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 ... in past provided 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 27 years. In 2020, the Tribe's Watershed Division entered into its own agreement with Trout Unlimited to provide increased capacity and expertise for in-stream habitat work,data collection for meadow restoration projects, contract management, 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 2025-2026 Contract Implementation:

Because of continued difficulty in completing projects with our primary partner, the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest (NPC) and within the one-year contract time frame, the Protect & Restore Lochsa River project is moving to a two-year contract. We believe this step may help with continued lack of capacity within the NPC for things like NEPA and ESA consultation, as well as rising costs and lack of contractors to bid on and complete project work. For the Lochsa, 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 an expanded design for Wispin`'iitpe Meadow Restoration, which will include proposed 'stage zero' on Pack Creek, implementation of a stream channel realignment at the confluence of Indian Grave Creek and the Lochsa, and replacing the third of three culverts in the Lost Creek area, along with our continued usual suite of invasive plant treatment and inventory; riparian and restoration planting, road survey and, and prioritization and planning for future habitat improvement projects as identified in the ATLAS strategic prioritization framework. Additionally, two culvert replacements on US Hwy 12, awarded under the 2022 DOT AOP grant cycle, are to be completed by Idaho Transportation Department with assistance from the Protect & Restore Lochsa River project. BPA provided funding for preliiminary design in 2020, and the DOT grant monies will allow for final design and implementation.

While no longer funded as a discrete work element, coordination with environmental non-profit organizations to pursue the purchase of some 37,275 acres of private land continues. These lands, alternating with sections of Forest land to form a 'checkerboard' pattern were part of the railroad land grant deeded to Northern Pacific Railway. Although the Lochsa corridor was considered too narrow and steep for a rail line, the United States government nonetheless granted Northern Pacific some 40,000 acres in the upper Lochsa. Ownership and management over the years evolved through Burlington Northern and then Plum Creek Timberland, until being sold to Western Pacific Timber LLC 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 refusal to consider a realistic purchase agreement for the remaining 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, through its Protect & Restore Lochsa River project, is the most qualified entity to plan and implement that restoration.

Matching Costs Summary 2025-2026

The NPC should provide approximately 17% of project costs, 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 will therefore rise to approximately 21%.

All restoration actions within the Lochsa Watershed are designed with the recognition of the complex interplay of current and future climate changes. 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.       Show More