The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will use millions of dollars in funding from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to modernize and maintain its fish hatchery facilities around the region. 

Tribal officials were notified of the funding in March, according to a release. The three facilities that will benefit are the Nursery Bridge Adult Collection Facility near Milton-Freewater, the Umatilla Hatchery Satellite Facility near Irrigon and the ˀImtwaha Fish Hatchery near Walla Walla. 

“While hatchery infrastructure is just one of the tools used by the (CTUIR) Fisheries Program, it has been one of the strongest means by which salmon and steelhead have been reintroduced or supplemented in CTUIR’s traditional use areas,” said Jerimiah Bonifer, fisheries program manager with CTUIR’s Department of Natural Resources, in a statement. 

At ˀImtwaha, planned improvements include better internet connectivity to CTUIR’s Nixyáawii Governance Center, which will support improved emergency response with the advanced alarm system installed when the facility was built. 

The Umatilla facility is the oldest of the three targeted sites and includes the Immeques (em-meck-eez) Acclimation site near Gibbon, Thornhollow Acclimation site near Cayuse and Three Mile Dam Adult Collection site near Umatilla. Along with internet upgrades, they will receive intake cleaning system upgrades or replacements, water control valve replacements or rebuilds and intake flow meters. 

“Water is constantly working to destroy the concrete of which many of the facilities are made, their technology and mechanical parts,” Bonifer said. “Since we are also working with live animals, it is important to ensure that our facilities are able to safely hold and maintain the fish.”