$1 million secured to advance fish passage alternative solutions at McKay Creek Reservoir Dam

PENDLETON, Ore. – A $1 million federal investment will jump-start critical engineering and design work on fish passage and alternative solutions at McKay Creek Reservoir Dam, laying the technical groundwork to eventually reconnect more than 100 miles of historic salmon and steelhead habitat.

 

Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden helped secure the funding, which will support an alternatives analysis and engineering design for potential fish passage solutions at the dam on McKay Creek, a tributary of the Umatilla River. The dam is ranked the fourth‑highest priority barrier on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's statewide fish passage list.

 

The project is the result of several years of collaboration among ODFW, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), the Bureau of Reclamation and other federal partners, with support from Oregon's congressional delegation.

 

"The continued work to restore fish passage above McKay Dam is another strong example of what coordinated and collaborative efforts between the CTUIR, State of Oregon, and federal partners can achieve towards projects aimed at restoring these populations to healthy, abundant, and harvestable levels, providing cultural, ecological, and harvest benefits to the region. We appreciate the support from Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden as we continue to work together on this important issue, providing priceless benefits for generations to come," said Jerimiah Bonifer, CTUIR Fisheries Program Manager.

 

Currently, native migratory fish can access only the lower six miles of McKay Creek. The dam, built in 1927, blocks passage to 108 miles of upstream habitat, including about 25% of suitable steelhead spawning and rearing habitat in the Umatilla Basin. Historically, the McKay Creek drainage supported Chinook salmon, lamprey and bull trout, and it continues to provide some of the coldest water in the basin.

 

Since 2020, fisheries co‑managers have studied how anadromous fish would use McKay Creek if passage were restored. Radio‑tagged hatchery summer steelhead were released above the dam to identify potential barriers, track migration and determine whether spawning would occur. Those efforts resulted in the first documented steelhead spawning above the dam since its construction.

 

In 2021, fisheries managers with CTUIR and ODFW worked with the Bureau of Reclamation to lower a weir at the mouth of lower McKay Creek that had blocked adult salmon and steelhead. Since then, biologists have counted 182 salmon and steelhead redds in the lower creek.

 

"Restoring fish passage at McKay Dam Reservoir is a win for Oregon's rivers, our tribal and federal partners and the communities that depend on healthy fisheries in the Umatilla and Columbia rivers," said Taylor McCroskey, ODFW's Umatilla district fish biologist. "ODFW appreciates the support from Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden to secure funding for the engineering design and fish passage assessment of McKay Creek dam. These funds provide a critical first step in evaluating fish passage options and improving water and flow management to support the recovery of salmon and steelhead populations."