Lower Columbia River Ecosystem Monitoring Project
Statement of Work and Budget FY2006

BPA Project Number:  2003-007-00
Contract Number:  28838
Performance/Budget Period: September 1, 2006 – August 31, 2007

Technical Contact:  Jill Leary
Monitoring Coordinator
Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership
811 SW Naito Parkway, Suite 120
Portland, Oregon  97204
Phone: 503.226.1565 Ext. 235
Fax:  503.226.1580
leary@lcrep.org

Contracting Contact: LeeAnn Bronson
Financial Officer
Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership
811 SW Naito Parkway, Suite 120
Portland, Oregon  97204
Phone: 503.226.1565 Ext. 223
Bronson@lcrep.org
Fax:  503.226.1580


BPA Project Manager:  Jan Brady
Bonneville Power Administration
905 NE 11th Avenue
Portland, Oregon  97208
Phone:  503.230.4514
Fax:  503.230.4564
jebrady@bpa.gov

Date of Submission:  June 29, 2006

BACKGROUND
Our ability to understand the relationship of sensitive organisms such as salmonids to the lower Columbia River and Columbia River estuary ecosystem is hindered by a lack of information and poor access to existing data.  The Estuary Partnership proposes to continue to implement elements of its Ecosystem Monitoring Project to provide information on salmonid interactions in the lower Columbia River and estuary and to address habitat and toxics monitoring needs as well as data management.  This proposal addresses RPAs 161, 163, and 198.  

This statement of work describes the work elements, deliverables, and costs for year four of the Ecosystem Monitoring Project. The first year (September 2003 to August 2004) of this contract was placed on hold for the majority of the contract year due to Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) requesting further review of the proposal by their Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP).  After ISRP review, and review by NPCC, three months remained to complete the work in the first year of the contract.  As a result, a number of tasks were delayed and completed in the second year.

The second year (September 2004 to August 2005) of this contract involved the creation and refinement of an ecosystem classification system for the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE). This classification was derived from LANDSAT TM imagery and bathymetry data and was used to develop habitat monitoring metrics for the LCRE. These habitat monitoring metrics were utilized in the field during July 2005 in reaches D & F of the LCRE to collect biological and physical data on habitat conditions. Additionally during the second year of this contract, three models related to toxics in the lower Columbia River and estuary were developed that provide information on the sources, pathways and potential effects of contaminants on salmonids in the LCRE. Fish sampling occurred from March 2005 through August 2005 and the sampling results are being incorporated into the models as analysis is completed. Finally, fixed station water quality monitoring, seasonal variation sampling and the deployment of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) occurred to provide water chemistry data that will be incorporated into the models as well.

The third year of this contract began September 2005 and will end August 2006. Updates to the ecosystem classification system have been delayed by the prolonged completion of the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) information completed by USGS. Habitat monitoring was completed in reach G (July 2006) this year and involved the collection of wetland vegetation species information and elevation as well as water quality information. New versions of the conceptual model, the contaminant transport and uptake model and the ecological risk model were informed by information from the salmonid sampling analysis. Salmon were analyzed for contaminant exposure, such as estrogenic compounds, and genetics. Water chemistry data analysis was also completed on the fixed station, seasonal, and SPMD samples.

Part 1 of Year 4 (September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007) of this contract will focus on Habitat Monitoring. A revised version of the ecosystem classification system will be created using the completed Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and bathymetric data.  The completed classification system will then be used to direct field sampling efforts in summer 2007. These field surveys will ground truth some of the hierarchies of the classifications system, such as the complex level. Moreover, the completed classification system will be used to develop the rotational panel sampling design that will be employed for monitoring efforts in Years 5, 6, and 7 of the Ecosystem Monitoring Project.  The University of Washington and United States Geologic Survey (USGS) are participating in the creation of this classification system while and Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) will be involved in the on the ground field surveys testing out the classification system.

Part 2 of Year 3 of this contract will focus on Toxics monitoring.  NOAA Fisheries and USGS have been subcontracted to complete analysis on the toxics monitoring information collected through the Ecosystem Monitoring Project’s past water chemistry and fish sampling data collection efforts.  NOAA Fisheries will analyze contaminant exposure, sediment samples, otoliths, plasma and complete stomach content taxonomy on prey from fish samples collected during Year 2 of this contract and produce a report detailing the results on this analysis in Year 4. This information will also be used to update the contaminant transport model and the ecological risk models.  USGS will continue to analyze the fixed station and seasonal sampling water quality data and the SPMD data to produce a report detailing their water chemistry findings that will be integrated with NOAA’s fish sampling analyses.

In addition to the coordinating activities the The Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership is involved with, we will be coordinating with the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Program (PNAMP) as a means of informing other agencies of the work being conducted in this study.  We will also be involved in discussions with the Northwest Environmental Data Network (NED) to obtain guidance on how our data can be made more accessible and usable for interested parties and on ways to align monitoring and sampling protocols in the lower Columbia River and estuary.

PART 1:  HABITAT MONITORING

Habitat monitoring objectives for this year include:
1. Revision of the ecosystem classification system through the incorporation of LiDAR, and bathymetric, and field collected data
2. Identify one additional reach for field sampling to test the hierarchies of ecosystem classification system
3. Develop the rotational sampling panel design for Years 5, 6, and 7 of the Ecosystem Monitoring Project

The Estuary Partnership Science Work Group will review the data on a periodic basis and critique the progress of the work as well as recommend possible research studies to address key questions as they arise.

PART 2:  TOXICS MONITORING

The Estuary Partnership in conjunction with USGS and NOAA Fisheries will produce an indepth report documenting the results of water quality samples, SMPDs, and salmonid sampling from the lower Columbia River and estuary. This report will provide baseline toxic contaminant data, track trends in toxic contaminant concentrations over time, identify specific problem sites, provide possible levels of exposure, and evaluate possible impacts of toxics contamination on selected species such as salmonids.  The toxics monitoring program continues to focus on three mediums: water column, sediments, and tissues.  

Toxics monitoring objectives for this year include:
1. Continuation of salmon sampling to provide information on the exposure effects and contaminant uptake on yearling salmonids from different ESUs and with               different life histories
2. Chemical analyses of contamination in sediment and sticklebacks at salmonid sampling locations
3. Salmonid stomach content taxonomy and otolith analyses
4. Development of a report detailing the results of the fish sampling and chemical analysis as well as the results of the water quality sampling