Contract Description: The Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP, 2003-017-00) is an ongoing collaborative effort to design, test, implement and evaluate Status and Trends Monitoring for salmon and steelhead populations and their habitat, and watershed-scale Effectiveness Monitoring for management actions impacting salmon and steelhead populations and habitat in the Interior Columbia River Basin.

ISEMP explicitly addresses work requirements of many 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion RPAs (56.1, 56.2, 56.3, 57.1, 57.2, 57.3, 57.4, 57.5) and is directly related to additional 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion implementation strategy requirements and recommendations. ISEMP takes a pilot-project approach to the research and development of monitoring by implementing experimental programs in several major subbasins of the Interior Columbia: the Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow, John Day, South Fork Salmon and Lemhi River basins. The overall goal of the project is to provide regional salmon management agencies with the data, information and tools necessary to design efficient and effective monitoring programs. Specifically, ISEMP generates quantitative guidance on and examples of: the robustness and limitations of population and habitat monitoring protocols, indicators and metrics; sampling design approaches for the distribution of monitoring effort in time and space; analytical approaches to the evaluation of monitoring data, information and programs; effective data management and communication designs that support the use, standardization and compilation of implementation, compliance, status, trends and effectiveness monitoring data by regional data generators and decision makers; and finally the design and implementation of watershed-scale restoration actions to maximize both the biological impact and associated learning opportunities resulting from the design and implementation strategy. Through its work to date, ISEMP has developed expertise in the coordination and implementation of large-scale monitoring data collection programs. Applying this experience, ISEMP coordinates the installation, maintenance and calibration of in-stream PIT tag arrays across the Snake River basin and is designing and coordinating the implementation of a Columbia River basin-wide stream habitat status and trends monitoring. These programmatic implementation facets of ISEMP leverage previous experience with logistics and social factors to effectively implement comprehensive, standardized monitoring research and development at an unprecedented scale.  

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.  Terraqua's role has been, and continues to be, to enable the Bonneville Power Administration to continue to implement Project #2003-017-00 in the Wenatchee and Entiat and other pilot subbasins. In 2015, this contract continues work from previous contracts such as coordination in the Upper Columbia and at a programmatic level with ISEMP partners, status and trend habitat monitoring in three subbasins in the Upper Columbia (Wenatchee, Entiat and Methow), habitat effectiveness monitoring in the Entiat IMW, fish sampling in the Little Wenatchee, analyze and report results related to the implementation of monitoring activities and manage, and administer the contract. New in 2015, the scope of work that Terraqua will undertake for fish effectiveness monitoring in the Entiat IMW will expand to include Terraqua being responsible leading and staffing field crews for all tagging in the mainstem and Mad River, outside of the rotary screw trap which will continue to be operated and maintained by USFWS, during two seasons. This is a change from previous contracts when Terraqua provided 6 personnel to support USFWS in this monitoring effort. This change is in response to staffing issues in USFWS where recent staff turnover and hiring restrictions from the Service’s regional office means USFWS is not able to staff enough field technicians to implement the Entiat IMW fish monitoring effort.  This expansion in scope is supported by a de-obligation of funds from USFWS FY15 contract to Terraqua's FY15 contract in the amount of $106,456. Future contracts will reflect the reduction in scope and funding for USFWS and a concurrent increase in scope and funding for Terraqua.