The Tucannon River Captive Broodstock Master Plan was the second project reviewed by the ISRP as part of the Northwest Power Planning Council’s Three-Step Review. The Tucannon Master Plan review was unusual because it included all three steps of the Three-Step process in a single plan for review, rather than having the three steps (conceptual design, preliminary design, and final design) reviewed in a sequential iterative fashion. Justification for this (hopefully) unusual approach was based on the small scope of the project and the desire to reduce engineering design and review costs through consolidation of the three steps into a single review. Council staff supported this approach.
The ISRP review included several steps. The ISRP selected two members and a Scientific Peer Review Group member to conduct the review. These three members individually reviewed the Tucannon River Captive Broodstock Master Plan and supporting documents. The reviewers commented on each of the responses included in the Master Plan to the questions (or criteria) asked by the Council as part of the Three-Step review. The ISRP members then discussed their reviews via teleconference and identified areas where more information was needed from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and drafted a preliminary review (appendix 5). This preliminary review was discussed with the full ISRP. Consensus was reached on the approach, and questions to obtain further information from WDFW were refined. The ISRP then submitted a request for additional information to WDFW (appendix 1). Joe Bumgarner of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife provided a written response to the questions (appendix 2). The ISRP reviewed the responses and developed a second set of questions to discuss with WDFW representatives via teleconference (appendix 3). The teleconference took place on February 22, 2000 and included Joe Bumgarner representing WDFW, Erik Merrill from the Council, and the three ISRP subcommittee members (appendix 4). The ISRP reviewers then summarized their findings and finalized their report. The ISRP findings are described below.
CONCLUSION: The Tucannon River Captive Broodstock Master Plan passes its Three-Step Review.
RECOMMENDATION: The ISRP recommends that the Tucannon Program proceed with implementation if the conditions in the report are met.
