykiss], for example, Ferguson and others, 2011), but more recently other species, such as Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) and resident (non-anadromous) salmonids, are receiving more attention (Neraas and Spruell, 2001; Moser and others, 2002; Muhlfeld and others, 2012). In the case of resident salmonids, fish can adopt a wide range of migratory behaviors that often bring them into mainstem rivers where they can come into direct contact with large dams. When this occurs, some of the most important direct effects of dams on salmonids include barriers to upstream and downstream movement and mortality associated with entrainment within the dam or spill over dams. Biologically, these direct impacts can lead to (1) disruption of natural historical (pre-dam) genetic and demographic connectivity among local populations, (2) loss of access to historically used migratory destinations, (3) loss of individuals to the population through mortality associated with entrainment.

  3. Recent topographic evolution and erosion of the deglaciated Washington Cascades inferred from a stochastic landscape evolution model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Seulgi; Shelef, Eitan; Hilley, George E.

    2015-05-01

    In this study, we model postglacial surface processes and examine the evolution of the topography and denudation rates within the deglaciated Washington Cascades to understand the controls on and time scales of landscape response to changes in the surface process regime after deglaciation. The postglacial adjustment of this landscape is modeled using a geomorphic-transport-law-based numerical model that includes processes of river incision, hillslope diffusion, and stochastic landslides. The surface lowering due to landslides is parameterized using a physically based slope stability model coupled to a stochastic model of the generation of landslides. The model parameters of river incision and stochastic landslides are calibrated based on the rates and distribution of thousand-year-time scale denudation rates measured from cosmogenic 10Be isotopes. The probability distributions of those model parameters calculated based on a Bayesian inversion scheme show comparable ranges from previous studies in similar rock types and climatic conditions. The magnitude of landslide denudation rates is determined by failure density (similar to landslide frequency), whereas precipitation and slopes affect the spatial variation in landslide denudation rates. Simulation results show that postglacial denudation rates decay over time and take longer than 100 kyr to reach time-invariant rates. Over time, the landslides in the model consume the steep slopes characteristic of deglaciated landscapes. This response time scale is on the order of or longer than glacial/interglacial cycles, suggesting that frequent climatic perturbations during the Quaternary may produce a significant and prolonged impact on denudation and topography.

  4. Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment Final Report 2006.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    May, Christopher W.; McGrath, Kathleen E.; Geist, David R. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Abbe, Timothy; Barton, Chase [Herrera Environmental Consultants, Inc.

    2008-02-04

    The Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment was funded to address degradation and loss of spawning habitat for chum salmon (Onchorhynchus keta) and fall Chinook salmon (Onchoryhnchus tshawytscha). In 1999, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed lower Columbia River chum salmon as a threatened Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The Grays River watershed is one of two remaining significant chum salmon spawning locations in this ESU. Runs of Grays River chum and Chinook salmon have declined significantly during the past century, largely because of damage to spawning habitat associated with timber harvest and agriculture in the watershed. In addition, approximately 20-25% of the then-remaining chum salmon spawning habitat was lost during a 1999 channel avulsion that destroyed an important artificial spawning channel operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Although the lack of stable, high-quality spawning habitat is considered the primary physical limitation on Grays River chum salmon production today, few data are available to guide watershed management and channel restoration activities. The objectives of the Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment project were to (1) perform a comprehensive watershed and biological analysis, including hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecological assessments; (2) develop a prioritized list of actions that protect and restore critical chum and Chinook salmon spawning habitat in the Grays River based on comprehensive geomorphic, hydrologic, and stream channel assessments; and (3) gain a better understanding of chum and Chinook salmon habitat requirements and survival within the lower Columbia River and the Grays River. The watershed-based approach to river ecosystem restoration relies on a conceptual framework that describes general relationships between natural landscape characteristics, watershed-scale habitat-forming processes, aquatic

  5. Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment, 2006 Final Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    May, Christopher; Geist, David [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    2007-04-01

    The Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment was funded to address degradation and loss of spawning habitat for chum salmon (Onchorhynchus keta) and fall Chinook salmon (Onchoryhnchus tshawytscha). In 1999, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed lower Columbia River chum salmon as a threatened Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The Grays River watershed is one of two remaining significant chum salmon spawning locations in this ESU. Runs of Grays River chum and Chinook salmon have declined significantly during the past century, largely because of damage to spawning habitat associated with timber harvest and agriculture in the watershed. In addition, approximately 20-25% of the then-remaining chum salmon spawning habitat was lost during a 1999 channel avulsion that destroyed an important artificial spawning channel operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Although the lack of stable, high-quality spawning habitat is considered the primary physical limitation on Grays River chum salmon production today, few data are available to guide watershed management and channel restoration activities. The objectives of the Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment project were to (1) perform a comprehensive watershed and biological analysis, including hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecological assessments; (2) develop a prioritized list of actions that protect and restore critical chum and Chinook salmon spawning habitat in the Grays River based on comprehensive geomorphic, hydrologic, and stream channel assessments; and (3) gain a better understanding of chum and Chinook salmon habitat requirements and survival within the lower Columbia River and the Grays River. The watershed-based approach to river ecosystem restoration relies on a conceptual framework that describes general relationships between natural landscape characteristics, watershed-scale habitat-forming processes, aquatic

  6. High School Administrative Staffing in Washington State: Principal Perspectives on Resource Needs and Utilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steach, John C.

    2011-01-01

    This mixed methods study explored how high school principals prioritize their work and utilize available human resources to adjust to inadequate administrative staffing. Analysis of staffing levels across the state of Washington and specifically inside two eastern Washington districts framed interview questions for central office administration…

  7. 78 FR 76031 - Sweet Cherries Grown in Designated Counties in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-16

    ... FIR] Sweet Cherries Grown in Designated Counties in Washington; Decreased Assessment Rate AGENCY... subsequent fiscal periods from $0.18 to $0.15 per ton of sweet cherries handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order for sweet cherries grown in designated counties in Washington. The Committee's...

  8. Early Restoration Public Meeting, Washington, DC | NOAA Gulf Spill

    Science.gov (United States)

    benefit injured marshes, coastal dune and nearshore habitats, oysters, and human uses (on water recreation . Department of Commerce Herbert Hoover Building Auditorium 1401 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20230

  9. Psychiatric Boarding in Washington State and the Inadequacy of Mental Health Resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloom, Joseph D

    2015-06-01

    Psychiatric boarding is a term derived from emergency medicine that describes the holding of patients deemed in need of hospitalization in emergency departments for extended periods because psychiatric beds are not available. Such boarding has occurred for many years in the shadows of mental health care as both inpatient beds and community services have decreased. This article focuses on a 2014 Washington State Supreme Court decision that examined the interpretation of certain sections of the Washington state civil commitment statute that had been used to justify the extended boarding of detained psychiatric patients in general hospital emergency departments. The impact of this decision on the state of Washington should be significant and could spark a national debate about the negative impacts of psychiatric boarding on patients and on the nation's general hospital emergency services. © 2015 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

  10. 76 FR 51887 - Safety Zone; Patuxent River, Patuxent River, MD

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-19

    ...-AA00 Safety Zone; Patuxent River, Patuxent River, MD AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Temporary final rule. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone during the ``NAS Patuxent River... held over certain waters of the Patuxent River adjacent to Patuxent River, Maryland from September 1...

  11. 78 FR 26249 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Lake Washington Ship Canal, Seattle, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-06

    ...The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Montlake Bridge across the Lake Washington Ship Canal, mile 5.2, at Seattle, WA, and the University Bridge across the Lake Washington Ship Canal, mile 4.3, at Seattle, WA. This deviation is necessary to accommodate the ``Beat the Bridge'' foot race. This deviation allows the bridges to remain in the closed position to allow safe movement of event participants.

  12. Port Angeles, Washington Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Port Angeles, Washington Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST)...

  13. Timber resource statistics for eastern Washington, 1995.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neil McKay; Patricia M. Bassett; Colin D. MacLean

    1995-01-01

    This report summarizes a 1990-91 timber resource inventory of Washington east of the crest of the Cascade Range. The inventory was conducted on all private and public lands except National Forests. Timber resource statistics from National Forest inventories also are presented. Detailed tables provide estimates of forest area, timber volume, growth, mortality, and...

  14. Hydrologic studies within the Columbia Plateau, Washington: an integration of current knowledge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gephart, R.E.; Arnett, R.C.; Baca, R.G.; Leonhart, L.S.; Spane, F.A. Jr.

    1979-10-01

    Hydrologic studies are one of the principal research activities within the Basalt Waste Isolation Project. The objective of these studies is to provide a clear evaluation of the hydrologic systems present within the Columbia River basalt significant to the possible siting of a waste repository. This is accomplished through an intense data gathering program in addition to conducting groundwater flow and solute transport modeling under both anticipated and credible hypothetical hydrologic scenarios. The hydrology effort is centered within the Pasco Basin located in south-central Washington State, particularly that portion of the basin within the Hanford Site. Regional hydrology studies for other portions of the Columbia Plateau are being carried out to assist in understanding the surface-water and groundwater flow systems existing within the Pasco Basin. The major questions being addressed in all of the above studies focus upon important repository considerations related to groundwater flow paths, groundwater velocities, and solute concentrations and travel times. This report summarizes the data obtained and interpretations made to date regarding the hydrology of the Pasco Basin. The text of this report is divided into four chapters. Chapter I describes the purpose and scope of the hydrology program. Chapter II discusses the regional studies. Chapter III discusses the Pasco Basin hydrology, and Chapter IV gives a status report of the numerical modeling activities

  15. Evaluating Cumulative Ecosystem Response to Restoration Projects in the Columbia River Estuary, Annual Report 2005

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diefenderfer, Heida L.; Thom, Ronald M.; Borde, Amy B.; Roegner, G. C.; Whiting, Allan H.; Johnson, Gary E.; Dawley, Earl; Skalski, John R.; Vavrinec, John; Ebberts, Blaine D.

    2006-12-20

    This report is the second annual report of a six-year project to evaluate the cumulative effects of habitat restoration projects in the Columbia River Estuary, conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Marine Sciences Laboratory, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Pt. Adams Biological Field Station, and the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce for the US Army Corps of Engineers. In 2005, baseline data were collected on two restoration sites and two associated reference sites in the Columbia River estuary. The sites represent two habitat types of the estuary--brackish marsh and freshwater swamp--that have sustained substantial losses in area and that may play important roles for salmonids. Baseline data collected included vegetation and elevation surveys, above and below-ground biomass, water depth and temperature, nutrient flux, fish species composition, and channel geometry. Following baseline data collection, three kinds of restoration actions for hydrological reconnection were implemented in several locations on the sites: tidegate replacements (2) at Vera Slough, near the city of Astoria in Oregon State, and culvert replacements (2) and dike breaches (3) at Kandoll Farm in the Grays River watershed in Washington State. Limited post-restoration data were collected: photo points, nutrient flux, water depth and temperature, and channel cross-sections. In subsequent work, this and additional post-restoration data will be used in conjunction with data from other sites to estimate net effects of hydrological reconnection restoration projects throughout the estuary. This project is establishing methods for evaluating the effectiveness of individual projects and a framework for assessing estuary-wide cumulative effects including a protocol manual for monitoring restoration and reference sites.

  16. 78 FR 74163 - Harrison Medical Center, a Subsidiary of Franciscan Health System Bremerton, Washington; Notice...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-83,070] Harrison Medical Center, a Subsidiary of Franciscan Health System Bremerton, Washington; Notice of Negative Determination... workers of Harrison Medical Center, a subsidiary of Franciscan Health System, Bremerton, Washington...

  17. Neah Bay, Washington Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Neah Bay, Washington Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) model....

  18. Toke Point, Washington Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Toke Point, Washington Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) model....

  19. La Push, Washington Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The La Push, Washington Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) model....

  20. 77 FR 51563 - Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Washington, Department of Anthropology, Seattle, WA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-24

    ... Inventory Completion: University of Washington, Department of Anthropology, Seattle, WA AGENCY: National... Anthropology, has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with... of Washington, Department of Anthropology. Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary...