Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Oregon
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) operates 33 hatchery facilities in Oregon, 14 of which are state-owned. Statewide, these facilities produce fish for over 70 salmon and steelhead hatchery programs (i.e., releases of a specific anadromous species/run type in one or more locations within a basin or sub-basin). They also produce several million resident trout that are stocked in waterbodies throughout the state. The impacts of climate change (e.g., increasing stream temperatures, higher disease incidence, decreasing stream flow, and reduced ocean survival) will affect the ability of hatchery programs to meet fishery and conservation objectives. The goal of this project is to assess vulnerability to climate change impacts, including risks to program viability, for a sample set of hatchery programs representing different geographic areas of the state and the primary species raised in Oregon hatcheries. Findings will be presented to the Oregon Legislature as part of a third-party assessment of the operations, sustainability, and climate vulnerability of state-owned fish hatcheries. A completed report will be presented to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means during the 2025 legislative session, and will directly inform policy decisions at the state level.