Programs
John Day BasinNorth America Program
The John Day River is the Columbia Basin's most biologically diverse river system and a globally important stronghold of wild salmon. The John Day is the second-longest undammed river in the American West, and the longest free-flowing river system in the continental United States with entirely unsupplemented runs of wild salmon and steelhead. The John Day Basin has been identified as a salmon stronghold by a team of fish scientists who built an expert opinion database for the Northwest. According to the Interior Columbia Technical Recovery Team (ICTRT), the John Day Basin is home to one of the few highly viable populations of summer steelhead in the Columbia Basin.
Initiative Overview
The John Day Basin Initiative is a collaborative effort to conserve and restore natural resources that contribute to a sustainable local economy, productive rangeland, and recovery of anadromous fish. This Initiative aims to leverage public and private resources to support community development and enhance watershed health.
Meadow along the North Fork John Day River, John McMillan USGS
The Wild Salmon Center has developed strong relationships with state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, foundations, universities, and many other entities that contribute to the success of this effort. Specifically, the Wild Salmon Center has partnered with the following agencies: USDA Forest Service, NOAA Fisheries, Bonneville Power Administration, and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
To further support its Initiative, WSC has also partnered with the Lower John Day Conservation Workgroup, a diverse consortium of conservation interests dedicated to advancing collaborative conservation activity in the lower John Day basin. Formed in May 2008, the group is comprised of 3 SWCD offices, 4 watershed councils, a three-county representative of the County Commissioners, several landowners, the Columbia Blue Mountain Resource Conservation and Development Council, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, the Oregon Natural Desert Association, the Freshwater Trust, and the Wild Salmon Center. Numerous state and federal agencies support the Workgroup by attending regular meetings and providing advice and assistance.
Objectives
- Facilitate implementation of the forthcoming Mid-Colombia Summer Steelhead Recovery Plan through enhancement and delivery of resources to local communities and landowners.
- Address complex multi-jurisdictional salmon conservation issues across a mosaic of private/public lands and ecosystems in the basin.
- Improve watershed and in-stream condition by supporting on-the-ground activities in focal tributaries.
Accomplishments
- Working with the Lower John Day Conservation Workgroup, developed and initiated implementation of the Lower John Day Conservation Action Plan to address the following conservation activities in the lower basin: land exchange/consolidation and wilderness designations; watershed restoration; natural resource education and the promotion of sustainable communities; grass banking; and monitoring.
- Partnered with Wheeler County SWCD to fund fish habitat restoration projects in the John Day basin, including culvert replacement, riparian planting, streambank stabilization and irrigation efficiency improvements.
- Leveraged $94,000 from the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) to permanently reroute an existing water diversion and restore summer flows to the lower two miles of Rudio Creek, a cool water tributary of the North Fork John Day River used by summer steelhead for spawning and by spring Chinook for rearing.
- Partnered with the Freshwater Trust and local landowners to permanently restore summer flows to the lower two miles of Rudio Creek in North Fork John Day basin.
Species List
- Wild spring chinook salmon
- Summer steelhead
- Bull trout
- Rainbow trout
- Cutthroat trout