Project/Contract History:

This project is an ongoing part of the Watershed Restoration Partnership between the Nez Perce Tribe, the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest (NPC) and BPA. This project is a combination of two continuing BPA and NPT restoration projects; Project 1996-077-03, Project 2002-074-00, and an extension of the project area to include the entire Lochsa Watershed rather than just the upper sub watershed. This project unification has significantly increased administrative and financial efficiency in order to maximize the direct benefit to fish and wildlife.

The Nez Perce Tribe's Watershed Division views restoration from a ridge top to ridge top approach, with implementation focused on decreasing sediment inputs into area streams, increasing aquatic habitat connectivity, decreasing resource impacts from roads, and eradicating exotic, invasive plants. The cost share for this project has been contributed by the NPC which provides an approximate 21% match including cash and in-kind contributions. Project planning and implementation responsibilities are also shared with the Forest, as they have been for nearly 24 years. In 2020, the Tribe's Watershed Division entered into an agreement with Trout Unlimited to provide increased capacity and expertise for in-stream habitat work,data collection for meadow restoration projects, and project development across the project area.

To date, the NPT/NPC partnership has re-opened access to nearly 103 miles of habitat, removed approximately 570 miles of roads through decommissioning or abandonment, improved 38 miles of road, planted 848 acres of native plants and trees, and treated over 5,879 acres of invasive, non-native plants.

In 2016, the Nez Perce Tribe, BPA, Forest Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, NOAA,  and several other partners gathered the most current fish and physical habitat data to collaboratively prioritize watershed areas and restoration actions. The process, known as ATLAS,  is an evidence based prioritization framework and a 20 year strategic action plan to maximize biological benefit and return on investment.  As the Lochsa ATLAS is implemented and adaptively managed, projects are selected from or added to the action plan each year for implementation. All projects selected for implementation in this contract are a result of collaboration between the Nez Perce Tribe's Lochsa Watershed and our partners on the NPC. The restoration actions identified are directly informed by the continuing assessment of existing and changing conditions in the watershed. Occasionally, projects are developed from naturally occurring events such as landslides or road failures.

FY 2023 Contract Implementation:

Because of delays caused by reduced Forest capacity, fires and fire closures, we were once again unable to complete a number of our projects, including important  preparatory work. The Forest's reliance on outside contracting has delayed delivery of project designs, and as a result, contract work to implement those designs. As a result, FY23  project implementation will be a combination of design and planning sub-contracted through Trout Unlimited, and phased implementation of on-the-ground work. This will include a feasiblity study to provde alternatives for meadow restoration, stream channel design, forest road improvement, and rehabilitation of a river-adjacent road-salt storage area. In addition, the project also includes our usual suite of invasive plant treatment and inventory; riparian and restoration planting, road survey and, and continued prioritization and planning for future habitat improvement projects as identified in the ATLAS strategic prioritization framework.

While no longer funded as a discrete work element, coordination with an environmental non-profit to pursue the purchase of some 37,275 acres of private land continues. These lands, alternating with public land to form a 'checkerboard' pattern were part of the railroad land grant deeded to Northern Pacific Railway. Ownership and management evolved through Burlington Northern and then Plum Creek Timberland, until being sold to Western Pacific Timber in 2005. These private parcels feature all the same limiting factors as the surrounding lands, and ATLAS identified their acquisition and return to federal ownership and management as one of the highest priority restoration opportunities within the upper Lochsa. Compounding the urgency of this issue is the continued purchase and 'development' as sub-divided recreation home parcels of some 2,700 acres of these lands by a local developer. This, in conjunction with Western Pacific Timber's continued pursuit of an alternate land exchange with the Idaho Department of Lands makes it more important than ever to find a path toward acquiring the remaining lands and returning them to federal ownership and management. Implicit within this goal is the recognition that the private lands will require some level of restoration, and that the  Nez Perce Tribe's Watershed Division is the most qualified entity to plan and implement that restoration.

Matching Costs Summary 2023:

The NPC should provide approximately 17% of project costs for, which includes project planning, design, contract administration, and implementation as described in the existing MOU with BPA. Our partnership with Trout Unlimited provides greater flexibility in contracting, and their contribution to planning, design, and implementation is approximately 20%.

All restoration actions within the Lochsa Watershed are designed with the recognition of the complex interplay of current and future climate change. In particular, project revegetation efforts are directed toward restoring robust and resilient native plant communities better able to withstand increasing 'pressure' from non-native infestation. Additionally, instream habitat projects are designed to provide more complex habitat, within which cover and its attendant temperature effects are an integral component. The Nez Perce Tribe Watershed Division considers climate change in all of its restoration actions, and is particularly sensitive to the importance of the upper Lochsa as a likely area of  temperature 'refugia' given the higher elevations and cooler temperatures typical of the headwaters of the watershed.