FY 2001 Ongoing proposal 198910700

Section 1. Administrative

Project location

Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs)

Section 2. Past accomplishments

Section 3. Relationships to other projects

Section 4. Budget for Planning and Design phase

Task-based budget

Outyear objectives-based budget

Outyear budgets for Planning and Design phase

Section 5. Budget for Construction and Implementation phase

Task-based budget

Outyear objectives-based budget

Outyear budgets for Construction and Implementation phase

Section 6. Budget for Operations and Maintenance phase

Task-based budget

Outyear objectives-based budget

Outyear budgets for Operations and Maintenance phase

Section 7. Budget for Monitoring and Evaluation phase

Task-based budget

Outyear objectives-based budget

Outyear budgets for Monitoring and Evaluation phase

Section 8. Estimated budget summary

Itemized budget

Total estimated budget

Reason for change in estimated budget

Additional task has been added to project to help design and develop new adult PIT-tag analysis capabilities.

Reason for change in scope

The new task at the request of the BPA is to participate in an interagency working group to design and implement an adult PIT-tag detection system for monitoring and evaluating adult salmonid upriver migration performance. The project will develop data analysis capabilities and operational recommendations for the new facilities.

Cost sharing

Reviews and recommendations

This information was not provided on the original proposals, but was generated during the review process.

Comment:

The new task at the request of the BPA is to participate in an interagency working group to design and implement an adult PIT-tag detection system for monitoring and evaluating adult salmonid upriver migration performance. The project will develop data analysis capabilities and operational recommendations for the new facilities.

This project fails to inform critical management decisions. It should include such services as a part of other projects tied to specific tasks or products. This project should not be funded as part of the Fish and Wildlife Program since it is not subject to the same standards of the regional review process.

Comment:

BPA response: The successful juvenile PIT-tag studies in the Snake-Columbia River Basin occurred in large part due to the collaboration of biologists, engineers, data managers, and statisticians during the development of this technology. The juvenile PIT-tag facilities were engineered from the onset to provide the quality and quantity of data needed to successfully conduct juvenile survival and travel time studies. This same strategy of a coordinated interdisciplinary team (Application-Based Performance Requirements Evaluation Team) is being used to develop adult PIT-tag detection capabilities in the Basin. Results of the technical evaluation team are reported to the interagency Adult PIT Tag Oversight Team (APTOC). For consistency and application of the best available statistical methods to this effort, BPA has tasked the technical services of two UW projects to participate in the technical evaluation process. The technical services provided by these two projects are not duplicative. Project 198910700 is providing the statistical guidance based on the proven Cormack-Jolly-Seber models to determine minimum system design requirements for an adult detection system. Project 199105100 is being used to analyze historical adult PIT-tag detections at Lower Granite Dam and summarize radiotelemetry findings from the University of Idaho to identify performance levels needed for precise estimation of ocean survival and inriver survival of adults. The results on the detection efficiency requirements for a successful investigation, in turn, are providing guidance to the engineers designing and installing these detection facilities. The goal is to have an operational adult detection capability from the onset that will meet the expectations and needs of the fisheries managers as soon as possible. The product deliverable(s) from the technical services of these two UW projects will be technical reports to the evaluation team. These reports will be available to the FWP and the fisheries community through the technical report series, "The Design and Analysis of Salmonid Tagging Studies in the Columbia Basin."

CBFWA comment: This project fails to inform critical management decisions. It should include such services as a part of other projects tied to specific tasks or products. This project should not be funded as part of the Fish and Wildlife Program since it is not subject to the same standards of the regional review process.

BPA response: BPA supports the continuation of project 198910700 and contends its value needs to be considered in the context of improving monitoring and evaluation capabilities and providing consistent information and statistical technical support to BPA and the FWP.

The mission of Project 198910700 is the ongoing development of statistical tools for analyzing fisheries tagging data in the most precise and appropriate manner possible. This mission addresses the need to provide statistical support to Columbia Basin mark-recapture programs so that survival estimation is consistent and comparable among all tagging programs and across all life stages. This mission includes providing statistical guidance on the best ways to design and analyze tagging data. This mission continues because the technologies for fish tagging studies continuously evolve. In just the last decade, fisheries biologists have seen the evolution from freeze-brands and coded wire-tags (CWT) to PIT-tags, balloon-tags, radiotelemetry, and now, acoustic-tags. With each advance, the technology holds the promise of more detailed and precise information. However, the technology for analyzing and interpreting the data also becomes more complex as the tagging techniques become more sophisticated. The goal of the project is to develop the analytical tools in parallel with the technical advances to the tagging studies and the questions they can address, so that maximum information can be extracted on a timely basis. Associated with this mission is the transfer of these analytical capabilities to the field investigators to assure consistency and the highest levels of design and analysis throughout the fisheries community.

Ideally, each project and each investigator would invest in the statistical support needed for the successful completion of their study. However, this is an ideal that is rarely, if ever, attained. Furthermore, there is only a small pool of highly trained scientists in this specialized area of tag analysis here in the Northwest. Project 198910700 provides the financial support to sustain this local expertise on the statistical theory of tag analysis at the University of Washington and make it available to the fisheries community. Piecemeal and fragmented support from various agencies and organizations would be incapable of maintaining a center of expertise. The funding from BPA ensures the continuity of support needed to assist organizations on an as-needed basis, as well as provide the necessary support to develop the analytical technologies needed in the foreseeable future. This successful model for providing statistical support has assisted, among others, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Services, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Geological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Services, tribes such as the Nez Perce, and various public utilities engaged in fish mitigation programs. By improving field studies, the project assists the fisheries community through better information and the management of recovering salmonid stocks. BPA intends to fund this work under its Technical Support Project. Funds for this support would come from BPA's internal overhead. The estimated FY01 cost is $246,560.

Comment:

Sponsor comments: See comment at Council's website