Our goal is to restore healthy and harvestable salmonid populations through rehabilitation of stream habitat and restoration of ecological function in the riparian corridors of streams upstream of Grand Coulee Dam within the boundaries of the Colville Confederated Tribes reservation. Land use practices including residential and agricultural development, road building and logging have degraded habitat conditions and blocked upstream passage throughout many of the watersheds where historic tribal fishing once occurred. In order to identify and prioritize the appropriate fixes, we first need to inventory and understand the magnitude of the causes of that degradation. With that assessment in hand, we can form a plan to treat the root cause of the habitat degradation, rather than reacting to the symptoms which are observed at any one site.

It is our intention to implement a restoration strategy that will restore and be consistent with the ecological processes described in the Upper Columbia Recovery Technical Team (UCRTT) Biological Strategy and the process-based principles outlined in Beechie et al. (2010). To accomplish this, our implementation strategy will follow the basic hierarchical strategy outlined in Roni et al. (2002). This approach begins with an assessment and inventory of the habitat conditions and degradations. Where habitat is degraded, we will seek first to reconnect isolated habitats then restore processes such as riparian condition and floodplain function before implementing actions that build temporary habitat.

After three years of baseline inventory we will develop a habitat protection and restoration strategy. We will use empirical observations of habitat conditions and current fish use from our monitoring efforts and the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) model to help us evaluate where the highest priority areas are for habitat restoration and protection. EDT is an analytical model relating habitat features and biological performance to support conservation and recovery planning for salmonids (Lichatowich et al. 1995; Lestelle et al. 1996; Mobrand et al. 1997; Mobrand et al. 1998). It acts as an analytical framework that brings together information from empirical observation, local experts, and other models and analyses to determine which reaches and habitat attributes are likely to have the most benefit for improving fish performance.

The Lake Roosevelt Rainbow Trout Habitat/Passage Improvement Project (LRHIP; BPA Project No. 1990-018-00) was initiated in 1990 to increase survival of migratory rainbow trout and ultimately improve Tribal subsistence and recreational harvest opportunity (LeCaire and Peone 1991). The project was implemented in three phases. Phase I (1990-1991) consisted of baseline habitat and fish population assessments that were conducted on 21 streams in the upper Columbia River drainage in Washington, 16 of which were Colville Confederated Tribes reservation. Following the baseline assessments, four streams (all in the San Poil River drainage) were prioritized for habitat restoration action. Phase II (1992-1994) of the project consisted of implementing habitat improvements, such as riparian planting, riparian fencing, instream structures, and barrier removals (Jones 2000). Phase III (1994-2000) entailed monitoring and evaluation of the habitat improvements (Jones 1999, 2000; Sears 2001). Monitoring of fish (juvenile out-migrant trapping, spawner escapement [weir], and backpack electrofishing) and habitat was conducted on these four streams. Then in 2001, it was concluded that the restoration activities in the initial four streams were relatively successful and the project began to focus habitat assessments, fish population monitoring (juvenile trapping, adult escapement, and backpack electrofishing), and habitat restoration projects on other streams (Sears 2001). Additional components were also added, such as genetic studies of small populations of rainbows, redd surveys, barrier assessments, and temperature monitoring.

After 2000, the intent of the project was to repeat the three-phase process on a different set of streams (Sears 2003). Although, the approach was altered in that habitat assessment was conducted on only one stream each year rather than a suite of streams followed by the use of prioritization criteria to identify restoration and subsequent monitoring activities (Sears 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009). The prioritization process that was used for stream selection after 2000 is unclear. Habitat surveys were conducted on nine streams in the Sanpoil River drainage between 2001 and 2011; however, they did not follow a standard protocol so the results are difficult to evaluate and we do not believe it would be scientifically valid to try to use those results as a baseline for identifying restorations projects or long-term habitat status and trend monitoring. This project did allow personnel to get familiar with the watershed and identify some opportunities for implementing habitat restoration projects. However, under new leadership, we began to follow the scientific approach to habitat monitoring and restoration described above.

In 2012, we initiated a new standardized assessment to determine baseline habitat conditions and identify the human degradations and ecological concerns in the Barnaby, Hall, Stranger, and Nez Perce creek watersheds, which have salmonid fish production potential. We are using the methods outlined in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) protocol (ODFW 2011) to provide the baseline habitat condition information that will help to shape our monitoring program and guide our habitat rehabilitation efforts. Natural barriers to upstream movement will be identified following the approach outlined by WDFW (1999). In addition to implementing the habitat assessment protocols, we are also inventorying and quantifying the human features in the stream corridor and riparian zone that are contributing to the degraded conditions. This procedure includes a barrier inventory and assessment following the National Inventory and Assessment Procedure (NIAP 2005). Other human features such as irrigation diversions and pump intakes, dikes, levees, rip rap, and riparian clearing for agricultural and residential development are being assessed according the WDFW protocols (WDFW 1999). We are also monitoring water quality (dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity, conductivity, turbidity, temperature, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus) and discharge, and assessing macroinvertebrate drift using CHaMP protocols (Bouwes et al. 2011; champmonitoring.org) for site selection and data collection for each parameter. Per the CHaMP protocols, sampling effort is balanced across valley type (source, transport, and response valley segments). Twenty-five sites are being surveyed each year in two strata, the Sanpoil River drainage (n=25) and the east side tributaries (combined into 1 strata, n=25). Within each strata, 15 sites are fixed and surveyed every year while 10 are part of a 3 year rotating panel. Fish distribution is also being monitored at the same sites, using Integrated
Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program protocols described in (Terraqua Inc. 2009).

Future EDT modeling is dependent on the development of species survival rules and life history models for interior resident rainbow trout (redband subspecies). We are developing these rule sets and life history models in 2012. We are also implementing habitat restoration activities that were prioritized and initiated in previous years. These included completion of the culvert replacement on State Highway 21 at South Nanamkin Creek, completion of approximately 1.5 miles of riparian fencing along Twentythreemile Creek, and maintenance of more than 13 miles of existing riparian fence in the Sanpoil River drainage.

In 2013, we will continue to complete standardized habitat assessments (including natural barriers and human features), water quality, discharge, macroinvertebrates, and fish populations. In addition, we will delineate EDT reaches and Diagnostic Units (the latter being reach aggregations, or drainage areas, useful for EDT modeling of resident fish populations, develop and automate procedures for conversion of LRHIP habitat data to EDT Level 2 input parameters, and develop EDT template condition values for Level 2 input parameters. We will also continue to conduct maintenance of the approximately 14 miles of existing riparian fence.