Project 1994-018-06 provides support for the Tucannon River Model Watershed Program. The program provides funding to protect and enhance habitat for ESA listed salmonids. Projects  include CREP supplementation, livestock exclusion, screening diversions, irrigation efficiencies to return water savings to an instream trust, and completion of a milestone assessment of past habitat projects. This project also provides for continued coordination and involvement in local, regional, and state planning and assessment efforts. Project funding is matched with programs from WCC, WDOE, SRFB, and USDA to maximize cost effectiveness. The Columbia Conservation District, with close concurrence from resource agencies and the tribes, manages program activities and project implementation.


Tucannon River Model Watershed Program

The Tucannon River is currently home to ESA listed stocks of Spring Chinook salmon, Fall Chinook salmon, Summer Steelhead, & Bull Trout. Protection, enhancement, & restoration of salmonid habitat is guided by the Tucannon River Model Watershed Program in cooperation with federal, state, & local resource agencies & government, tribes, citizens, & local landowners. The Tucannon River Model Watershed Plan was written to guide the Program following extensive assessments.
The Plan identified critical limiting factors affecting salmonid habitat productivity as high stream temperatures, high sediment levels in spawning gravels, lack of complex rearing & resting pools, and geomorphic instability. The Plan guided restoration efforts to correct these limiting factors are designed to accelerate & complement the natural ecological processes, while watershed scale project prioritization insures selection of highly effective projects.
The goal of the Tucannon River Model Watershed Plan is improved capacity of habitat to support viable salmonid populations. This goal supports the Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Authority Co-managers and the Tucannon Subbasin Summary goals of improved adult pre-spawning and juvenile survival. Biological outcomes of improved survivability will be affected by, increasing pool and spawning habitat quality & quantity through geomorphic stabilization, riparian bio-function restoration, increasing complexity, maintaining adequate flow, and reducing water temperature & sediment embeddiness.

Interagency/Public Coordination

In 1993 the Bonneville Power Administration asked the Columbia Conservation District (District) to undertake the task of developing a model watershed plan to protect, enhance, and restore salmonid habitat within the identified subbasins. The District was asked to lead this locally driven process based on a history of close working relationships with landowners and interagency cooperation. The District continues to be the lead for activities within the Tucannon Subbasin as guided by the Tucannon River Model Watershed Plan (The Plan) drafted in 1997. The goal of "The Plan" and thus the program is to protect, enhance and restore habitat to enable salmonid species to reach and maintain self-sustainable populations within the subbasin. This effort was addressed by using resource agency technical knowledge and local citizen input on historical, current, and anticipated future use of subbasin resources to ensure the human element was considered in "The Plan's" goals and ultimate outcomes. These groups formed the council that developed "The Plan" and governed project installation from 1996 through 2003.
The form of the initial watershed council has evolved from separate Technical Advisory Group and Citizen Steering Committees to a single entity encompassing locally involved individuals and agency personnel. As the years have progressed agency personnel have stepped to the background as local citizens have developed the skills needed to continue the planning and implementation activities continuously being asked for by federal and state government. Agency technical personnel continue to serve in advisory capacities within the Tucannon River Model Watershed Program while conducting ongoing propagation and research activities within their agencies. Habitat restoration is lead by the District in cooperation with local citizens through resolution from the Columbia County Commissioners.
The district's ability to match & leverage funds from various sources (i.e. SRFB, DOE, WCC, USDA), utilize a long standing partnership with USDA NRCS for technical support, continue project partnerships with WDFW & USFS managers on public lands, & dove tail with the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to establish buffers in riparian areas increase cost effectiveness & accelerates restoration to meet biological goals.

Regional Assessment and Planning Efforts

Local Citizens, landowners, organizations, and technical agencies have actively participated in new and ongoing assessment and planning efforts initiated at the direction of the state and federal agencies. During 2004, within the Tucannon Subbasin, there were four (4) such efforts as follows: 1) Continued the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board process and plan development to guide and oversee recovery efforts for the region as directed by the Washington State Legislature via the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB), 2) Continued with HB 2514 DOE Watershed Planning for Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 35, Middle Snake, which include Instream Flow Incremental Measurement (IFIM) and Total Minimum Daily Load (TMDL), 3) 2496 Lead Entity process to facilitate solicitation, evaluation, and funding of salmon restoration projects via the SRFB), and 4) Finalized the NPPC Tucannon Subbasin Management Plan.
The CCD District Manager as Technical Lead (TL) for the Tucannon River Model Watershed Program participated in and/or facilitated all assessment and planning efforts. The TL solicited local citizen participation for each process. Some processes overlap in efforts so many of the same citizens participates in multiple efforts. Local citizen involvement ensures process support and acceptance resulting in greater project success and continued habitat enhancement for ESA listed species within the Tucannon River. All efforts also have tribal and resource agency participation ensuring technical validity.
The intent of the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board is to develop a recovery plan and provide direction and oversight of recovery efforts so a coordinated approach is assured, designed to restore habitat to the potential of maintaining self-sustaining salmonid populations within the WRIA. Membership includes federal and state technical agencies, local government, tribes, and local citizens to insure continued cooperation and ultimately success of recovery efforts.
HB 2514 Watershed Planning process for WRIA 35/Sanke River moved from Phase 1, organization development, to Phase 2, assessment and collection of current data.  Parts of this process are two associated processes, IFIM and TMDL.  Data collection is currently underway for these efforts, which is lead by Asotin PUD with direction from the WDOE.
2496 Lead Entity process directs the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) project solicitation, evaluation and funding process within the region. The District coordinated this effort on behalf of the Tucannon River Model Watershed Program and as the regional representative of the process as a whole.
These processes all build on the Tucannon River Model Watershed Plan and will contribute to the Tucannon Subbasin Management Plan, via their resulting data, evaluations, and recommendations.
The Tucannon Subbasin Plan process was finalized and adopted by the NPCC.  The Columbia Conservation District coordinated this process under direct contract with the NPCC, but as the Lead for the Tucannon River Model Watershed Program we take an active contributory roll in all aspects of the process.

State Task Force Participation

Active progressive efforts by the Columbia Conservation District resulted in being named to two (2) separate state task forces, CREP and Livestock Influenced Water Quality.  As active member the district is working with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, USDA Farm Service Agency, Washington Conservation Commission, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Agriculture, and the Washington State Legislature to continue to develop and set programmatic policy and implementation practices supported via legislative action.