This contract is for Phase 2 of the Upper Wenatchee Floodplain Reconnection Project. Phase 1 (contract #: 82854), which was vetted by the Regional Technical Team (RTT), by end of the contract period, will have completed pre-conceptual work and development of 15% conceptual designs. Phase 2, this contract, includes development of a 30% design package (including review), coordination among key stakeholders (Chelan County Natural Resources Department (CCNRD), BPA, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), and others (the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board (UCSRB)), an assessment of access feasibility, and ground penetrating radar transects to aid in the determination of siting and structural stability needed for design features.

The Upper Wenatchee River is a major spawning area for spring Chinook and steelhead. The project area is also likely to provide spawning habitat for summer Chinook and rearing and migration habitat for bull trout. As a result, the RTT identified the Upper Wenatchee Assessment Unit as the #2 priority sub-watershed for restoration actions in the Wenatchee basin prior to initiation of the Phase 1 contract for this project. In its updated prioritization, RTT has ranked the Upper Wenatchee as Tier 1 priority for both spring Chinook and steelhead and as Tier 2 priority for bull trout. Accordingly, focal species for this project are steelhead and spring Chinook.

A variety of actions are expected to be completed between approximately river miles 37.0 and 37.7 as a result of this project. These include installation of deflector engineered log jam (ELJ) and channel excavation to direct mainstem flows onto river left floodplain, construction of apex ELJs to reinforce mid-channel islands, and installation of large wood along river right bank to add in-stream structure.

This contract will contain subcontracts.