The project is located on a private ranch 1.7 miles west of Union, Oregon on Catherine Creek in the Upper Grande Ronde River Basin.  Catherine Creek is a major tributary to the Grande Ronde River.  The project encompasses approximately 30 acres and both banks of 0.75 miles main stem Catherine Creek and associated wetlands.  The project area is located at River mile 37 upstream from the Grande Ronde River confluence and within Reach UGS10A (Summer Steelhead) and Reach CCC3 (Spring-Summer Chinook) (Northeast Oregon Snake River Recovery Plan, Draft (NOAA, March 2012) and BiOp Expert Panel Draft Reach Delineations (BPA/BOR, April 2012).  Geographically, these reaches encompass Middle Catherine Creek from the confluence of Pyles Creek upstream to the North and South Forks of Catherine Creek.  The Project Area is also located within Reach 3 of the Bureau of Reclamation Tributary Assessment (BOR, February 2012) and has been identified as one of the highest priority reaches for restoration actions.

The overall goal of the project is to address critical habitat limiting factors in Catherine Creek, a spawning and rearing tributary for Spring-Summer Chinook Salmon and Summer Steelhead in the Upper Grande Ronde River Basin and to restore fish habitat within the natural character and function of Catherine Creek while protecting and maintaining the utility and economic viability of a working ranch.  This project’s objectives are to protect habitat, enhance floodplain connectivity and in-stream structural diversity and complexity, and enhance riparian habitat conditions assisting Salmon/Steelhead populations and habitat.  The project potentially increases water quality, reduces excessive sediment and high water temperatures, creates or enhances complex fish habitat and stream channel, especially large complex pools and large wood structures, and increases riparian vegetation.

The design for the CC-37 Project represents an approach that balances the needs and desires of the landowner with those of fish and wildlife with substantial improvements to the stream habitat.  Project benefits include an enhanced, more stable and diverse reach of Catherine Creek with higher ecosystem value especially with respect to Anadromous Salmonids.  The project area will further sustain Steelhead, Chinook, and Bull Trout as well as other species.  All will benefit from the proposed improvements to in-stream and off-channel habitats increasing the rearing capacity for these species.

In addition, the project will be protected and allowed to mature under a 10-15 year conservation easement.