Natural recycling at work
Volunteers ensure the circle of life continues in the Tucannon River
As the temperature struggled to get above 17 degrees early on a recent Saturday morning, a crowd of over 30 bundled-up volunteers, ranging from children to senior citizens, assembled in southeast Washington at the Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery. The volunteers’ mission: to return salmon carcasses to the Tucannon River to provide a better chance of survival for future generations of salmon.
“This is a cooperative partnership that we’ve had for a number of years with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) at the Lyons Ferry Hatchery,” said Dave Talkington, a project manager with Tri-State Steelheaders. “This work aims to add supplemental nutrients to the water with the decaying carcasses of the salmon. Over time, in the water, they’re going to decay and release nutrients for macroinvertebrates, for crayfish, for other different kinds of food sources for our spring Chinook.”
Talkington and others at the nonprofit Tri-State Steelheaders organized the event and the volunteers, some who are members of the club, along with area college students, tribal members, and others. They wasted no time prying around 1,500 large frozen fall Chinook carcasses out of storage totes and piling them into the backs of pickup trucks and trailers, as seen in the video below.
From there, the volunteers divided into two groups, with half headed up the Tucannon River in a caravan of trucks and trailers filled with fish while the other group went downstream. Each group stopped at multiple sites along the river and threw the fish in by hand to help distribute them evenly.
It was organized chaos as the big fish were thrown overhand, underhand, or just dragged into the water. Children needed help with some of the biggest fish but in the end, they all either rested on the river bottom or bobbed along with the current.
Spawned this fall at Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery near Washtucna (owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and operated by WDFW), the carcasses- many in the 20 to 30-pound range- will provide food for aquatic insects and other species that juvenile salmon, steelhead, and other fish eat, such as otters and mink. It’s recycling at its most natural.
“Historically, salmon and steelhead provided these important nutrients by returning in large numbers to the rivers to spawn, die, and decay,” said WDFW fish biologist Michael Gallinat. “In recent years though, too few salmon and steelhead have returned to the Tucannon River to provide the necessary nutrients to maintain a productive food web. This work will help to do just that.”
Several research studies have shown that distributing salmon carcasses helps maintain streams as healthy salmon habitat. Hatchery carcass distribution has been used to enhance nutrients in waters throughout the state for decades. At Lyons Ferry, the effort hit a pause in 2022 due to a failed freezer. Snake River Salmon Recovery Board came to the rescue, funding a new freezer unit. The Steelheaders raised money to have it wired in.
“WDFW greatly appreciates the contributions of both groups- both hands-on work to return nutrients to the Tucannon and to raise funds for, and awareness of, the plight of salmon,” said Gallinat. “It demonstrates how we can accomplish so much more working together than individually.”
This work is also important to the people of the region.
“I think there is a sense of pride that people take locally in the fisheries,” said Talkinton. “I think there’s a culture in the Pacific Northwest just to support the salmon. They’re culturally significant. They’re kind of an icon locally and a lot of people respect that, a lot of people appreciate that, and I think that a lot of folks are just excited to see us take care of the ecosystems and that’s why they wanted to come out today.”
Surplus hatchery fish- adult or jack hatchery-origin fish that return to hatcheries in greater numbers than needed for broodstock or other purposes- are also used for nutrient enhancement efforts. For more information about WDFW’s hatchery surplus program, refer to the WDFW website or find out more in our blog How WDFW hatcheries make good use of surplus fish.
Tr-State Steelheaders is a non-profit based out of Walla Walla that focuses on work around education, restoration, and recreation, including bringing the Salmon in the Schools program to students in Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin counties. They are always looking for volunteers. To get involved, visit the Tri-State Steelheaders web page for upcoming opportunities.
