Oregon summer steelhead returns expected to be low

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) – The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is expecting very low summer returns of steelhead to the Columbia and Snake rivers.

The East Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/2qSZjvw ) the low returns could mean restrictions are coming for Northwest anglers.

The department’s Columbia River program manager, Tucker Jones, says the agency is predicting a total run of 131,000 steelhead. He says this number is partially due to the 2015 drought and warm water “blob” over the Pacific Ocean.

Fisheries managers are considering a plan that would close steelhead retention downstream of The Dalles Dam during the entire month of August; between The Dalles and John Day dams during the month of September; and from John Day Dam to the Oregon-Washington border during October and November.