After 16 years of planning, preparation, and advocacy, the Nez Perce Tribe is ready to start construction of a Kelt Reconditioning Facility at the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery at Cherrylane, along the Clearwater River, to aid steelhead spawn more than once.
According to a press release from the tribe, Snake River wild steelhead populations have declined significantly over the past several years, and this facility will be the first hatchery project in the basin aimed specifically at recovering the threatened run.
The Nez Perce Tribe, in partnership with the Yakama Nation, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and the University of Idaho, developed the Kelt Reconditioning Project to improve steelhead kelt survival. The project, operated in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collects downstream migrating kelts at Lower Granite, Little Goose, and Lower Monumental dams on the Snake River.
The project aims to assist steelhead in becoming repeat spawners, a trait that has become increasingly rare due to mounting challenges like sea lions, invasive predators, dams, and fishers.
The new facility, funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, will be constructed by Syblon Reid General Engineering with engineering support from Kleinschmidt Associates.
Once completed in the spring of 2026, the facility will be capable of long-term reconditioning of up to 750 steelhead kelts on a budget of just under $1 million annually while employing four full-time employees.
