Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife District Biologist Todd Alsbury reviewed the status of listed salmon and steelhead and efforts to limit hatchery impacts on wild fish in the Sandy basin, addressing the March 19 Sandy River Basin Watershed Council meeting. In response to high returns of hatchery origin Spring Chinook Salmon in 2010, ODFW set weirs in the Salmon and Zigzag rivers, and plans adjusted weirs to trap hatchery fish before they intermingle with wild fish.

The full presentation — Sandy Hatchery Spring Chinook Management — describes the number of Chinook, steelhead and coho released, hatchery strays detected before and after Marmot dam removal, and planned actions to bring hatchery operations into compliance with Endangered Species Act requirements. A March 9, 2012 lawsuit by the Native Fish Society challenged the legality of Sandy hatchery releases and their effect on ESA listed fish.