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posted by janrinok on Friday September 23 2016, @08:24AM   Printer-friendly
from the dam-good-idea dept.

For the past several years, technicians have been trucking spring Chinook salmon above Foster Dam in Sweet Home to see if they would spawn, and if their offspring could survive the passage over the dam and subsequent ocean migration to eventually return as adults some 3-5 years later.

A new study examining the genetic origin of adult spring Chinook returning to Foster Dam offers definitive proof that the offspring survived, potentially opening up miles of spawning habitat on the upper South Santiam and other river systems.

Results of the study have been published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

"With a little human assistance, it is now clear that we can restore natural production to areas above some dams and there is prime habitat on some river systems, such as the North Santiam above Detroit Dam," said Kathleen O'Malley, an Oregon State University geneticist and principal investigator on the project. "This could really contribute to the long-term population viability in some river systems."


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  • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Friday September 23 2016, @10:54PM

    by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Friday September 23 2016, @10:54PM (#405754)

    I can't help wonder if somehow the fish will end up conditioned to go to a specific location for breeding, and humans will become instrumental for the continued existence of this species.

    Salmon are already conditioned to go to a specific location for breeding. That is why they return to the same streams year after year.

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