Project Goal

Improve instream fish habitat in the Potlatch River and the lower Clearwater River through comprehensive watershed planning, implementation of best management practices  and expanded water quality and fish habitat monitoring.

Background and History

The 377,776-acre Potlatch River watershed is located in north central Idaho and is the largest tributary in the lower Clearwater River. The Potlatch River watershed is characterized by steep basaltic canyons rimmed by rolling cropland in the lower reaches and by timbered hills and high meadow terrain in the upper reaches. Approximately 78% of the area is privately owned, 13% Forest Service, 8% Idaho Department of Lands, less than one percent is Nez Perce Tribal lands, and less than one percent is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Forestland encompasses approximately 57% of the watershed and 38% is in non-irrigated cropland, and 4% rangeland.  The Potlatch River supports rainbow, brook, and Snake River steelhead trout (ESA listed threatened).

The Potlatch River provides habitat for fall chinook salmon, steelhead trout, bull trout, coho salmon, brook trout, whitefish, and rainbow trout. Adult bull trout may use the drainage for rearing when flows and temperatures are suitable, although use would be considered rare.  Spring/summer chinook salmon may use the drainage for rearing when conditions are suitable. Historically, spring chinook salmon spawning has been reported to occur in the drainage.  Pacific lamprey has been documented to use the drainage for spawning and rearing.  Other fish species documented as occurring in the Potlatch River include smallmouth bass, northern squawfish, chiselmouth, bridgelip sucker, specked dace, redside shriners, sunfish, and paiute sculpin.

In 1994, the Latah Soil and Water Conservation District (Latah SWCD) requested that the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conduct a Preliminary Investigation (P.I.) in the Potlatch River.   The purpose of the P.I. was to: 1) develop criteria to prioritize subwatersheds for long-term treatment for anadromous and resident fish habitat enhancement and restoration; and 2) compile a list of treatment strategies based on identified resource issues to be implemented in the near-term.  Analysis and long-term planning for enhancement and restoration of fish habitat was to have been done through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative River Basin Study Program.  This final planning stage was not completed because of NRCS staff cutbacks.

With previous BPA funding, the Latah SWCD organized a scoping process with federal, tribal and local governments to begin developing a planning process for developing a community-based watershed planning process for the Potlatch River.  Latah SWCD has developed a working draft of the Potlatch River Watershed Restoration Plan (Restoration Plan) so it can serve as the primary planning document for implementing conservation practices on private lands throughout the Potlatch River watershed.  

Summary of the Problem

The Potlatch River provides habitat for fall Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, bull trout, coho salmon, brook trout, whitefish, and rainbow trout.  However, the high quality habitat throughout the river basin is often unprotected on private lands and there is no organized effort to identify and initiate habitat rehabilitation efforts within the basin that could prove beneficial to the spawning and rearing needs of the anadromous fish species throughout the basin.  Without an organized effort to protect high quality habitat and/or restore moderately productive habitat, significant opportunities will be missed.

Summary of the Grantee’s Proposed Approach to Address Problems

Project Goal:  The goal of this habitat-based proposal is, to enhance and restore anadromous and resident fish habitat by improving the overall ecosystem functions.  The area of work will be within the Potlatch River watershed and the lower Clearwater River and will involve the following three objectives:

Objective 1 - Update the working draft of the Potlatch River Watershed Restoration Plan as new monitoring information and community input is gathered.  This objective will be specifically addressed by the following Work Elements:

Work Element C (189) – Facilitate Technical Advisory Group.
The continued involvement of the Technical Advisory Group is critical for the coordination of inter-agency technical expertise and research, conservation program coordination and as a conduit for the development and critique of new and/or modified approaches to update the working draft of the Potlatch River Watershed Restoration Plan.

Work Element D (157) – Collect Water Quality and Flow Data.
The on-going collection of water quality and flow data will serve the development of baseline watershed conditions to measure watershed changes in the future.  This information is critical to the understanding of current conditions and for the development of future evaluation efforts to measure watershed changes and best management practice effectiveness.
  
Work Element E (162) – Analyze Resource Data within Subbasin.
Continued analysis of newly generated, or discovered, resource data is critical to the update of the Restoration Plan.  The incorporation of new resource data will maintain the effectiveness of the Restoration Plan as a management tool for conservation agencies working on restoration efforts within the watershed.

Work Element F (157) – Undertake Stream Visual Assessment Protocol Surveys on Potential Restoration Sites.
Similar to the collection of water quality and flow data, these surveys will serve the development of baseline watershed conditions to measure watershed changes in the future.  These surveys are critical to understanding, at a site specific level, changes in resource conditions due to changes in land-use and the best management practice effectiveness.

Work Element G (99) – Seek Landowner Comments on Watershed Restoration/Protection Strategies, and Current Conditions.
Since the majority of habitat restoration efforts by the Latah SWCD will be on private lands, it is critical to continue engaging private landowners in the process of monitoring the watershed and well as a maintaining an on-going dialogue to identify restoration strategies that may be of interest to landowners.

Work Element J (174) – Revise Potlatch River Watershed Restoration Plan
New information generated in previous work elements will be incorporated into the working draft of the Potlatch River Watershed Restoration Plan and reviewed on an on-going basis by the technical advisory group.

Objective 2 - Coordination of  technical and financial resources from agencies and organization willing to support the implementation of best management practices on private lands for the benefit of fish habitat.

Work Element B (119) – Manage and Administer Projects
The successful management and administration of this project is critical to the continued support from BPA and other agencies that may seek to coordinate funding (e.g., project matching funds) with BPA to implement steelhead habitat restoration efforts.

Work Element G (99) – Seek Landowner Comments on Watershed Restoration/Protection Strategies, and Current Conditions.
Since the majority of habitat restoration efforts by the Latah SWCD will be on private lands, active coordination between private landowners and conservation agencies with technical and financial resources, including BPA, will allow for the identification and successful implementation of best management practices on private lands that are mutually beneficial to landowners and conservation agencies.

Work Element H (114) – Prioritize Individual Restoration Sites by Subwatershed.
With limited technical and financial assistance, it is imperative that priority restoration sites are identified in order to begin the process of coordinating landowner interest with technical and financial resources from conservation agencies that will be highly effective habitat restoration efforts.

Work Element I (174) – Write 10 Landowner Conservation Plans and 5 Associated Grant/Contract Proposals.
Landowner conservation plans are necessary to identify and guide the proposed restoration efforts that are of interest to the landowner and potential conservation agencies with the necessary technical and financial resources.  Once developed, conservation plans are presented to conservation agencies for funding and staffing considerations.

Objective 3 - Augmentation of existing monitoring efforts in the Potlatch River to broaden the water quality and fish resource data baseline.  

Work Element D (157) – Collect Water Quality and Flow Data.
The on-going collection of water quality and flow data will serve the development of baseline watershed conditions to measure watershed changes in the future.  This information is critical to the understanding of current conditions and for the development of future evaluation efforts to measure watershed changes and best management practice effectiveness.
  
Work Element E (162) – Analyze Resource Data within Subbasin.
Continued analysis of newly generated, or discovered, resource data is critical to the update of the Restoration Plan.  The incorporation of new resource data will maintain the effectiveness of the Restoration Plan as a management tool for conservation agencies working on restoration efforts within the watershed.

The remaining Work Elements are required components of BPA contracts and will be completed as required by BPA.

The project will be sponsored and facilitated by the Latah SWCD using technical and local expertise from federal, tribal, state, local agencies, local landowners and community members.

Relationship to NPPC Fish and Wildlife Program

The Potlatch River Watershed Restoration proposal is consistent with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s (NPCC) desire to develop a habitat-based program that seeks to rebuild healthy, naturally producing fish and wildlife populations by protecting, mitigating, and restoring habitats.  Work conducted in connection to this proposal is meant to address ecosystem restoration by mitigating the source of impact to fish and wildlife habitats and biological systems. The objective of the project will be to restore and enhance the environmental characteristics of the Potlatch River watershed by treating impacts from land uses so that the biological performance of fish and wildlife species is enhanced or restored.