1. Project Location

Longley Meadow is located approximately 4 miles upstream from Hilgard State Park along the Grande Ronde River.  The private ranch includes 2 miles of Jordan Creek, nearly 3 miles of Bear Creek and 2 miles of the mainstem Grande Ronde River.  The project area is located in T. 3 S., R. 36 E., all or portions of Sections 14 and 15.  The project overlaps portions of the Mainstem Grande Ronde River Fish Habitat Enhancement Project (Phases 1 and 2).

The project area is located along a unique, low gradient (.4/100') section of the upper Grande Ronde River along historic alluvial fans of the Grande Ronde River and Bear and Jordan Creeks.  Low gradient sections in the Grande Ronde Mainstem between La Grande and Meadow Creek are limited and provide morphological characteristics important in the formation of diverse aquatic habitat.  Longley Meadows historically provided palustrine emergent wetlands and backwater habitat associated with the Grande Ronde River, Bear Creek, and Jordan Creek

2. Project Purpose, Goals, and Objectives

Purpose

The primary purposes of the project include restoring degraded riparian and floodplain habitat, improving instream habitat diversity, and improving water quality for adult and juvenile summer steelhead and spring chinook salmon.  A combination of livestock control, floodplain reconnection, instream work, and tree/shrub planting will be used to restore high quality habitat.  Habitat parameters being addressed include high summer water temperatures, low summer flows, winter icing, unstable streambanks, poor riparian conditions (both overstory and understory components), poor instream habitat diversity (shortage of complex pool habitat), and channelization of lower Bear Creek.  In addition, the project involves working with the private landowner to establish conservation easements on the Grande Ronde River, Bear Creek, and Jordan Creek through BPA and the Conservation Reserve Easement Program through the Food Security Act of 1985 to protect investments made through the restoration component of this proposal.

Goals

·Enhance instream aquatic habitat for spring chinook salmon and steelhead,
·Restore and enhance meadow hydrology and associated instream and wetland habitat within Longley Meadow along the Mainstem Grande Ronde River, lower reaches of Bear and Jordan Creeks, and riparian habitat on upper Bear and Jordan Creeks for fish and wildlife habitat, and water quality; and
·Improve water quality and quantity
·Develop and implement conservation easements with private landowner to protect habitat and compliment efforts initiated under this project and the Mainstem Grande Ronde River Fish Habitat Enhancement Project (Phases 1 and 2).

Objectives

·Increase base flow depth in Bear and Jordan Creek channels, increase flooding frequency and depth on the meadow, and create pool and riffle sequences that increase the consistency of bedload transport and deposition on the floodplain.
·Increase stream channel sinuosity, channel length, and geomorphic stability, and decrease channel gradient, capacity and cross-sectional area in Bear and Jordan Creeks.
·Improve instream, riparian, floodplain/meadow conditions and functions, including improved quality and utilization of riparian and meadow areas for native plant communities and wildlife.
·Improve/increase vegetative cover/shade to moderate summer stream temperatures and winter temperatures.
·Improve/increase streambank stability
·Improve surface water and ground water interaction with resultant lowering of summertime stream temperature and increase wintertime stream temperature.
·Improve properties of coldwater fish habitat and terrestrial and aquatic macroinvertebrate community composition
·Improve/restore utilization of restored stream channel segments by anadromous fish

3. Project Description

Introduction

This is a new project directly linked to the Mainstem Grande Ronde River Fish Habitat Enhancement Project Phase 1 & 2 initiated in 1998 by the GRMWP, private landowners, CTUIR, ODFW, USFS, and NRCS.   The Longley Meadows Project is being proposed to compliment the Mainstem project and broaden restoration activities on the Alta Cuhna River Ranch to address aquatic habitat, wetland meadow restoration, and water quality.  The project focus is to enhance and restore wetland meadow hydrology with associated palustrine emergent wetlands, water storage capacity, and instream aquatic habitat including critical backwater rearing areas. The project involves conducting survey and design for the ultimate restoration of the 0.5 mile channelized portion of Bear Creek, instream and riparian restoration and enhancement Jordan Creek and upper Bear Creek, and resource protection through establishment of conservation easements with the private landowner through BPA and CRP programs.

The landowner (Shauna Mosgrove) has noticed a gradual decline in habitat quality and has a strong desire to restore these streams to their former condition.  Ms. Mosgrove is willing to exclude the areas from grazing and timber harvest for a 15 year period to allow recovery.  The riparian fencing and locations of water gaps or spring developments will be incorporated into a comprehensive grazing system designed by the landowner, CTUIR, ODFW, and NRCS

The overall goal for the landowner is to more efficiently manage cattle while producing fish and wildlife benefits, using a multi-pasture rotation scheme.  All planning and implementation for this project will be coordinated with the existing Mainstem Grande Ronde River Habitat Enhancement Project (including railroad grade removal, instream work, grazing management, etc.)  This project will address many of the factors limiting salmonid production in this reach through a combination of passive and active restoration techniques.

Existing Conditions

Both Jordan and Bear Creek are known to have historically provided spawning and rearing habitat for summer steelhead.  Very little is known about spring chinook salmon use in these tributaries.  However, in December, 1999 ODFW and CTUIR personnel observed juvenile spring chinook near the mouth of Bear Creek, indicating that these tributaries may support juvenile spring chinook salmon winter habitat as well.  Moreover, both tributaries, in conjunction with restored meadow hydrology, could contribute improved water quality in the Grande Ronde River and provide winter/spring refugia for outmigrating juveniles.

Stream reach conditions in all phases of the project area are well below quality standards.  Impacts of past management activity such as channelization, road construction, railroad construction, livestock grazing, and logging have left the project reaches functioning well below levels that promote healthy salmonid populations and watershed health.

Jordan Creek in this reach suffers from high summer water temperatures, winter icing, and some unstable streambanks.  There is currently a good overstory of maturing cottonwoods and conifers (primarily ponderosa pine), but the vegetation component lacks recruitment of  understory trees and shrubs.  Instream habitat diversity is fair, but lacks large woody debris and complex pool habitat.  Only 3 pieces of large wood were observed in the 1.3 mile reach.  

Bear Creek suffers from similar problems, but is in a more severe condition than Jordan Creek.  In the reach upstream of Highway 244, much of the large overstory tree (conifer/cottonwood) is absent and grazing has heavily impacted the understory of hardwood trees and shrubs.  Bank erosion is excessive, and existing stream channel morphology conditions such as width/depth ratio and sinousity are below potential for the reach.  The reach downstream of Highway 244 to the confluence with the Grande Ronde River remains in poor condition due to its channelized configuration.  Fish passage in Bear Creek in this reach continues to be a significant issue.  CTUIR and ODFW conducted limited maintenance and structural modifications to the existing log weirs in November 2000 to address fish passage.  Efforts included notching individual weirs and installing geofabric on weir faces to elevate surface water elevations and attempt to provide fish passage in the short-term.

Specific Actions

An aggressive approach for project implementation is planned due to the critically low numbers of wild spring chinook salmon and steelhead in the Grande Ronde River basin and the potential value of the habitat in Longley Meadows (i.e., backwater habitat).  Implementation of specific actions are designed to create immediate improvements in instream habitat conditions and to accelerate natural successional development.

This proposal contains several components including: a) Development of conservation easements with the private landowner; b) Planning and design; c) Instream and upland habitat enhancements and developments; and d) monitoring and evaluation.