On average, the program is releasing between 150,000 to 200,000 juvenile coho salmon a year – done at different life stages – into approximately 20 different tributaries of the Russian River that historically had wild runs of coho. Moreover, approximately 15 percent of those releases are tagged with an innovative passive integrated transponder (PIT) system. When combined with more than 80 antenna arrays stationed throughout the watershed, the complete system represents one of the most sophisticated monitoring efforts in the country.

White said that ongoing program accomplishments reflect positive partnerships across a range of organizations, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Service, University of California Cooperative Extension, the local Sonoma County Water Agency, other regional agencies, and even educational outreach and volunteer work efforts with local high schools and junior colleges.

“There are so many reasons why this is important,” he concluded. “Obviously, there’s the cultural significance. This is part of California’s fish and wildlife resources, so there’s definitely a cultural value to these fish. There’s also an economic value to these fish, whether it be part of the commercial or recreational fishery, and all the jobs that provides. But I think probably most importantly is the ecological significance of these fish and what this means for the health of our watersheds. Coho salmon are widely viewed as an indicator species as to the health of our environment and our watersheds.”

Species protection is also enhanced through the clear and consistent application of existing environmental and sustainability requirements.

As the Portland District Environmental Compliance Energy and Sustainability program manager, Ken Duncan monitors those requirements for hydropower facilities on the Columbia and Willamette rivers as well as regional channels, harbors, and recreational facilities.

Additionally, team members also run the district’s Oil Spill Response Program, through which they responded to an early June 2016 oil train fire in Mosier, Oregon.

“We responded to that because the location of that event could have significantly impacted Corps of Engineers-managed lands,” Duncan said. “And we did play a role in that response, by adjusting river levels, to support the cleanup. That’s the sort of thing we do as well. We’re really focused on the whole river system.”

Duncan joined USACE right out of school as a GS-5, which is an entry-level position on the General Schedule payscale. Over the next 16 years, he worked as a line coordinator before moving into project-level environmental compliance and coordination. He moved up to the district level about 10 years ago and is currently wrapping up a rotation at the division level.

“My job is to ensure that we stay in compliance with environmental rules and regulations, and meet sustainability requirements,” he explained. “Basically, I work with a team of folks to make sure that our day-to-day operations meet all the requirements of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and other laws. Basically, I’ve got one or two people at each one of those projects and we work closely together to plan and establish policy and procedures and to maintain environmentally compliant facilities throughout the district.”

For example, he characterized the environmentally acceptable lubricant grease – for use on power stations and support equipment – now being explored as breaking down faster in the environment and as less toxic than normal greases. He added that the identification of the new grease involved close cooperation with both the Engineering Research and Development Center and Hydroelectric Design Center.

One representative example of Duncan’s work can be found in the August 2014 settlement with the environmental organization Columbia Riverkeeper over a lawsuit regarding accusations of non-permitted discharge of oil lubricating products into the environment.

Duncan, who spent more than 1,000 hours working on that effort in 2014 alone, explained that, in spite of previous court rulings expressing that USACE was in compliance regarding discharge, the lawsuit asserted that it lacked the proper permits.

“We went through a long process with our attorneys and recognized that we would be settling with the Columbia Riverkeeper,” he said. “After that, as part of that settlement, we were required to go get our complete permit applications, implement oil accountability plans, and implement environmentally acceptable lubricants at our projects.”