The Hanford Reach of the Columbia River: A Refuge for Fish and Riverine Wildlife and Plants in Eastern Washington

• Published in: Natural areas journal 1995-01, Vol.15 (1), p.68-74
• Main Authors: Rickard, William H., Gray, Robert H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bird nesting; Conservation Issues; Dams; Eagles; Freshwater; Freshwater fishes; Geese; Radionuclides; River water; Salmon; Shorelines; Wildlife habitats
• ISSN: 0885-8608; 2162-4399

Eleven hydroelectric dams constructed on the mainstem Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest since the 1930s have created large reservoirs that have inundated chinook salmon spawning beds and riverine islands used as nesting habitat by Canada geese. These same dams altered the foraging habitats of wintering bald eagles and diminished habitats once occupied by native species of riverine molluscs and semiaquatic plants. Today the only unimpounded section of the mainstem Columbia River in the United States is the 82-km segment that flows through the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site in southeastern Washington. Here, the Columbia River provides a refuge for native fish and riverine wildlife, even though for nearly 50 years the Hanford Site was a major producer of plutonium and released radionuclides and heated water directly into the river, especially in the years 1944-1971. Plutonium production ceased in the late 1980s, and the future of native fish and riverine wildlife populations that use the Hanford Reach is uncertain. Only continued surveys can evaluate changes in fish and wildlife populations as the mission of the Hanford Site changes to cleanup and environmental restoration and the site's land is released for other uses.