This project supports a collaborative effort in the Upper Salmon River Watershed with the purpose of benefiting ESA-listed salmonids. It focuses on developing and implementing restoration actions in the Upper Salmon River subbasin on both public and private land to address salmonid limiting factors in support of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Sub Basin Management Plan (2004), Fish and Wildlife Program (2014), and meeting NOAA recovery plan goals for Upper Snake River Basin Salmon and Steelhead (NOAA, 2017).  

The area covered under this project in the Upper Salmon River includes what is known as the 12-Mile Reach from Ellis, Idaho on the Salmon River and its tributaries, East Fork of the Salmon River and its tributaries, and the Upper Salmon Basin from East Fork to the Headwaters of the Salmon and its tributaries. This area has been identified as critical to the recovery of the Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon ESU (NOAA 2017). The Integrated Reach Assessment (IRA, OSC 2019) and Upper Salmon Multiple Reach Assessment (MRA) references biological benefits to include increased resting opportunities, provide cover for juvenile Chinook salmon, maintain or improve stream temperatures that are suitable for salmonids throughout the year, and increase pool quantity and quality. Although the MRA does not cover the entire area of work within this proposal, the principles of the MRA can be applied to the entire Upper Salmon Basin.

This statement of work includes a focus on two individual projects, Pole Creek and Warm Springs, that address the limiting factors identified in this region.  

Pole Creek Habitat Complexity Project
Pole Creek is a tributary to the Salmon River located within the headwaters sub-basin of the Upper Salmon River Watershed. At the point of confluence, discharge from Pole Creek approximately doubles the flow in the Salmon River. Pole Creek historically supported Chinook, steelhead and bull trout at all life stages. The creek is currently designated Critical Habitat for Chinook salmon and steelhead, and Essential Fish Habitat for Chinook. The availability of quality spawning and rearing habitat in Pole Creek has been significantly diminished from decades of irrigation and ranching practices. The current limiting factors in Pole Creek includes lack of woody riparian vegetation, in-stream complexity, micro habitats, and refuge from high velocity flows.

The Pole Creek Irrigation Diversion and Instream Flow project was a multi-year, multi-agency project that took place in 2014 through 2016. The project goal was to facilitate a restored hydrologic cycle within Pole Creek with near-natural peak and base flows. During the late-summer irrigation period, this project reduced the trend from 75 percent of flows being removed from Pole Creek to 75 percent of flows remaining within Pole Creek.  Long-term agreements were developed with landowners and the Idaho Water Board to secure and maintain at least 15 cubic feet per second (cfs) in-stream and ensure resiliency and sustainability of the system. CSWCD installed infrastructure to accommodate smaller screen sizes and facilitate water savings of approximately 14 cfs on this “source switch” project. The completion of the Pole Creek Project included a conversion from hydropower to electric power for the sprinkler irrigation system, which resulted in an immediate reduction of 6 cfs that would no longer be withdrawn from Pole Creek. This was tested for several years prior to the project with a gas generator at the hydro plant.

Re-configuring the previous irrigation systems was the next step in reducing irrigation withdrawals from Pole Creek. Two wells were drilled to supplement surface water with groundwater to provide additional instream flows during the late season. As a result, an additional 8 cfs will not be withdrawn from the creek. The outcome for this project resulted in a total of at least 19 cfs that will remain in Pole Creek. This is a considerable flow that extends down the lower 4.5 miles of Pole Creek and 8 miles of the main Salmon River. Pole Creek is one of the major tributaries to the Salmon River and would naturally contribute the majority of the flow at the confluence of Pole Creek to the Salmon River during a typical summer day.

The Pole Creek project plan is intended to increase the hydraulic connectivity, structural diversity, and habitat complexity of Pole Creek. It is important to build upon the successful results of the existing Pole Creek project, since the resulting increase in flows will encourage adult spawners to move up the creek. The new strategy includes releasing smolts and adults at the County Line Bridge, and possibly adults at the Pole Creek Bridge.  Once completed at the end of this contract cycle, this project is expected to provide significant improvements to Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout spawning and rearing habitats in Pole Creek.

The primary goals of these habitat improvement efforts are to increase habitat availability and habitat complexity. These goals will be achieved by reconnecting abandoned meanders, restoring natural stream processes by establishing woody riparian vegetation for cover and bank stabilization, and increasing channel complexity using habitat structures. The Pole Creek instream restoration project would immediately improve juvenile rearing and overwintering habitat by increasing the minimum wetted channel braidedness by a minimum of 1.5 times the current amount. The project aims to increase the channel unit frequency and fish cover by 200 percent by 3 years post-treatment.

Warm Springs Passage Barrier Removal
The Warm Springs culvert is located on private property (Bankson) near the Challis Hot Springs near Challis, Idaho. This is a BPA easement property that was secured in 2005 as part of the 12-Mile Reach project. The lower culvert on Warm Springs is and has been failing for many years, cutting off a considerable amount of potential spawning and juvenile rearing habitat upstream. The removal of the failing culvert, as well as a second, smaller culvert upstream will provide anadromous fish access to approximately 1.3 miles of habitat in Warm Springs.  This includes additional stream length on both Warm Springs Creek and Stark Springs Creek. According to the NOAA Fisheries recovery plan, restoring side channels will provide high quality rearing habitat, refugia for adults and juveniles (including overwintering fish from upstream populations), and possibly suitable spawning habitat.

Side channels provide high quality habitat due to their relatively constant water temperatures, fed by springs. This is a significant project benefit because cold water temperatures in the Upper Salmon Basin in winter limit juvenile rearing habitat availability, and spring-fed streams offer warmer water temperatures during the coldest months.

Throughout the Upper Salmon Basin, Watershed Program partners are working with landowners both to reestablish access to irrigated fields and to enhance habitat by establishing and protecting riparian vegetation and by eliminating grazing along the channel banks. The Easement prohibits livestock grazing along Warm Springs Creek and the easement area as a whole.  The landowners utilize portions of the easement area for hay production as permitted by the easement. Removal of two culverts necessitates the provision of new access, and two new pre-fabricated steel bridges, placed entirely outside the active channels of the two streams, will provide the landowner access to their hayfields, along with a new segment of unimproved road approximately 1,200 LF in length. A 1,000 LF segment of existing road will also be removed.

Overall, removal of the culverts will amplify the ecological value of these two channels by improving passage and increasing available juvenile rearing habitat in the spring fed Warm Springs Creek and in Stark Springs Creek because they do not freeze in winter, remaining at a near-constant temperature.

Weed control measures will also be taken within the easement area and are captured as a discreet Work Element.

Resources

Tech Team Rankings by the Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Project are completed by resource professionals from the local area using documents that were written and prepared by members of this technical team. They include Habitat Goals and Priorities and the Screen and Habitat Improvement Prioritization in the Upper Salmon Basin (SHIPUS) Tables for ranking.  

https://modelwatershed.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Habitat-Goals-and-Priorities-Charts_Updated_5-6-2009.pdf
https://modelwatershed.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SHIPPUS-Tables-2-and-3-combined-2005-and-2012-ranks-corrected-09_27_2013.pdf

The USBWP has also developed the Integrated Resource Assessment (IRA) and the Multiple Reach Assessment Report (MRA) which can also be found on the Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Project Website and at the links below. These were developed for three specific areas: Upper Samone (above Redfish Lake), the Lemhi and the Pahsimeroi. Although these documents do not address the majority of the Upper Salmon Basin area of work for the Custer Soil and Water Conservation District, we do attempt to apply the principles identified within these documents.
https://modelwatershed.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Upper_Salmon_IRA_20190620.pd_.pdf                          
https://modelwatershed.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/UpperSalmonMRA_Final_20210510_Reduced.pdf  

https://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected_species/salmon_steelhead/recovery_plan ning_and_implementation/snake_river/snake_river_sp-su_chinook_steelhead.html