The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week transferred more than 160,000 salmon to a Columbia River Gorge hatchery site in what officials called an “unprecedented” step.
Federal and state hatcheries have scrambled to change how they operate this year due to dangerously high water temperatures and low flows caused by the region’s ongoing drought. The transfer completed last week moved 160,680 salmon — 160,000 juveniles and 680 adult fish — from the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery in central Oregon to the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery.
Daytime water temperatures at the Warm Springs hatchery are above 70 degrees, according to the fish and wildlife service. Water temperatures at the Little White Salmon site are in the low 50s — much safer for salmon.
The fish were transported by truck over the course of two weeks, officials said. Hatcheries have also released fish early and taken other steps to cope with drought conditions.
