Anadromous Fish Agreement and
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)

The Douglas PUD worked cooperatively with various state and federal fisheries agencies, including National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and an environmental organization, American Rivers, to develop the first hydropower Habitat Conservation Plan for anadromous salmon and steelhead.  The plan commits Douglas PUD to a 50-year program to ensure that its hydro project has no net impact on mid-Columbia salmon and steelhead runs. This will be accomplished through a combination of juvenile and adult fish passage measures at the dam, off-site hatchery programs and evaluations, and habitat restoration work conducted in tributary streams upstream of Wells Dam.

As of April 2005, the Wells HCP has been signed by NMFS, USFWS, WDFW, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Douglas PUD and the Wells Project Power Purchasers (Puget Sound Energy, Portland General Electric, PacifiCorp and Avista Corporation).  The Wells HCP was reviewed and approved by NMFS following the issuance of biological opinions and Incidental Take Permits covering hatchery and hydro operation.  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the Wells HCP on June 21, 2004 along with similar HCPs submitted by Chelan PUD for the Rock Island and Rocky Reach Hydroelectric projects.

With respect to plan species, the HCP parties have agreed to be supportive of the District’s long-term relicensing efforts. The HCP also provides Endangered Species Act coverage for all of the permit species (spring Chinook, summer/fall Chinook, sockeye and steelhead). The HCP also is intended to constitute the parties' terms, conditions and recommendations for Plan Species under Sections 10(a), 10(j) and 18 of the Federal Power Act, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, the Essential Fish Habitat provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act and Title 77 RCW of the State of Washington.

For more information on the Wells Habitat Conservation Plan, please contact Douglas PUD at (509) 884-7191.

Documents related to the Wells HCP are available below:

Wells HCP Approved as a Comprehensive Plan

• Letter to FERC from NMFS - September 17, 2007
• Letter to NMFS from FERC - October 16, 2007

Anadromous Fish Agreement and Habitat Conservation Plan

• Wells HCP Agreement (2002)

HCP Supporting Documents

• Document A:  Aquatic Species and Habitat Assessment: Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow and Okanogan Watersheds (1998)
• Document B:  Biological Assessment and Management Plan: Mid-Columbia River Hatchery Program (1998)
• Document C:  Briefing Paper: Estimating Survival of Anadromous Fish Through the Mid-Columbia PUD Hydropower Projects (2002)
• Document D:  Tributary Plan: Project Selection, Implementation, and Evaluation (1997)

Incidental Take Permits for HCP Plan Species

• Permit No. 1391 - Permit for Incidental Take of Endangered or Threatened Species during the Operation and Maintenance of the Wells Hydroelectric Project (2003)
• Permit No. 1395 - Permit for Incidental Take of Endangered or Threatened Species during the Operation and Maintenance of Steelhead Hatchery Facilities (2003)
• Permit No. 1347 - Permit for Incidental Take of Endangered or Threatened Species during the Operation and Maintenance of Non-listed Anadromous Hatchery Facilities (2003)
• Amended Permit No. 1196 - Permit for Incidental Take of Endangered or Threatened Species during the Operation and Maintenance of Spring Chinook Hatchery Facilities (2004)

Biological Opinions Supporting Incidental Take Permits

• Biological Opinion for Permit No. 1391 (2003)
• Final Environmental Impact Statement for Wells, Rocky Reach and Rock Island Hydroelectric Projects - Permit No. 1391, 1392 and 1393 (2002)

• Volume I (Summary and Chapters 1 - 10)

• Volume II (Appendices A - F)                     

• Biological Opinion for Permit No. 1395 (2003)
• Environmental Assessment for Permit No. 1395 (2003)
• Biological Opinion for Permit No. 1347 (2003)
• Environmental Assessment for Permit No. 1347 (2003)

FERC Orders Approving HCP

• Wells HCP Specific Order Amending License (2004)
• Master Order for HCP Approving Anadromous Fish Agreements (2004)
• Order on Rehearing for Wells HCP (2004)

Links to HCP Annual Reports Page

• 2004
• 2005
• 2006
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
• 2012

NMFS Biological Opinion References

CBE (Columbia Basin Environmental).  2009.  Turbidity monitoring on the Okanogan River.  Data collected for the Aquatic Settlement Workgroup, 2009.

Chelan PUD (Public Utility District No.1 of Chelan County).  2005.  Rocky Reach Water Quality Management Plan. Rocky Reach Hydroelectric Project. FERC Project No. 2145. Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County, Wenatchee, Washington.

Chelan PUD. 2003. Biological Assessment of Proposed Actions in the Rock Island Hydroelectric Project Habitat Conservation Plan. FERC Project No. 2145. Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County, Wenatchee, Washington.

Dunham, J. B., M. K. Young, R. E. Greswell, and B. E. Rieman.  2003a.  Effects of fire on fish populations: landscape perspectives on persistence of native fishes and nonnative fish invasions.  Forest Ecology and Management 178(1-2):183-196.

Eicher Associates, Inc.  1987.  Turbine-related fish mortality: Review and evaluation of studies. Final report, November 1987. Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA. EPRI AP-5480, Research Project 2694-4.

English, K.K., D. Robichaud, C. Sliwinski, R. F. Alexander, W. R. Koski, T. C. Nelson, S. A. Bickford, S. Hammond, T. R. Mosey.  2006.  Comparison of Adult Steelhead Migrations in the Mid-Columbia Hydrosystem and in Large Naturally Flowing British Columbia Rivers.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 135: 739-754.

Ford, J.K.B. and G.M. Ellis. 2006. Selective foraging by fish-eating killer whales Orcinus orca in British Columbia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 316:185-199.

Hanson, M.B., R.W. Baird, J.K.B. Ford, J. Hempelmann-Halos, D. M. Van Doornik, J.R. Candy, C.K. Emmons, G.S. Schorr, B. Gisborne, K.L. Ayres, S.K. Wasser, K.C. Balcomb, K. Balcomb-Bartok, J.G. Sneva, M.J. Ford. 2010. Species and stock identification of prey consumed by endangered southern resident killer whales in their summer range. Endangered Species Research 11:69-82.

McGee, J.  1979.  Fisheries survey of Wells Reservoir. Unpublished report, Douglas County PUD, East Wenatchee, WA, 18 pgs.

Miller et al.  2010.  2010 Okanogan Basin Steelhead Escapement and Spawning Distribution.  BPA Project # 200302200.  Document # CCT/AF-2011-1.

National Marine Fisheries Service.  2002b.  Letter to Frank Cassidy from Bob Lohn regarding the Interim Abundance and Productivity Targets for Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead Listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).  2005.  Draft Hatchery and Genetic Management Plan (HGMP).  Wells Hatchery Summer Chinook.  73pp.

Willms, R and W. Kendra.  1990.  Methow River Water Quality Survey and Assessment of Compliance with Water Quality Standards.  Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA. June 1990.  39 pp.

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