Evaluation and Coordination of Pacific Lamprey Activities in the Yakima River Basin

Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), an important subsistence, ceremonial, and medicinal food source for Columbia River Basin (CRB) tribes, is a prehistoric anadromous fish species from the Pacific Coast of North America and Asia. Lamprey abundance is at a fraction of historical numbers and distribution is increasingly limited to the lower portions of the CRB. To prevent further decline, local extirpations, and potential enlisting of the species under the Endangered Species Act, the CRB tribes and a consortium of partnering agencies, many of which signed the Pacific Lamprey Conservation Agreement in 2012 and began work to protect and restore the local populations.

Objectives of the programs are 1) to identify Reclamation projects that may affect lamprey, investigate potential effects of facilities on juvenile an adult lamprey, and, where appropriate, make recommendations for either further study or for actions that may be taken to reduce effects on lamprey; and 2) jointly develop lamprey implementation plan for Reclamation projects informed by the assessment, the tribal draft restoration plan, and other available information, including priority actions and identification of authority and funding issues. The plan will be updated annually, and Reclamation will seek to implement recommended actions for the plan.