Contract History:

Beginning in 2000, this project evolved from the 1996 Newsome Creek Haysfork Gloryhole Project (one of the original Clearwater Early Action projects).  This comprehensive restoration effort focuses on mitigating and restoring limiting factors to fisheries production.  The primary limiting factors are excessive sedimentation into the spawning and rearing areas of streams, and the lack of available habitat and habitat connectivity.  These limiting factors result from forest management activities, specifically road building (watershed has very high road densities), and mining.  

Completed contract work includes the completion of the Newsome Creek Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale (EAWS), road condition surveys completed for the entire watershed (approximately 220 miles), 6 miles of road decommissioning, 2.5 miles of road improvement, 15 miles of road decommissioning preparation, culvert/stream crossing inventories completed for all high priority sites, replacement of the Mare Creek culvert, Newsome Creek Channel Restoration Feasibility Study, the completed NEPA process for Newsome Creek Watershed Restoration Project, and the subcontracting of the final design for the Newsome Creek channel reconstruction.

This project has been, and is still currently a part of the Nez Perce National Forest - Nez Perce Tribe Watershed Restoration Partnership.  Since the project’s inception, we have shared project planning, costs, and implementation responsibilities.  

Summary of FY 08 Contract Implementation:

FY 08 contract implementation will include the technical oversight and associated project implementation/effectiveness monitoring and evaluation of the Mule Creek culvert replacement and Newsome Phase II road decommissioning which will be implemented by the Forest Service (Nez Perce National Forest) under a separate BPA-NPNF contract of this project.  The newly and previously replaced culverts, newly and previously decommissioned and improved roads, and the overall stream habitat will be also be monitored and evaluated in order to determine the success of the ongoing watershed restoration efforts.