Scientists record highest number of steelhead to return to Deschutes River since 1960s
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Oregon biologists have recorded the highest number of adult steelhead trout to return to the Deschutes River since the 1960s.
Members of the Pelton Round Butte hydroelectric project, a joint effort from Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, tracked more than 250 steelhead that have swam through the water so far this year.
According to P G E , river dams interfered with salmon and steelhead migration from the 1950s through 2010. The energy company joined forces with the Confederated Tribes and local agencies in 2005, to prompt anadromous species' return to the water.
Experts project even more steelhead could return to Deschutes River through the year, as the runs typically last from July or August until March.
"We've already surpassed the entire run from last year, which was our previous record," PGE Hydropower Projects Environmental Science Manager Megan Hill said in a statement. "While there is still a long way to go toward our long-term goals for fish reintroduction, these returns demonstrate important progress and point to the efficacy of our science-based strategies for fish recovery."
The company reported that the 250 returning steelhead resided in the Upper Deschutes Basin as younger fish, before swimming through Lake Billy Chinook and into the ocean. Steelhead that reached the reservoir were gathered in the Selective Water Withdrawal facility, then released in the lowest dam.
Project leaders said the fish spent two years in the ocean before returning to the Columbia and Deschutes rivers to be collected again and continue their migration upstream.
According to scientists, "beneficial ocean conditions" this year and "improvements to fish management practices" have led to the increase in steelhead returns.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife previously boasted similar progress with Chinook salmon, which finally began migrating back to the Klamath Basin this year.
"The reintroduction effort has always been about getting enough fish to return so that they can find a mate in their natural spawning grounds upstream of the dams," ODFW's Pelton Round Butte Mitigation Coordinator Terry Shrader said. "Returns really improved in 2024, in part because we've learned more and incorporated new strategies into this effort."
