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Fish Counts

The Wells Hydroelectric Project, located on the Columbia River, has fish ladders at each end of the dam. Fish ladders allow adult fish to easily pass the dam in their upstream migration. From May 1st to November 15th Salmon and Steelhead are counted 24 hours a day on their journey through the Wells Dam fish ladders. These adult fish are headed to spawning areas and hatcheries in the Columbia, Methow, and Okanogan rivers. Once these fish have reached Wells Dam, they have migrated 515 miles from the mouth of the Columbia. Some of these fish will swim an additional 100 miles before they are ready to spawn. The Wells Project is the last dam on the Columbia River to provide fish passage.

Fish Count Data
 Sep 7Sep 6Sep 5Sep 4Sep 3Sep 2Sep 12010 Totals
Chinook Adults87122186188897164 35,612
Chinook Jacks9212930203866 3,011
Sockeye1114415 291,738
Wild Steelhead64703966925347 2,978
Hatchery Steelhead10110172791228191 3,789
Coho0020000 2