Background: The purpose of this project is to develop, evaluate, prioritize and implement selected habitat restoration and enhancement projects in: (a) the Grande Ronde & 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. This will be accomplished through pursuing partnerships and collaborative activities with the ongoing programs associated with Grande Ronde Model Watershed and Snake River Salmon Recovery Board. Projects selected will be evaluated and prioritized on the basis of the existing conceptual restoration strategies or implementation frameworks (e.g., Atlas) developed in the Tucannon, Asotin County, and Grande Ronde watersheds.

Summary: This project provides coordination funding for NPT, to support implementation of watershed restoration projects on the ground through direct BPA program funding or outside (WA/OR grant) funding sources. Therefore, the emphasis in contract activities will be identifying and evaluating projects, coordinating with other entities to develop and manage implementation priorities, seeking funds to implement selected and prioritized projects, and the actual implementation of the projects.  Typically, the primary focus of restoration projects during the contract period will be efforts to reduce instream sedimentation, channel reconstruction 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 (FY18): In addition to the ongoing project activities described for this contract, the NPT will:
  --  advance the design, permitting, and pre-construction and/or construction activities for the Side-Channel Development and Floodplain Complexity habitat improvement project in the Wallowa River at the Homeland Site (Tamkaliks Side-Channel); and
  --  if funds are made available during the period, move toward a near-final design product for the Fish Passage and Habitat Improvement project at the Buford Creek Barrier Culvert (Hwy129), currently at a 60% design-stage.

Ongoing (WA): This NPT support contract facilitates the development of future projects and the refinement of work planning, consistent with the Tribes' sovereignty and self-governance; the NPT will assist with the identification, evaluation, selection and sequencing of projects for implementation pursuant to the prioritized restoration strategy of the Tucannon Habitat Programmatic [#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.