Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program
SOW Report
Contract 84069 REL 39: 1995-001-00 EXP KALISPEL RESIDENT FISH HABITAT PROGRAM
Project Number:
Title:
Kalispel Tribe Resident Fish Program
Stage:
Implementation
Area:
Province Subbasin %
Intermountain Pend Oreille 100.00%
Contract Number:
84069 REL 39
Contract Title:
1995-001-00 EXP KALISPEL RESIDENT FISH HABITAT PROGRAM
Contract Continuation:
Previous: Next:
84069 REL 25: 1995-001-00 EXP KALISPEL RESIDENT FISH HABITAT AWARD
Contract Status:
Issued
Contract Description:
The Tribe’s vision is to restore harvestable populations of Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout for Tribal members in the mainstem Pend Oreille and Priest rivers and associated tributaries. From a habitat restoration perspective, there is a need to remedy legacy and current impacts on watershed processes and native resident fish populations in these areas, especially with respect to adfluvial Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout– a life history that is of particular subsistence interest to Kalispel Tribe members.  Habitat forming processes (runoff, sediment, and wood), when functioning and intact, help support adequate food (both quantity and quality) to support native trout. Like their salmon relatives, the odds of Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout becoming adults are small. However, the likelihood is even less now due to habitat degradation. Climate change is a factor as well. Hotter, drier summers and lower snowpacks lead to less water in the rivers (Kittitas Conservation Trust 2018). In a healthy food web, Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout play important roles as both predator and prey. But, human-caused impacts and climate change are creating an imbalance. Non-native fish species, including Eastern Brook Trout, Smallmouth Bass, and Northern Pike, prey upon native trout, making suppression and eradication in the Kalispel Non-Native Fish Suppression Project and other FERC licensee-funded eradication efforts extremely important. While we cannot directly address climate change, we can rehabilitate human-impacted streams and make them more resilient and manage non-native fish. The proposed project seeks to continue to improve the aquatic habitat at Big Meadows, increase climate change resiliency and habitat function within Mill and Indian creeks, and increase cold water refuge areas at two tributary junctions in the Pend Oreille River identified in Mejia et al. (2020). Watersheds and actions were prioritized based on the approach described in our Independent Science Review Panel (ISRP) proposal.

To create more climate-resilient watersheds, it is important to manage for temporal environmental variability, spatial heterogeneity, and hydrologic connectivity (Grantham et al. 2019). With respect to the temporal variability of freshwater systems, there is a recognition that restoration strategies that go beyond the natural flow regime (Poff 2018) are necessary and include future predictions for sediment supply and wood recruitment (the other major habitat-forming processes in the inland northwest).  

Managing for spatial heterogeneity involves managing landscapes for physical processes that support diverse life histories and buffer desired species and services from change (Grantham et al. 2019). Spatial variation in ecosystems is recognized to be hierarchical, in which various processes interact to create and modify patterns of environmental heterogeneity at multiple scales (Wu and Loucks 1995)  For example, seasonal high flows transport and deposit sediment to other parts of the river channel and floodplain, influencing reach scale (100–1000 m) habitat patterns. Sediment and wood can also interact with large wood and debris generated from hillslopes to form scour pools and log jams that, in turn, influence local (1–10 m) habitat complexity. This dynamically changing distribution of reach and local scale habitat areas supports a diversity of species and bolsters ecological resilience.

Hydrologic connectivity refers to the transfers of matter, energy, and organisms between various components of the hydrological cycle and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. It has a fundamental control on freshwater ecosystem functions and integrity (Pringle 2003). Ward (1989) identified four relevant dimensions of hydrologic connectivity: longitudinal (upstream–downstream linkages between habitats), lateral (connectivity between a river channel or lake and adjacent floodplains and riparian areas), vertical (connectivity with the hyporheic zone, groundwater, and the atmosphere), and temporal (seasonal interactions among the three spatial dimensions). Connectivity of heterogeneous habitat types contributes to resilience by sustaining a diverse pool of species that use a variety of habitats to satisfy life history requirements (Timpane-Padgham et al. 2017).  Hydrologic connectivity also contributes to resilience by allowing biota to recolonize disturbed areas or replenish depleted populations. This is essential for facilitating range shifts of organisms to areas of remaining suitable habitat in the context of climate change.

References:

Grantham, T.E., J.H. Matthews, and B.P. Bledsoe. 2019. Shifting currents: Managing freshwater systems for ecological resilience in a changing climate. Water Security (8)

Kittitas Conservation Trust. 2018. Bull trout in the food web.  Available at https://www.kittitasconservationtrust.org/2018/09/04/bull-trout-food-web/.  Accessed December 23, 2019.

Mejia, F.H.; C.E Torgersen; E.K. Berntsen, J.R. Maroney, J.M. Connor, A.H. Fullerton, J.L. Ebersole, and M.S. Lorang. 2020. Longitudinal, lateral, vertical, and temporal thermal heterogeneity in a large impounded river: Implications for cold-water refuges. Remote Sens.:12, 1386.  https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12091386

Poff, N. L. 2018. Beyond the natural flow regime? Broadening the hydro-ecological foundation to meet environmental flows challenges in a non-stationary world, Freshwater Biol. 63 (8) 1011–1021.

Pringle, C. 2003. What is hydrologic connectivity and why is it ecologically important? Hydrol. Process. (17) 2685–2689.

Timpane-Padgham, B.L., T. Beechie, and T. Klinger. 2017. A systematic review of ecological attributes that confer resilience to climate change in environmental restoration, PLoS One 12 (3) e0173812.

Ward, J.V. 1989. The four-dimensional nature of lotic ecosystems, J. North Am. Benthol. Soc. 8 (1) 2–8.

Wu, J. and O.L. Loucks. 1995. From balance of nature to hierarchical patch dynamics: a paradigm shift in ecology, Quart. Rev. Biol. 70 (4):439–466.
Account Type(s):
Expense
Contract Start Date:
04/01/2024
Contract End Date:
03/31/2026
Current Contract Value:
$510,816
Expenditures:
$169,532

* Expenditures data includes accruals and are based on data through 30-Sep-2024.

BPA CO:
BPA COR:
Env. Compliance Lead:
Contract Contractor:
Work Order Task(s):
Contract Type:
Coop
Pricing Method:
Cost Reimbursement (CNF)
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Full Name Organization Write Permission Contact Role Email Work Phone
Eric Berntsen Kalispel Tribe Yes Contract Manager eberntsen@kalispeltribe.com (509) 447-7185
Thomas Delorenzo Bonneville Power Administration Yes Env. Compliance Lead tdelorenzo@bpa.gov (503) 230-4419
Andy Johnsen Kalispel Tribe No Technical Contact AJohnsen@KalispelTribe.com (509) 671-1298
David Kaplowe Bonneville Power Administration Yes F&W Approver djkaplowe@bpa.gov (503) 230-5365
Joe Maroney Kalispel Tribe Yes Supervisor jmaroney@knrd.org (509) 447-7272
Jessica Power Bonneville Power Administration No CO Assistant jdpower@bpa.gov (503) 230-4023
Jolene Seymour Kalispel Tribe Yes Administrative Contact jseymour@kalispeltribe.com (509) 445-1147
Virgil Watts III Bonneville Power Administration Yes COR vlwatts@bpa.gov (503) 230-4625
Karen Wolfe Bonneville Power Administration Yes Contracting Officer ktwolfe@bpa.gov (503) 230-3448


Viewing of Work Statement Elements

Deliverable Title WSE Sort Letter, Number, Title Start End Concluded
Completed Annual Report B: 132. FY' 24/Early FY '25 Progress Report 03/31/2025
Completed Environmental Compliance Measures as Needed C: 165. Environmental Compliance Documentation 03/31/2025
Effective implementation management and timely contract administration D: 119. Project Management and Administration 03/31/2025
Prioritized projects based on the most current biological and physical habitat data E: 114. Interagency Coordination and Planning for Watershed Restoration and Native Fish Recovery Actions 03/31/2025
Maintain previously-installed riparian fencing F: 186. Maintain Previously-Installed Riparian Fencing 08/31/2024 08/29/2024
Monitor and Maintain Goose Creek Channel Reconstruction Project G: 186. Monitor and Maintain Goose Creek Creek Channel Reconstruction Project 03/31/2025
Technical Memos H: 141. Other Reports for BPA 03/31/2025
Produce MQI technical memo I: 141. Other Reports for BPA 03/31/2025
Watershed Restoration Plan for East River J: 174. Produce a Watershed Restoration Plan for the East River Watershed 03/31/2025

Viewing of Implementation Metrics
Viewing of Environmental Metrics Customize

Primary Focal Species Work Statement Elements
Cutthroat Trout, Westslope (O. c. lewisi)
  • 2 instances of WE 186 Operate and Maintain Habitat/Passage/Structure
  • 1 instance of WE 114 Identify and Select Projects
  • 1 instance of WE 174 Produce Plan
Trout, Bull (S. confluentus) (Threatened)
  • 2 instances of WE 186 Operate and Maintain Habitat/Passage/Structure
  • 1 instance of WE 114 Identify and Select Projects
  • 1 instance of WE 174 Produce Plan
Wildlife
  • 2 instances of WE 186 Operate and Maintain Habitat/Passage/Structure
  • 1 instance of WE 114 Identify and Select Projects
  • 1 instance of WE 174 Produce Plan

Sort WE ID WE Title NEPA NOAA USFWS NHPA Has Provisions Inadvertent Discovery Completed
A 185 Periodic Status Reports for BPA
B 132 FY' 24/Early FY '25 Progress Report
C 165 Environmental Compliance Documentation
D 119 Project Management and Administration
E 114 Interagency Coordination and Planning for Watershed Restoration and Native Fish Recovery Actions
F 186 Maintain Previously-Installed Riparian Fencing 01/16/2024
G 186 Monitor and Maintain Goose Creek Creek Channel Reconstruction Project 01/16/2024
H 141 Other Reports for BPA
I 141 Other Reports for BPA
J 174 Produce a Watershed Restoration Plan for the East River Watershed 01/16/2024