Project Goal:

The objective of this project is to implement wildlife mitigation activities under the Southern Idaho Wildlife Mitigation Program in order to protect, enhance and/or restore and maintain riparian, shrub-steppe, and scrub-shrub wetland habitat at suitable sites in the Middle Snake Province as mitigation for wildlife losses associated with the construction of Black Canyon, Deadwood and Anderson Ranch hydro-electric projects.  Target fish and wildlife species include mule deer, elk, mallard, mink, black-capped chickadee, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, spruce grouse, greater sage-grouse, redband trout, and bull trout. This contract has been developed to cover personnel, administrative, and operating costs related to the Wilson/101 Ranch acquisition.  

Background:

In southern Idaho, BPA is responsible for mitigating wildlife habitat losses identified in the Council's Fish and Wildlife Program in the area covered by the Southern Idaho Wildlife Mitigation (SIWM) project.  The SIWM group includes the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and the Idaho Fish and Game Department.

Property Background:

The Wilson Ranch is a 938 acre ranch located on the East Fork Owyhee River in Mountain City, Nevada. The ranch was purchased in November 2009 and the Tribes took possession of the property in February 2010. The ranch  consists of six parcels, three of which are bisected by the East Fork Owyhee River. Habitats present on the ranch include sagebrush steppe, deciduous scrub-shrub wetland, deciduous shrubland, riverine, agriculture, and pasture. The property was purchased as partial mitigation for wildlife habitat lost due to the construction and inundation of Anderson Ranch Dam and Reservoir in the Middle Snake Province. The baseline minimum irreducible number of habitat units (HUs) credited to BPA's wildlife mitigation debt in the basin is  557 HUs.

During the first year of the project, much of the work will focus on gathering information relative to the extent and condition of each habitat type, condition and status of improvements, absence/absence/extent of noxious weeds, status of the irrigation system, etc.. All of this information will be utilized to inform the management plan that will be developed by the end of the fiscal year. Other work this year will involve cleaning up the property, repairing and maintaining boundary fences and improvements on the U.S. Forest Service allotments that were acquired in conjunction with the ranch to retain the property's full value.  The hay production will be contracted out and income generated will be put back into the program and also reported on in an annual report for BPA, until such time as the Tribes can acquire haying equipment.  As property taxes are an incident of ownership, the Tribe will retain responsibility for payment.