In FY2016, Terraqua, Inc will continue to be intimately involved in both programmatic oversight and implementation of CHaMP across the Columbia River Basin.  Terraqua was instrumental in the development and initial execution of CHaMP and will continue to participate in planning and oversight as a member of the technical management team via frequent conference calls and face-to-face meetings.  In addition, Terraqua organizes and coordinates the annual training event, provides instructors for the different modules, and crew who participate in the training prior to beginning field work.  Terraqua will continue to be involved in CHaMP tool development, primarily through providing the CHaMP geomorphologist, but also with other staff where needed (e.g., analysis).  This involvement allows for improvements in field data processing and derivation of data into simple and complex metrics; support for the use of CHaMP data by analysts to address watershed-specific goals and to provide watershed-level context for site level information; developing approaches to extrapolate site level data to the entire network and ultimately feed data into decision support products such as the ISEMP life-cycle model. Terraqua will continue to work with its CHaMP partners and collaborators, BPA and other regional interested parties to prioritize these efforts, for example, for efforts such as providing information to the Expert Panel Process or to aid in BPA in a monitoring synthesis to inform AMIP, respond to BPA's synthesis and evaluation of data to aid in CE and BA development, guide adaptive management at the watershed and basin-scale and respond to ISRP/AB NPCC requests.  Terraqua also provides the lead technical writers and editors on the compilation of material from CHaMP collaborators for inclusion in an annual RME technical report, published jointly with the Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP; BPA Project 2003-017).  Terraqua will also implement CHaMP in the Wenatchee, Entiat and Methow subbasins at up to 68 sites. Terraqua also supports the implementation of CHaMP across the Columbia River Basin by sub-contracting with Rhithron Associates for the processing of macroinvertebrate samples; with Watershed Solutions Inc to lead the coordination of technical matters related to the development and implementation of CHaMP; and with Okanogan Highland Events for logistical and security support during the annual training event.

Timeline:

2011- coordinate CHaMP across the CRB and implement CHaMP in the UC
2012 – coordinate CHaMP across the CRB and implement CHaMP in the UC
2013 – coordinate CHaMP across the CRB and implement CHaMP in the UC
2014 - coordinate CHaMP across the CRB and implement CHaMP in the UC

2015 Contract was amended to add additional funds to the budget to cover work requested by AEM that is outside the original scope of Terraqua's contract. This work is identified in WE C 18.1c  Conduct CHaMP fish habitat surveys in the Entiat river watershed; Terraqua has been coordinating with AEM to collect additional data required by AEM at selected CHaMP sites identified by AEM monitored as part of the IMW effectiveness monitoring by Terraqua. Habitat monitoring in the Entiat IMW is implemented under a split rotating panel design. One of two sites identified by AEM for sampling in 2015 is not scheduled to be sampled by Terraqua this year. In order for Terraqua to be able to add this site to its schedule additional funds in the amount of $4,547 have been added to the contract. Contract budget was also amended with an additional $15,650 to reflect actual costs incurred in FY14 for Terraqua staff to support AEM implementation in the Upper Columbia in 2015.

Background:
In support of habitat restoration, rehabilitation and conservation action performance assessments and adaptive management requirements of the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion (FCRPS BiOp), the Bonneville Power Administration is working with NOAA and other regional fish management agencies to monitor status and trends of fish habitat for each major population group (MPG) in the Pacific Northwest identified through the Endangered Species Act (ESA).   Status monitoring provides information on the quantity and quality of current habitat and thus maximizes spatial coverage with a given number of sample sites.  Trend monitoring is used to detect changes in habitat through time and thus requires repeat samples at given sites.  Minimizing sampling and measurement error is crucial in order to differentiate this variability from natural variability though time and space.  

In order to compare information across multiple MPGs, BPA is adopting a standardized fish habitat monitoring protocol, the Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (CHaMP) for the Columbia River Basin monitoring programs.  CHaMP is a Columbia River basin-wide habitat status and trends monitoring program built around a single habitat monitoring protocol with a program-wide approach to data collection and management which meets FCRPS Action Agency (2010) programmatic prescriptions for habitat monitoring.    CHaMP will help BPA meet the requirements of the 2008 FCRPS BiOp and RPA 56.3.  This program will provide information on the status/trends in habitat conditions, and will support habitat restoration, rehabilitation and conservation actions, performance assessments, and the adaptive management requirements of the 2008 FCRPS BiOp.  In addition, the CHaMP meets RPA 56.3, RPA 57, and RPA 3 by characterizing stream and fish responses to watershed restoration and/or management actions in at least one population within each steelhead and Chinook MPG which have, or will have, fish in-fish out monitoring (identified in RPA 50.6).  The watersheds originally identified for CHaMP include: Hood River, Wind River, Toppenish, Klickitat, Fifteen Mile, Lower Mainstem JD, North Fork JD, Upper Mainstem JD, Middle Fork JD, South Fork JD, Umatilla, Upper Grande Ronde, Catherine Ck, Imnaha, Lolo Ck, Tucannon, Asotin, SF Salmon, Big Ck, Lemhi, Pahsimeroi, Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow, and Okanogan.  These watersheds were chosen to maximize the contrast in current habitat conditions and also represent a temporal gradient of expected change in condition through planned habitat actions.  CHaMP was implemented  in the first year of implementation FY11, in a subset of these subbasins, which are referred to as the pilot watersheds and include: Lower Mainstem JD, North Fork JD, Upper Mainstem JD, Middle Fork JD, South Fork JD, Upper Grande Ronde, Catherine Ck, Tucannon, SF Salmon, Lemhi, Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow, In FY15, CHaMP will be implemented in these same pilot watersheds but implement a reduction in sampling intensity by ELR in the John Day.  Coordination and support of CHaMP deliverables associated with additional watersheds beyond those included in the list of pilot watersheds are outside the scope and budget of this contract.

CHaMP collaborators will be supported by cross-project data management, stewardship and analysis staff, annual pre- and post-season meetings, annual field protocol and data management tool implementation training sessions.  The project collaborators worked with the US Forest Service PIBO staff monitoring program to coordinate on "efficiencies" with implementation of both the CHaMP and PIBO monitoring programs through FY15, and continue to coordinate with and support BPA's Acton Effectiveness Monitoring (AEM) program; however, substantial AEM development and implementation support is outside the scope and budget of this contract.

(1)             Roles
CHaMP staff - refers to individuals under contract with BPA through the following list of contractors (e.g. Terraqua Inc., QCI, SFR, Sitka) and includes Chris Jordan (NOAA) who is principle investigator of Project #2011-006.  Collaborators/Collaborating Agencies:  Refers to those contractors implementing CHaMP status/trend monitoring under Project #2011-006. First-Time Collaborators - Refers to collaborators whose first year of sampling is 2014.  Returning Collaborators - Refers to collaborators whose first year of sampling was 2011, 2012 or 2013.  The CHaMP Lead Coordinator, with support staff, coordinates all program activities: 1) among ISEMP/CHaMP staff, 2) between ISEMP/CHaMP staff and program funders and cost share partners (e.g. BPA, PNAMP, NOAA Fisheries, etc.), 3) between ISEMP/CHaMP staff and policy makers with interests in program operations, design, and results (e.g. BPA, NOAA Fisheries, PNAMP, co-managers, and other federal/tribal/state agencies, etc.), 4) between ISEMP/CHaMP staff and contracting officers, environmental compliance officers, and others responsible for the execution of this work and work related to CHaMP, 5) between ISEMP/CHaMP staff and technical staff from other related programs such as PNAMP, ISTM, USFS/BLM, and state/tribal habitat monitoring programs such as those run by WDOE, and ODEQ, and 6) between ISEMP/CHaMP staff and biologists and field crews of collaborating agencies. The Program Coordinator manages budgets and scopes of work to ensure that all CHaMP objectives and deliverables are met.  The CHaMP Lead Technical Coordinator leads the coordination of the technical work of the various CHaMP collaborators in the continuing development and implementation of CHaMP to meet the needs of BPA and other management institutions to the extent deemed necessary by BPA.  This requires extensive coordination with the numerous entities who are participating in CHaMP, particularly in the area of protocol development, preseason planning, training, data capture, data storage, raw data quality assurance/control and metric generation, data management, analysis, reporting, and dissemination of information.  The Lead Technical Coordinator represents the interests of CHaMP at meetings of the pilot subbasin coordinators and coordinates electronically and in-person with these coordinators and other entities that are developing protocols, training, data management systems, analysis, reporting, and document/conference preparation materials related to CHaMP.  The Lead Technical Coordinator also coordinates with BPA and the Council to highlight issues and address them with the proper technical leads in order to develop a smoother data flow throughout the program, provides support for the CHaMP Project Management Team to ensure the CHaMP program meets the scientific, strategic and fiduciary needs of  BPA and NOAA, and coordinates (in conjuction with Sitka) and participates as a member of the Data Management Advisory Team.  Additional duties include technical program oversight, leadership, budgeting, meeting facilitation, work planning, metric/indicator and measurement oversight, and regional coordination efforts.

Program Elements:

(2) Sampling Design
A Generalized Random-Tessellation Sampling (GRTS) survey design was recommended by Crawford and Rumsey (2009) for monitoring habitat status and trend in the Columbia River Basin.  The GRTS design was initially developed under the EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program and is a probabilistic sampling design that has been shown to be advantageous for generating habitat condition parameters with known statistical characteristics.  The CHaMP monitoring design follows a  GRTS design with a 3 year rotating 1-to-1 split panel structure to distribute sampling effort in space and time, and has management tools for sampling design.  Implementing a GRTS survey design correctly is critical to producing a final dataset with known statistical characteristics requiring the implementation of strict procedures during the site evaluation and selection process.  A GRTS Site Selection Protocol and Tool is provided to each collaborator to support field crews with efficiently completing the process while strictly enforcing design requirements.  

(3) Field Sampling
Habitat field sampling will follow the Bouwes et al. (2011) protocol, modified in 2012, 2013 and 2014  in response to Pilot-year "lessons-learned". The protocol was developed after a review of fish habitat requirements, interactions of processes that influence fish habitat, the spatial scales for the context of these interactions, and current monitoring programs.  The protocol has the greatest probability of being comparable to other protocols and most relevant to salmonids and has been designed to be applied across varying spatial contexts depending on the logistical constrains of the sites.  In areas where GPS signals can be obtained, along with aerial photos, habitat units within reaches can be superimposed onto aerial photos with a map grade GPS.  In situations, where a GPS signal is not obtainable, units can be referenced to aerial photos and supplemented with on the ground measurements.  All approaches use a GPS map-grade data logger and thus do not require new gear for differing spatial contexts across related approaches.  

(i) Standardized Crew Training: Sampling and Data Capture Tool
Standardized field crew training in the recommended methods will be provided/required of all CHaMP field crews.  This standardized approach will promote crew efficiency and improved standardization across the region.  In addition to agency-specific safety and other training, CHaMP staff will provide training to support cooperating agencies that implement the recommended habitat protocol.

(ii) QA/QC crews to do repeat sampling across all participating watersheds
Repeated sampling of habitat monitoring sites within the same sampling season has proven to be an important component of GRTS-based, watershed-scale habitat monitoring.  Repeat sampling assists with 1) quality assurance/quality control, 2) the assessment of crew variability as a component of variation, and 3) providing improvements to temporal variability recognition (i.e., trend detection).  Furthermore, repeat sampling will be important to CHaMP's research goals of testing the performance of the recommended protocols across the Columbia Basin.  To achieve these objectives, in CY15 CHaMP developed, coordinated and implemented limited repeat sampling at least 1 site per CHaMP watershed by local or nearby crew(s) funded from their watershed budgets.  

(4) Data Management

For a monitoring program at the scale of the Columbia River Basin to be successful a robust data management system must be in place before initiating data collection.  Monitoring habitat in the CHaMP watersheds generates a massive volume of data.  A system of data processing, storage, analysis, reporting, and distribution is available to meet the needs of a large-scale monitoring program, such as (a) documenting monitoring objectives, study design and intended analysis; (b) summarizing how, when, and where the monitoring data were collected, (c) supporting a range of analytical methods, such as hypothesis testing, time series analysis, structural equation modeling, and GIS support; and (d) adapting to changing requirements in the future.  The data system (see www.CHaMPMonitoring.org) includes a centralized data warehouse and web-based data discovery tool; data exchange and loading procedures; a database schema that defines data storage format; metadata tools; data capture, validation, and summary tools; quality control and assurance procedures; and data stewards who support the system.

(i) Field Data Capture Tools: Hand Held Loggers
Field crews need applications to support data capture, review, summarization, and reporting and a suite of handheld and desktop tools to support both habitat and fish monitoring is available.  These tools have XML-based mechanisms to synchronize data.  This workflow includes documenting metadata about project and statistical design, entering survey event information and observations, performing quality assurance procedures, deriving metrics, and submitting data for archiving.

(ii) GIS Data Management and Geoprocessing

The large spatial scales that CHaMP  covers means that assimilating and managing spatial datasets in GIS, accounting for the geomorphic context of sampling, and performing watershed or subbasin-scale analyses are important data features within these programs.  GIS data management support, coordination, and basic processing for monitoring programs that require data management guidance or processing assistance is available and development of geospatial models, the use of remote sensing technologies to collect continuous GIS datasets, such as LIDAR and aerial photos, and integrating field-based tabular data within a geospatial context is

(iii) Data Storage and Retrieval

CHaMP has multiple groups collecting data and it is critical to have data accessible and available for use by all groups within the program.  The CHaMP data management system serves as a long-term storage facility for monitoring datasets including metadata and features online interfaces for searching, viewing, and downloading datasets and documents associated with the coordinated monitoring program. In 2015, CHaMP coordinated with other monitoring efforts such as PIBO to explore options for storing, serving, and displaying data from both/multiple programs, if/as appropriate, in a manner that could generate efficiencies and better inform management decision making.

(5) Analysis

Habitat metrics generated by CHaMP for the use by decision makers are physically driven by fluvial geomorphic processes.  To understand these processes and to further develop and refine tools and analyses by which decision makers can best use the information generated by CHaMP, the CHaMP Project Geomorphologist and River Styles development team began advancing several areas of on-going geomorphic analyses in 2015.  This effort will continue in 2016.

6) Reporting

Beginning in CY2015, the Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP; BPA Project 2003-017-00) and Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (CHaMP; BPA Project Number 2011-006-00) produced a single joint technical report. Report materials are developed by ISEMP and CHaMP contractors and delivered to Terraqua, Inc. for compilation into a single report for transfer to BPA. The ISEMP/CHaMP Integrated Technical Report will focus on:

1. Results from ISEMP Intensively Monitored Watersheds (IMWs).
2. Fish status and trend data.
3. Habitat status and trend data
4. Fish/habitat relationships.
5. Method/protocol updates.

Due to the performance dates of the contracts associated with this reporting requirement (2/15/2016 - 2/14/2017) the CY2015 RME Integrated ISEMP/CHaMP Technical report will be completed under subsequent FY16 contracts.

(7) Post-season Workshop

Post-season feedback and dialogue has occurred in the form of a workshop or via other follow-up mechanisms and be used to address the questions and comments posed by the ISRP and the Council pertaining to CHaMP and to review the past field season, look at the data, discuss the protocol, review the draft logistics/RME and BiOp reports, and plan the next season. Topics covered have included a programmatic overview of CHaMP, an overview of the study design and objectives, review of the protocol and data management tools, and analytical approaches.  As of 2014 these post-season workshops were deemed no longer necessary as the protocol was stabilized.  A post-season survey continues to be sent out to CHaMP collaborators to solicit feedback on the field season to allow for further refinements ot the protocol or program as needed.