Contract History:

The Restore McComas Meadows/Meadow Creek Watershed (1996-077-05) has been an ongoing project of the Nez Perce Tribe Fisheries Watershed Program since 1996.  This project is implemented in cooperation with the Nez Perce National Forest (NPNF).  The ultimate goal of the project is to restore the physical and biological characteristics of the watershed to provide quality habitat for anadromous and resident fish species that support the historical, cultural and economic practices of the Nez Perce Tribe.  The Meadow Creek watershed contains proposed critical habitat for listed species steelhead trout, potential critical habitat for bull trout, and has moderate habitat potential for spring Chinook salmon.  Restoration in this watershed focuses on restoring riparian processes by addressing increased water temperatures, increased sedimentation, cattle grazing affects, fish passage issues, and noxious weed infestations.  Previously completed contract work includes 5 culvert replacements, 53 miles of road decommissioning, installation of riparian vegetation cages, over 35,500 riparian trees planted, revegetation surveys, installation and maintenance of 5 miles of fence, re-contouring of the McComas Meadow ditch, and continued monitoring and evaluation.

Summary of FY 2010 Contract Work:

This project is part of the Nez Perce National Forest-Nez Perce Tribe Watershed Restoration Partnership with in kind contributions from the Nez Perce National Forest.  This year's contract work will include:

A) Road decommissioning-
Road densities in the Meadow Creek watershed were 4.6 miles per square mile, the highest road density in the South Fork Clearwater subbasin (USDA Forest Service 1998).  In FY 10 up to 14 miles of roads in False Creek will be decommissioned.  Road decommissioning includes re-contouring roads back to natural topography, removing all culverts, re-sloping water crossings to natural gradient, the installation of water bars, and de-compacting landing areas and skid trails which will reduce surface erosion and sediment delivery to streams.  This project will also include the removal of one major fish passage barrier culvert on North Meadow Creek.  The Nez Perce Tribe will subcontract with the Nez Perce National Forest (NPNF) who will administer the decommissioning contract.  The Nez Perce Tribe will assist in bid package preparation, contractor selection, technical oversight, final inspection, and the associated project implementation/effectiveness monitoring and evaluation.  
                                                                                                                                                                                  
B) Culvert replacement-
Farris Creek was identified as a high priority for replacement because it is undersized and does not pass all life stages of fish. This project will replace the existing 3' round culvert with a new 6' diameter culvert.  This work element will return fish passage to 1.0 miles of stream by removing and replacing existing culvert that is a juvenile coho, spring Chinook, and steelhead migration barrier.  The Nez Perce Tribe will subcontract with the Nez Perce National Forest (NPNF) who will administer the replacement contract.  The Nez Perce Tribe will assist in bid package preparation, contractor selection, technical oversight, final inspection, and the associated project implementation/effectiveness monitoring and evaluation.

C) Road improvements-
The 2002 Meadow Face stewardship project addresses the priority of road improvements due to surface erosion, eroding road fills, and high sediment loads.  This work element will improve 1.8 miles of roads within the False Creek drainage of the Meadow Creek watershed, specifically road 1851 that has high use and is currently contributing significant amounts of sediment to anadromous fish bearing streams.  The Nez Perce Tribe will subcontract with the Nez Perce National Forest (NPNF) who will administer the improvement contract.  The Nez Perce Tribe will assist in bid package preparation, contractor selection, technical oversight, final inspection, and the associated project implementation/effectiveness monitoring and evaluation.

D) Riparian planting-
Re-vegetation efforts have been ongoing in McComas Meadows since 2000 and have been successful.  However, Meadow Creek and its tributaries within McComas Meadows consist of over four miles of stream length, which was practically devoid of vegetation in the 1990s.  Additional plantings are warranted to provide a healthy, functioning riparian zone that provides shade to the stream, which will reduce lethal stream temperatures.  In FY 10 we will plant an estimated 6,000 native riparian trees, shrubs and riparian plants within the McComas Meadow area.  Species to be planted include Drummond willow, Thinleaf alder, Red osier dogwood, Nebraska sedge, Beaked sedge, Baltic rush, and Coville's rush.
  
E) Fence maintenance-
Five miles of fence were constructed in 1997 of wooden posts and a combination of rails and four-strand barbed wire to isolate and protect McComas Meadows.  Due to heavy snow loads, annual maintenance is required to maintain a properly functioning fence that protects riparian and stream habitat.

F) Completion of design for future road decommissioning and riparian restoration-
Designs are a cooperative effort between the NPT and the NPNF.  The Forest Service and the Tribe gather the necessary field data and establish project staking and identification in the field.  Generally the NPNF takes the lead, and the Nez Perce Tribe reviews and approves all designs before being solicited for bids on construction and restoration projects.  Road decommissioning and the associated habitat restoration will reduce surface erosion and sediment delivery to streams and increase bank stability while shading the water and reducing stream temperatures.  The 2002 Meadow Face stewardship project identified several areas in Meadow Creek that would benefit from road decommissioning efforts.  Previous projects in False Creek, Whitman Creek, and Orchard Creek have been implemented, and the remaining areas as identified in the EIS remain to be treated.  The North Meadow and the Meadow Face III areas are scheduled for treatment in the next phase of this plan.  Plant surveys, cultural surveys, field staking, and designs will be completed under this contract, and implementation will follow in FY 2011 and subsequent years.

G) Noxious weed treatment and native vegetation restoration-
McComas Meadows is a 670 acre grassland meadow centrally located in the Meadow Creek drainage.  Exotic, invasive weed populations within the meadow are extensive because the critical habitat and conditions of the meadow have been altered due to past management activities including excessive grazing, haying, timber harvest, and road construction.  In FY 09 a management plan was developed that will be implemented in FY 2010 by the NPT and NPNF to begin controlling noxious weed infestations, and to restore native vegetation within McComas Meadows.  

H) Continued monitoring and evaluation-
Project effectiveness monitoring:  A monitoring protocol for culvert replacements will track the status of habitat within and around the culvert, as well as the stream channel's reaction to the newly installed culvert.  Monitoring for culvert replacements includes ocular fish surveys above and below culverts, channel grade, in-culvert substrate, and profile measurements. A report on the success of previously and newly installed culverts will be completed.  Culvert replacement monitoring has been ongoing since 2005.  Per the protocol, culvert replacement monitoring in Meadow Creek is scheduled for the Rock Creek and Farris Creek culverts in FY 10.

Project effectiveness monitoring:  The Nez Perce National Forest and the Nez Perce Tribe have developed a monitoring plan for decommissioned roads.  Data is used to monitor success and for suggesting improvements that could be made.  The annual monitoring plan has established numerous monitoring sites for all roads that have been obliterated and establishes a timetable for subsequent monitoring.  Specifically in Meadow Creek evaluation of approximately 53 miles of obliterated roads will be accomplished by collecting monitoring data at five different sample sites as shown in the WE location.  Data collected for Road Obliteration Monitoring and Evaluation includes the following: locate and evaluate new mass failures, record and evaluate points of surface erosion, evaluate re-vegetation coverage and succession to native plants, measure stream channel restoration and adjustment, and evaluate whether the treatment applied was appropriate for the land type.  Periodic monitoring has been done at these sites since FY 2004 per the protocol.

Status and Trend Monitoring: A monitoring protocol for selected stream habitat reaches will track the status and trend of Meadow Creek. Information will be collected on fish abundance and distribution, macro-invertebrates, flow, temperature, sediment composition, and habitat parameters to include channel morphology, valley width index, Wolman Pebble counts, cobble embeddedness, large woody debris, bank stability, and riparian condition and density.  This data will be summarized into a monitoring report, showing trends of conditions as a result of watershed restoration activities.  Five reaches on Meadow Creek are scheduled for monitoring in FY 10.  Monitoring for some of the parameters at these reaches began in FY 1997 and periodic monitoring has occurred annually since 1997.