Performance Work Statement:

The objective of the project is to conduct the daily operation and maintenance of wildlife lands that have been acquired through the Spokane Tribe Wildlife Mitigation Project (1991-062-00), formerly the Blue Creek Winter Range Project, which has acquired a total of 4376.64 acres with the addition of 1053.13 acres in FY06.  These lands will be be incorporated into this O&M contract with only minimal activities such as fencing and weed control being conducted prior to the completion of the Site Specific Management Plan that will occur within 18 months of acquisition.  All fencing and weed control efforts will be as identified in this SOW.

The project focus is on maintenance of habitat through removal of domestic livestock and restoration efforts (non-BPA funding) that have been conducted on wildlife lands.  Weed control is a significant part of the project.  Many of the activities which include road maintenance and agricultural activities are used to reduce and control the spread of noxious weed on mitigation lands.  Past management had focused on mechanical control efforts that have had minimal success.  Efforts in FY07 will focus on more chemical control with the use of reduced risk herbicides.  The other major activity is fence construction and removal.  With the property base increasing from 1863 acres in FY03 to 4376 acres at the start of FY07 there are large amounts of boundary fences to be repaired.  Also a large amount of the land is adjacent to existing WMA's, so there has been an increase of interior fences that need to be removed.


Project History:

The purpose of the Spokane Tribe Wildlife Mitigation Operation & Maintenance project is for the management of wildlife lands that have been purchased through the Tribes Blue Creek Winter Range project.  The O&M project began in 1998 with management activities beginning on the initial 1863 acres of land that was purchased on the Spokane Indian Reservation in 1996 through 1998.

The initial activities began with conducting Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) surveys on those properties.  The HSI models that were used for HEP analysis included White-tailed deer, Mule Deer, Yellow warbler (for Riparian forest), Sharp-tailed grouse, Ruffed grouse, and Western Meadowlark (for Mourning dove) for the losses that were associated with the construction and inundation of Grand Coulee Dam.  The results of the HEP analysis were then used to help direct the management activities that take place on the Wildlife properties.  The primary activities that have been conducted include, but are not limited too, fencing (removal, construction, and repair), noxious weed control (mechanical), access road maintenance, and site clean-up.  Enhancement activities that have take place on these land include native grass establishment, native tree & shrub establishment, tree thinning (forest health), riparian/stream channel restoration, and water development.  Funding of enhancement activities through the O&M project has been limited to only a few small scale projects.  Large scale enhancements have been funded by the Spokane Tribe of Indians, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.  

In 2001, the project began to collect and monitoring wildlife population data on the mitigation lands.  Surveys include Ruffed Grouse Drum Counts, Bird Point Counts, Small Mammal Trapping, and Big Game Counts.  The purpose of the surveys is to determine if the wildlife populations are responding to the habitat management activities that are occurring on these properties.  Baseline data is being collected on sites, some of which have been deteriorated by past management such as agricultural and grazing.  The sites will be monitoring at pre-determined interval in the future to see the species response to the O&M and enhancement activities that are and/or will be conducted into the future.

In 2004-2005, the Blue Creek Winter Range Project acquired an additional 1460 acres that now fall under the O&M project.  These new lands will be incorporated into the O&M project with the updating of the Site Specific Management Plans that will be completed in FY2006.


COST-SHARE ACTIVITIES ON WMA's:

The Spokane Tribe of Indians (STOI) and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) are working together to conduct habitat enhancement activities on riparian and upland habitat of some Wildlife Mitigation Area's.  Enhancements that occur on BPA acquired projects but are funded by non-BPA dollars will be reported on within the Annual Progress Report.


PROJECT INCOME:

Any revenue that is generated from land that was purchased through the Spokane Tribe Blue Creek Winter Range Project will be documented within the Annual Progress Report.