Biologist studies Metolius Chinook habitat

Jim Sternberg checks Chinook fry ready for release.

Going by the textbook, Chinook shouldn't be found in such large numbers in the Metolius River.

"Theoretically," said fisheries biologist Jens Lovtang, "the Metolius is poor Chinook habitat. Yet, for years, it supported a healthy Chinook population.

"There's obviously something about the habitat that was good for Chinook."

Lovtang was in the Sisters area last week to launch an Oregon State University research project aimed at evaluating habitat quality for Chinook salmon in the upper Metolius River.

The effort is part of a continuing initiative involving OSU, the state, the U.S. Forest Service, Portland General Electric, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Together, they hope to explore the possibility of returning salmon runs to the Deschutes Basin above the Pelton Round Butte hydroelectric project.

Lovtang, himself, is no stranger to the Sisters area.

A graduate of Humboldt State University in Northern California, he worked with the Sisters Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service for three years. During that time he participated in the Squaw Creek Education and Restoration Project with local fourth, fifth and sixth grade students, as well as a select group of Sisters High School students.

Now, he's back as an OSU Graduate Research Assistant and he's looking forward to swimming with the fish.

Last Friday, March 15, Lovtang and his fellow researchers released nearly 50,000 Chinook salmon fry into the upper reaches of the Metolius River.

Keeping track of them, he said, will involve "lots of snorkeling."

The Chinook fry were joined by approximately 10,000 baby sockeyes, which -- although reared in the river near an abandoned hatchery site -- enjoyed their first taste of life in the wild only last week.

PGE Fisheries Technician, Eric Schulz, said that the little fish were hatched from 62,000 eggs obtained from returning fish captured at the Pelton Round Butte fish trap.

For the last four and a half months, the developing fish have been the wards of Camp Sherman resident Jim Sternberg, who cared for the tiny creatures.

Sternberg was on hand to witness their release into the wild.

"I've been keeping an eye on them since.....oh, back in November," he said. "I come down each day and take out the bad eggs -- the dead, discolored, moldy ones that never developed."

Later on, he also separated out the dead fry.

Last week, however, the focus was on the thousands of fish that did survive, as the fisheries experts transferred them from the three temporary rearing tanks in Spring Creek to five different sites along the Metolius and its tributaries.

The sites selected were at Spring Creek itself, the Metolius headwaters, Lake Creek, Canyon Creek, and Heising Spring, which is located just upstream from Canyon Creek.

Lovtang explained that traditional Chinook habitat is considered to be in rivers with large numbers of deep pools, something in short supply on the Metolius.

According to Lovtang's study plan, "snorkel surveys will be conducted to determine the habitat associations of juvenile Chinook salmon."

He already has an idea of what the study might reveal.

"I suspect we'll find them in the riffles," he said.

This year marks the third consecutive year in which salmon fry have been released for survivability studies in the river. In the year 2000, 44,000 Round Butte fry were raised in streamside incubators and released; last year, 90,000 Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery fry were made available for the Metolius studies.