Yakima Basin Natural Resources
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The Yakima River Basin, including its role as tributary to the Columbia River system, is the focus of this collection of research documents, agency reports and journal articles.
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Browsing Yakima Basin Natural Resources by Subject "Habitat"
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Item Assessment of the Lower Yakima River in Benton County, Washington(Benton Conservation District, 2011) Appel, M.; Little, R.; Wendt, H.; Nielson, M.Benton Conservation District (BCD) investigated the lower Yakima River from Prosser, WA to Richland, WA with the purpose of identifying and assessing high priority actions for the benefit of local and basin-wide salmon recovery efforts. This assessment, funded by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB), was conducted from 2008 to 2010 and included thermal profiling of the lower Yakima River, investigation of the thermal dynamics of the Yakima River delta, river depth measurements at baseflow conditions, identification of local fish screening needs, and inventory of riverbank, island, and floodplain conditions.Item Development and application of a decision support system for water management investigations in the upper Yakima River, Washington(U.S. Geological Survey, 2008) Bovee, Ken D.; Waddle, Terry J.; Talbert, Colin; Batt, Thomas R.; Hatten, James R.The Yakima River Decision Support System (YRDSS) was designed to quantify and display the consequences of different water management scenarios for a variety of state variables in the upper Yakima River Basin, located in central Washington. The impetus for the YRDSS was the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study, which investigated alternatives for providing additional water in the basin for threatened and endangered fish, irrigated agriculture, and municipal water supply. The additional water supplies would be provided by combinations of water exchanges, pumping stations, and off-channel storage facilities, each of which could affect the operations of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) five headwaters reservoirs in the basin. The driver for the YRDSS is RiverWare, a systems-operations model used by BOR to calculate reservoir storage, irrigation deliveries, and streamflow at downstream locations resulting from changes in water supply and reservoir operations.Item DISTRIBUTION OF FISH, BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE, AND ALGAL COMMUNITIES IN RELATION TO PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CONDITIONS, YAKIMA RIVER BASIN, WASHINGTON, 1990(U.S. Geological Survey, 1997) Cuffney, Thomas F.; Meador, Michael R.; Porter, Stephen D.; Gurtz, Martin E.Biological investigations were conducted in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, in conjunction with a pilot study for the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Ecological surveys were conducted at 25 sites in 1990 to (1) assess water-quality conditions based on fish, benthic invertebrate, and algal communities; (2) determine the hydrologic, habitat, and chemical factors that affect the distributions of these organisms; and (3) relate physical and chemical conditions to water quality. Results of these investigations showed that land uses and other associated human activities influenced the biological characteristics of streams and rivers and overall water-quality conditions.Item Habitat limiting factors Yakima River Watershed, Water Resource Inventory Areas 37-39 : Final Report(Washington State Conservation Commission, 2001-12) Haring, DonaldSection 10 of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2496 (Salmon Recovery Act of 1998), directs the Washington State Conservation Commission, in consultation with local government and treaty tribes to invite private, federal, state, tribal, and local government personnel with appropriate expertise to convene as a Technical Advisory Group (TAG). The purpose of the TAG is to identify limiting factors for salmonids. Limiting factors are defined as “conditions that limit the ability of habitat to fully sustain populations of salmon, including all species of the family Salmonidae.” This report includes formal habitat inventories or studies specifically directed at evaluating fish habitat, other watershed data not specifically associated with fish habitat evaluation, and personal experience and observations of the watershed experts that participated in the technical advisory group. The analysis of habitat conditions in the Yakima Basin (WRIAs 37-39) and associated action recommendations is based on these data. This report represents a “snapshot-in-time” portrayal of salmonid habitat conditions. This information can and should be used by the Lead Entity (HB2496) and the Watershed Planning Unit (HB 2514) in the development of salmonid habitat protection and restoration strategies. It should be considered a living document, updated periodically with additional habitat assessment data and habitat restoration successes, as information becomes available.Item IMPACTS OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT ON ANADROMOUS FISH IN THE YAKIMA RIVER BASIN, WASHINGTON(Central Washington University, 1995-05) Tuck, Robert L.Irrigation development, including the construction of unscreened diversions, the blockage of spawning and rearing habitat by reservoir dams, and the dewatering of spawning and rearing habitat, began in the mid-1800's and today totals approximately 500,000 acres. Historical records provide a wealth of information documenting irrigation development and its consequences on anadromous fish populations.Item The Washington climate change impacts assessment: evaluating Washington's future in a changing climate(Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington., 2009-06) Littell, J. S.; McGuire-Elsner, M.; Whitely Binder, L.C.; Snover, A. K.Temperature records indicate that Pacific Northwest temperatures increased 1.5°F since 1920. Climate models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report simulate the same historical warming by including both human and natural causes, and point to much greater warming for the next century. These models project increases in annual temperature of, on average, 2.0°F by the 2020s, 3.2°F by the 2040s, and 5.3°F by the 2080s (compared to 1970 to 19992), averaged across all climate models3. Projected changes in annual precipitation, averaged over all models, are small (+1 to +2%), but some models project an enhanced seasonal precipitation cycle with changes toward wetter autumns and winters and drier summers. Increases in extreme high precipitation in western Washington and reductions in the Cascades snowpack are key projections consistent among different projections of a high-resolution regional climate model.