Overview:  The Snake River Salmon Recovery Board (SRSRB) manages the Tucannon River Programmatic Habitat Project (2010-077-00) through this parent contract for the operations support, management organization, implementation assistance, and reporting described in this summary.  The goal of the Tucannon River programmatic is to restore floodplain function and channel processes to restore habitat in spring Chinook priority restoration reaches of the Tucannon River, leading to improved population productivity and abundance.  

Background: The Programmatic Habitat project works to: 1) set an annual work plan in coordination with the implementation partners, and then allocates budgets and assists in the pursuit of matching funds; 2) provide technical support to the implementation partners and coordinates outside technical design review; 3) provide a forum for the implementer to coordinate their restoration project among regional BPA funded projects including the CCD Columbia County Tucannon Stream & Riparian Restoration Project (1994-018-06), the CTUIR Tucannon Watershed: Protect and Restore Habitat (2008-202-00), and the WDFW Floodplain Management Plan; 4) support collaborative project development so that implementer may gain local endorsement of proposed restoration projects by vetting habitat concepts and design elements through the regional salmon recovery board (SRSRB); 5) conduct public involvement and develop outreach materials for the purpose of promoting the Programmatic’ s restoration goals and objectives; and 6) collect information about project implementation outcomes to document performance, report accomplishments, validate improved habitat conditions, and inform program reporting.

Current Emphases (FY24): Project management activities in 2024 will encompass the following major tasks. The SRSRB will assist the CCD, CTUIR, NPT and WDFW staff to finalize designs and implement the ecological restoration and habitat improvement projects in the following priority stream reaches including: PA-13 (Phase I) & (Phase II) riparian planting; PA-28.1 (Phase III) riparian; PA-26 (Phase III) final design update, & implementation; PA34 final design and implementation; Tucannon FLIR and RGB imagery assessment; and Cummins Creek BDA’s and PALS Phase I.  The SRSRB staff will also assist in the development and design of priority projects in the following areas: PA-14.1 (Phase II) – WDFW; PA-8/10 Big 4 floodplain NPT, CTUIR & WDFW; and PA10.3 floodplain connectivity with WDFW. These projects have been prioritized and selected for their high benefit to spring Chinook habitat. The primary goals of these projects are to increase floodplain connectivity and stream channel complexity through wood placement, and increase connection to side channel and off-channel habitats.

In 2024, the Project will coordinate with CTUIR, NPT and WDFW to implement the PA5-15 Floodplain Assessment, developed to identify conceptual designs to minimize the impacts from the put-and-take fishing impoundments (Tucannon Lakes) and other infrastructure, situated within the Tucannon floodplain.  This strategy will be used to produce high priority floodplain restoration projects within the upper basin and is anticipated to be used to populate the 5-year workplan for 2024-2029.  The process will evaluate available data, develop alternatives that can be locally supported, and develop a plan for streamlined funding and implementation. It is anticipated that this plan would identify large floodplain connectivity gains that could be considered and developed as a sequence of restoration projects to be implemented at least in part by the Programmatic.

Constraints (the need to phase certain project-area work): For pragmatic reasons, past projects (PA-27/28 and PA-13 and PA-26) were sequenced across multiple implementation periods due to the size of the project areas, the complexities involved in funding multiple projects (within a single fiscal-year), and permitting constraints for some of the actions proposed. The multi-phased approach has also provided an opportunity to incrementally develop design concepts with multiple private landowners.  Although using a phased approach has allowed the program to scale up project scope and scale, there are redundancies and additional costs in design, permitting, bidding, and implementing projects in phases over a number of work windows.   Ongoing: The SRSRB continues to support the CCD, CTUIR, NPT and WDFW in prioritizing projects identified in the Conceptual Restoration Plan (2021 Update), and by the application of the Strategy to subsequent project proposal evaluations. The SRSRB works with sponsors to prioritize restoration actions based on the Plan recommendations, and to complete restoration designs for future implementation.

To track the progress of implementation toward habitat goals in the Tucannon, the SRSRB will continue to conduct pre- and post-project habitat surveys within the project reaches using a Rapid Habitat technique adapted from the CHaMP protocol. The greatest value of the rapid habitat survey to the Program is its use as an as-built condition of each project quickly following construction. The surveys are made available to those conducting change detection research to better assist them in understanding the restoration activities and results.  In 2024, pre- and post-project surveys will be completed at PA26 Phase III, Cummings Creek, PA34.1 & 34.2.  Two-year recurring surveys will be conducted at 3-5 project areas based on need as well as pre-design surveys at project areas identified for potential future work.
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Habitat restoration projects developed though the programmatic are vetted in the SRSRB recovery process, building local support in the communities where the restoration will take place.  Restoration projects recommended for funding under the programmatic have undergone multiple levels of review and technical comment before being recommended for implementation.  Only projects exhibiting high benefit to spring Chinook are currently recommended for funding, with selection criteria that prioritize projects that will address the limiting factors outlined for the Tucannon River in the 2020 Columbia River Systems Operation Biological Opinion.

Purpose:  The projects are expected to increase pool and LWD frequency, improve off-channel habitat, promote floodplain connectivity by increasing stream channel roughness (LWD), and increase channel and side channel length.

Objectives:  The restoration objectives for the Tucannon spring Chinook are as follows (channel structure, LWD and floodplain connectivity being the highest priority):  
  1.  Increase riparian function to 75% of maximum
  2.  Increase large woody debris to 2 or more pieces per channel width
  3.  Increase pool frequency to 15% of stream area
  4.  Reduce channel confinement/increase floodplain connectivity to at least 25% of river length
  5.  Reduce maximum daily water temperature so that it does not exceed 72F at confluence of Pataha Creek (RM 11.8 of the Tucannon)
  6.  Decrease substrate embeddedness to 20% in all reaches above confluence of Pataha Creek (RM 11.8).

Status:  In 2021, the SRSRB RTT worked with project sponsors to identify the high priority projects identified in the Tucannon Conceptual Restoration Plan (Anchor QEA  2021). Following our first Adaptive Management Cycle, the sponsors are in various stages of design for construction in the 2024 & 2026 work windows.  The RTT has selected projects based on their ability to achieve measurable progress towards one or more of the objectives listed above, and that are outlined in a work plan through 2026.  Solicitation of projects will take place annually as the following two years’ work is outlined and recommended to BPA for funding. Project designs will be evaluated by the RTT and the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board as they are developed leading into implementation.  An updated work plan was developed in 2021 as the Tucannon Conceptual Restoration Plan was finalized and was reviewed by the local RTT.

The Tucannon River Programmatic Habitat Project continues to use its annual project implementation funding to leverage matching grants from outside funders, and typically averages cost-share amounts between $200-400k/fiscal year.  In 2022, over $410k was awarded to the program sponsors from the SRFB and WCC for implementation in 2023.  In 2022, the CCD was awarded a $515k SRFB grant for implementation on PA26 Phase III, matching the Program's $515k (BPA contract 91598) Implementation in 2024.  The CCD was also awarded a $485,000 grant by the SRFB in 2023, to match implementation on PA 34.1 & 34.2 (CR-352740) for implementation in 2024.  The Programmatic staff provides technical support to project sponsors in the pursuit and acquisition of matching grants for both the design and construction of projects within the framework of the review and evaluation process for the Tucannon.  In 2024-25, the program will support NPT, CTUIR & WDFW in a funding request to remove an off-channel impoundment (Big 4) and reconfigure over 2 miles of floodplain to better support Spring Chinook in the Tucannon.

Management Considerations: Implementation of projects is expected to be completed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Columbia Conservation District, Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (legislative program that supports non-profit groups of volunteers who cooperate with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to improve salmon resources throughout the state), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Pomeroy Conservation District, Nez Pierce Tribe and/or other qualified groups, tribes, or agencies that submit proposals that are approved by the SRSRB.

This ongoing BPA contract support facilitates the development of future projects and the refinement of the work plan as well as soliciting project sponsors for implementation.  The SRSRB will also facilitate the collection and reporting of data for implementation status, action and habitat effectiveness, and trend monitoring. The SRSRB will update the Habitat Work Schedule restoration project data base with new project starts, and the completion status for active projects. With long-term and sufficient funding levels, restoring channel processes and habitat function across large reaches will improve spring Chinook productivity in the Tucannon River.