Administrative work associated with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Southern Idaho Wildlife Mitigation Program to mitigate for habitat losses caused by the construction and flooding of the Palisades and Minidoka Dams.  

The acquisition of habitat to mitigate for losses due to hydropower development is the cornerstone of the NPCC Fish and Wildlife Program (NPCC 2001).  This is accomplished through the protection of either existing high quality habitat areas or sites with a high potential for restoration.  The process of protecting habitat is a multistep process outlined by the NPCC Fish and Wildlife Program (NPCC 2000) and SIWM MOA (SBT and BPA1997).  All easement and fee-title acquisitions must also be consistent with tribal land acquisition policies and agreed to by the tribal council.  

Task 1.  Identify potential mitigation habitats.
Habitats suitable for mitigation is based on the habitats lost according the the impact assessments for Palisades (Sather-Blair and Preston 1985) and Minidoka (Martin and Meuleman 1989) Dams.  SBT SIWM works with other SIWM members, other conservation and wildlife management organizations, and local real estate agents to identify potential properties and willing landowners for fee-title acquisition or easements of property which match the lost habitats.  

Task 2.  Complete due diligence and federal compliance requirements.    
To meet the federal requirements associated with land acquisition all potential mitigation properties must have a complete appraisal by a certified appraiser. In addition an environmental land audit to ensure potential mitigation sites are free of contaminants, cultural resource surveys, and other NEPA requirements must be completed.  

Task 3.  Secure fee-title, conservation easement, or other long-term management agreement.
After the due diligence is performed to secure a parcel, SBT SIWM works with BPA real estate staff and the title company to coordinate wire transfer, deed modification and closing.

Task 4.  Credit BPA with HUs in intergovernmental contract.
At time of purchase a desktop HEP analysis is performed to estimate the minimum number of baseline HU’s to be credited to BPA against losses caused by hydropower development.