Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD), along with numerous state and federal resource agencies and Tribes (the Caucus), needed to reach agreement on whether and where native fish populations could be reestablished in the upper and lower reaches of the Chelan River between Lake Chelan and the Columbia River. By combining fisheries and geomorphic expertise, Stillwater Sciences developed the information necessary to provide the Caucus several alternatives that maximized hydroelectric production while minimizing impacts to the Lake and downstream fisheries. The agreed-upon solution involves redesigning the channel to enhance potential spawning habitat for salmonids.

Stillwater Sciences developed a series of channel design and minimum flow alternatives as part of the Lake Chelan Hydropower relicensing process. Stillwater Sciences developed alternatives that improved and increased spawning habitat for salmonids while minimizing effects on hydroelectric production and lake levels. The alternatives met the Caucus objectives of establishing Westslope cutthroat trout populations in the upper reaches, and summer steelhead and late-run chinook salmon populations in the lower reach, while maintaining a naturally functioning ecosystem. These alternatives were developed using information about the historical flows in the Chelan River basin, Chelan powerhouse operations, current flood control measures, proposed seasonal lake elevations, and habitat suitability curves.