2016 Chinook Salmon Release into the Malheur River
Historically, Chinook salmon would return from the ocean to spawn in the Malheur River; however, because Warm Springs, Beulah Reservoir, and the Hells Canyon dams lack fish passage facilities that allow fish to migrate upstream, Chinook populations in the Malheur Subbasin were extirpated. Through negotiations with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the BPT and ODFW released adult Chinook into the Malheur River on May 25th 2016, providing Tribal members with their first opportunity to harvest Chinook from the Malheur River since 1919.
2016 Tribal Youth Trip to Hells Canyon
In the summer of 2016, Idaho Power Company and Bureau of Indian Affairs funded a Tribal Youth Trip to Hells Canyon. Young Tribal members enjoyed a jet boat tour of Hells Canyon, boat electrofishing the Snake River, and a tour of Hells Canyon Dam while learning about hydroelectric power generation and infrastructure, fish passage, and fish collection.