Snoqualmie River Game Fish Enhancement Plan: Final Report of Research

The Snoqualmie River Game Fish Enhancement Plan (Plan) is a comprehensive inventory and ecological study of the fishery resources in the upper Snoqualmie River watershed (USRW). The USRW consists of all waters draining the Snoqualmie River basin upstream of the Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Project, which is owned and operated by Puget Sound Energy (PSE).

In 2004, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a new license for the hydroelectric project. Article 413 of the license required PSE to file a Plan to the FERC for approval and to allocate funds to implement it. PSE developed the Plan in consultation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and submitted it to the FERC (Puget Sound Energy 2005).

The Plan was approved by the FERC in December 2006, and in 2007, PSE contracted WDFW to conduct the Plan. Ten primary study tasks related to game fish resources were identified for the Plan, including: 1) habitat surveys and mapping, 2) background environmental data monitoring, 3) trout reproductive life history, 4) age and growth studies, 5) density and relative abundance, 6) creel census, 7) species distribution, 8) trout movement, 9) habitat enhancement, and 10) public education.

These tasks are consistent with the mission of WDFW, which is to provide maximum recreational fishing opportunities compatible with healthy and diverse fish populations. Investigative results were intended to serve as a resource for management of the wild trout fishery. The goals of implementing Plan study tasks were to provide an updated assessment of the fishery resource and aquatic habitats, to identify potential fishery or habitat enhancement opportunities, and to expand public awareness of the resource.

The Plan was divided into three phases: 1) literature review and study design, 2) field studies, analysis, and interpretation, and 3) programmatic implementation. Phase 1 began in January 2008 and was completed in June 2008 as existing USRW fishery data were compiled in a literature review, and data gaps in Plan research tasks were identified (Overman 2008, Appendix 4). Phase 2 began in July 2008 with the initiation of pilot field studies. Fieldwork continued through November 2010, and Phase 2 concluded with analysis of data and interpretation of results. Phase 3 implementation began in September 2011 as results from field studies were used to guide habitat enhancement and public outreach.