Thursday, Jul. 09, 2009

Trio check out fish found in Amon Wasteway

By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer

RICHLAND -- The three men in waders near the creek on the 18th hole at Meadow Springs Country Club on Wednesday weren't fishing for golf balls.

They were looking for migratory fish such as salmon and steelhead that spawn in the upper reaches of the Amon Wasteway after spending most of their lives in the ocean.

Armed with a fish shocker, nets and instruments for measuring the fish that surfaced after the electrical probes touched the water, Dave Child and two other fish biologists spent the day wading from where the creek runs into the Yakima Delta at Columbia Park Trail near Leslie Road upstream to the 18th fairway.

"We are trying to see what (fish) species are here," said Child, a fish consultant who's doing the survey for the Yakima Basin Joint Board to assess habitat potential for steelhead and salmon in the wasteway.

The answers will help the Kennewick Irrigation District decide whether to manage the Amon Wasteway as a fish-viable waterway or just use it to return irrigation water to the river.

Amon Wasteway catches overflow water from the Kennewick Irrigation District and returns it to the Yakima Delta, some 90 miles after being withdrawn from the river and delivered to about 21,000 customers.

"We'd like to get a good handle on the (fish) habitat quality in the Amon Wasteway," said Scott Revell, KID's interim district manager. "Some people believe it is good for fish, but others think it would be a waste (because fish wouldn't survive)."

Working with Child on Wednesday were Paul Hoffarth, regional fish biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Ian Courter, a fisheries consultant with Cramer Fish Sciences in Gresham, Ore.

"We are trying to get as much information as possible about the Amon system to see what it can produce," Courter said.

Wednesday's survey turned up the expected pumpkinseed fish, suckers and some smallmouth bass, as well as a few small coho salmon and a rainbow trout. The juvenile salmon suggest successful spawning is taking place in the creek.

Fall fish surveys done in the Amon Wasteway have shown that it is "fair to moderate habitat for coho," Hoffarth said. But the unanswered question is, can the creek that depends on KID runoff provide suitable habitat for salmon and steelhead, which need conditions to be just right for them throughout the four seasons.

The three critical components are food sources, water conditions and adequate cover, Hoffarth said.

The three fish seekers plan to spend today assessing those issues by returning to the wasteway with more instruments for measuring water temperature, water and soil samples and noting conditions that would provide optimum nesting and rearing sites for salmon and steelhead.

"Basically there are two questions," said Courter. "What's in there and what are the habitat conditions like?"

Revell said, "There have been coho salmon in the wasteway a couple of years now. If we restore it to what it was in the 1950s, that would be a desert with no water (and no fish).

"We've talked to state fish and wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries people. Amon Wasteway is not listed on a priority (salmonid) habitat map. We want a good scientific basis for making decisions," Revell added.

Child said a report on the survey, history of the Amon Wasteway and the perspectives of various entities concerned with its future will be released in the fall. Groups involved include KID and the Tapteal Greenway Association, which manages a wildlife area nearby that offers public access.

"We are trying to be as comprehensive as we can," Courter said.

-- John Trumbo: 582-1529; jtrumbo@tricityherald.com