Project Goal:
The objective of this project is to facilitate wildlife mitigation activities under the Southern Idaho Wildlife Mitigation Project in order to protect, enhance/restore and maintain riparian, shrub-steppe, and scrub-shrub wetland habitat at suitable sites in the Middle Snake Province as mitigation for wildlife losses associated with the construction of Black Canyon and Anderson Ranch hydroelectric projects.  Target species include mule deer, elk, mallard, mink, black-capped chickadee, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, spruce grouse, sage grouse, redband trout, and bull trout. This contract has been developed to cover personnel, administrative, and operating costs.  Many of the objectives and tasks listed throughout this document are conducted on an ongoing basis throughout the contract period.

Background:
In southern Idaho, a BPA debt of 73% of wildlife habitat losses identified in the Council's Fish and Wildlife Program remain to be mitigated in the area covered by the Southern Idaho Wildlife Mitigation (SIWM) project.  The SIWM group includes the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and the Idaho Fish and Game Department.

Tools that will be utilized to identify acquisition, protection, and enhancement sites include the GAP analysis program, BPA impact assessments, regional fish and wildlife data, input from regional professionals and working groups, and maps of available properties.

Location:
The Duck Valley Indian Reservation encompasses approximately 289,820 tribally-owned acres equally straddling the Idaho and Nevada border, and there are approximately 1,800 enrolled Tribal members.  The Reservation is in the Middle Snake Province and both the Bruneau and Owyhee subbasins.  As indicated in the map below, the Reservation is both remote and isolated; the closest town centers are Elko, Nevada and Mountain Home, Idaho, both approximately 100 miles from the Reservation's small town of Owyhee.  These are also the closest areas to buy supplies for projects.

The Tribes will concentrate their mitigation efforts in the Owyhee and Bruneau Subbasins of the Middle Snake Province.  Important habitats surround the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.