Creepy Tunnels and Haunted Towers

            When I first visited Dworshak two things immediately came to my mind.  First, I’d hate to be the guy who has to clean all those ponds!  Second, the infrastructure of this place is absolutely mind boggling.  In regard to my first thought, it turns out that I have the great pleasure of helping clean all those ponds *sigh*.  On the second, it turns out that the infrastructure is in fact mind boggling. 

There are tunnels and chambers everywhere housing wiring and water lines which riddle this place like the old windows screen saver, the one where the pipes fill the entire screen.  Some carry reservoir water, some river water, some domestic water, some heated water, some fire suppression.  And that’s the easy to follow lines (on second thought, no they aren’t, they are ridiculously hard to follow).  The out-going water lines go so many different directions to so many different destinations it could take my whole career to get a grasp on it all.

Mixed into this mishmash of pipes are the towers, an elaborate network designed to add oxygen to the system and remove undesirable gas through filtered cascades and vacuum pumps! 

In the spirit of Halloween, I ponder for you.  We’ve all heard the stories of workers buried in the works when the dams were constructed.  Could there be spirits in these towers, where the sound of water trickling can make the eeriest of noises; or in the tunnels surrounded by tons of concrete, deep underground?  Do fish have ghosts? Rumors tell of an ill-fated Norse venture up the Clearwater.  Some say their spirits walk here, lurking in the towers, poised to exact some deranged revenge on the unsuspecting.  Of course we can’t forget the hounds of the Clearwater, or the Ahsahka boogeyman *evil cackle*.

 

OK, I admit it.  I made the ghost stuff up.  But it doesn’t make tunnels deep in the ground, covered by spider webs and enhanced by dripping water and flickering light bulbs any less creepy.  And, at night, alone, near the towers and their strange water noises, one could actually believe they were haunted, even though they are not.  And with that last thought I say…

Happy Halloween!

Text and Photos by Jeremy Sommer

Clearwater River Chinook Salmon: Working Together for a Common Goal

A fish hatchery is always a busy place and obstacles are common. Clean water, obviously the main ingredient for successful fish culture, is constantly monitored for oxygen, nitrogen, and proper flow. But what happens when the water source that the hatchery depends on is compromised?

The answer: collaborate and adapt- quickly!

Clearwater State Fish Hatchery/IDFG

On August 15^th the main water line from Dworshak Dam to Clearwater Hatchery was damaged. The water line needed to be shut down in order to investigate and repair the damage. Because of the location of the intake pipe and uncertainty to the extent of the damage a ROV (remotely operated vehicle) was sent down the face of the dam to assess the damage and determine if both the main and secondary water lines would need to be shut down.

Clearwater's pipeline runs down the right side of the dam.

This left Clearwater Hatchery, our neighbors across the river, in short water supply. Fortunately, only the main waterline was damaged and the secondary pipeline was intact. But without the main they would not have enough water to supply all their outdoor rearing ponds. It became clear that in order to save the fish Clearwater would need to find some water.

Since Dworshak National Fish Hatchery is right across the river from Clearwater it was the logical place for a solution.

Both hatcheries can share reservoir water, but most of Dworshak’s water comes from the North Fork Clearwater River, about a mile below the Dam. The river water comes with its share of problems- the biggest is IHNV, a virus that can be deadly to steelhead. This is why Clearwater uses disease free reservoir water as its sole water source. Pumping river water to Clearwater Hatchery was not an option, but moving their fish to Dworshak was. So it was decided that Clearwater Fish Hatchery would move all of their 2011 Spring Chinook salmon over to the Burrow’s ponds at Dworshak.

IDFG employees doing maintenance on the primary water intake

Planning and preparing for the fish move was tough and took a lot of teamwork. With help from the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Lower Snake River Compensation Program, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers, we were able to prepare 25 Burrow’s ponds, improve our waste water system to accommodate the additional fish, and move 2.5 million juvenile Spring Chinook over in less than two weeks.

Clearwater spring Chinook salmon

A little over a month has gone by since the fish move and fish and staff are adjusting to the new routine. Clearwater’s Chinook will remain here until their release next spring. Now Clearwater can safely shutdown and repair their main waterline without losing any fish.

It is all about rearing healthy fish at our hatcheries and we are so glad that the quick action and cooperation between state, federal, and tribal agencies gave this story a happy ending.

A day as an Acting Hatchery Manager at Dworshak NFH

My alarm goes off at 5 am.  I’m tired.  I’ve been teaching Hunter Safety after work this week from 5:00 to 8:00 pm.  After I got done with the kids last night, I pulled the short straw for night duty.  Night duty involves checking on the facility to ensure all the doors are secure, water is flowing, the fish are happy and several pumps are switched.

I eat some breakfast and read a copy of “Bugle” magazine.  Archery Elk season is only a month away and I’m stoked for the chance to get out.  We’re in the process of hiring two new biologists – I’m hoping they’ll cover my absence in September.  No wait, they will cover – one of the perks of being the manager.

At 5:30 am I head over to the Hatchery.  My “normal” work shift is 7:00 to 3:30, but I’ve got a couple of things to catch up on.  Since I live on the Hatchery, it is a short walk to work.  I pass through the Steelhead Burrows Ponds and make a mental note to turn up flows to each pond – I’ll contact the lead maintenance mechanic this morning to turn on another river pump.  Our Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) pump is almost maxed out.

On my morning rounds, our water treatment operator flags me down to talk Chinook fishing.  The season is winding down, but the anglers are still catching fish.  The speculation is now turning towards why the steelhead are hung-up in the Columbia.  The fish managers are thinking thermal block.  They’ll likely lobby the Corps of Engineers to flush more water from the bottom of Dworshak Reservoir to cool the Snake River.  It’s a catch 22 for the Hatchery.  We certainly want the Steelhead returning to the Snake River, but the increased dam discharges will spike the supersaturated nitrogen gas levels in the river.  Since we pump this river water to supply the Hatchery, the current generation will struggle to ensure the previous generation can return and spawn.  

I stop by our adult trap and notice 252 adults on our fish counter.  The counter has been very accurate lately, and I’m glad to see another 30 fish from yesterday.  We have collected almost all of our Chinook broodstock, but several other area hatcheries are short.  We need about 750 more fish to make everyone’s goals.  

As I travel back to the office, I stop to talk with one of our fish culturists.  He is working on fixing a garage door that won’t shut.  I offer my hands as help, but not much else.  We leave the door in time to amble to the morning meeting by 7:00 am – our official start time.  Rob will fix the door later today.

We meet every morning to go over a quick game plan and any unusual stuff happening.  Our new Safety Officer has tracked down some respirator protection information regarding OSHA regulations.  A collective groan fills the room when I mention OSHA regulations.  We’ve not been changing our respirator cartridges often enough for dispensing formalin.  OSHA requires them to be changed every 3 hours.  We treat the adult fish twice a week to control fungus growth.  Formalin is a derivative of formaldehyde – nasty stuff to work with, but effective as a fish treatment.  Rob turns in his respirator cartridges dated February 15, 2007.  Probably a good thing OSHA changed the rules!   Of course, the groans are from the changes in safety protocols over the years; many of us never even used respirators when we started.

The OSHA stuff is enough for one morning, we break to start our day.

I head towards my office and remember we didn’t finish bolting down a formalin pump yesterday, I duck into the incubation room and spend 5 minutes putting on the finishing touches.  As I walk out, the hatchery alarm goes off.  I radio our head mechanic and he says it is a “low flow nursery” alarm.  If I had a dollar for every false alarm from this sensor, I’d probably retire.  This time it is the real deal!  I briskly walk to the nursery.  Wayne flags me down – he set the alarm off moving water to pump steelhead fingerlings out to the fish marking trailer.  No problem, Wayne has as much experience in the nursery as anyone, we’re in safe hands there.

I talk to Wayne briefly about production supplies and tracking down a larger chemical pump for our formalin delivery system.  With this new cartridge change-out schedule, we may be able to afford a mechanical fix rather than exposing our staff.  Wayne will call some of our contacts at another hatchery to see what they’ve done.

I make it too my office at 8:00 am.  There are 22 emails since yesterday afternoon – maybe I would be better off with Facebook instead of email – about half of these need to be answered immediately.  I punch those out and then head upstairs to meet with our Aquaculture Engineer about a new idea for treating our effluent from the System 3 Burrows Ponds.  Our meeting is brief, I’m on schedule for a 9:00 am meeting. 

 I step out of his office just in time for the 9:00 am meeting.  I beat my boss there, so I’ll consider that early.  The meeting is to discuss a disease outbreak in the Chinook fingerlings.  We are experiencing some chronic mortality in one raceway.  Fish Health has isolated Infectious Hepatic Necrosis (IHN).  This is unusual in Chinook, but not unheard of.  The Chinook will usually fight off the infection themselves unlike steelhead.  Plans are made to split the fingerlings into several raceways.  Lower densities should decrease the stress on the fish and help them fight off the infection.

I leave the meeting at 9:45 am and head outside to help clean System 3 Burrows Ponds.  It’s time to put the Engineer’s idea to the test.  There are 10 of us sweeping the bottoms of the rearing ponds.  We’re going to max the system out to see if it is effective at settling the solids out.  Two biologists are staged with radios to take water samples.  There is some chatter on my radio from them communicating back and forth.  I’m sweeping a pond and able to daydream some, elk hunting for a second, then a reality check.  The System is getting too much water.  I check my pond broom and make the 100 yard walk to turn on another pump.  A balancing act, no doubt.  Cleaning takes just shy of an hour, the test is looking good, I’m almost finished when my cell phone rings, conference call in 10 minutes with our Tribe and State partners.

I head upstairs to take the conference call.  The State and Tribal hatcheries are short on Chinook brood stock.  We hammer out some details on the egg transfer.  The State Hatchery manager is going on vacation next week – hence the rushed conference call.  Should have sent them an email this morning….hindsight.

By the end of the call, it’s time for lunch.  I walk home to see my wife and two daughters.  Lunch is short as usual, about 15 minutes.  I stop over at my neighbor’s house to get a ride back to the Hatchery.  My neighbor is one of our maintenance mechanics.  We talk about a new water leak near the Kelt tanks on the 2 minute drive over the bridge.  He’ll check it out later today.

I have a meeting at noon with the Complex Manager, Engineer and the Snake River Basin Adjudication Coordinator.  The Army Corps of Engineers contractors have come up with several retrofits to fix the Hatchery’s pollutant discharge issues.  These guys work on commission, so several ideas seem to make more sense financially than practically.

This meeting is a pre-meeting to the conference call with the contractors.  The call goes well, we are steering the direction to a more economical solution that will save money and have a better chance of funding.  The future looks bright, albeit a ways off still.

It’s nearing 3:00 pm when I get back to my office.  I make it halfway, and get de-briefed on remaining work to set-up the Chinook raceways for adipose clipping operations on Monday.  All stuff that we’ll have to tackle tomorrow.  I make it back to my office and get a visit from the Maintenance Supervisor.  They’ve changed the schedule for painting the parking lot lines.  We’ll have to herd our 40 Complex butterflies to park in alternative spots tomorrow.  Short notice, but that’s what email is for, right?

Thirty emails have appeared over the day, only about 10 need answers, so I punch some out and vow to finish the rest on night rounds tonight.  Its 3:45 pm, I need to get home to get some stuff together for the Hunter Safety class.  

I get home at 4:00 pm just in time for one of our new biologists recruits to pull-in.  He’s here with his wife to check out real estate.  We haven’ t made any official offers, but the Hatchery system is a small world and we are all friends and colleagues.  He has a boat he’d like to store it for awhile, my other neighbor, Wayne, didn’t hesitate to offer some of his driveway space.  It’s the generosity of our crew that makes my day.  I get a call from the Complex Manager and send the new recruit to go look at a house that our old program assistant is selling – small world and small town.  

I’m almost running late for my class, I grab a muzzleloader and a tanned elk hide.  My first elk ever, taken with a muzzleloader I built myself.  Back to daydreaming about elk hunting…. I pull in the parking lot and a parent wants to negotiate an alternate day for the field day.  I’m a fish guy, so I bite, we’ll make accommodations for his daughter.

I almost make it into the class and a biologist from our neighboring hatchery grabs me with some ideas on a steatitis study in Chinook.  It sounds like a great plan, I make an appointment to meet with him on our first break from class at 6 pm.

The hunter safety class flies by, I don’t meet with the biologist, he had a crisis from the fish marking crew to deal with.  We’ll catch up tomorrow.

I arrive back home, and say hi to my daughters and wife, its bedtime, and I still need to do night checks of the Hatchery.  I make my rounds with my black lab, she’s a great companion.  Finds every dead fish and any spilled feed.  I’ll make a note that we need to keep sweeping that stuff up.  Everything looks good around the facility.  I turn up our main aeration VFD pump since I didn’t get a chance to talk with the lead maintenance mechanic this morning.  On my way by the Burrows Ponds, I adjust some flows up to accommodate the additional water.  

I check the leak by the Kelt tanks, still no easy solution.  I also turn on the System 2 pump so we are ready for cleaning operations next week.  Its 9:00 pm, so I call Rick King to give him a heads-up.  He’s still awake, and I’m glad I didn’t roust him from bed for something this simple. 

By 10:00 pm, I’m back home.  With any luck, the ghost alarm in the nursery will stay off so I can get some extra sleep for tomorrow!

by Nate Wiese

Splitting Salmon

It is common to hear hatchery folk saying things like, “it’s time to split the steelhead again” or “the fish are getting crowded, let’s split ‘em”. But what on earth does that mean? Rest assured we aren’t cutting the fish in half; rather we are moving fish from one pond into several. 

These steelhead are very crowded and need to be split.

There are a few reason we split our fish here at Dworshak. The main reason is that at some point the fish get too large for their current pond, or there are too many fish in the pond, and become crowded. If fish are crowded they become stressed and are more likely to get sick. Steelhead are more likely to become aggressive and nip at fins when they are crowded so this is another reason to split the fish. Fin loss and fin erosion can also lead to disease. Since our goal is to raise healthy, high quality fish we defiantly don’t want to keep the fish stressed or over crowded.

Crowding fish, the pipe on the left is the inlet to the fish pump.

The process of splitting fish is simple. One person uses an aluminum mesh screen to crowd the fish close together so they can be pumped from their current pond into a vacant pond. The fish make a pass through a computerized fish counter so we know exactly how many fish end up in the new pond. (The video below show how fish move through the fish counter.) Another person controls the speed of the pump and watches the fish counter to be sure there is always just the right amount of fish traveling through the fish counter. If too many fish are being pumped at once the counter can’t keep up and the final ponding number will be off. This can affect feed rates and growth estimates. 

This marking trailer will clip fins and tag our Chinook salmon.

We will begin splitting our 2011 Chinook next week. These fish are still pretty small, only about 3.25” or 120 fish to the pound. But because of the number of fish in each pond, they have out grown their current rearing space. The Chinook will not only be counted on the trip to their new raceway, but will go through a marking trailer. Their adipose fin will be clipped off to designate them as a hatchery fish- legal to keep if it ends up on the end of your line! A smaller portion of the fish will also receive a coded wire tag. This tiny tag is encoded with a number that is hatchery, species, and brood year specific and is used by biologists for management purposes.

A Chinook with a tiny coded wire tag in its snout

It will take about two weeks for the tagging team to split, mark, and tag our 1.8 million Chinook. But once those fish are moved they will remain in their new pond until March, at which point they will be released into the North Fork Clearwater River. If any of these fish end up on your fishing line when they return as adults, you may split them however you like!

By Angela Feldmann

Changes in Longitudes…

Iron River NFH, Iron River, Wisconsin Credit: USFWS

Hello, I am Shawn Sanders a visiting Fish Biologist from Iron River National Fish Hatchery, in Iron River, WI.  I was invited to Idaho for a week of training through an agency program called a “work detail”  This allows for sharing of knowledge and information between our agency employees.  What I have found is that no matter what type of detail, there is quite a lot to learn, in a small time frame.

Male and Female Brook Trout. Credit:USFWS

In Wisconsin, I work at a cold water hatchery where we culture Lake Trout and Brook Trout for Great Lakes Restoration.  The majority of our fish go to Lake Michigan with a few that are hauled to Lake Huron.  We truck all of our fish in large straight trucks with each employee required to maintain a CDL license.  Our total fish production is around 1.6 million Lake Trout and 30,000 Brook Trout. Our hatchery is also a brood facility providing millions of eggs to other hatcheries around the country.

Lake Trout. Credit: USFWS

I arrived at Dworshak after a 1450-mile weekend car ride.  The drive across the American interior gave me quite a perspective and reminded me how majestic the vista’s are within this great country.  I did have the chance to drive along the Clearwater River, which is of course the main thoroughfare for all the fish which Dworshak cultures.

I was met by Rob Bohn, Fish Culturist, and given the big tour of the facility.  Towering hillsides surround the facility with luscious coniferous trees; this is quite distinct when compared to the rolling fields and woods of North Wisconsin.  I will say that the sweltering heat of the last week was not my idea of perfect, but the purpose was learning not recreating.  The staff greeted me with open arms on Monday, the start of my work week.  I spent time mending bird fencing and watching a presentation about the new aquaculture system.  Tuesday was more bird fencing along with cleaning ponds with the staff and testing fish pumps.  Wednesday and Thursday we split Steelhead into empty ponds with mechanical fish pumps and counters.   Fish are split on hatcheries so they do not become too crowded.  Crowded fish populations could lead to disease outbreaks, reduced growth efficiency, or in the worst scenario, a catastrophic fish loss.  The operation of the fish counter and pumps was a new experience for me, something novel that I can share with my coworkers at Iron River NFH.

Shawn crowding steelhead for splitting. Credit: Angela Feldmann/USFWS

Shawn monitoring flows at a transfer tower. Credit: Angela Feldmann/USFWS

I did get to spend my “off” time chasing Clearwater Spring Chinook Salmon.  I ended up catching a wild Springer and releasing it and harvesting a hatchery-marked fish.  We smoked the springer with brown sugar and it turned out to be delicious!  I think I could get accustomed to eating a lot more smoked salmon.  I also had the chance to visit Pullman, WA and also really enjoyed that area.

Shawn with a nice Spring Chinook! Credit: Nate Wiese

Finally, I did spend some time with the Assistant Manager, Nate Wiese, learning about the specific parts of the water system (within the hatchery), rearing units, and tank room and how each functioned.  This information provided system knowledge that needs to be shared between facilities for an increased agency knowledge base.

I thank everyone who made this experience possible it gave me another vision of our agency and a renewed desire to move our program forward.  Thanks again!

by Shawn Sanders

Salmon Fishing the North Fork Clearwater River

Above Dworshak Hatchery, the Dworshak Dam looms in the not so distant horizon.  Stretching 700 feet in the air, the Dam impounds the North Fork of the Clearwater River.  Chinook salmon returning to the Dworshak Hatchery swarm into the 1 mile of flowing river below the Dam in their bid to reach ancestral spawning grounds.  The Hatchery traps these returning adults for the next brood year of fish.  However, only about 1,000 fish are needed for the Hatchery broodstock.  The remaining salmon are available for sport and Tribal harvest.

A North Fork Spring Chinook Salmon caught below the Highway 7 Bridge

Salmon fishing in the North Fork generally picks up around the end of May and continues through June.  The North Fork River has many readily accessible fishing areas.  But, read the regulations carefully, because no sport fishing is allowed on the Dworshak Point or below the Railroad Bridge from the Highway 7 Bridge.  Anglers also flock below the Dworshak Dam where handicap accessible fishing is available.  The East side of the North Fork is owned by the Corps of Engineers and a walking path will take bank anglers to the base of the Dam.

Anglers Fishing the Highway 7 Bridge just above the Hatchery Intake

The North Fork receives a lot of fishing pressure and the best spots will have multiple anglers fishing.  Be respectful of other anglers.  For rookies, it is a good idea to watch for awhile before you barge in at areas like the Dworshak Dam or the Highway 7 Bridge.  After you have observed for awhile, politely ask someone where you could fit in.  Most anglers will point you in a good direction, because everyone catches fish when anglers are cooperating.  However, keep in mind that the best spots are secured several hours before legal fishing hours, so elbowing into the middle of the hole may not win you friends.

A common bobber and jig set-up for the North Fork

When you are ready to fish, observe what other anglers are using.  If they are fishing bobbers, then use a bobber.  If they are “plunking” with lead and spin and glows, then ask how much weight they are using.  Matching the fishing style reduces ensnaring your gear with another angler and will be appreciated.  If someone hooks a fish, you are expected to reel in your gear so they can pass behind you to the netting areas.  Do not leave your gear out.  If the fish is lost, you are likely to be recruited to retrieve it – head first!  Everyone will reel up for you if you hook a fish too, so don’t worry, your kindness will be repaid.

A angler finds a hole to himself on the east side of the North Fork

If fishing next to other anglers isn’t your thing, try the trail along the east side of the river.  There, you can fish many holes by yourself with a short walk.  Keep in mind, fishing in the North Fork is best immediately in the morning and just before dark.  There is no sport fishing allowed at night, so check the regulations for fishing times.  Salmon generally hold in water greater than 10 feet deep, but will travel through shallower areas in the mornings and evenings.

Most bank anglers use bobbers and jigs to fish for salmon.  The local tackle shops stock plenty of equipment.  

Boat anglers can also access the North Fork-and find some success at times!

Good luck and Tight lines!

by Nate Wiese