AMENDMENT 7/2011:  This contract is being amended to include work central to fish population status and trend monitoring under the ISEMP.  This amendment allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to collaborate with ISEMP and other participating agencies (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama Nation) to conduct fish tagging surveys at status and trend sites in the Wenatchee and Entiat subbasins (described under WEs L157 and M158).  The contract is also being amended to add funding to allow USFWS to conduct monitoring in off-channel habitat in the Entiat IMW, described under WEs J157 and K158.  This amendment will add $52,294 to the contract total.

Project #2003-017-00 (Project) seeks to develop two novel monitoring and evaluation programs: (i) subbasin-scale pilot status and trend monitoring efforts for anadromous salmonids and their habitat in the Wenatchee/Entiat, John Day and South Fork Salmon River subbasins, and (ii) effectiveness monitoring for suites of habitat restoration projects in selected watersheds within the three target subbasins.  This work – critical for implementing the 2000 NMFS FCRPS Biological Opinion (RPA Actions 180, 181, and 183) (BiOp) – builds on current status and trend monitoring programs within each of these subbasins.  Several regional and local organizations are funding and implementing these programs.  In short, this project will integrate existing and new monitoring and evaluation activities in three pilot subbasins to help ensure that provisions of the BiOp are satisfied.

This contract is one of several contracts that will implement this project.  The final report for this contract will contain data that will 1) be submitted to NOAA FISHERIES (also a contractor under this project) for use in a project level integrated Annual Report and 2) be submitted to BPA as a contract final report according to the terms of this contract.  

This Scope of Work (SOW) will enable the Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) to implement the Project in the Entiat River Subbasin under an Intensively Monitored Watershed (IMW) framework with the objectives of (1) determining the effectiveness of restoration efforts in the Entiat River, (2) estimating spring Chinook salmon and steelhead smolt production, and (3) estimating life history parameters of spring Chinook and steelhead.  Specifically, within this SOW, the USFWS will achieve these objectives by 1) estimating the population, growth and survival of fish within the Entiat River Subbasin by conducting mark-recapture events at locations distributed along the river  2) estimating the smolt production of spring Chinook salmon and steelhead for the Entiat River Subbasin in 2010, and 3) estimating life history parameters of spring Chinook and steelhead by capturing and PIT tagging juvenile spring Chinook and steelhead.    

Technical methodologies for snorkel surveys and smolt trap conducted under this SOW will follow protocols specified in the following document unless Upper Columbia Regional Technical Team and USFWS mutually agree to changes to these methodologies:

Hillman, T.W.  2006.  Monitoring strategy for the Upper Columbia Basin: Draft report August 2006.  Prepared for Upper Columbia Regional Technical Team, Wenatchee, Washington.