Steelhead released into creek

Thousands of steelhead fry are swimming in Whychus Creek in Sisters.

Last Thursday and Friday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) released over a quarter-million steelhead fry into Whychus Creek at several locations, from just upstream of Sisters, downstream to Lake Billy Chinook.

According to Brett Hodgson of ODFW, there will be additional releases along the Crooked River next week, on Wednesday and Thursday.

This is the second year that steelhead fry have been released into Whychus Creek (see The Nugget, May 16, 2007).

Students from several Central Oregon schools were on hand to release many of the fish, and to see the culmination of some of their hard work to restore habitat.

The Nugget asked Hodgson when some of these fish could be expected to return as adults to their release-grounds.

"Steelhead have a widely variable life history," he said. "A few will spend a year in the river, another year in salt-water, then return. But the majority will return after three to four years."

As part of a federal licensing agreement, PGE and the Warm Springs Tribes have agreed to support stocking Whychus Creek and other Deschutes tributaries with formerly native andromodous fish for the next 15 years, or until the number of returning adults can guarantee a self-sustaining population.

"Our goal is to see 500 returning adults every year," said Hodgson

Over the past few years, portions of the creek have been the focus of intense restoration efforts by several organizations - governmental and non-governmental - including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Portland General Electric (PGE), the Forest Service, the Deschutes Land Trust (formerly Deschutes Basin Land Trust), Wolftree and many local volunteers.

The fry were reared at Round Butte Hatchery, a few miles west of Madras.