Historical references on fisheries in the Yakima Basin
Early Accounts of the Yakima Basin
On October 17, 1805, Lewis and Clark explored the mouth of the Yakima River at Bateman Island. Clark's journals refer to it as the Tapteel, and he noted the abundance of salmon, many dead, the absence of trees larger than willows, and the tribal fishing camps and drying racks on the Bateman Island. http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/yakima_river.html
Alexander Ross also briefly mentions the Yakima River in 1811, noting "About twelve miles up, a small river entered on the west side, called Eyakema. The landscape at the mouth of the Eyakema surpassed in picturesque beauty anything we had yet seen." http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/yakima_river.html
In 1853, Theodore Winthrop travelled from Port Townsend to the Dalles. His 1862 book about the voyage, titled The Canoe and the Saddle: Adventures Among the Northwestern Rivers and Forests, describes his travels the Little Naches and Naches watersheds to the Wenas Valley and then the Ahtanum Mission, before heading south over the Simcoe Mountains.
Detailed Surveys
"McClellan surveys"
In 1853, George McClellan explored potential routes for a transcontinental railroad in the Pacific Northwest.
You can find information on his surveys and all his work here, see the Library of Congress website.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), General Land Office (GLO) Surveys
This website provides access to historical land surveys that provide a "snapshot in time".
Go to the BLM GLO Survey website
Early Reports on Fish Habitat
In the 1930s the federal Bureau of Fisheries conducted detailed surveys of anadromous fish habitat in the Yakima Basin. These surveys were compiled into a report in 1990[1]. See PDF
A 1950 report on stream surveys in the Columbia River and Yakima River Basin by Bryant and Parkhurst[2]. See PDF
A history of irrigation development in the Yakima River Basin by Robert Tuck 1995[3] See PDF
Yakima Subbasin Plan 1994[4]. The document provided objectives and strategies for restoration of fish and wildlife habitat and populations. See PDF
Salmonid Habitat Limiting Factors Analysis – Yakima River Watershed 2001[5] See PDF
Water Powers of the Cascade Range, Part III. Yakima River Basin 1916 by Parker and Story[6] This report details stream-flow records, river plans and profiles, reservoir surveys, and field reconnaissance of the rivers and the various tributaries in the Yakima River Basin. See PDF
Citations
- ↑ McIntosh, B., S. Clark, and J. Sedell. 1990. Bureau of Fisheries Stream Habitat Surveys Yakima River Basin Summary Report 1934-1942. Page 311. Bonneville Power Administration, DOE/BP-02246-5.
- ↑ Bryant, F. G., and Z. E. Parkhurst. 1950. Survey of the Columbia River and its tributaries: 4. area III - Washington stream from the Klickitat and Snake Rivers to Grand Coulee Dam, with notes on the Columbia and its tributaries above Grand Coulee Dam. Page 108. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Special Scientific Report - Fisheries 57.
- ↑ Tuck, R. L. 1995. The impacts of irrigation development on anadromous fish in the Yakima Basin. Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.
- ↑ Yakima Subbasin Fish and Wildlife Planning Board. 2004. Yakima Subbasin Plan.
- ↑ Haring, D. 2001. Habitat limiting factors Yakima River Watershed, Water Resource Inventory Areas 37-39 : Final Report. Page 364. Washington State Conservation Commission.
- ↑ Parker, G., and F. Storey. 1916. Water Powers of the Cascade Range, Part III. Yakima River Basin Washington. U.S. Geological Survey, Water Supply Paper 369.