The Wind River Watershed project is a collaborative effort to restore wild steelhead in the Wind River.  The four agencies working in this partnership include the US Forest Service (FS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), U.S. Geological Survey Columbia River Research Lab (CRRL), and Underwood Conservation District (UCD).  The partnership was established in the early 1990's and with support from BPA, has continued to conduct important habitat, research, monitoring and coordination activities across the watershed.  The project works at multiple levels to identify and characterize key limiting habitat factors in the Wind River, to restore degraded habitats and watershed processes, to measure, track and document fish populations, life histories, and interactions, and to share information with all interested parties.

This FY2021 contract funds continued habitat restoration in Trout Creek, an important tributary to the Wind River.  Work identified under this contract is intended to complete our treatment of Lower Trout Creek near the Hemlock restoration site where we recently reopened an abandoned side channel.  Under this contract, we will make final adjustments to the outlet of the recently reopened side channel, and will decompact previously disturbed areas used for the project and plant with native trees and shrubs.  In addition, we will conduct surveys of the instream and side channel habitat restoration work just completed in Lower Trout Creek, to ensure that the work is functioning as intended and is not in need of any followup.  Continued maintenance and operation of the Wind River Gage will occur this year to support the research, monitoring and restoration activities of the Wind River Watershed Project.  A bubbler will be installed at the gagesite to better capture flow levels in late summer early fall when flows are at annual lows.