This is a good, detailed proposal. The sponsors provide a good description of the prioritization process used to select key properties that will reduce the impact of factors that limit salmonid viability. Coordination and planning are excellent among the five sponsor entities (Idaho Office of Species Conservation, IDFG, Lemhi Regional Land Trust, Nature Conservancy, and Idaho Department of Water Resources) to achieve the common goal of conserving salmon and their habitat while also preserving the ranching and agriculture operations of private land owners. As demonstrated during the site visit, the sponsors have developed positive relationships with key private land owners, leading to successful conservation easements that protect and restore key habitats and conserve water for aquatic resources. The positive relationships and outcomes with private landowners seem to be instilling social change in the region, which could lead to additional cooperation of landowners for the benefit of salmon conservation. Social change and habitat restoration will take time, but progress is being made in the Lemhi River and other parts of the Upper Salmon River Basin. The Lemhi watershed has been identified as a salmonid stronghold (http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/programs/north_america/nine_basins.php) in part because of adult salmon returns without supplementation by hatchery fish.

This land acquisition and easement project relies upon the Lemhi ISEMP program and other monitoring efforts of IMW and CHaMP to document change. ISEMP is now able to enumerate adult salmonid abundance using PIT tags and redd counts, and juvenile abundance, size and timing using screw traps, PIT tags, etc. Conversations during the site visit indicate that the land acquisition and easement program is well-coordinated with the monitoring effort. ISEMP members participated in the site visit enabling a more comprehensive evaluation of activities in the watershed.

The ISRP comments below are provided to improve future statements of work, proposals, and reports.

1. Purpose: Significance to Regional Programs, Technical Background, and Objectives

The Lemhi River Acquisitions Project (2010-088-00) seeks to permanently protect instream and riparian habitat, improve river flow in the Lemhi River, and assist in reconnecting tributary streams to the Lemhi River to benefit all life stages of Snake River spring/summer Chinook and Snake River steelhead. Conservation easement and fee simple acquisitions are being pursued on approximately 9,086 acres owned by the Leadore Land Partners, LLC Ranch, formerly known as Tyler Ranch, and similar properties whose land values can positively address limiting factors for Chinook and steelhead in perpetuity.

The project is clearly consistent with and designed to accomplish the larger objectives of the FWP, BiOp, Recovery Plan(s), and Lemhi Habitat Conservation Plan. The proposal provides sufficient explanation of the goals along with rationale for cost-effectiveness. A single objective was provided: to improve egg to smolt survival. However, as stated elsewhere in the proposal, the benefits of this project extend to other life stages, for example adult survival from migration to spawning. The objective statement does not include specific measures by which the project would be evaluated, but it did provide a table showing anticipated improvement in egg to smolt survival through the expert panel process associated with specific actions (proposal Fig. 9).

2. History: Accomplishments, Results, and Adaptive Management (Evaluation of Results)

Two conservation easements were recently completed via The Nature Conservancy, the 1,080 acre Beyeler Ranch and 1,354 acre Cottom Ranch. The proposal demonstrated the benefit of the Beyeler Ranch easement by showing the distribution of numerous Chinook salmon redds on the property, but it was not clear if redds were from one year or multiple years. Based on the proposal text, it was difficult to assess the gain in water remaining in the river and other benefits to fish and wildlife. But during the site visit, it was shown that stream flow in the lower Lemhi was considerably higher in response to multiple upriver actions including this and other projects. Normally the lower river would have been dewatered by irrigation withdrawals in May. Acquisition of these two conservation easements and their importance to salmonids provide evidence of successful implementation of the project. However, the proposal did not discuss what it had originally proposed to accomplish in relation to what it actually achieved. Nevertheless, we recognize that the sponsor has a list of ranked projects and opportunities from which it can seek private landowners that are willing to cooperate.

The sponsor did an excellent job of providing details on the process of developing and evaluating properties. A table of ranked projects in the basin was provided. It is less clear how extensive the acquisition needs to be to fulfill the recovery objectives for each species. A statement on how far along the project is with acquisition versus instream habitat versus riparian improvement versus upland and other landscape measures would be useful in subsequent proposals. That is, how much more is needed in terms of acquiring stream reaches through conservation easements or land purchases; how much is needed in direct instream screening and irrigation diversion work; how much is needed to restore riparian habitat; and how much is needed in road decommissioning and land-use patterns to achieve restoration, including ESA recovery plus fishery restoration, in another 20 or 30 years?

The proposal briefly describes its adaptive management process: to incorporate new information on limiting factors when ranking and selecting projects for implementation.

Evaluation of Results

This project is relatively new, but it has made significant progress. The project is now the combined effort of the Upper Lemhi River Acquisition (2008-601-00) and Lower Lemhi Habitat Easements (2008-605-00) projects. These programs have developed a good approach for prioritizing and selecting projects for implementation. Benefits to salmonids resulting from specific actions have been estimated using an expert panel process. Based on observations during our site visit, the sponsors have developed good relationships with private landowners. This rapport is critical for developing conservation easements, and it appears that this progress may facilitate additional cooperation by neighboring landowners. Two conservation easements were recently completed, the 1,080 acre Beyeler Ranch and 1,354 acre Cottom Ranch. The benefit of the Beyeler Ranch easement is shown by numerous Chinook salmon redds on the property. These acquisitions have contributed to additional water remaining in the Lemhi River. For example, the lower Lemhi River is normally dry during the irrigation period, but it now has a minimum flow that is suitable for salmonid passage in response to this and other projects.

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions

The relationship of this project to other projects in the region was adequately described, although it would be useful to know more about the amount of inriver water gained by this project versus the water acquisitions project. The usual discussion of climate change impacts was described as an emerging limiting factor. There was no mention of human population change in the basin, including hobby farms, retirees, and the resulting future land use changes as an emerging limiting factor.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

Deliverables were briefly described. A key deliverable is the acquisition of the 9,086 acre Leadore Land Partners land, the LLC Ranch and other properties. A list of the other targeted properties and their benefits would be useful.

The proposal provides a detailed description of how properties are prioritized for acquisition in order to address limiting factors, but additional information on M&E should be provided in future proposals. The ISRP understands that the Lemhi is part of IMW, ISEMP, and CHaMP. The challenge will be how specific programs use IMW, ISEMP, and CHaMP data to evaluate their own project in terms of achieving restoration implementation, habitat objectives and ultimately biological objectives.

This is a good, detailed proposal. The sponsors provide a good description of the prioritization process used to select key properties that will reduce the impact of factors that limit salmonid viability. Coordination and planning are excellent among the five sponsor entities (Idaho Office of Species Conservation, IDFG, Lemhi Regional Land Trust, Nature Conservancy, and Idaho Department of Water Resources) to achieve the common goal of conserving salmon and their habitat while also preserving the ranching and agriculture operations of private land owners. As demonstrated during the site visit, the sponsors have developed positive relationships with key private land owners, leading to successful conservation easements that protect and restore key habitats and conserve water for aquatic resources. The positive relationships and outcomes with private landowners seem to be instilling social change in the region, which could lead to additional cooperation of landowners for the benefit of salmon conservation. Social change and habitat restoration will take time, but progress is being made in the Lemhi River and other parts of the Upper Salmon River Basin. The Lemhi watershed has been identified as a salmonid stronghold (http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/programs/north_america/nine_basins.php) in part because of adult salmon returns without supplementation by hatchery fish.

This land acquisition and easement project relies upon the Lemhi ISEMP program and other monitoring efforts of IMW and CHaMP to document change. ISEMP is now able to enumerate adult salmonid abundance using PIT tags and redd counts, and juvenile abundance, size and timing using screw traps, PIT tags, etc. Conversations during the site visit indicate that the land acquisition and easement program is well-coordinated with the monitoring effort. ISEMP members participated in the site visit enabling a more comprehensive evaluation of activities in the watershed.

The ISRP comments below are provided to improve future statements of work, proposals, and reports.

1. Purpose: Significance to Regional Programs, Technical Background, and Objectives

The Lemhi River Acquisitions Project (2010-088-00) seeks to permanently protect instream and riparian habitat, improve river flow in the Lemhi River, and assist in reconnecting tributary streams to the Lemhi River to benefit all life stages of Snake River spring/summer Chinook and Snake River steelhead. Conservation easement and fee simple acquisitions are being pursued on approximately 9,086 acres owned by the Leadore Land Partners, LLC Ranch, formerly known as Tyler Ranch, and similar properties whose land values can positively address limiting factors for Chinook and steelhead in perpetuity.

The project is clearly consistent with and designed to accomplish the larger objectives of the FWP, BiOp, Recovery Plan(s), and Lemhi Habitat Conservation Plan. The proposal provides sufficient explanation of the goals along with rationale for cost-effectiveness. A single objective was provided: to improve egg to smolt survival. However, as stated elsewhere in the proposal, the benefits of this project extend to other life stages, for example adult survival from migration to spawning. The objective statement does not include specific measures by which the project would be evaluated, but it did provide a table showing anticipated improvement in egg to smolt survival through the expert panel process associated with specific actions (proposal Fig. 9).

2. History: Accomplishments, Results, and Adaptive Management (Evaluation of Results)

Two conservation easements were recently completed via The Nature Conservancy, the 1,080 acre Beyeler Ranch and 1,354 acre Cottom Ranch. The proposal demonstrated the benefit of the Beyeler Ranch easement by showing the distribution of numerous Chinook salmon redds on the property, but it was not clear if redds were from one year or multiple years. Based on the proposal text, it was difficult to assess the gain in water remaining in the river and other benefits to fish and wildlife. But during the site visit, it was shown that stream flow in the lower Lemhi was considerably higher in response to multiple upriver actions including this and other projects. Normally the lower river would have been dewatered by irrigation withdrawals in May. Acquisition of these two conservation easements and their importance to salmonids provide evidence of successful implementation of the project. However, the proposal did not discuss what it had originally proposed to accomplish in relation to what it actually achieved. Nevertheless, we recognize that the sponsor has a list of ranked projects and opportunities from which it can seek private landowners that are willing to cooperate.

The sponsor did an excellent job of providing details on the process of developing and evaluating properties. A table of ranked projects in the basin was provided. It is less clear how extensive the acquisition needs to be to fulfill the recovery objectives for each species. A statement on how far along the project is with acquisition versus instream habitat versus riparian improvement versus upland and other landscape measures would be useful in subsequent proposals. That is, how much more is needed in terms of acquiring stream reaches through conservation easements or land purchases; how much is needed in direct instream screening and irrigation diversion work; how much is needed to restore riparian habitat; and how much is needed in road decommissioning and land-use patterns to achieve restoration, including ESA recovery plus fishery restoration, in another 20 or 30 years?

The proposal briefly describes its adaptive management process: to incorporate new information on limiting factors when ranking and selecting projects for implementation.

Evaluation of Results

This project is relatively new, but it has made significant progress. The project is now the combined effort of the Upper Lemhi River Acquisition (2008-601-00) and Lower Lemhi Habitat Easements (2008-605-00) projects. These programs have developed a good approach for prioritizing and selecting projects for implementation. Benefits to salmonids resulting from specific actions have been estimated using an expert panel process. Based on observations during our site visit, the sponsors have developed good relationships with private landowners. This rapport is critical for developing conservation easements, and it appears that this progress may facilitate additional cooperation by neighboring landowners. Two conservation easements were recently completed, the 1,080 acre Beyeler Ranch and 1,354 acre Cottom Ranch. The benefit of the Beyeler Ranch easement is shown by numerous Chinook salmon redds on the property. These acquisitions have contributed to additional water remaining in the Lemhi River. For example, the lower Lemhi River is normally dry during the irrigation period, but it now has a minimum flow that is suitable for salmonid passage in response to this and other projects.

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions

The relationship of this project to other projects in the region was adequately described, although it would be useful to know more about the amount of inriver water gained by this project versus the water acquisitions project. The usual discussion of climate change impacts was described as an emerging limiting factor. There was no mention of human population change in the basin, including hobby farms, retirees, and the resulting future land use changes as an emerging limiting factor.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

Deliverables were briefly described. A key deliverable is the acquisition of the 9,086 acre Leadore Land Partners land, the LLC Ranch and other properties. A list of the other targeted properties and their benefits would be useful.

The proposal provides a detailed description of how properties are prioritized for acquisition in order to address limiting factors, but additional information on M&E should be provided in future proposals. The ISRP understands that the Lemhi is part of IMW, ISEMP, and CHaMP. The challenge will be how specific programs use IMW, ISEMP, and CHaMP data to evaluate their own project in terms of achieving restoration implementation, habitat objectives and ultimately biological objectives.

There seems to be a high probability that the acquisitions/easements proposed for this project will benefit anadromous fish populations in the Lemhi River. Increasing flow in tributaries and reconnecting them with the mainstem Lemhi River alone may confer very substantial benefits. However, there was not enough detail provided in the proposal to conduct a thorough technical assessment. In addition, the closely linked nature of this proposal for acquisitions and conservation easements with the project that will implement restoration actions at these sites (Upper Lemhi River Restoration Project #2008-602-00) suggests that the two projects should be reviewed in tandem or combined into a single project. In addition, the following items should be included in a revised proposal: • A set of maps that clearly indicates the location of the project properties and the location of the restoration projects to be implemented on the properties • More detail on the guidance given to those who participated in prioritizing acquisition/easement projects • A list of scores for all properties assessed and an explanation why the selected properties were considered the best options • More detail on how improvements in Chinook and steelhead egg-smolt survival rates were estimated • A description of how the proportion of a limiting factor within the watershed addressed with the application of each restoration action was estimated and how these improvements are translated into benefits for the fish • A better description of the linkage between this project and ISEMP and other ongoing M&E efforts in the Lemhi watershed • A clear description of the role each participating organization plays in this project