| | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| A | 229401 | 185 | Produce CBFish Status Report | Periodic Status Reports for BPA | The Contractor shall report on the status of milestones and deliverables in Pisces. Reports shall be completed either monthly or quarterly as determined by the BPA COTR. Additionally, when indicating a deliverable milestone as COMPLETE, the contractor shall provide metrics and the final location (latitude and longitude) prior to submitting the report to the BPA COTR. | $1,000 | 0.15% | 07/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| B | 229402 | 165 | Produce Environmental Compliance Documentation | Environmental Compliance for Projects on Forest Service Lands | All applicable NEPA, ESA, and cultural resources consultation will be completed for all contract actions. | $45,000 | 6.89% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| C | 229403 | 114 | Identify and Select Projects | Use ATLAS Matrix to Prioritize and Select Projects | BPA, NPT, NP-CNFs, IDFG, IDL, Potlatch Corp., BLM, NRCS, and the county SWCD collaborated in 2019 with local partners to develop the Atlas Prioritization Framework. This work identified the highest priority locations and a corresponding suite of restorations actions to address critical limiting factors in the Lolo Creek watershed. This collaborative, inclusive, evidence-based, and strategic process was completed in 2019 and has identified priority areas and priority actions within the Lolo Creek watershed for a period of 10 - 20 years. The Atlas framework is a living document and is managed adaptively and modified as projects are implemented and as new data and research evidence becomes available to inform restoration. | $5,000 | 0.77% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| D | 232453 | 29 | Increase Aquatic and/or Floodplain Complexity | Lolo Creek Instream Complexity, "Knock on Wood phase 1" | This restoration opportunity was identified collaboratively in 2019 during the development of the Lolo Creek Atlas and is based on the most current fish and physical habitat data. It is a high priority for steelhead, chinook, and lamprey spawning and rearing within upper Lolo Creek, which is a Tier II Subwatershed. The Knock on Wood NEPA prepared by the USFS with assistance from NPT Staff allows for work anywhere in the Lolo Creek Watershed on USFS land where ESA listed steelhead are present. Work proposed in 2023 is planned for mainstem Lolo in the Atlas unit presented in the SOW. However, if issues such as archeology stopped work, we could move installation to tributaries. We will concentrate on areas high priority in Atlas.
The purpose of the USFS Knock On Wood Habitat Improvement project is to enhance existing steelhead habitat by installing up to 5 instream structures. The addition of wood to project area streams will provide complex fish habitat by improving channel stability, rearing habitat, pool formation, spawning gravel deposition, channel complexity, hiding cover, low velocity areas, and floodplain function in the Lolo Creek drainage. Increasing wood will also move the watershed towards historically natural hydrologic conditions. Prior management practices have greatly reduced instream wood through near-stream road building, riparian logging, and in-stream wood removal.
In addition to addressing limiting factors for steelhead habitat, the Knock On Wood Habitat Improvement project will improve hydrologic function. Wood is a major driver for natural channel morphology. Interactions between water and the stream bed and banks are impacted when wood alters the vertical and lateral movement of water, channel velocity, timing and duration of peak flows, and storage of sediment and organic matter. These factors are important on their own as well as for reconnecting historic floodplains and associated habitat.
The NPT and the Trout Unlimited will work as partners to contract construction of the project. | $160,000 | 24.50% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| E | 232446 | 175 | Produce Design | Lower Musselshell Creek Bridge Replacement Design | This restoration opportunity was identified collaboratively in 2019 during the development of the Lolo Creek Atlas and is based on the most current fish and physical habitat data. It is a high priority for steelhead and lamprey spawning and rearing within Musselshell Creek, which is a Tier I Subwatershed.
The primary goal of this project is to design passage improvement of an undersized and failing bridge on Potlatch Deltic property. The Current structure is not thought to be a passage barrier based on current surveys, but given its location on private land and deteriorating status, the Nez Perce Tribe DFRM Watershed Division in partnership with Trout Unlimited and the Clearwater Soil and Water Conservation District would like to contract a bridge design to maintain passage upstream of the structure. The replacement is tentatively scheduled for the fish window of 2024 (July 15 - August 30) and will maintain passage to approximately 30 miles of habitat including more than 5.7 miles of NOAA-identified Critical Habitat for Snake River steelhead.
The Nez Perce Tribe Designs will be submitted to BPA ETS for review at 15%, 30%, and 60% development. | $140,000 | 21.44% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| F | 229405 | 175 | Produce Design | Running Creek Barrier Replacement and Road Improvement Design phase II | This restoration opportunity was identified collaboratively with the USFS based on the most current fish and physical habitat data. It is a high priority for steelhead, Chinook, and lamprey spawning and rearing within Running Creek subwatershed of the upper Selway River. The project is a continuation of designs started in 2022, and due to delays and cost overruns, will now extend into 2023.
The primary goal of this project is to design passage improvement of an undersized culvert on USFS Road 357. Given significant drop at the outlet and the lack of substrate in the structure, it is likely a partial barrier, and at a minimum restricts fish movement during most flows. The replacement is tentatively scheduled for the fish window of 2024 (July 15 - August 15) and will restore passage to approximately 3.84 miles of NOAA-identified Critical Habitat for Snake River steelhead, including up to 1.5 miles of additional juvenile rearing habitat.
The NPT and the NPCNFs will work as partners to contract a passage design which will pass the 100 year flow and allow unrestricted aquatic organism passage. The NPT will work with the NPCNFs to administer the contract.
The Nez Perce Tribe and the Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forests are working in partnership to complete Environmental Compliance. 15% design was completed under contrat 89558. Designs will be submitted to BPA ETS for review at 30% and 60% development. | $25,000 | 3.83% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| G | 229406 | 29 | Increase Aquatic and/or Floodplain Complexity | Construct Beaver Dam Analogs and/or PALS in Jim Brown and Musselshell creeks | This restoration opportunity was identified collaboratively in 2019 during the development of the Lolo Creek Atlas and is based on the most current fish and physical habitat data. It is a high priority for steelhead and lamprey spawning and rearing within Musselshell Creek, which is a Tier I Subwatershed.
Musselshell Creek suffers from chronic, long-term fine sediment aggradation and high cobble embeddedness. Lower reaches of Musselshell Creek are bordered by meadow complexes, which in many years suffer from a lowered water table. Channel incision is a result of historic land use in the meadow (i.e., grazing, areas of timber harvest upstream, and channelization resulting from historic construction activity). Past land use has led to diminished riffle-pool sequences in the creek and overall deteriorating fish habitat.
The sediment in Musselshell Creek is the result of unique geology coupled with a long history of resource management in the drainage. There is currently a limited amount of large wood available for natural recruitment because of several large scale fires in the area in the mid - 1930s, in combination with legacy timber harvest.
In order to restore stream and riparian function within Musselshell Meadows, the Nez Perce Tribe, in partnership with the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, will install approximately 9 beaver dam analogs and/or PAL's in Musselshell Creek as well as approximately 9 beaver dam analogs and/or PAL's in Jim Brown Creek. The structures are designed to function to impound water during moderate flows, create scour pools, redistribute sediment, and improve channel complexity for fish spawning and rearing habitat. The intent of the project is to mimic natural conditions created by beaver dam construction and their effects on stream geomorphology, and to encourage beaver occupation of the structures. There are beaver present at the lower end of Musselshell Meadows.
The structures on Jim Brown Creek will redistribute sediment and improve channel complexity for spawning and rearing habitat for 0.21 miles of Jim Brown Creek. The structures on 0.5 mile stretch of Musselshell Creek will function during moderate flows to scour pools, redistribute sediment, and improve channel complexity for spawning and rearing habitat. A total of approximately 18 BDA and/or PAL structures will be placed in Musselshell and Jim Brown creeks.
The posts will be installed using a hydraulic post driver. Native vegetation (willow or alder cuttings) will then be woven in-between the posts to create in-stream structures that will recruit additional vegetation and organic debris. The wood structures will be placed so as to mimic natural structures (beaver dams or large wood) already present in Musselshell and Jim Brown creeks below the project reach. All work will be done by hand using a hydraulic post driver, chainsaw, and hand tools with access to the project sites by foot across the meadow.
Structures will be located so as to use existing in-stream features such as logs or rocks, and in areas where they are likely to produce the desired effects.
• Structures will be located in a stream reach well away from infrastructure such as roads or trails.
• Project monitoring will include pre- and post-stream cross section and long profile surveys, photo points, and Wolman pebble counts to estimate substrate change.
• Project work will take place during the instream 'fish window' between July 15 and August 30.
Nez Perce Tribe Watershed personnel will install the structures and will monitor the effectiveness of the structures for changes to instream conditions for two years, post-installation, and after any high flow events that may occur in subsequent years.
The Jim Brown BDAs are located on private land and were covered by the HIP programmatic in contract 87084.
USFS completed the analysis and EC on the Musselshell portion of this project in their 7/10/19 Decision Memo process. Copies of EC documents are on file with the BPA's EC lead. | $40,000 | 6.12% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| H | 229407 | 175 | Produce Design | Selway Irrigation Diversion Design | Work with IDFG Engineering staff to develop irrigation improvements for up to 2 diversion structures. Streams for potential improvements include Ditch and Running creeks. These diversions were prioritized in the following order:
1. Ditch Creek: This diversion affects steelhead and west slope cutthroat trout. It is currently a partial barrier for immigrating adults and emigrating juveniles. It has high potential for significant juvenile entrainment that likely leads to mortality (unscreened 12” PVC pipe). There is a high likelihood of support and cost share (time, material, potentially cash) from the landowner and Forest Service.
2. Running Creek: This diversion affects steelhead, spring Chinook, bull trout, and west slope cutthroat trout. It has high potential for significant juvenile entrainment that likely leads to mortality (large head gate that is only partially and ineffectively screened). It is a large stream with relatively low gradient (1.9%) that supports the most fish species and life stages.
Photos and site-specific details for each site are uploaded to this project in Pisces. Specifics for each design will be determined in collaboration with the IDFG screen shop in Salmon, Idaho and the landowner. Design improvements will improve passage of juvenile and adult salmonids as well as reduce if not eliminate the potential for entrainment into the irrigation diversion. | $10,000 | 1.53% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| I | 229408 | 55 | Erosion and Sedimentation Control | O'Hara Rock Pit Improvement | The goal of this project is work with the Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forests (NPCNFs) to implement a design to reroute several small streams that all drain into O'Hara rock pit into a centralized location and route them into O'Hara Creek at a location with the greatest riparian buffer. The rock pit is located in the confluence and alluvial fan of several small unnamed tributaries, with flow from these streams being captured by the rock pit and routed across USFS road 651, resulting in high sediment delivery into O'Hara Creek.
O'Hara Creek contains spawning and rearing habitat for Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout downstream of the rock pit. Sediment input from the current stream routing affects spawning and rearing habitat all the way down to mouth of O'Hara Creek. Re-design of the outflow from the small tributaries as they exit the rock pit will reduce sediment impacts to spawning and rearing habitat for these species.
This project may ultimately end up being phased into multiple years depending on final details of the design (in progress) and availability of outside funding.
The 2012, the Nez Perce Tribe completed the O'Hara Creek Road Geomorphic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) on approximately 16.6 miles of the 651 O'Hara Creek Road. During those surveys, high delivery segments were identified in the upper portion of section 1, which were addressed in the SOW in 2015 and 2018. The O'Hara Creek rock pit was identified during this survey, but sediment estimates could not be generated. The USFS fisheries biologist was very concerned with this site, and organized a site visit in 2019 which all involved agreed was contributing excess sediment to O'Hara Creek. At a meeting between the Nez Perce Tribe and Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forests in the fall of 2020, the new Moose Creek Ranger identified the O'Hara Rock Pit as his highest priority project for the district. This project is in the Selway River basin.
The Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) and Trout Unlimited will work as partners to implement this project. The design work has been contracted via BPA contract 87084 & 89558. As of October 2022, the design is at approximately 90% completion, with a target of 100% design phase by the end of the FY22 contract in January 2023. The EC compliance for this project is being led by the USFS, with BPA ETS review of the designs. | $10,000 | 1.53% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| J | 232595 | 38 | Improve Road for Instream Habitat Benefits | O'Hara Road Improvement, culvert replacement #5 and #8 | This project is continuation of a road improvement project started in 2015 to reduce sediment delivery and upgrade undersized and failing tributary culverts along the O'Hara Creek. This project will replace a pair of undersized culverts with structures which will accommodate 100 year flows and set to a more natural stream grade. This is not technically a barrier replacement project for salmonids due to the high gradient nature of the stream, but will utilize stream simulation design in it's construction to mimic stream grade and substrate above and below the structure allowing better passage of aquatic organisms and reduce failure risk and potential for sediment delivery to O'Hara Creek .
The 2012, the Nez Perce Tribe completed the O'Hara Creek Road Geomorphic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) on approximately 16.6 miles of the 651 O'Hara Creek Road. During those surveys, high delivery segments were identified in the upper portion of section 1, which were addressed in the BPA SOW in 2015, 2018 and 2019. There are two remaining culverts identified in those surveys on USFS road 651.
Due to their close proximity and need for road closure, these improvements will be scheduled to be completed one effort, saving on mobilization efforts. However, due to the size of the structures, they may need to be phased over multiple years to complete construction within the summer work window.
The Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) and Trout Unlimited will work as partners to implement this project. The NPT will partner Trout Unlimited through our partnership agreement to administer the construction contract. The NPCNFs is the lead agency and is providing the primary funding for this project and will complete all necessary environmental compliance for all aspects of this project including NEPA, ESA, and cultural resources requirements. | $5,000 | 0.77% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| K | 229409 | 175 | Produce Design | Musselshell Road Improvement Design | This restoration opportunity was identified collaboratively in 2019 during the development of the Lolo Creek Atlas and is based on the most current fish and physical habitat data. It was the highest rated project to restore priority spawning and rearing habitat for ESA listed Snake River Steelhead within the Jim Brown Creek subwatershed, which is a Tier 2 project subwatershed. The Clearwater County Soil and Water Conservation District is the project lead working with the Clearwater County Road Department.
Musselshell Road runs from Weippe Idaho to Peterson's Corner running adjacent to Mosquito Creek and several tributaries. The Musselshell road bisects several wetlands, which negatively affects meadow hydrology. The road improvement design will include several culvert replacements and proposes to improve several long sections of road by incorporating segments of "floating road" (i.e., roadway situated on pervious roadbed material), which would allow water to flow more freely under the road bed. This road improvement should restore wetland habitat while also reducing long term road maintenance costs. Design elements will reduce chronic sediment delivery to Mosquito Creek, which is then transported downstream to critical steelhead habitat.
Details for this project are still in development and may be phased over several years. Funding for the designs will come primarily from the recently passed Infrastructure Bill (H.R.3684). The Nez Perce Tribe will provide design review and technical assistance. As details of the match are still being developed, the Nez Perce Tribe may provide match if it is required, but costs are expected to be minimal.
This work provides staff time as cost share for other federal funding sources to develop designs and eventual construction for road improvements to benefit hydrology in wetlands adjacent to Musselshell Road. This is a large multi year project (implementation likely in 2025-2028) that will likely take several years for design and feasibility, but would greatly benefit water quality in the Lolo Creek Watershed when completed.
BPA funding for this work is primarily cost share (staff time) for design and implementation oversight, technical review, design review, and assistance with subcontract oversight.
The Nez Perce Tribe and the Clearwater Soil and Water Conservation District are working in partnership to complete Environmental Compliance, which may include using the HIP for portions of the project which fall within the Lolo Watershed. | $20,000 | 3.06% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| L | 229410 | 47 | Plant Vegetation | Plant Riparian Vegetation | The Lolo Creek watershed has historically experienced significant grazing and road construction which has destroyed riparian areas. Re-vegetation efforts have been ongoing since 2000, and over 24,000 trees have been planted to date. Approximately 1200 native riparian trees and shrubs will be planted in 2023 in degraded riparian areas and stream crossings from recent road decommissioning projects. Species may include Drummond Willow, Geyser Willow, Thinleaf Alder, Red Osier Dogwood, Black Hawthorn, Water Sedge, Beaked Sedge, and Baltic Rush. Plantings will be done in a pattern that emulates the natural conditions at various locations within the Lolo Creek Watershed.
Project sites where plantings will be done include previous sections of older project sites such as culvert replacement sites, the Colette Mine site (a channel re-design project), and road decommissioning projects. Plantings are grown out at the tribal nursery. | $42,135 | 6.45% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| M | 229411 | 186 | Operate and Maintain Habitat/Passage/Structure | Maintain Fence | This work element addresses fence repair and maintenance in several location in the project area, most notably the Musselshell Meadow and lower Jim Brown Creek areas. From 1998 to 2022 fence has been constructed of wooden posts and four-strand barbed or high tensile smooth wire. Due to heavy snow loads, annual maintenance is required to maintain a properly functioning fence that protects riparian and stream habitat.
Since the fence maintenance and construction crew is used by the entire watershed division, this project will be completed between the start and end dates, but the exact timing is dependent on other projects within the division.
In some years due to unusually high workload, a fencing contractor may be utilized to assist in fence maintenance. This work will be paid for out of the repair line item. | $50,000 | 7.66% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| N | 229412 | 199 | Remove Vegetation | Treat Exotic Invasive Species on USFS and Private Lands | Treatment will occur on two separate but grouped areas.
1. The Nez Perce Tribe will partner with the U.S. Forest Service to complete treatment on Forest land. During the 2007 field season, NPT completed a non-native, invasive plant inventory in Musselshell Meadow; these data were incorporated into the 2019 Atlas prioritization framework to identify high priority portions of the 190-acre meadow area and surrounding areas. The treatment focus will include corridors of invasion, such as roads, trails, and disturbed areas. Musselshell Meadows is a Tier I Subwatershed in the Atlas prioritization framework and is a high priority site for steelhead, spring Chinook, Westslope cutthroat trout, and lamprey spawning and rearing.
The Nez Perce Tribe will collaborate with the Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forests (NPCNFs) who will implement the invasive plant treatment. The Nez Perce Tribe will assist in inventory, planning, contractor selection, technical oversight, and the final inspection. No BPA funds will be used for the purchase or application of herbicides on the USFS property.
In addition to the treatment above, the Nez Perce Tribe will work with the Forest to install boot brush cleaning and education stations at up to 3 trailheads. The stations include a boot brush at the base for removing invasive species seed and fragments, reducing the spread to remote areas. Additionally the stations include information for reporting new invading species as well as increasing awareness of the dangers of transporting invasive species propagules on boots and clothing.
2. The Nez Perce Tribe will partner with the Idaho and Clearwater county weed management staff and private land owners to complete treatment on approximately 20 acres. All invasive plant treatment will be to benefit native plant species and improve conditions for future restoration activities. BPA funds will be directed at this site and the EC will be covered through HIP.
1. 46.243715° -115.819946°
2. 46.279289° -115.961780°
3. 46.291917° -115.918246° | $16,000 | 2.45% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| O | 229413 | 115 | Produce Inventory or Assessment | Collect stream, meadow, road data/Project monitoring and inventory via UAV (i.e., drone) to develop and prioritize future projects | Staff will collect data for a variety of upcoming projects. Data collection may include stream, meadow, and road surveys. Primary collection will be associated with gathering information about wet meadow habitat in the Lolo Creek watershed to prioritize future restoration work. Meadow surveys will be a combination of ground and UAV based surveys. Additionally, stream surveys of physical habitat will be completed, primarily focusing on location and quantities of large wood to guide future restoration projects and design. Stream surveys will be a combination of ground and UAV based surveys. Road surveys will be follow up to surveys completed from 2017-2019 in the Horse and Falls creek area of the Selway. Additionally, the Chamook Last 50 road decommissioning project completed in 2019 encountered some unexpected issues due to large fills and boulders in the fill. Watershed staff will work with USFS engineering to complete additional survey work and refine specifications for future road decommissioning. These new data will be incorporated into the prioritization of areas and actions within the Lolo Atlas Framework.
Project monitoring and inventory will be conducted via UAV (i.e., drone) to assist in developing and prioritizing future projects in the Lolo Creek Watershed. Photos for project monitoring and inventory have been taken in past years with a handheld camera, and Google Earth and ArcGIS have been used to identify wetland locations. These methods have been useful; however, they do not accurately depict the success of a project. Aerial imagery collected via UAV will allow us to track large-scale changes over time with better resolution and accuracy.
Photo and video data will be collected using professional flight programming software. Topographic maps, orthomosaic images, and 3D models will be used to help assess and prioritize current and future projects. This data will give us the ability to survey a large amount of area that would not be feasible by ground surveys and photo points. This will allow us to quickly and effectively prioritize future projects as outlined in work element B (Use ATLAS Matrix to Prioritize and Select Projects).
Aerial flights will provide quick before, during, and after project implementation data. The orthomosaic maps and models created will assist in collecting data for the Mike White Creek project and the Musselshell Meadow projects. The products of the flights will also provide information needed for adaptive management. Flights can be conducted very quickly compared to on-the-ground surveys and provide real time images with much greater detail than other basemap imagery sources.
Data collected via UAV flights will be interpreted through professional photogrammetry and drone mapping software. Data validation will be through on-the-ground survey methods. Raw and processed data will be stored on a storage server specifically for this project. Backup copies will be stored on external hard drives. Processed photos and videos will be uploaded to ArcGIS online as needed. The original flight data will be available through ArcGIS online, external hard drives, and Nez Perce Tribe media outlets. Photos will be shared in meetings and annual reporting.
The Lolo/Selway project has a FAA-certified pilot. The professional flight planning and stitching software has already been acquired through separate funds. There will be no startup costs to conduct aerial surveys. Funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will pay for significant portions of the staff time for flights and will be cost share for BPA. | $30,000 | 4.59% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| P | 229414 | 122 | Provide Technical Review and Recommendation | Review and Technical Assistance for Proposed Partner Actions | Several local, state and federal agencies have lands (i.e.. U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Land, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts) within Lolo and Selway watersheds. The Nez Perce Tribe maintains a trust responsibility to these areas and periodically reviews projects proposed on lands within its treaty territory. Review may be at the technical level by Watershed personnel or elevated to formal consultation with the Nez Perce Tribe Executive Committee. The Tribe also submits comments on proposed projects pursuant to the NEPA process. This may include analysis of data participation in field visits and/or production of maps. | $10,000 | 1.53% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| Q | 229415 | 191 | Watershed Coordination | Coordinate with Regional Partners | The project area has mixed ownership, especially in the Lolo Creek watershed with local, state, federal, and private lands. In order to coordinate and execute restoration at a high level and maximize potential collaboration, tribal staff engage in meetings with various agencies and groups to stay apprised of upcoming activities. One example of this is ATLAS, a BPA process to prioritize restoration at a watershed scale. The Lolo Creek Atlas Prioritization Framework was developed in 2019 and is now in the implementation and adaptive management phase. Other coordination activities include periodically disseminating information to private land owners to encourage participation in restoration.
This work also involves seeking additional funding, and prioritizing and scheduling projects. NPT personnel will participate in US Forest Service Level 1 coordination meetings, other watershed-wide resource planning efforts, and the review and assessment of resource project proposals in the watershed. The Nez Perce Tribe, BPA, and the Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forests (NPCNFs) have been partners in watershed restoration since 1996, which includes sharing funds and resources to complete projects. Each year, project specifics are captured in an agreement that is signed by all parties. | $10,000 | 1.53% | 02/01/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
| | | | | | | | | |
Help
Mitigation work
Reporting
Funding
Search
Log in
SOW Report
