Background: The purpose of this project is to develop, evaluate, prioritize and implement selected habitat restoration and enhancement projects in: (a) the Grande Ronde and Imnaha subbasins, and the Wallowa, Lostine & Pine watersheds in northeast Oregon; and (b) the Tucannon River, Alpowa Creek and Asotin Creek watersheds in southeast Washington. Leadership and collaboration within existing partnerships with the Grande Ronde Model Watershed, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, private landowners, the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board, Conservation Districts and other entities informs and supports project identification and selection through rigorous evaluation and prioritization, and ongoing development and implementation assistance. In addition, Watershed Program staff continues to pursue new partnerships and project collaborators across NE Oregon and SE Washington.

    • Projects in Eastern Oregon are evaluated and prioritized on the basis of the Atlas implementation framework. Together, the Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) and The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) collaborated with several local partners in the Grande Ronde Sub basin to develop the Atlas in Wallowa County. The Atlas is a dynamic tool that utilizes existing empirical data, current research evidence, and the knowledge of local biologists to create a collaborative, strategic, and prioritized habitat restoration implementation plan. The plan synthesizes critical information, subbasin conditions, and recovery plan priorities to strategically identify and prioritize targeted restoration actions and locations to improve aquatic habitat and increase the productivity, abundance, and distribution of focal fish species (spring/summer Chinook salmon, fall Chinook salmon, coho salmon, summer steelhead, Pacific lamprey, and bull trout).
    •  Within Washington State the Tribe and project partners utilize subbasin and recovery plans, with an emphasis on the Tucannon River Geomorphic Assessment and Habitat Restoration Study (2011), and the Assessment and Restoration Strategy developed for Asotin County. The assessments further an understanding of process and function in the basin, and serve to inform and prioritize restoration actions in key areas for spring/summer Chinook salmon, summer steelhead and bull trout.

Summary: This contract provides project development, evaluation, coordination, design and implementation funding for the NPT, in support of watershed restoration projects on the ground through direct BPA program funding or outside (WA/OR grant) funding sources. In addition to implementation of Atlas, assessment, sub basin, and recovery plan driven restoration continued contract activities include identifying and evaluating projects, coordinating with other entities to develop and manage implementation priorities, and seeking funds to implement selected and prioritized projects. Typically, the primary focus of restoration projects during the contract period will be efforts to reduce instream sedimentation, channel reconstruction and enhancement to improve habitat complexity, riparian planting to reduce stream temperatures, and addressing passage barriers to increase available in-channel habitat area.  Other project types may occur during this period too, but the majority of the time will be spent implementing these projects and developing these types of projects for the next contract cycle.

Current Emphasis (FY19): In addition to the ongoing project activities described for this contract, the NPT will:
  --  complete the design, permitting, and pre-construction and construction activities for the Side-Channel Development and Floodplain Complexity habitat improvement project in the Wallowa River at the Homeland Site (Tamkaliks Side-Channel);
  --  move forward with the final design product, and complete permitting, pre-construction and construction activities for the Fish Passage and Habitat Improvement project at the Buford Creek Barrier Culvert (Hwy129), currently at the WSDOT approved design and preliminary permit stage.
  --  the other newly initiated design work described in the SOW

Ongoing (WA): Included in this contract is ongoing support for the NPT that sustains the development of future habitat projects, the prioritization across multiple watersheds, and the refinement of work planning, consistent with the Tribes' sovereignty and self-governance. In SE Washington, the NPT will assist with the identification, evaluation, selection and sequencing of projects for implementation pursuant to the prioritized restoration strategy of the Tucannon Programmatic Habitat Project (#2010-077-00), and partner with SRSRB participants to implement those projects. This contract continues the NPT role anticipated in this Habitat Project and in the Tucannon Programmatic Project to: (a) perform project evaluation and selection, implementation management, monitoring planning, data collection, outreach, and other tasks where tribal staff can provide expertise and capacity; and (b) be an implementer of the on-the-ground project construction activities for projects identified in the Programmatic work plan, and in the sub-regional Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan.