Chinook

Approximately 830,000 fall-run Chinook salmon fry are believed to have died while passing through the lowest dam on the Klamath River over the past week.

The federal government recently awarded over half a million dollars to the Chinook Indian Nation to settle the nation’s long-running land claim. The nation believes the decision strengthens its nearly two-century fight for federal recognition and its campaign to secure a land base in its traditional territory.

A new study led by Oregon State University has found that Chinook salmon can get thiamine, a vitamin that is critical to their survival, from the water and sediment in California's Sacramento River.

Conservation groups want the Chinook salmon given federal protection after observing an alarmingly low return of the fish in the South Umpqua River.

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council is concerned about fall Chinook populations affected by drought in the Klamath and Sacramento rivers.

A request to list several populations of Chinook salmon as endangered was approved for review by the National Marine Fisheries Service this week. One population lives along the Oregon Coast and the other farther south along the Oregon-California border.

Members of the Chinook Indian Nation rallied on Monday on the steps of a federal building in Seattle to raise awareness for their long fight to get federal recognition. Chairman Tony Johnson, whose tribal name is Naschio, said his great-great-grandfather and other leaders first hired lawyers to sue for their lands back in the 1890s.

Tribes across the Northwest are calling for immediate action to remove the four Lower Snake River dams. During a two-day Salmon and Orca summit in Western Washington, the group called on President Biden and congressional members to “take bold action, now.”

The news is a step toward full reintroduction of the migratory fish and another watershed cultural moment for the region’s tribes.

With fishery limits now set, attention turns to rebuilding "overfished" salmon runs and protecting Southern Resident orcas.