February 2005

North Fork John Day River Basin Anadromous Fish Habitat Enhancement
Statement of Work and Budget FY 2005

BPA Project Number:  2000-031-00
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Contract Number: 00022616
Performance/Budget Period:  April 1, 2005 through March 31, 2006.


Background:

The goal of this project is to protect and enhance habitat for improved natural production of indigenous, wild spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead in the North Fork of the John Day River Basin. This project addresses critical protection and restoration of habitat necessary for survival of salmonid fishes in the basin. Project functions include identification of habitat impacts, creation of solutions to land use problems, prioritization and implementation of habitat improvements, and providing and participating in educational outreach activities.

The John Day River Basin supports the largest remaining, exclusively wild runs of spring chinook salmon and summer steelhead in northeast Oregon (Stuart and Williams, 1988). The North Fork of the John Day Basin supports 70 percent of the distribution of adult spring Chinook salmon and 43 percent of the adult steelhead within the John Day Drainage (Sanchez and others, 1988).

However, various factors continue to limit anadromous fisheries habitat in the John Day River Basin including low summer flows, high summer and low winter water temperatures, high spring flows, depressed beaver populations, accelerated streambank erosion, excessive stream sedimentation and reduced instream cover (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, 1995). These impacts are the result of historical and current land management practices including placer mining, livestock overgrazing, irrigation withdrawals, land clearing, road building, logging and stream channelization (Stuart and Williams, 1988). Riparian habitat degradation is the most serious habitat problem in the John Day River Basin with approximately 660 degraded stream miles (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, 1995). Approximately 261.5 (39 percent) of these impacted stream miles were previously identified within the North Fork of the John Day Subbasin (James, 1984).

The Umatilla National Forest (UNF) has improved approximately 72.5 miles of degraded stream reaches in the upper North Fork of the John Day Subbasin through construction of riparian corridor fencing and ongoing removal of mine tailings (Sanchez, pers. comm.). The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) have implemented several habitat enhancement projects within the North Fork Subbasin, including fencing eleven miles of stream on Cottonwood and Fox Creeks, construction of a fish ladder on Fivemile Creek (providing access to 25 miles of previously unavailable spawning habitat), and fencing two miles of upper Camas Creek (Neal, pers. Comm.). Oregon State Parks has protected two miles of stream habitat on Camas Creek. Private landowners have entered into agreements with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) to install riparian fencing, plant native vegetation and construct off-stream livestock water developments on nearly eight stream miles of Snipe Creek, Owens Creek and Deer Creek. Several of these projects have been implemented cooperatively with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Services Agency (FSA) and merged with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs According to ODFW, the upper North Fork John Day Subbasin is a high priority for implementation of habitat enhancements, but logistical constraints (i.e. driving distance from ODFW's John Day Office) sometimes restrict the agency from seeking landowner agreements in remote areas (Neal, pers. comm.). Thus, there is a need for this anadromous habitat restoration project to continue to address habitat deficiencies on private lands throughout the basin and integrate with USDA and UNF habitat enhancement efforts.

This project is funded with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funds and is consistent with the 1994 Northwest Power Planning Council's (NPPC) Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (FWP), Section 7.6 - 7.8, which targets the improvement of water quality and restoration of riparian areas, and specifically the holding, spawning and rearing habitats of anadromous salmonids. This project is also compatible with Chapter III Basinwide Provisions, Biological Objectives, Habitat Strategies and Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Chapter V, Subbasin Planning of the 2000 NPPC FWP. Funding of this project provides partial mitigation for losses of salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus spp.) populations in the Columbia River Basin from the construction and operation of hydroelectric dams. The project entails coordinated, cooperative efforts to protect and improve anadromous fisheries habitat on a comprehensive watershed management basis. Improved habitat quality will provide increased juvenile and adult freshwater survival and result in greater offspring out-migration.

Habitat limiting factors have been identified by the tribes and agencies in various documents over the past 20 years. This information along with the soon to be completed John Day Subbasin Plan will continue to assist the project with prioritization of habitat needs. The Bureau of Reclamation Draft Programmatic Biological Assessment associated with the National Marine Fisheries Biological (NMFS) Opinion for the John Day Basin will also be used when evaluating projects. The CTUIR will implement ehancements to restore anadromous fish habitat on private lands in the upper North Fork John Day River Subbasin. Such improvements shall include passive, natural recovery processes in combination with intensive native revegetation efforts. Passage barriers may be removed or modified to increase migration to stream reaches currently under-utilized and improve access for adult spawning, juvenile rearing and adult and juvenile holding. Minor in-stream enhancements and bioengineering approaches will be reserved for areas that will not sufficiently recover in a natural state. The CTUIR will integrate protection of public owned headwater sanctuaries with private land restoration efforts when possible. This will be achieved through coordination with the UNF and private landowners in the upper watershed.

Project benefits include native plant community recovery, improved streambank stability, increased stream channel shading, hydrological stability, stream channel narrowing, cooler stream temperatures, reduced sediment inputs, increased wood recruitment, increased habitat accessibility, greater riparian and in-stream habitat diversity, improved floodplain function, and increased bird, mammal, macroinvertebrate and salmonid populations. According to the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) (1992), enhanced riparian areas in the North Fork Subbasin, combined with watershed improvements and beaver dams, could cause currently intermittent streams to become perennial. OWRD further states that cumulative effects of improvements in tributary areas could increase flows in the North Fork by as much as 35 cfs.

On a broader scale, elevation of John Day River Basin juvenile outmigration numbers through habitat protection and improvement will assist with accomplishing Columbia Basin adult escapement goals. Anadromous fish throughout the Columbia Basin are dependent on availability of quality habitat during all phases of their life cycles. Habitat issues in Columbia Basin subwatersheds must be addressed, so that adequate rearing and spawning habitat is available for continued natural propagation.

The project has been directing and shall continue to direct landowners to other programs sponsored and funded by FSA, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), Corp of Engineers (COE) and other private or public funding sources. Cost share funds with these same entities shall continue to be utilized to reduce annual BPA project implementation expenditures. Additionally, as new federal, state and private incentive programs continue to become available, these shall be dove-tailed with to assist in "re-enlisting" or "extending" existing landowner agreements to insure coordinated resource restoration and protection.  Project personnel shall request cooperation from the local Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), FSA, and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) personnel to determine projects eligible under agriculture incentive programs that may be extended with BPA funds. Project personnel will help landowners identify projects that might be extended or augmented with BPA funds.

Although the Tribes will continue to implement individual projects with cooperative landowners, efforts are currently underway in all targeted tributaries to tie existing and proposed enhancements together. This strategy assumes that funding from BPA and other entities will be cost shared on the same properties or utilized individually on different properties within the same drainage; this approach achieves upland and riparian habitat connectivity on a subwatershed scale to secure necessary "critical mass" and measurable biological results. Such an expanded approach will result in stream reach-level habitat recovery and complement other riparian and upland habitat restoration and conservation efforts. The Tribes will continue to prioritize the protection and enhancement of those stream reaches, which currently contain the highest quality salmonid habitat, and where the greatest benefits can be achieved in the shortest amount of time. This is consistent with the NPPC's 1994 FWP, which states, "prioritize actions that maximize the desired result per dollar spent". However, because landowner participation under this project and similar programs is strictly voluntary, it is not always possible to implement improvements in higher priority areas. Thus, it is imperative that the project have flexibility to implement projects at optional locations, where recovery benefits may not be as immediate.

The CTUIR have discovered that it is necessary for trust to be developed at a community level. This is largely accomplished through encouraging public input and providing opportunities for citizens to participate in decision making processes. Once comfort ability has been established through landowner involvement and education, project opportunities tend to increase. Frequently, landowners look to what their neighbors are doing and are often prompted to participate in restoration activities at a later date.

References:

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC). 1995. Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi-Wa-Kish-Wit Spirit of the Salmon. Columbia River Anadromous Fish Plan of the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakima Tribes. Portland, Oregon.
James, G. 1984. John Day River Basin-Recommended Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Improvement Measures. Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Mission, Oregon.
Neal, J.A. November 30, 1998. Personal comment stated in a phone conversation.
Northwest Power Planning Council. 1990. Columbia Basin System Planning-Salmon and Steelhead Production Plan for the John Day Basin. Northwest Power Planning Council, Portland, Oregon.
Northwest Power Planning Council. 2000. Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. Northwest Power Planning Council, Portland, Oregon.
Northwest Power Planning Council, 2001, John Day Subbasin Summary, Northwest Power Planning Council, Portland Oregon.
Oregon Water Resources Department. 1992. Stream Restoration Program for the North Fork Subbasin of the John Day River.
Sanchez, J. December 7, 1998. Personal comment stated in a phone conversation.
Sanchez, J., Dougan, J., Frazier, B., Metz, R., and Scheeler, C. 1988. North Fork John Day River and Tributaries-Fish Habitat Improvement Implementation Plan. BPA Project Number 84-8, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, Oregon.
Stuart, A. and Williams, S.H. 1988. John Day River Basin Fish Habitat Improvement Implementation Plan. BPA Project Number 84-21, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, Oregon.