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."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 24 2016, @02:14AM
Amazing! AC here, I'm the one that joked about a fish pipeline, but the video you linked is very close to what I was imagining. Even mentions that the "fish cannon" is a replacement for trucking around the dam. Thanks.