KarunaNews Story

A new fish passageway that bypasses a dam in Okanagan Lake means sockeye salmon can soon return to historic spawning grounds in Canada for the first time in over a century. The Okanagan Dam Fish Passage will let steelhead, rainbow trout and sockeye, chinook and kokanee salmon migrate through the Columbia River, which flows through British Columbia, Washington state and Oregon. Funding was part of a broader strategy tied to the Priest Rapids hydroelectric project in Washington State that allocates funds for salmon and steelhead habitat restoration. Project lead Zoe Eyjolfson says the cool Okanagan waters will provide a refuge for salmon to start rebuilding their populations. "For myself, to know that my kids will see many future generations of salmon coming back to their historic waters, it's a very special day’, she said of the opening August 18.