The Scope of Work and budget presented in this document represent the activities associated with the Coeur 'd Alene Tribe's resident fish enhancement project on Hangman Creek within the Spokane Sub-basin corresponding to the contract period May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017.  Total amount of this budget request is $391,000  The Coeur d'Alene Tribe has requested to BPA that a transfer of $29,000 additional dollars to be made to Project 2001-032-00 from funds available to BPA project 1990-044-00 in order to fulfill needs for restoration supplies. 2001-032-00 is in the midst of an active implementation phase following inventory and assessment which started in 2002 which includes the extensive use of heavy equipment to rebuild historical channel and floodplain conditions. Lands prioritized for restoration and later purchased thru Avista mitigation funding were part of a large project called k' wne' 'ulchiyark'wmntsut designed to reactivate relic channels and floodplain swales and restore the connection between the stream channels and riparian zones. Phase 1 was completed in summer 2014-5 and Phase 2 was completed in 2015 as part of Contract 68858

Ongoing objectives include:
o Determine areas that are in need of restoration to supply spawning and rearing habitat for Redband and other naturally reproducing trout.
o Support an educational outreach program to facilitate a “holistic watershed protection process managed thru BPA Project 1990-044-00.
o Implement a habitat/in-stream restoration strategy that will provide self-sustaining, naturally reproducing, and harvestable populations of native trout.
o Implement a monitoring and evaluation program to determine the effectiveness of habitat/in-stream restoration project.


The Hangman Creek watershed has experienced land use changes that have resulted in degraded in-stream habitat for fish and other aquatic species.  Conserving habitats in the upper tributaries is a priority along with increasing fish distribution and reconnecting fragmented populations. A primary method of accomplishing habitat enhancement is to enlist beaver in a holistic strategy to address multiple ecological and hydrologic process deficiencies. Beaver influenced channel and floodplain morphology and vegetation historically, but alteration of their habitat and trapping have substantially reduced their influence and the ability for their populations to rebound.  The absence of large wood as a dam foundation and impacts to the availability of suitable dam-building material in the riparian zone have influenced the resilience of beaver dams currently, which tend to blow out during high flow and/or ice melt.  If conditions could be made more favorable for their re-establishment, it is likely that channel conditions and in-stream habitat could be restored closer to the pre-settlement state, thereby restoring fish habitat, the riparian zone, and the floodplain in the process.

The following work will facilitate measured progress toward achieving the objectives for the project during this scope of work:

  
1)
Implementing restoration designs for utilizing beaver as a partner in restoring natural hydrologic function, overbank flow, and connection between stream and riparian.
Over-bank flows will be much more frequent because of an improved entrenchment ratio with the newly established channel in WE E. A similar project on Sheep will force flood waters onto the flood plane more frequently and ease pressure on a new channel yet to be activated. With these improvements in place, riparian restoration can proceed to ultimately provide better canopy cover over the channel and increased bank stabilization. With a healthy riparian area, complete with species that beaver need, we can expect habitat conditions to reach a stable equilibrium. WE I utilizes funding from an EPA Grant award for $74,000 to restore riparian habitat in areas of Phase 1 and 2 of k'wne' 'ulchiyark'wmntsut. WE E utilizes funding from Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI) in the amount of 34,000 to build a relief channel for Phase 3 of  k'wne' 'ulchiyark'wmntsut. This will activate a relict channel with an existing and more natural channel form. WE J provides matching sources for riparian supplies awarded through WNTI. A third grant award is expected to be announced in March 2016 providing voluntary labor and plant supplies from the Spokane Falls Chapter of Trout Unlimited. WE K provides matching funding for this riparian restoration on the 4th Phase of   k'wne' 'ulchiyark'wmntsut. WE H will provide a temporary source of food and building materials for beaver by providing clipping at key locations at known beaver activities.

WE G is a large woody debris addition on Indian Creek within Stimson Lumber Co. property. This is part of a two- year plan to add wood to all three forks of Indian Creek.


2)
RM&E activities will involve a continuation of fish habitat surveys to track spawning and rearing conditions available to salmonids (WE U); continuous temperature monitoring throughout the watershed (WE W); as well as discharge and hydrolab monitoring (WE V).

RM& E activities associated with trout populations and movement include summer backpack electroshock surveys (WE L) evaluate status and trends in redband trout populations, and spring migration trapping (WE M & N ) and associated WE P will expand a new protocol for the project which involves using PIT tag technology to monitor seasonal movements of redband trout in specific reaches of the upper Hangman watershed. A fixed PIT-tag station will be installed at two locations on Hangman Creek to monitor mainstem use by redband trout, one at the mouth of Indian Creek, and a 2nd at the mouth of Nehchen Creek, and a new one at the mouth of Smith Creek.

Non-native fish removal began last summer on Nehchen Creek to remove cutthroat trout who were illegally introduced into the watershed in 1993. WE's N and O will work in connection with WE Q to accomplish this goal.

3)
A two-year annual report will be done within this contract, as we are on a schedule of producing one RM&E and summary of restoration work completed on a biannual basis.