David Hand

David Hand in a blue puffer jacket with a fishing boat in the background
Fish Biologist - Program Lead for Hatchery Assessment
Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office
Fish and Aquatic Conservation
Address

1211 SE Cardinal Court
Suite 100
Vancouver, WA 98683
United States

(360) 604-2518
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About David Hand

David supervises the Hatchery Assessment program, which provides technical support to the Gorge Complex National Fish Hatcheries through monitoring of program performance in terms of goals and objectives, conducting studies to evaluate potential management changes, and evaluating impacts of hatchery programs on natural populations. He develops pre-season run forecasts for hatchery stocks and monitors juvenile outmigration survival of hatchery releases. David is also part of the the Department of Interior's Decision Analysis community of practice, providing decision analysis support to the Columbia River FWCO, Region 1 FAC, and other USFWS programs. He has also participated in several DOI International Technical Assistance Program projects in S.E. Asia.

Program: Hatchery Assessment

Current Projects:

1. Supervising the CRFWCO Hatchery Assessment Program

2. Developing pre-season run forecasts for hatchery stocks

3. Monitoring survival of out-migrating juvenile stocks released from hatcheries

4. Coordinating E.S.A. coverage for Columbia River Gorge Complex NFHs

5. Providing decision analysis support to the CRFWCO, regional FAC and other USFWS programs as a certified decision analyst

Past Projects: 

1. Collaborated with fisheries agencies in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to assess fish migration and develop fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.

Learn more about fish passage plans for large- and small-scales dams in the Mekong River Basin, as part of the DOI International Technical Assistance Program

2. Evaluated volitional release strategies at Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery

3. Assessed run-forecast models for Spring Chinook Salmon

Background: David has previously worked for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Bureau of Land Management 

At CRFWCO since: 2001

Areas of expertise
Decision Analysis, Structured Decision Making
Salmon Run Forecasts

From The Library

Assessing superimposition of listed tule fall Chinook salmon redds using aerial and ground surveys on the White Salmon River, Washington
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Assessing superimposition of listed tule fall Chinook salmon redds using aerial and ground surveys on the White Salmon River, Washington

Upriver bright (URB) fall Chinook salmon reared and released from the Little White Salmon and Willard National Fish Hatcheries are known to stray into the White Salmon River. Interactions between hatchery-origin URB strays and ESA-listed tule fall Chinook salmon are believed to lead to a loss in...

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Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery - Spring Chinook Salmon Program FY 2023 Annual Report
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Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery - Spring Chinook Salmon Program FY 2023 Annual Report

In 1966, congress authorized the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery to stock salmon and trout within the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon reservation to increase tribal harvest opportunities. The current focus of the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery is to produce...

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Monitoring and Evaluation Updates for John Day/The Dalles Dam Mitigation Programs at Spring Creek and Little White Salmon National Fish Hatcheries -FY 2023 Annual Report
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Monitoring and Evaluation Updates for John Day/The Dalles Dam Mitigation Programs at Spring Creek and Little White Salmon National Fish Hatcheries -FY 2023 Annual Report

The John Day/The Dalles Dam Mitigation (JDTD) program provides mitigation for the escapement of 30,000 adult fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) due to the loss of spawning habitat and production caused by construction of the John Day and The Dalles Dams in the Columbia River. The...

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Assessing superimposition of listed tule fall Chinook salmon redds using aerial and ground surveys on the White Salmon River, WA
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Assessing superimposition of listed tule fall Chinook salmon redds using aerial and ground surveys on the White Salmon River, WA

Hatchery upriver bright (URB) fall Chinook salmon are straying into the White Salmon River (Figure 1). ESA-listed tule fall Chinook population in the White Salmon River spawns earlier (Sept – Oct) than URBs (late Oct – Nov). Tule redds at risk to superimposition which may displace eggs and...

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Monitoring and Evaluation of Mitchell Act-Funded National Fish Hatcheries in the Columbia River Gorge Complex 2023 Annual Report
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Monitoring and Evaluation of Mitchell Act-Funded National Fish Hatcheries in the Columbia River Gorge Complex 2023 Annual Report

The Mitchell Act was authorized by Congress in 1938 to provide funds for hatchery programs and fish passage facilities to mitigate for declining salmon populations due to irrigation diversions, water pollution, logging, and hydropower development in the Columbia River Basin. Funds are...

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