Fish of the Hanford Site: Columbia River Eastern Washington (Windriver Series Book 3)

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About Fish Of The Hanford Site: Columbia River Eastern

This book presents an overview and information about the fish that have been documented on the section of the Columbia River known as the Hanford Reach that is located in eastern Washington. Over 50 color photos of fish, the Hanford Reach, and the Hanford environs are included. Information is also provided on what Hanford looks like today almost 70 years after the Manhattan Project which began in the early 1940s. The Hanford Reach of the Columbia River in eastern Washington is a 50 mile section of river that is considered to be the last free flowing section of the Columbia River. It probably has not changed much since Lewis and Clark floated through there in 1805. Beginning in the early 1940s nine nuclear reactors were built on the river in order to produce weapons grade plutonium that was eventually used in the bombs that were dropped in Japan and that helped end the war. The Reach is the only place on the upper main stem of the Columbia River where Chinook salmon still spawn naturally. Twenty-one islands occupy this stretch of the river. The ponds and lakes created by irrigation run-off also have populations of introduced fishes, such as carp, bass, sunfish and pan fish. Today the Reach is part of the Hanford National Monument managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and is also the subject of many studies trying to determine the impact of contaminants on the natural resources including fish in the river.