The Wind River Watershed project is a collaborative effort to restore wild steelhead in the Wind River.  The four agencies forming the nucleus of this partnership include the US Forest Service (FS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), U.S. Geological Survey Columbia River Research Lab (CRRL), and Underwood Conservation District (UCD).  This partnership was established in the early 1990's and with support from BPA, has continued to conduct important habitat, research, monitoring and coordination activities across the subbasin.  The project works at multiple levels to identify and characterize key limiting habitat factors in the Wind River, to restore degraded habitats and watershed processes, to measure, track and document fish populations, life histories, and interactions, and to share information across agency and non-agency boundaries.

This contract funds continued habitat restoration within the Wind River watershed. The USFS contract for FY2015 includes continued operation of the Wind River Gage to support all of the habitat and monitoring efforts underway across the watershed.  The contract will also help fund the following work items:  1) removal of a fish passage barrier culvert on an unnamed tributary to Trout Creek, and replacement with a larger bottomless structure that will span the bankfull channel, and will provide a natural stream channel through the crossing.  BPA funds will be added to funding received from the USFS Legacy Roads program for this project.  BPA funding will represent approximately 25% of the project implementation cost.  2) planning and design for instream and floodplain placement of large wood in lower Trout Creek;  3)  Planting of riparian vegetation in two locations, including Layout Creek and the Hemlock Restoration Site.