1. Columbia River Basin Dams FCRPS--29 federal dams (USACE and BOR) Hydropower (50-65% of the region’s needs) Flood control Irrigation Recreation Navigation Non federal Mid Columbia PUD (Chelan, Grant, Douglas) Hells Canyon Complex (Idaho Power) Other Hundreds of push-up irrigation and recreational dams

2. Columbia River at The Dalles (1970-1999)  Virgin flow: observed flow corrected for reservoir manipulation and irrigation depletion and return  Adjusted flow: river flow adjusted for irrigation water withdrawal and return  Observed flow: Empirically measured flow at a gauge

3. Bonneville The Dalles John Day Hells Canyon Oxbow Brownlee Priest Rapids Wanapum Rock Island Rocky Reach Wells Chief Joseph Grand Coulee McNary Ice Harbor Little Goose Lower Granite Lower Monumental Estuary recoveries

4. Smolt Survival Studies 1995-1997 Fall chinook salmon: flow vs. survival

5. Columbia River Plume: June 1999 vs. June 2001

6. Ocean Transition and Riverine Plume Dynamics Physical dynamics - temporal and spatial distribution of fronts and eddies; mixing and convergent zones Trophic dynamics - primary and secondary production - predator-prey interactions Distribution, growth, and survival of salmon A critical habitat transition

7. Conclusions 1.Water is more than the medium in which salmon live…it is a dynamic force in shaping habitats and influencing survival throughout the complex life cycle 2.The flow-travel time-survival relationship for selected species of migrating juvenile salmon is an example of such an ecological service. 3.Significant progress is being made in understanding such ecological services in spawning and rearing and in estuarine and nearshore ocean habitats.