The Bowman Fish Habitat Restoration Project is located between RM 153.8 and 155.2 of the Upper Grande Ronde River, tributary to the Snake River, in Union County, Oregon. The project reach is in UGR Atlas Tier 1 habitat and this opportunity ranked 6th overall in the UGR basin. This section of the Grande Ronde River provides important spawning and rearing habitat for ESA listed spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead. Chinook and steelhead spawning and rearing occurs in the project reach. It is also used by ESA listed bull trout, Oregon Sensitive Species redband trout, and other important native fish species.

Throughout the project reach, the Grande Ronde River is over-widened and shallow. Pool habitat and wood recruitment is poor. High water temperatures impact adult Chinook salmon during migration and holding and juvenile rearing.

Salmonid winter and summer rearing, adult immigration, adult holding, and spawning/incubation/emergence have been identified by the Upper Grande Ronde science and technical advisory committee as critical life stage uses in need of immediate action for population abundance, productivity, and sustainability. Riparian condition, water temperature, side channel and wetland conditions, and floodplain condition are identified as priority limiting factors that are critical to address.

Restoration actions for this project target critical salmonid life stages and limiting factors, and include: pool development, floodplain reconnection, side channel and off-channel habitat restoration, riparian fencing, LWD placement, and channel reconstruction. This project will provide immediate benefits to ESA listed salmon and steelhead by improving and expanding migration, spawning, incubation and emergence, and summer and overwinter rearing habitats.

Objective 1
Increase quantity, quality, and diversity of habitat, particularly pools and large wood - Increase large wood , minimum of 14" (majority 18") diameter and 20' in length (majority>30'), to 22
pieces per 100 meters.

Objective 2
Increase floodplain connectivity and inundation frequency - Levee Removal, High Flow Swale Creation and Floodplain Activation.


Objective 3
Increase channel complexity with channel morphology closer to historical and natural form - Development of Side Channel and High Flow Swale Complex.

Objective 4
Increase area suitable for juvenile summer and overwinter rearing - Warm Springs Creek Re-alignment

Objective 5
Increase riparian function with appropriate native vegetation and associated woody debris recruitment potential

*   Increase future shade potential by reducing average channel width at baseflow, by narrowing the low flow channel where possible.  Also reducing the average baseflow wetted width within the project reach by 25%.

*   Plant 8 acres of native species including woody shrubs and trees and seed 10 acres with native grasses and wetland species such as sedges and rushes.

*   Continue riparian management plan or cattle and native ungulate management plan to increase likelihood of successful riparian development.

*   Replace existing 3.5 miles of high tensile riparian fencing, with 4 strand barbed wire fencing to further exclude livestock .

*   Furthermore, Objectives #1-4 will enhance conditions that will promote riparian function

Objective 6
Increase area suitable for adult spawning - Maintain existing or increase adult Chinook spawning in the project reach through increased presence of exposed 1” to 3” gravels in the active channel.

Objective 7 - Improve sediment sorting and routing