Show new navigation
On
Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program
Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program
RSS Feed for updates to Proposal RESCAT-2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Wildlife Restoration Follow this via RSS feed. Help setting up RSS feeds?

Proposal Summary

Proposal RESCAT-2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Wildlife Restoration

View the dynamic Proposal Summary

This Proposal Summary page updates dynamically to always display the latest data from the associated project and contracts. This means changes, like updating the Project Lead or other contacts, will be immediately reflected here.

Download a snapshot PDF

To view a point-in-time PDF snapshot of this page, select one of the Download links in the Proposal History section. These PDFs are created automatically by important events like submitting your proposal or responding to the ISRP. You can also create one at any time by using the PDF button, located next to the Expand All and Collapse All buttons.


Archive Date Time Type From To By
10/14/2011 10:06 AM Status Draft <System>
Download 11/29/2011 12:38 PM Status Draft ISRP - Pending First Review <System>
2/16/2012 2:38 PM Status ISRP - Pending First Review ISRP - Pending Final Review <System>
4/17/2012 2:44 PM Status ISRP - Pending Final Review Pending Council Recommendation <System>
2/26/2014 3:16 PM Status Pending Council Recommendation Pending BPA Response <System>

This online form is dynamically updated with the most recent information. To view the content as reviewed by the ISRP and Council for this review cycle, download an archived PDF version using the Download link(s) above.

Proposal Number:
  RESCAT-2001-033-00
Proposal Status:
Pending BPA Response
Proposal Version:
Proposal Version 1
Review:
Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Category Review
Portfolio:
Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Categorical Review
Type:
Existing Project: 2001-033-00
Primary Contact:
Gerald Green
Created:
10/14/2011 by (Not yet saved)
Proponent Organizations:
Coeur D'Alene Tribe

Project Title:
Hangman Creek Wildlife Restoration
 
Proposal Short Description:
The Coeur d'Alene Tribe lost anadromous fish resources with the establishment of the FCRHS. This Project's ultimate goal is to prepare the Hangman landscape for the return of salmon. It works in partnership with #2001-032-00 to substitute the restoration of the native redband trout fishery to the Hangman Watershed in the interum. This Project secures habitats using property acquisitions, conservation easements and landowner agreements and initiates process restoration to achieve substitution.
 
Proposal Executive Summary:
This Hangman Creek Wildlife Restoration Project (BPA #2001-033-00) was initially submitted to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in the 2000 Rolling Provincial Review. The Project was submitted with the partner project 2001-032-00, Implement Fisheries Enhancement on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation: Hangman Watershed. Both these projects were accepted and funded through that initial review. The Projects were contracted in August of 2001.

Project #2001-032-00 was designed and implemented to provide a native fishery to the Coeur d'Alene Tribe by restoring the native redband trout populations to streams throughout the Hangman Watershed in Idaho (the Project Area). However, the condition of instream habitats for fish are inextricably linked to the management of the lands through which the streams flow. While 2001-032-00 focused on the fish and streams habitats, it could not address the larger landscape issues limiting the productivity of instream habitats. This Project (#2001-033-00) was submitted in conjunction with #2001-032-00 to address landscape level processes that degrade the instream fish habitats.

This Project focuses on increasing baseflows within the Project Area. Low baseflows can best be addressed by restoring the processes, primarily floodplain processes that facilitate the persistence of floodplain storage through periods of baseflow. Floodplain restoration cannot proceed without the legal right of access, so one of the primary tools this Project uses is management rights acquisition through fee title purchase, the establishment of conservation easements, leases (CRP or CCRP), and landowner agreements.

A major success for this Project was the 2005 acquisition of 1,195 acres surrounding the confluence of Sheep Creek and Hangman Creek within the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. This property provides dual benefits as it appropriately credits against the HU ledger of wildlife habitat lost during the construction and inundation associated with Albeni Falls Dam. Once restored, this property will also provide crucial habitat for native redband trout as substitution for anadromous fish resourses lost by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe during the establishment of the Federal Columbia River Hydropower System.

During this project proposal period, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe proposes to continue pursuing access to other priority habitats. The methods that have proven successful in the past will be continuously pursued as will conservation easements, a process that has not proven successsful, but that holds the potential to open additional priority habitats to restoration efforts. Changes in land ownership may provide opportunities to pursue conservation easements and CRP partnerships.

Habitat restoration will continue within lands currently managed by the Project and restoration will be initiated on any habitats that will be accessed through new agreements. Habitat restoration proceeds from landscape alterations designed to decommision the artificial drainage networks within the floodplains encompassed by target properties, and through native vegetation restoration as is described in the Idaho/Washington Palouse Prairie Restoration SAFE Proposal (2007). In following the SAFE proposed process, native grasses are established first to minimize noxious weed intrusions and once native grasses are firmly established, native forbs, shrubs and trees are planted.

The objectives of this project are to increase the duration of shallow groundwater through the dry season and to increase baseflows in Project Area streams. Restoration of the processes that develop native floodplain functions and habitats will be accomplished through strategies that partner with beaver to achieve Project objectives. Habitat restoration will, at least initially, favor species that provide beaver with the food and materials they need to establish dams within the entrenched channels of the Project Area. Additionally, dams will be reinforced to ensure their persistance through periods of high flows.

The activities proposed within this NPCC project submittal process will address Spokane Subbasin Terrestrial Objectives 1A10 and 1A11 (both Priority 1 Objectives), and Aquatic Objectives 2A3 (Second Priority) and 2B1 (First Priority). These activities are also completely consistent with the 2009 Program Amendment sections covering Wildife Mitigation, Resident Fish Substitution, and those that stress that wildife "mitigation projects should be integrated with the fish mitigation projects as much as possible (Section II, D, 6).

Purpose:
Habitat
Emphasis:
Restoration/Protection
Species Benefit:
Anadromous: 0.0%   Resident: 70.0%   Wildlife: 30.0%
Supports 2009 NPCC Program:
Yes
Subbasin Plan:
Fish Accords:
None
Biological Opinions:
None

Contacts:

Describe how you think your work relates to or implements regional documents including: the current Council’s 2014 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program including subbasin plans, Council's 2017 Research Plan,  NOAA’s Recovery Plans, or regional plans. In your summary, it will be helpful for you to include page numbers from those documents; optional citation format).
Project Significance to Regional Programs: View instructions
The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act The Fish and Wildlife Section of the Northwest Power Act of 1980 directs the Northwest Power and Planning Council (now the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC)) to develop a program to “protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife, including spawning grounds and habitat, on the Columbia River and its tributaries”(Northwest Power Act, Section 4(h)(1)(A)). The Act further directs the Administrator and other federal agencies “to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife, including related spawning grounds and habitat, affected by the development and operation of any hydroelectric project on the Columbia River and its tributaries” (Northwest Power Act, Section 4(h)(2)(A)). The Act stipulates that funds devoted to fish and wildlife as recompense for resource depletions due to establishment of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) shall come from the Bonneville Power Administration (Northwest Power Act, Section 4(h)(10)(A)). The Coeur d’Alene Tribe relied upon anadromous fish for part of their subsistence resources. The Tribe harvested anadromous fish mainly from the Spokane River and Hangman Creek, but records also indicate that they harvested anadromous fish at Kettle Falls on the Clearwater River, at the confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers, and at Celilo Falls (Scholz 1985). There is also inconclusive evidence that anadromous fish passed Spokane Falls and were harvested by the Coeur d’Alenes within the Coeur d’Alene Subbasin (Scholz 1985). The Coeur d’Alene Tribe also recognizes additional, but not independently verified, anadromous fishing sites. This Project (#2001-033-00) is presented by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in an attempt to “protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife” for losses suffered due to the development of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) in direct response to and in compliance with these portions of the Power Act of 1980. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s 2009 Amendments to the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Amendments WILDLIFE MITIGATION Table C-4 of Appendix C in the 2009 Program Amendments presents the habitat unit (HU) loss ledger for Albeni Falls (page 86). The 2009 Program Amendments stress a “scientific case for a more comprehensive ecosystem-based approach, and the shift in focus to implementation through subbasin plans” (Section II, D, 6). The Amendments further indicated that “mitigation projects should be integrated with the fish mitigation projects as much as possible” (Section II, D, 6). One of the tasks associated with Project #2001-033-00 is to acquire management rights to priority lands in the Hangman Watershed to promote the expansion of the native redband trout populations. The first success in completing this task was through a land purchase to mitigate for construction and inundation losses attributed to Albeni Falls Dam. In 2005, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe purchased the hnt’k’wipn Management Area, which is in the Hangman Watershed and is composed of three separate but contiguous properties that total 1,195 acres. The properties were chosen for their potential to credit in-kind losses attributed to Albeni Falls and for their potential to expand the remnant redband trout populations within the Hangman Watershed. Once restored, stream channels within the mitigation property will expand the isolated redband population in Sheep Creek and increase the probability of that population’s interactions with the other isolated populations of the Upper Hangman Watershed. Through the Program Amendments the Council endorsed habitat units as the preferred unit of measurement for mitigation accounting and indicated mitigation should occur in the same subbasin in which the lost units were located “unless otherwise agreed by the fish and wildlife agencies and tribes in that subbasin” (Section II, D, 6, item c). The hnt’k’wipn Management Area is outside the subbasin in which the Albeni Falls wildlife HUs were lost. However, the purchase was approved by the Albeni Falls Work Group and was fully consistent with the 1998 Albeni Falls Interagency Work Group Operating Guidelines and Guiding Principles for Mitigation Implementation. The Guidelines defined where mitigation implementation would occur and was signed by representative of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Kalispel Tribe, the Kootenai Tribe, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The hnt’k’wipn Management Area provides 1,821.26 HUs (Coeur d'Alene Tribe Wildlife Program 2011), its management is consistent with the Fish and Wildlife Program, and it meets each of the four criteria spelled out in Section II, D, 6 of the 2009 Amendments (page 22): • The hnt’k’wipn Management Area is permanently protected by conservation easements, • The hnt’k’wipn Management Area benefits priority wildlife habitats and species, • The hnt’k’wipn Management Plan was written in May of 2008, • An adequate funding agreement to support implementation of the management plan is in place through the funding of Project #2001-033-00. RESIDENT FISH SUBSTITUTION The NPCC established the Resident Fish Substitution Policy to direct funding resources to address anadromous fish losses in the Blocked Areas where there is little opportunity for reintroducing anadromous fish in the near future. The 2009 Amendments to the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program specifically establish the substitution of increases in resident fish populations for the loss of anadromous fish “in areas blocked to salmon and steelhead” (Section II, D, 8), as is the case in the Spokane Subbasin. Biological objectives for the Substitution of Anadromous Fish Losses (Section II, C, 1) include the restoration and “increase in abundance of native resident fish species throughout their historic ranges” for “consumptive and non-consumptive resident fisheries.” Basin wide, the 2009 Program Amendments rely “heavily on protection of and improvements to inland habitat as the most effective means of restoring and sustaining fish and wildlife populations” (Section II, D, 1). The Program also includes the time frame of 100 years to indicate a long term commitment to achieving the Resident Fish Objectives (Section II, C, 1). The NPCC fully recognized that the “tribes of the Columbia River Basin have vital interests directly affected by activities covered in the 2009 Program Amendments” (Section IX, A) as sovereign governments to which the United States has trust obligations. Appendix E of the 2009 Program Amendments includes specific measures to be implemented in the Spokane Subbasin by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. These measures include watershed restoration efforts to recover hydrologic function in the Hangman Watershed of the Spokane Subbasin within the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s intent is to increase the native resident redband fisheries to promote tribal consumption of a traditional food source. Measures specific to this Project include the following list, which are referenced in Appendix E of the 2009 Amendments: • Address the habitat limiting factors for resident salmonids to increase the distribution and abundance of desired resident salmonids in the Hangman and Upper Spokane River Watershed. • Purchase management rights to priority habitats in the Hangman and Upper Spokane River Watershed through title acquisition, conservation easements, and/or long-term leases. • Use incentive programs for private landowners in the Hangman and Upper Spokane River Watershed to support native ecosystem/watershed function. • Protect and/or restore habitats acquired within the Hangman and Upper Spokane River Watershed to the extent their condition is consistent with the principles of the Fish and Wildlife Program. • Conduct a Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Program to assess success of restoration efforts. • Conduct research and monitoring to determine project effectiveness, identify critical uncertainties that currently constrain preservation and restoration planning, and refine objectives and/or targets as necessary. • Conduct an educational/outreach program for private landowners, students and the general public within the Coeur d’Alene Reservation to facilitate a “holistic” watershed protection process. This Project (#2001-033-00) is the type of project the Resident Fish Substitution provisions of the 2009 Amendments support. This Project is located in the Spokane Subbasin, an inland subbasin of the Intermountain Province of the Columbia River Basin (Section III). It is designed to enhance isolated populations of native redband trout, a resident, native fish. It proposes a long term, lasting, solution to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s loss of anadromous resources through an integrated, holistic watershed protection and restoration approach. The Program is designed to be implemented at the Subbasin Level (Section VII, B) and this Project is designed specifically to address the following objectives set forth within the Spokane Subbasin Plan. The Spokane Subbasin Plan TERRESTRIAL RESOURCES Objective 1A10: Maintain wildlife values, Habitat Units (HUs), for the life of the project on existing and newly acquired mitigation lands through adequate long-term Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funding. (Priority 1) Objective 1A11*: Evaluate effectiveness of mitigation by monitoring and evaluating species and habitat responses to mitigation actions. (Priority 1) The Hangman Restoration Project will meet these Subbasin Objectives by managing, restoring, enhancing and monitoring wildlife habitats within properties purchased during FY2005 to credit against losses attributed to Albeni Falls Dam of the FCRPS that are quantified in Table C-4 of Appendix C in the 2009 Program Amendments. AQUATIC RESOURCES Columbia River Basin Level Category 2: Substitute for anadromous fish losses. Columbia River Basin Level Goal 2A: Restore resident fish species (subspecies, stocks and populations) to near historic abundance throughout their historic ranges where suitable habitat conditions exist and/or where habitats can be feasibly restored. Intermountain Province Level Objective 2A1: Protect, enhance, restore, and increase distribution of native resident fish populations and their habitats in the IMP with primary emphasis on sensitive, native salmonid stocks. Intermountain Province Level Objective 2A2: Maintain and enhance self-sustaining, wild populations of native game fish, and subsistence species, to provide for harvestable surplus. Intermountain Province Level Objective 2A3: Minimize negative impacts (for example, competition, predation, introgression) to native species from nonnative species and stocks. Intermountain Province Level Objective 2A4: Increase cooperation and coordination among stakeholders throughout the province. Spokane Subbasin Objective 2A3 (one of the Subbasin Objectives that addresses Province objectives 2A1-2A4): Double the number of miles of stream within the Spokane Subbasin that support native game fish, including redband trout and native mountain whitefish, and subsistence species by 2020 through strategies addressing habitat and management of game species. (5th Second Priority Objective) Columbia River Basin Level Goal 2B: Provide sufficient populations of fish and wildlife for abundant opportunities for Tribal trust and treaty right harvest and for non-Tribal harvest. Intermountain Province Level Objective 2B: Focus restoration efforts on habitats and ecosystem conditions and functions that will allow for expanding and maintaining diversity within, and among, species in order to sustain a system of robust populations in the face of environmental variation. Subbasin Objective 2B1: Protect, restore, and enhance existing terrestrial and aquatic resources in order to meet the increased demands (cultural, subsistence, and recreational) on these resources associated with the extirpation of anadromous fisheries. (6th First Priority Objective) Project #2001-033-00 proposes to facilitate the expansion of the native redband trout populations in the Hangman Watershed through a two step strategy. The first step is to acquire management rights to priority habitats through property acquisition, conservation contracts (NRCS CRP & CCRP), conservation easements, property leases and other landowner agreements. The acquisition of management rights will, first and foremost, prevent further degradation of native fish habitats. Secondly, this project will complete landscape restoration activities that will correct stream entrenchment and increase the floodplain storage capacity through in channel and floodplain restoration. The end product will be increased base flows and decreased stream temperatures through stream reaches that are currently devoid of native salmonids which has the potential to achieve all the above listed Spokane Subbasin goals and objectives. A Review of Strategies for Recovering Tributary Habitat (ISAB 2003-2) Our proposed tributary habitat restoration efforts target the functionally impaired aquatic and riparian ecosystem processes that were identified in previous limiting factor analysis (Hardin Davis 2005, Peters et al. 2003), hydrologic modeling (Green et al. 2011) and Hangman TMDLs (Idaho DEQ 2007, Washington DOE 2009). These various approaches to the assessment of the Hangman Watershed have identified the lack of base flow, high stream temperatures and high sediment loads as primary limiting factors preventing the widespread distribution of native redband in the system. This project is intended to address these limiting factors on a coarse level across the Project Area and is the type of approach to habitat restoration emphasized by the ISAB, which stresses that responses based on “an analysis centered more on an examination of ecosystem processes (e.g., erosion, flow regime, aquatic and riparian interactions, large wood recruitment, and storage and routing of sediment) will produce a more meaningful picture of the conditions likely to influence the productivity of fish communities …(p.27-28)”. Further, our proposed tributary actions are not just site-specific actions but aim to address specific habitat deficiencies at a spatial scale that would influence streams throughout the Hangman Watershed. Also, proposed actions will build upon those that have already been implemented through this Project (#2001-033-00) and Project #2001-032-00 to continue to improve and connect habitats that serve as habitat for the native redband trout in Hangman Creek. Thus, our approach addresses the concern of the ISAB that “the scale of restoration projects rarely matches the geographical distribution of the fish population that is meant to receive the benefits. Restoration is typically targeted at improving habitat in a stream reach that has been significantly damaged, but rarely do restoration projects affect more than a small fraction of the overall … rearing area (p. 28).” In order to develop a better understanding of the biological responses to tributary-wide restoration actions, the ISAB recommended using an Intensive Watershed Monitoring (IWM) approach, “Untangling the importance of various factors and predicting how these factors respond to land use actions or restoration efforts can only be accomplished with an intensive monitoring approach” (p.45). Further, “A…BACI study design often is well suited to address many of the questions amenable to IWM, ” where “treated and untreated sites can be paired at multiple spatial scales…”, and “reference sites for some reach-level projects could be located within the treated watershed” (p.46). This Project #2001-033-00 will be partnering with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Hangman Fisheries Project to complete monitoring of Project effectiveness. This Project will not be engaged in watershed monitoring beyond the Tier 1 level identified in the ISAB 2003-2 review. This Project will focus on monitoring changes in ground water and provide funding for stream flow monitoring through generated funds. However, this data will be used in the more precise monitoring of tributary restoration actions in partnership with the Tribe’s Hangman Fisheries Project (#2001-032-00) to eventually achieve an IWM approach using treatments, controls and population responses. ISRP and ISAB Comments on Council’s Proposed High Level Indicators (ISRP and ISAB 2009-2) The attributes that we emphasize in our monitoring program align with several of the implementation indicators and descriptions. The quantities of water at base flow in Project Area streams as well as the changes in floodplain storage over time are parameters that will be used by this Project to determine the effectiveness of Project Implementation (HLI 11, p 17). Base flows will be measured at the USGS’s State Line Gauging Station along Hangman Creek as well as at the mouth of Mission, Sheep, Nehchen, and Indian Creeks. Achieving these increases will depend on the number of acres of floodplain habitat and number of riparian miles this project is able to protect through the acquisition of management rights (HLI 12, p 19). The success in floodplain and wetland habitat restoration within protected areas, which will be documented through High Lever Indicator 13 (p. 20), will determine the degree of success at achieving an increase in base flows. Water Howellia (Howellia aquatilis) Recovery Plan (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1996) In 2009, previously unknown populations of water howellia were discovered within the hnt’k’wipn Mitigation Property (Lichthardt and Gray, 2010). The recovery strategy for howellia includes maintaining the current habitat to ensure the maintenance of self-sustaining populations. Critical questions regarding the habitat requirements and species biology remain unanswered. While maintaining the howellia populations are not the responsibility of NPCC projects, implementation of floodplain restoration within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area holds the potential to increase the habitat for the howellia. That potential offers additional partnership opportunities to evaluate floodplain restoration effects and to incorporate benefits to an additional threatened species into management actions.
In this section describe the specific problem or need your proposal addresses. Describe the background, history, and location of the problem. If this proposal is addressing new problems or needs, identify the work components addressing these and distinguish these from ongoing/past work. For projects conducting research or monitoring, identify the management questions the work intends to address and include a short scientific literature review covering the most significant previous work related to these questions. The purpose of the literature review is to place the proposed research or restoration activity in the larger context by describing work that has been done, what is known, and what remains to be known. Cite references here but fully describe them on the key project personnel page.
Problem Statement: View instructions

From time immemorial the Coeur d’Alene Tribe depended on runs of anadromous salmon and steelhead and centered their fishing activities along the upper reaches of the Spokane River and in Hangman Creek (Scholz et. al. 1985).  It is generally acknowledged that the Coeur d’Alenes shared Spokane Falls with the Spokane People, but Hangman Creek at the confluence with the Spokane River and the fishing site near what is now Tekoa, Washington are recorded as being primarily used by the Coeur d’Alene People (Scholz et. al. 1985).  Several estimates have been made of the amount of the anadromous fish resource that was consumed by the Coeur d’Alene People.  These estimated annual per capita consumption rates for the Coeur d’Alenes ranged from 100 pounds per year to 700 pounds per year, with the average per capita for Plateau Tribes in general ranging from 300-365 pounds per year (Scholz et al. 1985).

Construction and operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) during the 20th century directly led to the complete extirpation of all anadromous and some resident fish populations as well as the permanent destruction of critical fish and wildlife habitat in the Upper Columbia River and its tributaries.  Such is the case with Chief Joseph, Grand Coulee, and Albeni Falls dams as well as additional non-Federal hydro facilities constructed along the Spokane River.  Simultaneously, rapid changes in land management practices further altered the fish species composition in Hangman Creek and the availability of native terrestrial wildlife habitat (Edelen and Allen 1998).  From the World War II era to the present, streams were straightened and channelized to provide more arable lands, with the greatest modifications occurring during the 1950s and 1960s.  By 1996, the predominant land use within the Hangman Watershed on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation was agriculture (65.1%), followed by forest (37.9%), grassland (0.2%), developed (0.3%) and wetland (0.006%) (Redmond and Prather 1996).  Because of the modifications to Hangman Creek, the watershed was listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s 303d list in 1998 for habitat alteration, sediment, nutrients, and bacteria.  Moreover, tributaries to Hangman Creek within Idaho were also listed in 2002 for elevated temperature.  Chinook are acknowledged to prefer riverine habitat (Healey 1991), and the reference to their harvest in the Hangman Watershed near the western boundaries of the current Coeur d’Alene Reservation (Scholz et al. 1985) indicates conditions prior to the 20th century were substantially different than the current Hangman Watershed.

The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Act) of 1980 explicitly gives the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) the authority and responsibility “to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife to the extent affected by the development and operation of any hydroelectric project of the Columbia River and its tributaries in a manner consistent with the program adopted by the Northwest Power Planning Council (NWPPC).”  The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has chosen to continue the substitution of restoration of the resident redband populations for the loss of anadromous fish through provisions of the Act as part of the Substitution for Anadromous Fish Losses defined in the NPCC’s 2009 Fish and Wildlife Program Amendments (i.e. Restore and increase the abundance of native resident fish species throughout their historic ranges when original habitat conditions exist or can be feasibly restored or improved. {Page 12}).  The companion projects entitled, Coeur d’Alene Fisheries Enhancement- Hangman Creek (BPA Project #2001-032-00) and Hangman Creek Wildlife Restoration (BPA Project #2001-033-00), were initially submitted during 2000 for inclusion in the FY2001 – FY2003 budget cycle for the Spokane Subbasin, and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe proposes to continue the process of Resident Fish Substitution by resubmitting these projects in the current proposal submittal process. 

Environmental Conditions in the Project Area

The Project Area is the entire 625.9 square kilometers of the Hangman Watershed of the Spokane Subbasin that is encompassed by northern Idaho (Figure 1).  It is bounded by Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 11 coordinates 496-523 km east and 5209-5260 km north.  The Project Area includes approximately 47% of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation Land base.  Approximately 7.2% of the Project Area lies east, and outside of the Reservation.  The Washington-Idaho State border, which corresponds to the western border of the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, marks the western boundary of the Project Area.  The waters of Hangman Creek, which originate in the Project Area, flow northwestward entering Washington near the town of Tekoa, Washington and continue to flow northwest to the confluence with the Spokane River, which is just west of the City of Spokane at Spokane River Mile 72.4.  In Washington, Hangman Creek joins with Little Hangman, Rock Creek, and the North Fork Rock Creek, which are the major tributaries that originate within the Coeur d’Alene Reservation portion of the Project Area (Figure 5).

The geology of the Project Area consists of a Precambrian basement complex (the Belt Series) overlain in most areas by alternating strata of the Latah Sands and Clays and Columbia River Basalts that are highly variable in extent and depth (Ko et al., 1974).  Terrain above roughly 850 meters is composed mainly of Precambrian quartzites and argillites.  Terrain below 850 meters is capped almost exclusively by the Palouse loess uplands and Holocene alluvium along current stream channels, and exhibits characteristic rolling, hilly topography.  The Project Area is perched 150 to 300 feet above its aquifers that are confined to Latah Sands and Clays and the Columbia River Basalts (Ko et al. 1974).    

image001 

Figure 1.  That portion of the Hangman Watershed of the Spokane Subbasin encompassed by the Coeur d’Alene Reservation plus that portion of the Hangman Watershed upstream and east of the Reservation encompasses the entirety of the Project Area.

The Project Area is on the eastern edge of what Bailey (1995) referred to as the Dry Steppe portion of the Temperate Steppe Division.  Elevations range from the 755.9 meters where the North Fork of Rock Creek leaves the Project Area and enters into Washington to 1,506.9 meters at the peak of Moses Mountain, which lies on the eastern boundary of the Project Area between the Hangman and the St. Maries River Watersheds.   The higher elevation quartzite and argillite formations are largely covered by coniferous forests.  The lower-elevational Palouse formation, with its deep loess soils, is managed for the cultivation of non-irrigated crops (e.g. wheat, oats, and lentils).  Bottomland wetlands have largely disappeared due to ditching and draining of fields, entrenched stream beds, and cultivation.  Riparian vegetation is likewise sparse over much of the basin.  In the valley bottom along the mainstem, fields are typically plowed to the channel margins.  Where riparian vegetation does exist in the open bottomlands, it is dominated by invasive reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea). 

The climate in the Project Area is sub-humid temperate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers.  Annual precipitation at DeSmet, Idaho for the years 1963-1983 was estimated to range from 70 to 90 cm (WRCC 2008).  A distinct precipitation season typically began in October or November and continued through March.  Approximately two-thirds of annual precipitation occurred during this period and rain-on-snow events generated by moisture laden Pacific air masses were common in late winter months (Bauer and Wilson 1983).  Temperatures in the watershed are mild overall.  The average daily maximum for August of the 1963-1983 reporting period was 82.2° F.  The average daily minimum for January, which was the coldest month of the year, was 20.9° F.  Snows in the lower elevations of the Project Area do not persist throughout the winter and in the higher elevations the snows are usually completely melted by April or May.

Natural disturbance and succession regimes in the target watersheds have been severely altered during the last 100 years and are consistent with commodity-induced patterns described for much of the Interior Columbia Basin (USDA Forest Service 1996).  The prevailing climate and topography, when coupled with land management practices such as tilling, tiling, draining, grazing, riparian vegetation removal, stream channelization, logging, and road building (Redmond and Prother 1996, Black et al. 1998, Jankovsky-Jones 1999), have all contributed to the loss of function in 80% of historic wetlands (Coeur d’Alene Tribe 2000), a flashy hydrologic cycle and increased stream sediment pollution (Spokane County Conservation District 1994, Isaacson 1998, Uhlman 2007, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 2007, Washington Department of Ecology 2009).  Rain-on-snow events in particular swell streams, contribute to the erosion of lands and cause a pulse of stream sediment pollutants (Peters et al. 2003, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 2007, Washington Department of Ecology 2009, Kinkead and Firehammer 2011).  Conversion of forestlands and other native vegetation communities to agriculture production has enhanced the rain-on-snow phenomenon and accelerated the rate of snow pack depletion to varying extents.  Estimates of peak stream flow increases in the Project Area range from 55-93% (Coeur d’Alene Tribe 2000).  Between 2003 and 2007, discharge regimes during high flow events were flashier in the Hangman Mainstem and in Mission and Sheep Creeks compared with tributaries that are less disturbed such as Indian and Nehchen creeks and peak flows at the State Line Gauging Station on Hangman Creek (gauging station #12422990) ranged from approximately 300 cfs to approximately 2,500 cfs while base flow remained essentially zero (Figure 2) (Kinkead and Firehammer 2011).  

image002 

Figure 2. Comparisons of discharge in Hangman Creek and four fish bearing tributaries, 2003-2007 (Kinkead and Firehammer2011).

Current stream morphology and landform within the valley bottoms of the Hangman Watershed are consistent with the entrenchment and development of a new, lower elevational flood plain that occurs following a major disturbance (Leopold 1994, Rosgen 1996, Shields et al. 1995, Darby and Simon 1999, Beechie et al. 2007).  Stream cross sectional data from the Upper Hangman Watershed (example: Figure 3) gathered by this Project along Hangman Creek and through watershed assessments (Inter-Fluve 2006; 2008) indicate that streams throughout the Project Area are entrenched 3 to 8 feet below the valley floors.  Valley bottoms in the Hangman Watershed are in the early stages of transitioning from the straight, entrenched channels that were constructed during the middle decades of the 20th century toward a new flood plain below the current valley bottoms.  The high sediment loads in the Hangman Creek and low base flows are indicative of this same transition phase in stream morphologic development (Hardin-Davis, Inc. 2005, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 2007, Washington Department of Ecology 2009).

problem_statement_figure3 

 Figure 3.  Sample cross section of the Hangman Creek Stream Channel within hnt'k'wipn Management Area.  The red horizontal line represents the approximate elevation of the abandoned flood plain. The blue horizontal line represents the elevation of the floodplain being established by Hangman Creek at this particular site.

The entrenchment of stream channels and removal of floodplain storage through artificial drainage techniques has reduced floodplain recharge and hyporheic exchange (Darby and Simon 1999) through reduction in the frequency and duration of overbank flows.  Over bank flow is particularly important in promoting floodplain recharge and maintaining wetlands in perched systems like Hangman Creek, where fine loess soils restrict water infiltration (Westbrook et al. 2006; Westbrook et al 2011).  The reduction in floodplain storage within the Project Area is evident in the high peak flows and increased sediment loads resulting from bank erosion during high water events, and in the low baseflows observed during the warmest part of the year (Darby and Simon 1999, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 2007, Mitsch and Gosselink 2007, Washington Department of Ecology 2009, Kincaid and Firehammer 2011).

Limiting Factors for Redband Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss garideini) in the Project Area

The named streams within the Project Area include the North Fork of Rock Creek, Rose Creek, Rock Creek, Little Hangman Creek, Moctileme Creek, Mission Creek, Lolo Creek, Tensed Creek, Sheep Creek, Smith Creek, Mineral Creek, Nehchen Creek, Indian Creek, South Fork of Hangman Creek, Conrad Creek, Martin Creek, Tenas Creek, Papoose Creek, Hill Creek, Bunnel Creek and Hangman Creek.  According to Tribal elders and other local sources, all of these tributaries except Little Hangman were home to trout in the 1940’s.   Currently however, native redband are relegated to upper elevational, isolated, forested stream reaches of Mission Creek, Sheep Creek, Nehchen Creek, Indian Creek, and South Fork of Hangman, and the upper reaches of Hangman Creek (Figures 4 and 5) (Peters et al. 2003, Kinkead and Firehammer 2011).

image004 

 Figure 4.  Spatial pattern of temperature exceedances above established thresholds during critical periods for redband trout in the upper Hangman watershed.  Thresholds included a value of 14o C during the spawning/incubation period from May 1 to June 31, and a value of 20o C during the summer rearing period from July 1 to August 31.

From 2004 to 2007, high stream temperatures during the spawning/incubation period of early summer (Figure 4) and low flows (e.g., standing pools and dewatered reaches) coupled with inadequate dissolved oxygen levels (i.e., < 7 mg/L) during summer base flow periods presented suboptimal rearing conditions for redband trout in the lower elevational portions of the Project Area that are heavily impacted by agriculture (Kinkead and Firehammer 2011) (Table 1, e.g., Andrew Springs, Lolo, Tensed, Rock Creek, Mission Creek, Sheep Creek, SF Hangman Creek).  Low flows and attendant low levels of dissolved oxygen were also documented in lower elevations of the Mainstem of Hangman Creek in 2007.  These findings join a growing body of evidence that indicate the ubiquitous distribution of the low base flows, lack of oxygen, high summer stream temperatures and high sediment loads in the larger, lower elevation streams of the Project Area (Peters et al. 2003, Hardin-Davis, Inc. 2003, Hardin-Davis, Inc. 2005, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 2007, Washington Department of Ecology 2009) have relegated the remnant populations of native redband trout to the isolated, upper elevational, forested stream reaches of the Project Area (Figure 5).

 image005

 Table 1.  Discharge (DS; cfs) and dissolved oxygen (D.O.; mg/L) measured during base flow conditions in Project Area stream reaches from 2004 through 2007.  Sites are ordered relative to their longitudinal position downstream to upstream within each sub-watershed (Peters et al. 2003, Kinkead and Firehammer 2011).

The QHA analysis completed as part of the development of the Spokane Subbasin Plan reflects the data gathered on instream conditions.  Habitat factors identified in the QHA include alteration of stream flow patterns, increased sediment production and delivery to streams, widespread channel instability, elevated summer water temperatures in mainstem reaches, and reduction in overall habitat diversity/complexity (Intermountain Province Subbasin Plan 2004).  The magnitude and severity of impacts were ranked with the Project Area evidencing the greatest deviation from the reference habitat conditions for redband trout in the subbasin (Intermountain Province Subbasin Plan 2004).  

Genetic Status of Redband in the Project Areas

Results from the genetic analysis conducted in 2003-2004 indicated that the isolated subpopulations of redband trout in the Project Area formed a cohesive group (Small and Von Bargen 2005).  The finding that the genetic signature from redband trout in California Creek, a tributary in the Washington portion of the Hangman Watershed, aligned more closely with fish from the Project Area than with those in other portions of the Spokane Subbasin is evidence that movement and sub-population connectivity throughout the Hangman Watershed likely existed in the past and may have been an important mechanism that promoted metapopulation persistence.  However, results also indicated that population fragmentation indicative of reproduction isolation may be occurring at the tributary scale in the upper Hangman watershed (i.e., significant genotypic differences among sampled sub-populations).  Furthermore, significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations for most of the upper Hangman collections suggest that either substantial inbreeding may be occurring within each sub-population, likely the result of small effective population sizes, or that each subpopulation experienced a recent genetic bottleneck.  Collectively, these results suggest that increasing the connectivity of tributary subpopulations would promote a more robust and resilient population structure and would minimize the adverse consequences that arise from isolated, small populations (Gilpin and Soule 1986). 

Results from the genetic analysis also indicated that redband trout in the Project Area were relatively pure with a lack of detectable introgression with coastal strains of rainbow trout.  Thus, even though the non-native coastal subspecies of rainbow trout have been repeatedly introduced into the Spokane River by WDFW from 1933 to 2002, apparently conditions in Hangman Creek have prevented successful colonization by these fish and a resulting lack of genetic introgression.  Another finding from the genetic analyses that confirmed our visual observations was that fish sampled from upper Nehchen Creek were genetically more similar to cutthroat trout than to redband trout.  However, given the low allelic richness detected in these fish and the lack of detectable cutthroat genes in other sampled tributary subpopulations, it is likely that the fish from Nehchen creek were the result of a localized introduction of a small number of fish and, as a result, were relatively isolated and not widespread throughout the upper Hangman watershed.  Indeed, this was corroborated by a landowner who claims to have transplanted cutthroat trout from Benewah Creek, a tributary of Coeur d’Alene Lake, into Nehchen Creek in 1985.

Proposed Response to Conditions and Limiting Factors

Because of the extent of the problems that limit native trout distribution in the Project Area and the precarious status of the remnant redband populations, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe has proposed two projects for the NPCC’s Resident Fish Substitution Process.  One project is designed to focus on the resident fish populations and the in-stream and near stream factors that limit their distribution in the Project Area (Project #2001-032-00).  The other project (Project #2001-033-00) is designed to address the landscape issues that limit baseflow in the streams of the Project Area.  Project #2001-033-00 is essentially responsible for landscape restoration as a precursor to the work done in-stream and near the streams by #2001-032-00 to establish a fishery in the Project Area.

The Priority Areas for the two projects is the result of each project’s specific purpose (Coeur d’Alene Tribe Wildlife Program 2011).  The Priority Area for Coeur d’Alene Fisheries Enhancement – Hangman Creek (#2001-032-00) is the stream reaches that support the remnant populations of redband in the Project Area, the stream reaches that can serve to connect the isolated redband populations and the near stream habitats that exert the strongest immediate influence on stream conditions (Figure 5).  The Priority Area for the Hangman Creek Wildlife Restoration Project (#2001-033-00) is the portion of the landscape (identified as Hydro Priority in Figure 5) that is most predictive of saturated soils and wetlands, thus most capable of accepting the recharge during the wet season and storing it for release into adjacent streams through the dry season.  The Priority Areas for the two Projects overlap somewhat as will some of the activities within their scopes of work; however, the Fisheries Project focuses on increasing redband populations and distributions where there is a high probability of success, while the Wildlife Project focuses on improving baseflows throughout the Project Area to eventually increase the area of operation for the Fisheries Project.  One area of project implementation where an overlap in scopes of work will occur is in partnering with beaver to achieve project objectives.  An increase in beaver ponds holds the promise of increasing habitat for native fish (Pollock et al. 2003); a finding that may prove to be useful to Project #2001-032-00.  Partnering with beaver has been successful in reversing some of the stream channel incision and its deleterious effects on baseflows in Bridge Creek of the John Day River Basin (Pollock et al. 2007, Pollock et al. 2011), which does not appear to be an isolated incident (Westbrook et al. 2006, Westbrook et al. 2011).  Project #2001-033-00 hopes to achieve similar results throughout the Project Area.

image005 

 Figure 5. Priority Habitats for BPA Project #2001-032-00 are the in-stream and near stream habitats associated with the salmonid bearing stream reaches and the potential connecting stream reaches.  Priority Habitats for BPA Project #2001-033-00 are identified as the Hydrologic Priority Area, where the restoration of floodplain function has the potential to increase baseflows.


What are the ultimate ecological objectives of your project?

Examples include:

Monitoring the status and trend of the spawner abundance of a salmonid population; Increasing harvest; Restoring or protecting a certain population; or Maintaining species diversity. A Project Objective should provide a biological and/or physical habitat benchmark by which results can be evaluated. Objectives should be stated in terms of desired outcomes, rather than as statements of methods and work elements (tasks). In addition, define the success criteria by which you will determine if you have met your objectives. Later, you will be asked to link these Objectives to Deliverables and Work Elements.
Objectives: View instructions
Floodplain Storage (OBJ-1)
Decrease the rate of floodplain groundwater depletion through dry season

Baseflow (OBJ-2)
Increase baseflow in Project Area streams

Public Outreach (OBJ-3)
Involve students in learning experiences within project areas, in management activities and in data gathering to increase interest in project success


The table content is updated frequently and thus contains more recent information than what was in the original proposal reviewed by ISRP and Council.

Summary of Budgets

To view all expenditures for all fiscal years, click "Project Exp. by FY"

To see more detailed project budget information, please visit the "Project Budget" page

Expense SOY Budget Working Budget Expenditures *
FY2019 $317,750 $317,750 $301,809

General $317,750 $301,809
FY2020 $317,750 $317,750 $299,980

General $317,750 $299,980
FY2021 $317,750 $317,750 $304,496

General $317,750 $304,496
FY2022 $317,750 $317,750 $289,974

General $317,750 $289,974
FY2023 $317,750 $533,750 $495,713

General $533,750 $495,713
FY2024 $331,731 $331,731 $322,623

General $331,731 $322,623
FY2025 $0 ($28,196)

General $0 ($28,196)
Capital SOY Budget Working Budget Expenditures *
FY2019 $0 $0

FY2020 $0 $0

FY2021 $0 $0

FY2022 $0 $0

FY2023 $0 $0

FY2024 $0 $0

FY2025 $0 $0

* Expenditures data includes accruals and are based on data through 31-Mar-2025

Actual Project Cost Share

The table content is updated frequently and thus contains more recent information than what was in the original proposal reviewed by ISRP and Council.

Current Fiscal Year — 2025
Cost Share Partner Total Proposed Contribution Total Confirmed Contribution
There are no project cost share contributions to show.
Previous Fiscal Years
Fiscal Year Total Contributions % of Budget
2024 $398,167 55%
2023 $3,666,165 87%
2022 $1,887,750 86%
2021 $378,054 54%
2020 $161,252 34%
2019 $1,285,357 80%
2018 $112,737 26%
2017 $153,482 33%
2016 $158,010 33%
2015 $154,763 33%
2014 $149,235 32%
2013 $194,814 39%
2012 $769,787 71%
2011 $145,805 33%
2010 $117,905 29%
2009 $79,195 22%
2008 $16,703 6%
2007

Discuss your project's recent Financial performance shown above. Please explain any significant differences between your Working Budget, Contracted Amount and Expenditures. If Confirmed Cost Share Contributions are significantly different than Proposed cost share contributions, please explain.
Explanation of Recent Financial Performance: View instructions
The Contracted Amounts in FY2006 and FY2007 were below the Working Budgets for those years due to the time lag between property acquisition and the initiation of habitat restoration. The hnt’k’wipn Management Area was acquired through the purchase of three different properties, the last of which closed in September of 2005. The initial restoration alternatives analysis completed in August of 2006 (Inter-Fluve 2006) included: estimating bankfull discharges and predicting large flood magnitudes and frequencies; a geomorphic assessment and aerial photo analysis; at-a-station hydraulic analysis; and streamband and streambed stability and mobility analysis. An assessment of the affects of the drain tiles on the floodplain hydrology within the property was completed in January of 2007 (Uhlman 2007). The hnt'k'wipn Management Plan was written in FY2007, however implementation of the Plan was dependant on BPA review, acceptance by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the completion of a public review and comment period. The Management Plan was fully approved in May of 2008 and restoration efforts within the hnt'k'wipn Management Area began immediately. The initial work to restore the habitats within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area was initiated in the summer of 2008 with the removal of drain tile from 279.3 acres of Sheep and Hangman Creek floodplains. While higher working budgets were approved for FY2006 and FY2007, full restoration efforts were not initiated until after the Management Plan was written and a clear understanding of the processes that would be undertaken was gained. The differences between Working Budget, Contracted Amount and Expenditures since FY2007 are the result of budget variances. No cost share estimates were made for FY2010 and FY2011. Cost share estimates for FY2008 and FY2009, however, were $42,000 per year and this estimate was made in FY2006 through the last project proposal process. The Project Proponents have been able to exceed the cost share estimates made in the last project submittal process by seeking additional grant funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to answer questions about upland habitats within the Project area, by partnering with the USDA Conservation Reserve Program to implement restoration on priority habitats through CRP and CCRP contracts, and by applying funds generated from management of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area to salaries, equipment purchases, and project expenses.
Discuss your project's historical financial performance, going back to its inception. Include a brief recap of your project's expenditures by fiscal year. If appropriate discuss this in the context of your project's various phases.
Explanation of Financial History: View instructions
This Project has matured through several phases: project initiation was August of 2001 and encompassed the first year; planning and property acquisition spanned from FY2003 to FY2007; restoration initiation spanned from FY2008 through FY2010: and Project expansion began in FY2010 and will continue into the future. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe Wildlife Program’s history of contract awards is as follows: 03/01/2005 - 09/30/2005 - $76,800 FY2006-$275,207 FY2007-$275,207 FY2008-$300,000 FY2009-$285,000 FY2010-$292,125 FY2011-$299,428 Initial investigations covered soil, historic and current vegetation patterns, historic photos, public land surveys, aerial photo coverages, stream configuration, CRP coverage, previous evaluations, agencies involved in the Watershed, and landowners of the Watershed. Data accumulated by both this Project and Project #2001-032-00 were used to produce the first Prioritization Plan, which was completed in September of 2002. FY2003 through 2007 expenditures included: pre-acquisition activities (appraisals, hazardous materials surveys, cultural resource surveys, etc.) ; the purchase of 3 contiguous properties that provided benefits to both fish and wildlife (completed in FY2005); 2003 Prioritization Plan revisions; property assessments; the draft of a management plan; development of SNTEMP and PHABSIM models (completed in FY2005) to identify limiting factors; completion of an EPA funded hydrologic study (May 2007), and the submittal for a U.S. Fish and Wildlife grant to investigate upland habitat potential in the Watershed (awarded March of 2008). Restoration initiation began in FY2008 with the decommissioning of drain tile under 279.3 acres of floodplain within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area. Native grasses were also broadcast planted on 36.4 acres. In 2009: Ditch F was decommissioned; preparations for decommissioning Ditch A were completed; and native grasses were broadcast over an additional 72.9 acres. In 2010: the majority of the new Sheep Creek channel was completed; a Cultural Resource find in the new alignment prevented the full completion of the channel; native grass seed was drilled into 196.4 acres near Ditch A; and 27 acres of ponderosa pine were thinned to approximate historic pine open woodland densities. In 2011: the new Sheep Creek Channel was completed; and native grasses were drilled into 114 acres of floodplain habitat. The contracted expense funds have remained relatively consistent through the project history. A large portion of the funds during the early years was devoted to data gathering and property and watershed assessments. In recent years, project proponents have secured funding from sources outside BPA for information gathering, this has allowed a higher proportion of the contracted amount to be devoted to restoration implementation.

Annual Progress Reports
Expected (since FY2004):19
Completed:18
On time:18
Status Reports
Completed:79
On time:43
Avg Days Late:3

                Count of Contract Deliverables
Earliest Contract Subsequent Contracts Title Contractor Earliest Start Latest End Latest Status Accepted Reports Complete Green Yellow Red Total % Green and Complete Canceled
22364 24595, 29020, 35067, 39739, 44311, 49588, 54815, 59395, 62869, 66784, 70503, 74151, 76952, 76828 REL 3, 76828 REL 7, 76828 REL 11, 76828 REL 19, 76828 REL 25, 84053 REL 5 2001-033-00 EXP HANGMAN CREEK FISH & WILDLIFE RESTORATION Coeur D'Alene Tribe 03/01/2005 09/30/2024 Closed 79 281 4 3 53 341 83.58% 0
Project Totals 79 281 4 3 53 341 83.58% 0

Selected Contracted Deliverables in CBFish (2004 to present)

The contracted deliverables listed below have been selected by the proponent as demonstrative of this project's major accomplishments.

Contract WE Ref Contracted Deliverable Title Due Completed
24595 T: 53 Open Woodland Habitat with HUs secured from catastrophic wildfire 9/22/2006 9/22/2006
24595 J: 157 Weekly water table depth and soil moisture measurements 9/29/2006 9/29/2006
29020 D: 174 hnt'k'wipn Management Plan 9/21/2007 9/21/2007
29020 T: 92 Lands Along Hangman Mainstem and Tributary Streams Enrolled in Riparian CRP . 9/28/2007 9/28/2007
29020 C: 118 Coordinated efforts to restore native habitats to the Hangman Watershed 9/30/2007 9/30/2007
35067 L: 47 Habitat Restoration Efforts Initiated Through the Plantings of Native Grasses 11/5/2007 11/5/2007
35067 C: 175 Designs for future wetland configuration on the hnt'k'wipn properties. 9/5/2008 9/5/2008
35067 D: 175 Design for a Stable Sheep Creek Realignment 9/5/2008 9/5/2008
35067 G: 181 Disabled Drain Tile. 9/27/2008 9/27/2008
35067 B: 174 Updated Hangman Habitat Prioritization Plan 9/30/2008 9/30/2008
39739 L: 47 Habitat Restoration Efforts Initiated Through the Plantings of Native Grasses 11/1/2008 11/1/2008
39739 H: 181 Drainage ditch "F" filled and water rerouted through natural drainage channel. 9/30/2009 9/30/2009
39739 G: 181 Drainage ditch "A" filled and water rerouted through natural drainage system. 9/30/2009 9/30/2009
44311 L: 40 Fences installed to protect native fish and wildlife habitats 3/31/2010 3/31/2010
44311 K: 47 Habitat Restoration Efforts Initiated Through the Plantings of Native Grasses, Shrubs and Trees 5/3/2010 5/3/2010
44311 I: 53 Coniferous Forest Thinned to Pine Open Woodland Densities 9/30/2010 9/30/2010
44311 G: 181 Realignment of Sheep Creek according to design specifications. 9/30/2010 9/30/2010
44311 N: 92 Identification of lands eligible for enrollment in Riparian CRP 9/30/2010 9/30/2010
49588 L: 53 Controlled Burn of Approximately 27 Acres of hnt'k'wipn Pine Forest 12/9/2010 12/9/2010
49588 N: 40 Fences installed to protect establishing vegetation 6/3/2011 6/3/2011
49588 E: 141 Revised Prioritization Plan 7/29/2011 7/29/2011
49588 M: 47 Habitat Restoration Efforts Initiated Through the Plantings of Native Grasses, Shrubs and Trees 7/29/2011 7/29/2011
49588 D: 87 HEP Report 8/19/2011 8/19/2011
49588 P: 92 Identification of Priority Habitats Eligible for Enrollment in FSA/NRCS Programs 9/30/2011 9/30/2011

View full Project Summary report (lists all Contracted Deliverables and Quantitative Metrics)

Discuss your project's contracted deliverable history (from Pisces). If it has a high number of Red deliverables, please explain. Most projects will not have 100% completion of deliverables since most have at least one active ("Issued") or Pending contract. Also discuss your project's history in terms of providing timely Annual Progress Reports (aka Scientific/Technical reports) and Pisces Status Reports. If you think your contracted deliverable performance has been stellar, you can say that too.
Explanation of Performance: View instructions
Reporting is a priority for this Project. All reports requested or otherwise required have been submitted to BPA and accepted. Annual reporting has been consistently on schedule. Project proponents acknowledge that quarterly reporting has often missed the established schedule. There are a high number of deliverables marked as incomplete since 2006. These incompletes fall into categories of related deliverables that often cross over contract years. After the Tribe purchased the Hanson Property, management of the house, farmstead along with approximately 175 acres of upland were considered inconsistent with BPA management. An agreement was reached to trade the unsuitable portion of the Hanson Property out of the BPA programs for lands along the St. Joe River, near St. Maries, Idaho that was well suited to BPA programs. This trade, although simple in concept and agreeable to the principal parties, did not proceed smoothly. The bulk of the preliminary work was completed in FY2006, however completion of the trade occurred in FY2007. This resulted in five missed deliverables in FY2006. Monitoring and Evaluation deliverables were abandoned in favor of establishing the UCUT Wildlife Monitoring and Evaluation Project (#2008-007-00). UWMEP now completes the desired M&E. This resulted in four missed deliverables in FY2007 and three in FY2008. The hnt’k’wipn Management Plan was written in FY2007. However, the Plan was not approved until May of 2008. One associated deliverable was missed in 2006 and three in 2007. The acquisition of an easement on parcels within the Reservation that were owned by a private timber company was attempted in FY2007. The targeted parcels included stream reaches that supported native redband populations. The timber company abruptly discontinued negotiations and declined to sell a conservation easement. This resulted in three missed deliverables in 2007. A forest thinning within the hnt’k’wipn Management Plan was planned for FY2008. However, timber values declined in 2008 so the harvest was postponed. The timber values declined further in FY2009 and in May of 2009 the Coeur d’Alene Tribe stopped all timber harvest until market values returned to profitable levels. The harvest was completed in August of FY2010 and the controlled burn, was completed in the fall of 2010 (FY2011). This resulted in two missed deliverables in each of FY2008 and FY2009 and one in FY2010. The Prioritization Plan was revised in FY2007; however the first revision proved unsatisfactory. The plan was fully completed in September of 2008, and it was edited to improve clarity in October of FY2011. This resulted in one missed deliverable in 2007. Attempts to enroll priority habitats in CRP or CCRP are ongoing. However, little success has been achieved with this process. The inability to enroll lands in a Conservation Reserve Program has resulted in two missed deliverables in FY2008, one in 2009, and one in 2010. A partnership between CRP and this Project in an area of Priority Habitat was established in FY2011. A Benewah County road transects the hnt’k’wipn Management Area. The placement of this road and the culverts under it diminish the Area’s benefits to native fish and wildlife. Efforts were initiated to define options for future management of the road. However, it became clear that management options at this point are quite narrow and the benefits in pursuing the available options are not clear. The deliverable was removed from the BPA contract. This resulted in one missed deliverable for each of FY2010 and FY2011. In the summer of 2011, soils within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area remained wet far longer than normal. Projects were started weeks later than expected and work did not progress as rapidly as planned because operators had to move equipment carefully to prevent miring. The mowing of the fields previously planted with native grass to reduce the Ventenata dubia (an invasive annual grass) could not be completed before the Ventenata produced seed and Ditch B could not be decommissioned. This resulted in two missed deliverables in FY2011. In summary, this is a multi-dimensional project that is influenced by a wide range of variables, many of which are beyond the control of Project proponents. Deliverable completion has been affected by weather, economic trends, and scheduling variations. The Project proponents admit to a certain level of naiveté in setting deliverable completion dates. Of all the deliverables tagged as not delivered within the allotted time, only those associated with the acquisition of a conservation easement on stream reaches owned by a timber company (three deliverables in 2007) and the deliverables associated with defining options for managing the county road through the hnt’k’wipn Management Area (one in each of 2010 and 2011) were not completed at all. This results in a deliverable completion rate of approximately 96%.

  • Please do the following to help the ISRP and Council assess project performance:
  • List important activities and then report results.
  • List each objective and summarize accomplishments and results for each one, including the projects previous objectives. If the objectives were not met, were changed, or dropped, please explain why. For research projects, list hypotheses that have been and will be tested.
  • Whenever possible, describe results in terms of the quantifiable biological and physical habitat objectives of the Fish and Wildlife Program, i.e., benefit to fish and wildlife or to the ecosystems that sustain them. Include summary tables and graphs of key metrics showing trends. Summarize and cite (with links when available) your annual reports, peer reviewed papers, and other technical documents. If another project tracks physical habitat or biological information related to your project’s actions please summarize and expand on, as necessary, the results and evaluation conducted under that project that apply to your project, and cite that project briefly here and fully in the Relationships section below. Research or M&E projects that have existed for a significant period should, besides showing accumulated data, also present statistical analyses and conclusions based on those data. Also, summarize the project’s influence on resource management and other economic or social benefits. Expand as needed in the Adaptive Management section below. The ISRP will use this information in its Retrospective Review of prior year results. If your proposal is for continuation of work, your proposal should focus on updating this section. If yours is an umbrella project, click here for additional instructions. Clearly report the impacts of your project, what you have learned, not just what you did.
All Proposals: View instructions
  • For umbrella projects, the following information should also be included in this section:
  • a. Provide a list of project actions to date. Include background information on the recipients of funding, including organization name and mission, project cost, project title, location and short project summary, and implementation timeline.
  • b. Describe how the restoration actions were selected for implementation, the process and criteria used, and their relative rank. Were these the highest priority actions? If not, please explain why?
  • c. Describe the process to document progress toward meeting the program’s objectives in the implementation of the suite of projects to date. Describe this in terms of landscape-level improvements in limiting factors and response of the focal species.
  • d. Where are project results reported (e.g. Pisces, report repository, database)? Is progress toward program objectives tracked in a database, report, indicator, or other format? Can project data be incorporated into regional databases that may be of interest to other projects?
  • e. Who is responsible for the final reporting and data management?
  • f. Describe problems encountered, lessons learned, and any data collected, that will inform adaptive management or influence program priorities.
Umbrella Proposals: View instructions

Prioritization Plan {Work Element B:174 from 9/30/2008, and E:141 from 2011}

The Project Area is extensive (625.9 square kilometers) and streams within the Project Area are severely degraded from conditions that support native salmonids.  With the extensive scope of the problem, identifying where on the landscape to concentrate efforts and why represents a major achievement for this Project.  The Hangman Fisheries Project (#2001-032-00) was readily able to identify the stream reaches that were important to the remnant redband populations, but how to address the landscape level issues remained unclear until a funding source outside the BPA projects investigated hydrologic processes in the Project Area.  On March 15, 2004, the Project Proponents, along with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Environmental Program applied for an EPA grant to identify the major hydrologic process that resulted in soil saturation and wetland development in the Project Area.  It was assumed that improving wetland development would also contribute to increased base flows (Mitsch and Gosselink 2007) and thus address low base flows, one of the limiting factors for native redband trout (Hardin-Davis 2005).  The final report (Callery 2007) identified downslope as the index that most closely predicted soil saturation and hydric soil locations.  This was consistent with our understanding of floodplain storage and hyporheic exchange (Darby and Simons 1999), as well as our understanding of the increased floodplain storage that can result from beaver dam construction (Ruedemann and Schoonmaker 1938, Naiman et al. 1988, Pollock et al. 2003, Rosell et al. 2005, Pollock et al. 2007).  The results of the EPA funded study were used to define the Hydrologic Priority Area for the Hangman Wildlife Restoration Project (Figure 1) in the prioritization plan for the Project Area (Prioritization Area Selection within the Hangman Watershed of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation).  This Project can now proceed with landscape restoration with some assurance that specific efforts within the Hydrologic Priority Areas across the Project Area will result in increased base flow. 

 Figure_1

Figure 1.  Map of the Project Area with the location of priority stream reaches and priority landforms designated

 

Access to Priority Habitats {Work Elements T:92 from 9/30/2007, N:92 from 9/30/2010, and P:92 from 9/30/2011}

Figure 2 illustrates the location of the properties this Project has gained access to through conservation easements, partnership in CCRP and CRP, landowner agreements, and property purchases.  Access to priority habitats to initiate restoration has been one of the main objectives of this Project and has been accomplished through a variety of processes.  The following is a list of the tools used to gain access to priority habitats.  The methods of gaining access are listed beginning with the most preferred to the least preferred:

  • Title acquisition.  This was used on the hnt’k’wipn Management Area and the Avista Properties.

hnt’k’wipn Management Area – approximately 1,195 acres.  This property was purchased with capitol funds from the Bonneville Power Administration to mitigate against the Albeni Falls wildlife HU ledger.  The Management Area also encompasses stream reaches that can provide habitats for redband trout and assist in connecting the isolated populations in the Project Area.

Avista Purchases – Three privately owned properties were purchased in FY2011 as part of the license condition for the FERC relicensing of Post Falls Dam.  Properties were identified using data and GIS coverages provided by this Project’s Prioritiztion Plan titled Prioritization Area Selection within the Hangman Watershed of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.  These properties serve as mitigation for wetland types lost through operation of the Post Falls Dam.  Properties are to be managed to maximize wetland potential.  The properties include:

the 24.9 acres Sutherland Trust Property, which is completely within the Hydrologic Priority Area and contains portions of Hangman and Smith Creeks just above their confluence;

the 137 acre McKinnon Property, which includes 72.5 acres of Hydrologic Priority habitat along Hangman Creek adjacent to and downstream of the Sutherland Property; and

the 200 acre Moses Mountain property, which includes 120.0 acres of Hydrologic Priority habitat along Hangman Creek.

  • Conservation Easement.  Project proponents were unsuccessful in acquiring an easement on high priority habitat owned by a timber company within the Reservation.  The parcels included stream reaches that supported native redband populations, but despite initial willingness to entertain the sale of an easement, the timber company ultimately discontinued negotiations and declined to sell a conservation easement.  Since that initial attempt, conservation easements have been discussed with a number of landowners but none have expressed a willingness to negotiate a sale.  However, there is a new timber company owning the particular stream reaches that were the center of the previous negotiations.  Also, landowners within the Project Area are becoming more familiar with the concept of conservation easements.  While initial attempts were unsuccessful in obtaining easements, this tool remains a viable option and Project proponents have become familiar with the easement acquisition process.

 

  • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or Continuous CRP (CCRP) contracts along with an AGREEMENT AND LICENCE TO ENTER signed by the landowner allowing this Project to assist in implementing the Reserve Program restoration measures.  Access gained with this arrangement include:

Isom Property on Smith Creek – approximately 17.6 acres along a 500 meter length of Smith Creek, adjacent to and upstream of the Sutterland Trust Property.

Allotment 434 – approximately 19.8 acres along an 825 meter length of Rose Creek, a Hangman Tributary that once supported trout.

Worley Rock Pit – a 150 acre parcel owned by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe near the North Fork of Rock Creek.  The property encompasses a substantial wetland/drainage that will be used as an aspen nursery. 

  • Landowner Agreement, or an AGREEMENT AND LICENCE TO ENTER, allowing specific restoration activities on specific areas of parcels.  Agreements are in effect for a minimum of 5 years, with 10 and 15 year duration preferred.  Properties accessed with this arrangement include:

Allotment 375 – approximately 30.5 acres within a 100 foot buffer of the original Sheep Creek Channel, which will be perminantly reactivated when the newly constructed channel within the adjacent and upstream hnt’k’wipn Management Area is stabilized with vegetation.  The agreement allows the Tribe’s Natural Resource staff to complete adjustments to the channel and plant vegetation along its banks.

Tribal Parcel 1030 – approximately 24.0 acres within a 25 foot buffer of the original Sheep Creek Channel, which will be permanently reactivated when the newly constructed channel within the adjacent and upstream hnt’k’wipn Management Area is stabilized with vegetation.  Access was gained through Coeur d’Alene Tribal Resolution 12 (2010), which allows the Natural Resource Staff to plant native vegetation along the banks of the reestablished stream channel. 

  • Non-Response Letter.  A non-response letter is a non-binding understanding established between the landowner of a targeted allotment and the Tribe’s Natural Resources Programs.  Allotments are frequently owned by multiple individuals and multiple families, none of which live on or actively manage the allotment.  Property management falls to the BIA or to the Tribe’s Natural Resources Programs.  In issues that involve major management changes on an allotment consent by all the allotment owners is required.  However, to complete management actions that do not result in major changes to allotment management, and that do not reduce the economic value of the allotment, a letter is sent to each of the landowners indicating actions to be taken and, if there are no objections to the actions, the landowners need not respond to the letter.  Allotment owners only respond if they have an objection to the management action proposed.  Letters have been sent to the owners of A336, A340 and A187 indicating the intent to plant native deciduous vegetation along stream channels and in wetlands.  No response from the landowners was received, so it was assumed the allotment owners were not opposed to the restoration activities.

Allotment 336 – approximately 12.4 acres within a 100 foot buffer of Sheep Creek.  A336 is adjacent to the hnt’k’wipn Management Area and upstream along Sheep Creek.

Allotment 340 – approximately 27.5 acres within a 100 foot buffer of Sheep Creek.  A340 is adjacent to A336 and upstream along Sheep Creek.

Allotment 187 – a 240 acre allotment near Little Hangman that includes drainages that will be used as an aspen nursery.

Figure_2 

Figure 2.  Properties encompassing habitats that are being restored by Projects #2001-033-00 and #2001-032-00.

 

hnt’k’wipn Management Plan {D:174 from 9/21/2007}

The hnt’k’wipn Management Plan was written in FY2007 and final approval was granted in May of 2008.  The Plan discussed the history and purpose of the purchase of the various parcels that make up the Management area and established a strategy to restore forest habitats, hydrology and agricultural areas of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area.  The following discussion is taken directly from the IMPLEMENTATION TIME LINE segment of the Management Plan (page 49) and was intended to set forth a strategy to restore habitats within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area.

 The size of the hnt'k'wipn Management Area and the extent of the reduction in native vegetation coverage warrants a step wise implementation of restoration activities.  To remove all the agricultural crop production and replace it with native vegetation in a single year would concentrate expenses, cause intense logistical problems, increase the probability of failure and generally increase the difficulty of structuring the landscape to favor a functioning hydrologic system.  The Preferred Alternative will be implemented on a stepwise schedule, with the completion of each year’s activities preparing the landscape and logistics for the next year’s work.  The following brief overview of project implementation is addressed by calendar year since much of this work must be planned in accordance with the seasons.

Central to ensuring success of establishing native vegetation is the underlying hydrology of the hnt'k'wipn Management Area.  The major focus for the first 6 years of management plan implementation will be completing the landscape alterations that will allow reestablishment of hydrologic processes that hold moisture in the soils for longer durations through the growing season.  Design of floodplains, wetlands and stream realignments will consume the first year of management plan implementation (2008).  Also in 2008, the drain tiles that underlie the agricultural fields on either side of Sheep Creek will be disrupted as this does not require engineering and must be completed prior to wetland establishment and stream re-alignment.  Timing of landscape alteration will depend largely on the specifics of the floodplain, and wetland and stream course designs that are developed in 2008.  However, implementation will proceed with floodplain wetland enhancements completed before the realignment of Sheep Creek.  The creation of wetlands within historic floodplains and using the fill to cover over drainage ditches will be completed in 2009.  The realignment of Sheep Creek will occur in 2010 if the flood plain alterations and preparations for the realignment are completed.  Completing the floodplain alterations first provides a floodplain hydrology that will support the Sheep Creek realignment.

 Planting of native vegetation will proceed once it is established that no further disturbance will occur on a given site.  Initially, only small areas will be planted with native vegetation, but as landscape alterations are completed planting efforts will expand.  In 2008, the forested segment of the hnt'k'wipn Management Area will be thinned to approximate pine open woodland conditions, burned to minimize fuel loads, release nutrients and clean the forest floor of debris that remains from the thinning project.  The forest understory will then be planted with deciduous shrub and trees that are currently lacking under the conifer overstory.  Establishing native vegetation on former agricultural lands is difficult in areas such as the hnt'k'wipn Management Area because of the invasiveness of noxious weeds.  An established strategy for this region is to first use a broad range herbicide on the target area to eliminate all plant growth, then plant native grasses as a first phase of native vegetation establishment (Idaho/Washington Palouse Prairie SAFE Proposal 2007).  Once the native grasses begin to establish, the area is then treated with an herbicide that will destroy the volunteer broadleaf plants.  The broad leaf herbicide treatment post grass germination will prevent noxious weeds from establishing and allow grasses to flourish.  After the successful establishment of native grasses, planting of native broadleaf and deciduous shrub and tree species will begin.  Small segments of former agricultural land that are not going to be disturbed by landscape alterations will be planted with native grasses in 2008.  In 2009, once it is verified that the native grasses sown in 2008 have established, planting of native forbs, shrubs and trees will begin on these areas.   In succeeding years, new areas will be treated and planted with native grasses once landscape alterations are completed.  Generally planting with native forbs, shrubs and trees will follow native grass plantings by a year.  The uplands within the hnt'k'wipn Management Area will be the final stage of native vegetation establishment.  This first phase of management, which is the establishment of natural hydrological processes and native vegetation patterns is scheduled for completion in 2015, at that point management emphasis will shift to maintaining those amenities within the property boundaries.

Restoration of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area {Work Elements T:53 from 9/22/2006, L:47 from 11/5/2007, C:175 from 9/5/2008, L:47 from 11/1/2008, H:181 from 9/30/2009, G:181 from 9/30/2009, L:40 from 3/31/2010, K:47 from 5/3/2010, I:53 from 9/30/2010, G:181 from 9/30/2010, L:53 from 12/9/2010, N:40 from 6/30/2011, M:47 from 7/29/2011)

Restoration of Pine Open Woodland within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area

Restoration of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area has proceeded according to the processes described in the 2008 hnt’k’wipn Management Plan, with the forested habitats following a different prescription than the agricultural lands.  Ladder fuels were to be removed from forested habitats, then the pine overstory thinned to pine open woodland densities, then the deciduous shrubs and trees were to be established under the more open overstory.  Within the agricultural lands, landscape alterations were to be completed prior to native grass establishment, and native grass establishment would precede the introduction of the full suite of native vegetation. 

When the property was purchased the pine regeneration within the forested portion of the Management area averaged 740 ponderosa pine seedlings and saplings per acre with densities reaching 3,534 per acre in some areas (n=8).  Because of the wildfire hazard presented by the dense pine regeneration, saplings were immediately thinned on 56 acres of the forest in FY2006 to minimize the probability that catastrophic wildfire would destroy the entire 74.4 acre stand.  The Management Plan called for a reduction in overstory density to 5-20 trees per acre for trees 20 inches in diameter or larger to approximate pine open woodland conditions.  The thinning was originally scheduled for FY2008; however, it was postponed due to a drop in the market value of timber until August of 2010.  The forest harvest was followed by a controlled burn to reduce the slash left from the harvest, reduce fuel loads and stimulate the undergrowth.  The last controlled burn was completed in the fall of 2010 (FY2011).

Hydrologic Restoration within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area

Landscape alterations to improve the floodplain storage began with the decommissioning of drain tile under fields where agricultural production was discontinued.  Drain tile was known to exist in three fields within the hnt'k'wipn Management Area at the beginning of FY2008.  Discussions with neighboring landowners during FY2008 revealed that tile likely existed under two additional fields.  Exploratory trenching revealed that the two additional fields were indeed underlain with tile.  The main lines of these tile networks, which totaled 2.95 kilometers, were completely removed.  Secondary tile lines, which totaled approximately 37.2 kilometers, were dug up to break the continuity of the tile every 40 meters along their length.  In total, drain tile was removed or otherwise disrupted within 279.3 acres of hnt'k'wipn.     

image003 

Figure 3.  Location and orientation of drain tile decommissioned in FY2008.

With the drain tile decommissioned, efforts shifted to decommissioning the deep straight line drainage ditches cut into the Hangman / Sheep Creek floodplain within the hnt'k'wipn Management Area.   Ditch F, a small ditch identified in the Inter-Fluve Plan (2008) (Figure 4), was filled and decommissioned in FY2009 according to the designs (Inter-Fluve 2008).  Preparations for decommissioning Ditch A (Figure 4), which runs straight north to Hangman Creek from the southeastern corner of the Management Area, were also completed in FY2009 as planned (Inter-Fluve 2008).  The earthen stockpile generated through providing an alternate flow route for the water carried by Ditch A, which runs from the southeast corner of the hnt'k'wipn Management Area along the eastern boundary of the Management Area to Hangman Creek, is positioned on the west side of lower reaches of Ditch A.  Once vegetation is established along the new drainage route, which delivers the water to Sheep Creek by meandering across the flood plain between the current Ditch A and Sheep Creek, the earthen stock pile will be shoved into the lower reaches of the current Ditch A.  It is anticipated that Ditch A will be completely decommissioned in the fall of 2012 (FY2013).

 

 image004 

Figure 4.  Landscape alterations currently underway within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area.

The majority of the new Sheep Creek Channel design (Inter-Fluve 2008) was constructed in FY2010 (Figure 4).  However, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Cultural Resource Program discovered a cultural site in the new alignment preventing its completion in FY2010 (Coeur d’Alene Tribe Cultural Resource Office 2011).  Tribal archeologists investigated the site beginning in FY2010, but were unable to complete their investigation until 8/19/2011.  In addition to the Cultural Resource delay, the spring and summer of 2011 were unusually wet and it was not until September that equipment could be operated without the risk of becoming mired.  The 0.4 miles of the new Sheep Creek Channel is opened and connected to the 2.1 miles relic channel that meanders through the adjacent forest.  The old Sheep Creek Channel will be blocked with a water filled bladder during the growing season of 2012 to force water through the new alignment and provide water to plantings along the length of the newly constructed channel.  The bladder will be removed after the growing season so the current Sheep Creek Channel will carry the bulk of the high waters during winter and early spring.  The earthen stock piles will be shoved into the old Sheep Creek Channel as soon as vegetation is established along the new channel and it is stable enough to permanently carry the waters of Sheep Creek.      

Vegetation Restoration within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area

A total of 414.8 acres have been planted with native grass seed (Figure 5).  Of those acres planted, 210.6 acres are considered established and ready for the next phase of planting native forbs, shrubs, and trees.  Ninety five and two tenths acres are establishing but suffer from an infestation of Ventenata dubia and will need mowing treatments.  And the one hundred and nine acres planted in the fall of 2011 evidenced poor grass establishment.  This last field will be evaluated in FY2012 to determine the appropriate treatment to encourage native grass establishment within that field (for a discussion of grass establishment determination see the proposal segment on Adaptive Management).

 figure_5

Figure 5.  Former agricultural fields planted with native grasses.

This Project is just beginning the establishment of shrubs and trees using fenced exclosures to protect nursery areas that will be used to produce cuttings for future planting stock and cattle panels as protection for small groups of plantings.  The first nursery, a triangle measuring 300 yards by 300 yards by 424 yards, was established in the spring of 2011.   The size of the exclosure proved difficult to manage so the fenced nursery exclosures established in the fall of 2011 were reduced to 100 yard square structures.   The nursery established in the spring was planted with a mix of willows (Salix sp.), cottonwood (Populous trichocarpa), and dogwood (Corus stolonifera).  The 100 yard square structures will be planted with a similar mix in the spring of 2012.  No data is available at this time on survival of the plantings within the exclosures.

Cattle panels are placed in pairs with the centers pulled apart leaving a football shaped exclosure.  Once the plants protected by the panels are established the panels will be moved to protect another group of plantings.  Two to four plants are placed in each panel structure.  Since May of 2010, four groups of cattle panel structures have been established, totaling 48 structures. 

Planting stock of native species purchased from local nurseries has, thus far, evidenced high survival rates, typically between 70% to 100%, within the cattle panel structures.  Survival rates for cuttings taken from native shrubs and trees in the area have evidenced much lower survival rates, typically 0% to 18% with one outlier group of dogwood evidencing 70% survival.  Since cuttings are far less expensive than container plants, protocols are being established to maximize the rates of survival.  Initially cuttings were planted using a dibble (McCreary and Techlin 2000).  However, low survival rates caused a change in technique.  Cuttings are now planted in the fall after soaking in water for 14 days (Tilley and Hoag 2008).  Also, hand augers were purchased to plant the cuttings as deep as possible.  Nursery stock will be planted in the spring.

Planting shrubs, trees and forbs will increase as the Project shifts further to vegetation restoration.  Survival of planting stock and cuttings will be monitored over time to identify techniques that maximize success.       

hnt’k’wipn Management Area Habitat Evaluation Procedure Report {D:87 from 8/19/2011}

Field measurements for the baseline Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) were completed in June of 2005 by the Regional HEP Team (RHT).  The baseline HEP credited BPA 317.7 HUs using models for the Albeni Falls Target Species.  HEP evaluations are ordinarily completed every 5 years so the Regional HEP Team completed field measurements for the second HEP in July of 2010.  Albeni Falls Target Species models were applied during the 2010 evaluation to assess changes in habitats in the intervening years.  These models could only be applied to 485.3 acres of the property since agricultural production still occurred on 710.4 acres, or 59.4%, of the property.  HU production within the habitats suitable for Albeni Falls model application averaged 0.83 HUs per acre for a total of 400.46 HUs.  The increase of 82.76 HUs can almost entirely be attributed to the creation of the 305.8 acre Native Grass cover type.  While the Native Grass cover type is low in quality, this was the largest covertype to which the Albeni Falls models could be applied and it produced HUs using both the Canada goose and mallard models.   The application of the Albeni Falls white-tailed deer model to the Drainage cover type in 2010 produced an additional 22.13 HUs over the 2005 evaluation.  This increase is attributable to the natural development of habitat conditions in the absence of disturbance in the intervening years. 

HU losses were attributed to the white-tailed deer HSI within the Conifer Forest Covertype.  A fuels reduction effort in the understory of the coniferous forest in August and September of 2006 reduced the ladder fuels within that stand in order to minimize the possibility of a stand replacing fire.  Ponderosa pine regeneration and decadent shrub growth were removed on approximately 56 acres through both manual labor and mechanical removal.  That fuels reduction effort evidently also reduced forage availability for white-tailed deer.  It is expected that efforts to increase stand and understory diversity in the wake of an overstory thinning that was completed in August of 2010 will improve forage availability beyond 2005 levels before the next HEP evaluation.  Losses of HUs in other cover type categories were only minor and can be attributed to the range of variation in sampling.

While the overall HU production attributed to Albeni Falls Target Species increased by 82.76 HUs in 2010, the average HU produced per acre of habitat where the models were applied decreased from 1.77 HUs per acre to 0.83 HUs per acre.  This can be attributed to the relatively low quality of habitat provided to the Albeni Fall Target Species by the Native Grass cover type.  However, these areas will progress to include additional vegetation types in the near future as shrubs, trees and forbs are added once the noxious weed issue is reduced to a suitable level

The value of 2.0 HUs per acre was assigned to that portion of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area remaining in agricultural production.  The sum total of HUs for both the acreages evaluated using Albeni Falls Target Species Models and the Agriculture Covertype was 1,821.26 HUs, or 1.53 HUs per acre.

Beyond the hnt’k’wipn Management Area

The hnt’k’wipn Management Area has allowed the Project Proponents to establish a restoration process that can be used across the Project Area to effectively restore Priority Areas as quickly as possible.  The techniques are being applied across the Project Area to a variety of properties with native habitats in various states of establishment, from the Isom Property in the southeast corner of the Project Area to the Worley Rockpit Property in the North Fork of Rock Creek on the northern portion of the property (Figure 2).  Additional properties will be secured as successes are demonstrated.

Ground Water Monitoring {Work Element J:157 from 9/29/2006)

In 2006, three 40 foot deep wells were established at the confluence of Hangman and Sheep Creek.  Wells were established during the initial investigations of the EPA funded hydrology study but have since been used to monitor long term trends in ground water.  Surprisingly, the water depth in the wells has not varied more than two feet in a given year.  The deep nature of the wells did not seem to capture the variation in shallow ground water between wet winter months and the dry season of August and September.  To more closely monitor changes in shallow groundwater and thus floodplain storage patterns, 18 shallow groundwater wells were established within the floodplains of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area.  The shallow wells are five feet deep and are made from perforated PVC pipe wrapped with weed block to measure static shallow groundwater depth.  The wells were established in sets of three placed in rows perpendicular to adjacent stream channels in order to determine if groundwater elevation increases or decreases as distance to stream increases. 

The measurement of shallow groundwater depths through the spring summer and fall clearly demonstrates the rapid decline in water within floodplain soils as the growing season progresses (Figure 6).  Groundwater elevations are typically at soil surface elevation throughout the winter and early spring months.  Groundwater elevation begins to decline as the spring season progresses and it reaches its lowest level in late August, coincident with stream base flows.  The full range of groundwater depletion was not represented as groundwater declined beyond 5 feet, below the depths of the shallow wells.  However, the rate of change from saturation to base flow was captured.  This information provides a baseline against which future groundwater levels can be compared.  The future success of the Project implementation will depend on the degree to which ground water depths can be maintained as the dry season progresses.

image006 

Figure 6.  Average depth of shallow groundwater by two week period measured within the 18 shallow groundwater wells established within the Hangman and Sheep Creek floodplains.

 

Baseline Data on the Beaver Dam Size, Distribution and Construction Materials in the Hangman Mainstem of the Project Area.

In August of 2009 a survey of the Hangman Mainstem was completed to map the distribution of beaver dams.  The primary purpose of the survey was to verify that beaver are distributed throughout the Mainstem and to provide initial data on the size and building materials of beaver dams.  Eighty two dams were recorded, 29 were documented downstream from the Hangman/Sheep Creek confluence to the state line, 41 were on the Hangman Mainstem above Sheep Creek, and six were recorded in each of Indian and Sheep Creek.  One dam was an outlier recorded on Tensed Creek after the surveys were completed.  Beaver dams were dispersed in identifiable clusters near trees and shrubs.  Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) was used in dam construction throughout the area surveyed, and it was the primary material used near the Washington/Idaho state boarder.  Dams were small, averaging 4.5 dm tall, with a range of 1dm to 14 dm (SD = 2.4), and 42 dm wide, with a range of widths from 7 dm to 115 dm (SD = 23.3).  The largest dam was located in Smith Creek and measured 14 dm tall and 115 dm wide. 

The low number of dams, their small size and their clustering in the few areas where trees and shrubs are available along Hangman Creek indicate the population is resource limited.  Dams are ineffective at storing water for base flows and their small size on the mainstem may be an indication of their inability to withstand high flows.  However, the wide distribution of dams through the Hangman Mainstem indicates that beaver are present and could provide the proven benefits (Ruedemann and Schoonmaker 1938, Naiman et al. 1988, Pollock et al. 2003, Rosell et al. 2005, Pollock et al. 2007) if restoration for Hangman is designed to partner with beaver.

image007 

Figure 7.  Distribution of beaver dams recorded in the Hangman Mainstem, Sheep Creek and Indian Creek in the late summer and fall of 2009.



The table content is updated frequently and thus contains more recent information than what was in the original proposal reviewed by ISRP and Council.

Review: 2020 Resident Fish and Sturgeon Project Review

Council Recommendation

Assessment Number: 2001-033-00-NPCC-20210317
Project: 2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Fish & Wildlife Restoration
Review: 2020 Resident Fish and Sturgeon Project Review
Approved Date: 10/27/2020
Recommendation: Implement with Conditions
Comments: Manager address ISRP review conditions in a revised proposal for the project. Additional budget request dependent and linked to the revised proposal. Revised proposal due no later than January 29, 2020.

[Background: See https:/www.nwcouncil.org/fw/reviews/2019RFS]

Independent Scientific Review Panel Assessment

Assessment Number: 2001-033-00-ISRP-20210319
Project: 2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Fish & Wildlife Restoration
Review: 2020 Resident Fish and Sturgeon Project Review
Completed Date: None
Documentation Links:
Review: Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Category Review

Council Recommendation

Assessment Number: 2001-033-00-NPCC-20120313
Project: 2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Fish & Wildlife Restoration
Review: Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Category Review
Proposal: RESCAT-2001-033-00
Proposal State: Pending BPA Response
Approved Date: 2/26/2014
Recommendation: Implement
Comments: Implement through 2017.

Independent Scientific Review Panel Assessment

Assessment Number: 2001-033-00-ISRP-20120215
Project: 2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Fish & Wildlife Restoration
Review: Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Category Review
Proposal Number: RESCAT-2001-033-00
Completed Date: 4/17/2012
Final Round ISRP Date: 4/3/2012
Final Round ISRP Rating: Meets Scientific Review Criteria
Final Round ISRP Comment:
First Round ISRP Date: 2/8/2012
First Round ISRP Rating: Meets Scientific Review Criteria
First Round ISRP Comment:

The proposal contains good background information and is well prepared. The project has identified priority habitats and activities. The sponsors have responded to previous ISRP concerns. This is a long-term project the sponsors have provided good results from the initial work.  The sponsors are purchasing properties with Avista mitigation money from Albeni Falls, encouraging beaver activity and learning from work in John Day, Coeur d’Alene, and Colorado. One question remains: Is the intent to rebuild resident populations for Tribal harvest or for conservation purposes only?

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

Recovery of redband trout is clearly an appropriate restoration priority, and the efforts implemented under this project to date have been focused in areas that are high priority for these fish in the Hangman Creek watershed. The existing project sites are in riparian areas with potential to contribute to groundwater recharge and located near existing populations of redband trout. This project is designed to address landscape issues that limit base flow at the streams in the project area and is responsible for landscape restoration as a precursor to the work done in stream and near stream to establish a redband trout fishery. This project was submitted in conjunction with 200103200 which studies instream fish habitats in the same area. The project focuses on increasing base stream flows by obtaining access to land in several ways, such as, land acquisition, conservation easements, leases and landowner agreements. This project provides dual benefits, (1) credits against HU ledger of wildlife habitat lost from Albeni Falls Dam, and (2) crucial habitat for redband trout (NPCC established a resident fish substitution policy in areas blocked from anadromous fish passage). 

Once restored, stream channels within the mitigation property will expand the isolated redband population in Sheep Creek and increase the probability of that population’s interactions with the other isolated populations of the Upper Hangman Watershed. This Project will focus on monitoring changes in ground water and provide funding for stream flow monitoring.

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

The project history was described in detail. Restoration efforts target the impaired aquatic and riparian ecosystem processes supported by several citations in a previous limiting factor analysis which included hydraulic modeling. High stream temperatures documented (2004-2007), along with low summer flows, high sediment levels and inadequate DO yielded suboptimal rearing conditions for fish. A genetic analysis of isolated redband trout populations in the project area showed a cohesive group and suggests that historically there was movement among subpopulations in the area. Genetic information now suggests that either substantial inbreeding has occurred or each subpopulation experienced a recent genetic bottleneck. Collectively, results suggest increasing connectivity of tributary subpopulations would promote a more robust and resilient population structure. Also, redband trout are relatively pure in spite of rainbow trout introduced regularly in the Spokane River (1933-2002).

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions for Type of Work (hatchery, RME, tagging)

This project is closely related to 200103200 which is the CDA Fisheries Enhancement for the same project area. The ISEMP Bridge Creek Watershed Study provided the direction for addressing large-scale landscape issues associated with entrenched stream channels and low base flows. From 2004 to 2007, high stream temperatures during the spawning/incubation period of early summer (Figure 4) and low flows (e.g., isolated pools and dewatered reaches) coupled with inadequate dissolved oxygen levels (i.e., < 7 mg/L) during summer base flow periods presented suboptimal rearing conditions for redband trout in the lower elevational portions of the Project Area that are heavily impacted by agriculture. These findings join a growing body of evidence that indicate the ubiquitous distribution of the low base flows, lack of oxygen, high summer stream temperatures and high sediment loads in the larger, lower elevation streams of the Project Area have relegated the remnant populations of native redband trout to the isolated, higher elevation, forested stream reaches of the Project Area.

The sponsors also recognized issues involving climate change on ground water tables and noxious weeds. They suggest that restoration of natural vegetation along the riparian zone will help offset these issues. A noxious weed issue has been identified in the agricultural lands associated with native vegetation planting, and control measures, including mowing, burning, and herbicides are being evaluated. In addition to the riparian habitat work, they are assisting the beavers with their dams by providing materials suitable for dam construction.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

Four deliverables were mentioned: (1) Access to priority habitats: some priority land has been acquired, with more needed, (2) Riparian/Floodplain Management: decommissioned artificial drainage networks in the agricultural, (3) Create beaver dams that withstand high flows and persist and (4) Develop indices indicating increase in duration of shallow groundwater storage in flood. Initially, three 40 foot wells were established in 2006 at confluence of Hangman and Sheep Creek where water depth did not vary from year to year. Regarding beaver dams, 82 small dams were found in a 2009 survey, and with improvement of dam material, they believe the dams can store considerably more water for the project. Storing water in the area is believed to be a critically important component of achieving restoration goals, and the ISRP agrees. The ongoing project only completed 71% of the contract deliverables, but many of these failures were due to quarterly reports. Annual reports have been on time. 

4a. Specific comments on protocols and methods described in MonitoringMethods.org

Data collected for this project is limited because the fish and aquatic habitat RME work is covered in a different project (200103200). But project relationships are clearly described. Data collected for this project includes the success of the establishment of native vegetation planted, beaver dam surveys, and the evaluation of shallow groundwater level at 2-week intervals in 18 shallow wells. Interesting data from these wells was provided in the proposal to illustrate baseline patterns of groundwater loss during summer. A USGS gauging station and several others are used to monitor surface flow.

The past ISRP review had concerns about "ongoing pattern of climate and stream flow" not being addressed. The response to this concern was "groundwater modeling” completed in 2007 that demonstrated drain tile removal would assist in maintaining base flows. Also, studies suggest that watershed changes could be brought about with construction and maintenance of beaver dams that would rebuild floodplain connectivity.

Earlier, the ISRP had concerns about explaining the difference between this project and the associated fisheries project. The sponsors responded that this project involves landscape level issues that limit in stream fish habitat dealing with agricultural methods, management rights, riparian management, and terrestrial habitat restoration. Other information regarding M&E is covered in the fisheries project.

Modified by Dal Marsters on 4/17/2012 2:44:35 PM.
Documentation Links:
Review: FY07-09 Solicitation Review

Council Recommendation

Assessment Number: 2001-033-00-NPCC-20090924
Project: 2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Fish & Wildlife Restoration
Review: FY07-09 Solicitation Review
Approved Date: 10/23/2006
Recommendation: Fund
Comments: ISRP fund in part (qualified): fund elements of project except stream channel realignment as per ISRP comment. Budget will have to be adjusted to match funded work elements. Submit conservation easement through the water entity program.

Independent Scientific Review Panel Assessment

Assessment Number: 2001-033-00-ISRP-20060831
Project: 2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Fish & Wildlife Restoration
Review: FY07-09 Solicitation Review
Completed Date: 8/31/2006
Final Round ISRP Date: None
Final Round ISRP Rating: Meets Scientific Review Criteria - In Part (Qualified)
Final Round ISRP Comment:
Funding is scientifically justified for land acquisition, conservation easement, riparian management, and M&E only. The qualification is that M&E methods need to be expanded to include fish (even before trout return to the project area, if they do).

This long, disorganized proposal contained much irrelevant material and was exceedingly hard to review. The project might work out in the long term, but the proposal did not give confidence that the effort is being soundly conducted. The response retrieved the situation to some extent. The proposal did not present an adequate strategy for the project. The technical and scientific background was poorly organized and contained much information more suited to the project history. The project is a mix of land purchase and managements; the latter not clearly described. The problems to be dealt with are not clearly defined, and the purpose of the project was not stated until page 6.

The "original" project goal (page 6) was: "Protect and/or restore riparian and priority upland habitats . . . to promote healthy, self-sustaining wildlife populations," the present project goal being left unstated. The proposal next says this will involve landscape-level management to complement a companion project (200103200) that deals with fish habitat in the same system. However, the sponsors describe no habitat requirements for wildlife species, allude to little about the area as wildlife habitat, and apparently name wildlife species only once ("monitoring . . . will include parameters on land birds, waterfowl, bald eagles, small mammals, herpetofauna"). Instead, it delves more into matters of fish and streams, including a section on "Native Fish Habitat Protection Work Elements," and even genetic make-up of redband trout. Thus, the project inexplicably changed to deal with both fish and terrestrial wildlife, and to deal with in-stream management, as well as upland and riparian matters. The sponsors do not adequately explain the relationship of this change to Project 200103200, which was to deal with aquatic matters.

Significance to the subbasin plan was adequately shown in the proposal. The response's reporting of results was adequate, considering the short duration of the project.

The proposal's section F, Biological Objectives, Work Elements and Methods, contains no outline of objectives but is a rambling, partly historical discussion involving various diffuse statements of objective with no clearly listed work elements, and with some intermixture of methods.

The ISRP asked for response on the extent to which this project is expected to benefit fish and wildlife, asked how fish and wildlife would use the properties protected by the easements, and commented that the project history section described activities, not results or management implications. A response was needed describing these results and how they have been shown to benefit fish and wildlife. The detailed response augmented the original proposal and clarified the logic behind the effort. As a result, the acquisition and conservation easement portions of the proposal appear justified, although biologically there is some risk.

The ISRP asked why no cogent information was provided to indicate that the proposed activities would benefit redband trout, which compose the fish population at issue. The response explained how obtaining easements and promoting riparian vegetation could help reestablish the habitat connectivity that the small, isolated redband populations need. It did not show that the fish need the proposed in-channel restructuring. The proposal mentioned "Enhancement opportunities" in Section F, but techniques to enhance stream channels for trout were not discussed in any useful detail. From the description of work elements, $400K would be used to realign 0.7 miles of Sheep Creek and $400K would be used to change the channel morphology of 2 miles of upper Hangman Creek. Passive restoration appeared not to have been considered in the proposal, and the response indicated judgment that a fully passive approach would not suffice, but that further physical analyses need to be done. The proposed channel work is not yet scientifically justified. Judging scientific soundness is not possible for the large ($600K) program to realign the Sheep Creek channel and change morphology in Hangman Creek. Given more information, such actions might be justified, but the proposal contains insufficient information on this subject to enable a review. If the sponsors undertake a proposal for stream habitat work in a future review cycle, it should draw significantly on the expertise of hydrologists and fluvial geomorphologists, working in conjunction with stream fish ecologists.

A problem not covered in the proposal is the unfavorable and apparently ongoing pattern of climate and stream flow, in which high stream flow is occurring earlier in the year and is followed by months of extreme low flow during worsening annual droughts. This does not bode well for re-population by trout from higher elevations into re-created habitat lower in the valley, where the water is already excessively warm in summer. Promoting riparian vegetation could help overcome this problem (and would benefit many forms of wildlife, as well), but the proposed channel restructuring, as described, would not.

The ISRP was critical in the past review of this project's lack of M&E, and M&E still was not adequately described in the 2007-2007 proposal either. The response presented detailed material on the M&E plan, which concentrates on terrestrial matters. No M&E elements concerning fish and fish habitat were evident, and this is a major deficiency in view of the project's trend in planned activity toward emphasis on fish habitat. The M&E's aquatic aspects could be improved by more specific linking with the other projects that cover the fish.
Documentation Links:
Explain how your project has responded to the above ISRP and Council qualifications, conditions, or recommendations. This is especially important if your project received a "Qualified" rating from the ISRP in your most recent assessment. Even if your project received favorable ratings from both the ISRP and Council, please respond to any issues they may have raised.
Response to past ISRP and Council comments and recommendations: View instructions
The ISRP review of Project #200103300 in August of 2006 raised concerns over the lack of justification for in-stream work benefitting redband trout; and specifically the realignment of Sheep Creek. Prior to the 2007-2009 proposal, much of the Project’s work focused on the acquisition of 1,382 acres along Hangman Creek and the only assessment completed at that time was the Hangman and Sheep Creek Restoration Alternatives Analysis (Inter-Fluve 2006). That report stated only that wetland habitat and complexity would increase with the restoration of Sheep Creek. The Project proponents have since completed additional studies that provide more specific guidance for Project Area restoration.<br/> <br/> An analysis by Inter-Fluve, Inc, (2008) showed that constructing 0.4 miles of channel will connect Sheep Creek with 2.1 miles of relic channel. Most of that relic channel meanders through mature riparian/wetland forest. Implementation of this work began during the last contracting period, and the new stream channel follows the designs created by Inter-Fluve, Inc.’s team of hydrologist and fluvial geomorphologist.<br/> <br/> Other more recent studies document how floodplain and wetland restoration can help to retain water for a longer period, thereby increasing baseflows to benefit redband trout. These studies address ISRP’s concern regarding “the unfavorable and apparently ongoing pattern of climate and stream flow” not being adequately addressed in the 2007-2009 proposal. Groundwater modeling completed in 2007 demonstrated that agricultural drain tile removal within the hnt’k’wipn Management Area would decrease of head-cutting in Sheep Creek assist in maintaining baseflows (Uhlman 2007). A prioritization plan was completed and then recently refined in 2011 that defines the priority areas where landscape and stream restoration will maximize the probability of redband recover in the Project Area (Cd’A Tribe Wildl. Program 2011). This plan identifies the current locations of fish populations in the Project Area as well as the primary process and associated landscape segments that hold a high probability of determining baseflows. The plan illustrates that downslope within the floodplains of the Project Area must be altered to achieve long term restorations. This result is consistent with findings on the role of beaver in watershed restoration. Studies suggest watershed scale changes could be brought about with the construction and maintenance of persistent beaver dams in the Hangman system that would rebuild floodplain connectivity and provide desired habitat for the redband trout (Ruedemann and Schoonmaker 1938, Naiman et al. 1988, Pollock et al. 2003, Rosell et al. 2005, Pollock et al. 2007). Also, a recent report produced for the Hangman Fisheries Project examined the factors related to the persistence of beavers and their dams, and identified specific reaches where habitat restoration that partners with beavers is feasible (Herrera Environmental Consultants 2011).<br/> <br/> This Project, from its inception has partnered closely with Project #2001-032-00. Proponents of this Project have, at times, been unsuccessful in explaining the distinct difference between these projects. The ISRP states that “the project inexplicably changed to deal with both fish and terrestrial wildlife, and to deal with in-stream management, as well as upland and riparian matters…The sponsors do not adequately explain the relationship of this change to Project 200103200, which was to deal with aquatic matters.” This Project has always held as its end goal the restoration of the native salmonids to the Hangman Watershed. However, this Project deals with the landscape level issues that limit in-stream fish habitat. It deals with agriculture methods, management rights, riparian management, terrestrial habitat restoration, stream entrenchment levels, and beaver distribution and dam building behavior among other processes. All these endeavors are intended to result in increased baseflows. One of the tools this Project has used is wildlife mitigation, which mandates HU production and terrestrial habitat restoration. The two projects may overlap in the selection of some of the tasks used and the work with beaver dams is one such instance. However, 2001-032-00 is involved with beaver as a tool to directly improve fish habitats while this Project is partners with beaver to improve baseflows in areas where there are no native salmonids and no baseflows to support native salmonids.<br/> <br/> Another of the ISRP’s major concerns was the lack of “M&amp;E elements concerning fish and fish habitat”. ISRP stated that the “M&amp;E’s aquatic aspects could be improved by more specific linking with the other projects that cover the fish.” Ultimately, in order to demonstrate success for this Project, fish habitat must be improved and fish populations expanded. The monitoring and measurement of these variables is left to Project #2001-032-00, the Hangman Fisheries Project.


Project Level: Please discuss how you’ve changed your project (objectives, actions, etc) based on biological responses or information gained from project actions; because of management decisions at the subbasin state, regional, or agency level; or by external or larger environment factors. Specifically, regarding project modifications summarize how previous hypotheses and methods are changed or improved in this updated proposal. This would include project modifications based on information from recent research and literature. How is your new work different than previous work, and why?
Management Level: Please describe any management changes planned or made because of biological responses or information gained from project actions. This would include management decisions at the subbasin, state, or regional level influenced by project results.
Management Changes: View instructions
Changes in Vegetation Restoration Drilling verses Broadcast Planting of Native Grass Seed A portion of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area is planted with native grass seed as the first step in restoring native vegetation. The establishment of native grass is a critical step in habitat restoration since strong grass establishment will minimize noxious weed intrusions. Grass seed was first broadcast in the fall of 2007 on two small fields totaling 36.4 acres. The second year (2009), the grass seed was broadcast over 73 acres. Native grass seed is rather expensive and initially we were attempting to save some project funds by broadcasting. However, during the third year we found we did not have the equipment to broadcast seed over 196.4 acres. Drilling grass seed at $45 per acre is expensive relative to broadcasting, however, in comparison to the grass seed, which is $19.50 per pound and is planted at 18.5 pounds per acre, drilling is relatively inexpensive. Project proponents were motivated to determine the most cost effective means of planting. Each July, the fields planted to native grasses are sampled to determine the rate of establishment. Three random locations are selected with a GIS random point generator. At each randomly selected point, four 10 meter long transects were established, one in each of the cardinal directions from plot center. Percent cover of each grass species was sampled at five 0.5 square meter microplots placed two meters apart along each 10 meter transect. The mean total cover of native grasses at each point were summed for each 2008, 2009, 2008 and 2009 sampled in 2010, and 2010. The t-test was used to compare establishment rates between 2010 (the year grasses were drilled) and 2008 and 2009 (the years grasses were broad cast). In 2010, the mean total percent cover of native grasses was 91.57%. This exceeded the 2008 establishment rate of 22.33% (t=5.30, df=14, P<0.05), the 2009 establishment rate of 18.28% (t=5.56, df=15, P<0.05), and the native grasses broadcast in 2008 and 2009 that evidenced an establishment rate of 56% in 2010 (t=2.25, df=23, P<0.05). Drilling native grasses, even though more expensive than broadcasting, was considered a valid investment given the increased establishment rate. In FY2011, grass seed was drilled into 109 acres that were ready for native grass establishment. This stand did not appear to have established as robustly as the FY2010 drilling, but the sampling has yet to be analyzed. Additionally, grass establishment is considered by local farmers to evidence a more robust establishment the second year after drilling. The stand of grass that developed from the FY2009 plantings evidenced a strong presence of Vetenata dubia, an invasive annual grass. The average percent cover of Vetenata in the FY2009 grass plantings sampled in July of 2009 was 37.5% (SD=24.0). The Natural Resource Conservation Service Plant Guide recommends mowing before the annual grass produces seed as the best method reduce its occurance in a stand of grass. Local farmers have been successful reducing and even eliminating Ventenata from grass stands by mowing early in the season. In FY2010, the stands infested with Ventenata were mowed but in FY2011, the wet early summer conditions prevented heavy equipment from accessing the bottom land fields where Ventenata was a problem. Light weight track equipment has since been purchased as well as light wieght moweres so these grass stands can be mowed before the Ventenata produces seed. The presence of Ventenata has delayed progression of restoration in affected fields to the next phase of planting native shrubs, trees and forbs. However, with the proper equipment on hand, the Ventenata can be brought under control and the restoration strategy can resume. Nursury Planting Stock versus Cutting Planting Stock One gallon containers of native shrubs and trees cost $5 each. Cuttings are essentially free for the gathering. However, even though the Project has only just begun to plant native shrubs and trees it has become evident that survival of container plants exceeds the planting of cuttings. In the spring of 2010, exclosures were established using paired 16 feet long, 5 feet tall cattle panels. The pairs of panels were tied together at the ends and anchored to a steel fence post. The middle portions of the panels were pulled away from each other to form a football shaped enclosure. Both native container stock and cuttings were planted inside the exclosures. The cattle panel exclosures were established along Hangman Creek near Ditch F, in the opened forest near Crain Creek, near Hangman Creek in the Triangle Field and near a wetland on the edge of the Howard Field. After one year, the average survival rate for the container plants was 89.6% while the average survival rate for cuttings was 14.9%. While sample sizes were small, this demonstrates the need to ensure the optimum conditions for cuttings. Initially the project planted the cuttings with a dibble in the spring (McCreary and Tecklin 2000). However, in the future cuttings will be planted in the fall after a 14 day soaking in water (Tilley and Hoag 2008). A hand auger will also be used to sink the cuttings into the ground to the maximum depth possible. Partnering with Beaver The size of the Project Area and the scope of the problem are extensive. Project proponents have proposed that riparian restoration would repair much of the damage done to the watershed through past management. But the benefits achieved by partnering with beaver at other restoration sites (Ruedemann and Schoonmaker 1938, Naiman et al. 1988, Pollock et al. 2003, Rosell et al. 2005, Pollock et al. 2007) have offered Project proponents the opportunity to more precisely target increasing floodplain storage and improving hyporheic exchange to increase base flows. The Project proposes to partner with beaver in future efforts to more quickly achieve the restoration of baseflows.

The table content is updated frequently and thus contains more recent information than what was in the original proposal reviewed by ISRP and Council.

Public Attachments in CBFish

ID Title Type Period Contract Uploaded
00009210-1 Hangman Restoration Project Progress (Annual) Report 08/2001 - 07/2002 9210 9/27/2002 12:00:00 AM
00009210-2 Hangman Restoration Project Progress (Annual) Report 08/2002 - 09/2003 9210 10/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
00024595-1 Hangman Creek Wildlife Project Progress (Annual) Report 10/2005 - 09/2006 24595 1/1/2007 12:00:00 AM
P103038 Upper Hangman Creek Baseline HEP Survey HEP Report - 8/3/2007 4:49:30 PM
P104138 Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report Progress (Annual) Report 10/2005 - 09/2006 29020 10/19/2007 9:04:41 AM
P104706 The Hangman Restoration Project, FY2007 Year End, Progress Report Progress (Annual) Report 10/2006 - 09/2007 35067 11/30/2007 10:57:08 AM
P106704 hnt'k'wipn Management Plan Management Plan - 39739 5/22/2008 10:55:58 AM
P107595 T331 Selective Harvest Environmental Assessment Other - 35067 8/4/2008 2:41:42 PM
P108997 FY2008 Annual Report for the Hangman Restoration Project Progress (Annual) Report 10/2007 - 09/2008 39739 11/12/2008 4:17:31 PM
P108998 Inter-Fluve 2008 Designs for Sheep Creek Realignment and Ditch Decommissioning Other - 35067 11/13/2008 9:01:12 AM
P114893 Hangman Restoration Project FY2004 Annual Report Progress (Annual) Report 10/2003 - 09/2004 22364 1/15/2010 2:23:59 PM
P114912 Hangman Restoration Project Progress (Annual) Report 10/2004 - 09/2005 24595 1/19/2010 1:07:25 PM
P117194 Hangman Restoration Project, 2008 - 2009 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2008 - 09/2009 44311 7/19/2010 8:54:06 AM
P120155 Hangman Restoration Project; October 2009 - September 2010 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2009 - 09/2010 49588 2/25/2011 2:33:56 PM
P120157 Interim Report on the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's FY2010 Archaeological Findings within the Sheep Creek Realignment Progress (Annual) Report 10/2009 - 09/2010 49588 2/25/2011 2:44:14 PM
P123556 Prioritization Area Selection within the Hangman Watershed of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation Other - 49588 10/31/2011 12:03:59 PM
P123794 hnt'k'wipn 2010 Habitat Evaluation Procedure Report Other - 49588 11/17/2011 8:52:49 AM
P123797 Physical Habitat and Tempurature in Hangman Creek, Idaho: Final Report Other - 54815 11/17/2011 11:07:05 AM
P123822 2007 Ground Water Model of the Hangman Creek - Sheep Creek Drainage Area Other - 29020 11/18/2011 3:39:28 PM
P123823 Inter-Fluve 2006 Hangman and Sheep Creek Stabilization Alternatives Analysis Other - 24595 11/18/2011 4:05:12 PM
P127323 Hangman Restoration Project; 10/10 - 9/11 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2010 - 09/2011 54815 7/12/2012 3:46:03 PM
P131520 Hangman Wildlife Restoration FY2012 Annual Report Progress (Annual) Report 10/2011 - 09/2012 59395 4/1/2013 12:15:30 PM
P139074 Upper Hangman Creek 2010 Follow-up HEP Report HEP Report - 8/7/2014 8:36:44 AM
P150850 Hangman Restoration Wildlife Project Habitat Restoration; 10/14 - 9/15 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2014 - 09/2015 70503 11/30/2016 12:46:41 PM
P154941 Hangman Restoration Wildlife Project Habitat Restoration; 10/15 - 9/16 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2015 - 09/2016 74151 6/13/2017 1:05:25 PM
P160916 Hangman Restoration Wildlife Project Habitat Restoration; 10/16 - 9/17 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2016 - 09/2017 76952 6/25/2018 9:57:55 AM
P167790 Hangman Restoration Wildlife Project; 10/17 - 9/18 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2017 - 09/2018 76828 REL 3 9/23/2019 9:09:52 AM
P169886 Hangman Restoration Wildlife Project; 10/18 - 9/19 Progress (Annual) Report 10/2018 - 09/2019 76828 REL 7 1/6/2020 2:21:13 PM
P174937 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174938 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174939 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174940 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174941 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174942 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174943 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174944 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174945 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174946 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174947 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174948 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174949 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174950 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174951 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174952 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174953 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174954 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174955 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P174956 Hangman Restoration Project Photo - 5/7/2020 5:44:05 PM
P195879 Land Exchange Briefing Notes Other - 76828 REL 25 11/23/2022 10:30:33 AM
P203876 Hangman Restoration FY2022 Annual Report Progress (Annual) Report 10/2021 - 09/2022 76828 REL 25 9/28/2023 1:14:22 PM

Other Project Documents on the Web

None


The Project Relationships tracked automatically in CBFish provide a history of how work and budgets move between projects. The terms "Merged" and "Split" describe the transfer of some or all of the Work and budgets from one or more source projects to one or more target projects. For example, some of one project's budget may be split from it and merged into a different project. Project relationships change for a variety of reasons including the creation of efficiency gains.
Project Relationships: This project Merged To 2001-032-00 effective on 10/1/2024
Relationship Description: 2001-033-00 will merge into 2001-032-00. Administrative costs will be handled by the single contract. The merge is a contract management efficiency and was part of the MOA signed on 2/22/24.


Additional Relationships Explanation:

BPA Project #2001-032-00 - The Coeur d’Alene Fisheries Enhancement: Hangman Watershed
Project #2001-032-00 strives to increase redband trout populations by improving in-habitats in the Hangman Watershed.  It has mapped the extent of redband populations, estimated their abundance and assisted in identifying limiting factors for populations.  The Project monitors redband populations and restores habitats in and adjacent to the streams important to the remnant redband populations.  BPA Project #2001-032-00 lacks terrestrial habitat protection and restoration components to address the landscape scale constraints to redband distribution.  Project #2001-033-00 is intended to pursue conservation easements, long term leases or fee title acquisitions and complete subsequent landscape level restoration to increase in-stream flows to expand native resident redband trout in the Hangman Watershed.

BPA # 1990-044-00 - Implement Fisheries Enhancement on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation
Project #1990-044-00 monitors fish populations and habitats, and has completed extensive habitat restoration activities in Lake, Benewah, Evans and Alder Creeks; which are the Tribe’s four target tributaries in the Coeur d’Alene Subbasin.  The extensive experience gained by the Tribe through BPA #1990-044-00 can be drawn upon to more readily identify restoration strategies that can be successfully employed at low costs and with high efficiencies in the Spokane Subbasin portion of the Reservation.

BPA Project #1992-961-06 - The Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Albeni Falls Mitigation Project
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has successfully purchased 3,590 acres on the Reservation as mitigation for Albeni Falls Dam wildlife losses.  Albeni Falls wildlife mitigation target habitats include riparian corridors, wetlands, floodplains and scrub-shrub habitats.  The Tribe has used Albeni Falls wildlife mitigation to purchase lands that also provide access and protection to fish habitats.  The hnt’k’wipn Management Area in the Hangman Creek Watershed is one instance of an overlap between wildlife mitigation and resident fish substitution.  Project #2001-033-00 used Albeni Falls mitigation capital funding to acquire this 1,195 acre property in FY2005.  The Management Area credits against the Albeni Falls construction and inundation loss ledger and encompasses habitats important to native redband populations.  The hnt’k’wipn Management Area provides an opportunity to expand the redband trout populations through restoration efforts designed to achieve dual objectives of wildlife mitigation and resident fish substitution.

BPA # 2008-007-00 - Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) Monitoring and Evaluation Program
Project #2008-007-00 compares species, guild, and vegetation data gathered from Albeni Falls mitigation properties to species abundance and distribution, and habitat conditions at reference sites or to desired future conditions.  Information is used to adaptively manage each Albeni Falls mitigation property and to evaluate techniques used to manage each area and habitat type.  Protocols were developed using the Albeni Falls Dam Wildlife Monitoring and Evaluation Plan through work completed by the Kalispel Tribe.  The Project implements a regional approach to M&E for mitigation lands managed by the five members of UCUT.  Since Project #2001-033-00 purchased and manages lands for Albeni Falls wildlife mitigation (i.e. the hnt’k’wipn Management Area), Project #2008-007-00, will complete monitoring and evaluation measures on those lands.

BPA #2009-010-00 – Coeur d’Alene Tribe Coordination
Project #2009-010-00 is intended to continue the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s involvement in regional as well as local forums.  Coordination practices include communication and collaboration on regional issues specific to the Northwest Power Act through interactions with NPCC, BPA and UCUT.  Any regional issues that arise that may impact Project #2001-033-00 will be addressed and coordinated through Project #2009-010-00.

BPA #2003-017-00 – Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program
While ISEMP is anadromous fish oriented, its work in identifying effective and economically feasible methods to improve fish habitats is proving invaluable to substitution efforts in the Hangman Watershed.  The research in the Bridge Creek Intensively Monitored Watershed, in particular, is providing much of the direction for addressing the large scale, landscape issues of entrenched stream channels and low base flows on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.  The experiments in partnering with beaver in restoration provide the central guidance in submitting this Project proposal.  The staff of Project #2001-033-00 will continue to closely monitor ISEMP results and interact with ISEMP staff to improve Project implementation.

Avista Corporation – Spokane River Hydroelectric Project
In 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a 50-year operating license to Avista for the Post Falls Hydro-Electric Dam (PFHED) in the Spokane River Subbasin.  The hydroelectric license included mandatory provisions for protecting and enhancing the Tribe’s natural and cultural resources and for compensating the Tribe for PFHED’s use of its lands and waters.  Specific license conditions require Avista to restore or replace at least 1,368 acres of wetland and riparian habitats within or adjacent to the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation.  The Prioritization Plan developed by Project #2001-033-00 (Green et al. 2011) identified parcels within the Hangman Watershed that encompass degraded habitats that can potentially serve to accomplish Avista mitigation.   In FY2011, three properties were purchased in the Hangman Watershed as part of the Avista licensing requirements, and additional property purchases are planned.  These properties hold the potential to help achieve Project #2001-033-00 benchmarks for improving floodplain storage and increased base flows.  While Avista wildlife mitigation and BPA substitution efforts can complement each other, they cannot overlap.  BPA substitution efforts within the Hangman Watershed cannot interfere with Avista mitigation, nor will redband restoration be completed in-lieu of Avista responsibilities (Power Act 4(h)(10)(A), 2009 Program Amendments, Basinwide Provisions, p. 7).

Coeur d’Alene Tribe Water Resources Program
The Water Resources Program is responsible for watershed planning within the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.  The Program conducts baseline monitoring, peak flow monitoring, non-point source planning and management, and is working with EPA to develop a TMDL for the Hangman Creek within Reservation boundaries.  The Program is also involved with water rights adjudication, which includes ensuring the Tribe maintains the senior water right in the Hangman Watershed.

Tribal Wildlife Grant - USFWS
In 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funded the “Identification of Potential sk’waqhlu’ (Sharp-tailed Grouse) Habitat on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation”.  Project objectives include defining upland sharp-tail grouse habitat potential within the Reservation which will provide guidance to restoration activities and input to any hydrologic modeling efforts for Hangman Watershed streams.

Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP)  
In September of 2005, the Tribe completed an IRMP with funding assistance from the USEPA General Assistance Program, USDI Bureau of Indian Affairs, Administration for Native Americans, and Department of Health and Human Services.  The Tribe’s Natural Resources Department took the lead on the project, with all Tribal programs and departments participating in the process.  The Plan’s main purpose was to create a common vision for future use and sustainability of Tribal natural and cultural resources.  The Plan provides a means to coordinate the management of tribal natural, environmental and cultural resources.  Direct benefit will come to this Project through adoption of standards and guidelines for the protection of fish and wildlife resources, and through identification and remediation of conflicting management practices.  The IRMP is the first Tribal management plan to encompass all natural and cultural resources on the Reservation.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
The Natural Resource Conservation Service is the technical advisor for the CRP and Continuous CRP that are administered by the Farm Service Agency.  #2001-033-00 has partnered with the NRCS/FSA on 2 properties within the Hydrologic Priority Area defined in the Project Area Prioritization Plan (Green et al. 2011).  While there is substantive resistance to widespread implementation of this strategy, there remains ample opportunity to improve native habitats through this partnership.

Inter-Governmental Watershed Planning Efforts
In the State of Washington, the Spokane Conservation District (SCD) and the Washington Department of Ecology developed the 2009 TMDL for the Washington portion of Hangman Creek.  Washington restoration objectives for Hangman were developed by the SCD with input from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.  Project #2001-033-00 interacts with the SCD on many levels and has, for FY2012, taken over the contract with the USGS to operate the State Line Gauging Station on Hangman Creek.  Project #2001-033-00 was able to continue the gauging station operation with funds generated through the management of the hnt’k’wipn Management Area.  Data provided by the gauging station will be important in determining the effects of the Tribe’s restoration efforts.  In 2007, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality produced a TMDL for the Hangman Watershed upstream and east of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.  The Staff of Project #2001-033-00, along with Tribal Water Resource Staff participated in the TMDL development and the resulting document includes data, findings and strategies that are consistent with the Tribe’s efforts to improve Hangman streams.


Primary Focal Species
Trout, Interior Redband (O. mykiss gairdnerii)

Secondary Focal Species
Wildlife

Describe how you are taking into account potential biological and physical effects of factors such as non-native species, predation increases, climate change and toxics that may impact the project’s focal species and their habitat, potentially reducing the success of the project. For example: Does modeling exist that predicts regional climate change impacts to your particular geographic area? If so, please summarize the results of any predictive modeling for your area and describe how you take that into consideration.
Threats to program investments and project success: View instructions
Recent climate models predict that the Columbia Basin will become progressively warmer with precipitation increasing during the winter months and summers becoming drier and hotter.  Warm summer days will become more common by 2080 as mean annual temperature potentially increases by approximately 3 - 5 degrees Celsius (Spittlehouse et al. 2008).  Mote et al. (2003) predicted a warming of 1.5 – 3.2 degrees Celsius by 2040 accompanied by an increase in winter precipitation.  These models concur in their prediction of decreased snowpack, increased rain-on-snow events, and warmer, drier summer conditions.  These predictions indicate that bank erosion rates and thus sediment loads will increase during the winter months, base flows will decrease and the duration of base flows will increase.  As a whole, predicted changes due to global warming are exactly the opposite of the changes this Project is intended to effect.

The reestablishment of riparian plant communities will be the first order of Project implementation to address the problems presented by climate change.  Robust riparian plant communities will increase infiltration rates and promote floodplain storage (Seavy 2009).  These plant communities will also help to attenuate the summer extremes and provide aquatic and terrestrial thermal refugia.  The most acute effects of global warming in the Project Area are expected in the more pristine, high elevation streams (Battin et al. 200&), where the remnant populations of redband trout are currently found.  Establishing extensive riparian plant communities quickly in the lower elevational floodplains will be an imperative if the ultimate objective of establishing a native trout fishery in the Project Area is to be accomplished.
  
Along with riparian vegetation establishment, restoration of surface water and ground water storage capacities within the floodplain will be assisted through partnering with beaver (Fouty 2008).  Beaver dams can reduce the high flows within a watershed by facilitating water storage within the floodplain and increase base flows by the slow release of those high waters (Westbrook et al. 2006).  Accomplishing these two objectives simultaneously will require exclusionary fencing since beaver present a major obstacle to riparian vegetation restoration in areas that have been completely denuded of native trees and shrubs, as is the case in much of the Hydrologic Priority Area.  The exclusionary fencing will need to be transitory as a consequence of the need to accomplish the two objectives simultaneously.  Once the vegetation is established, the dynamic interaction between beaver and riparian vegetation provides a resiliency that offers the best strategy to addressing the effects of climate change (Bird et al. 2011, Fouty 2008).  Additionally, beaver provide a “no harm” strategy since they are endemic to the Project Area and posses little to no threat to the other native organisms (Wild 2011).
  
Non-native, invasive noxious weeds pose a genuine threat to the success of native riparian plant community establishment.  This Project has achieved some success with minimizing the cover of noxious weeds while establishing native vegetation on floodplain fields formerly devoted to agricultural production.  The process begins with drilling a selected mix of native grass seed into the agricultural fields and maintaining it free of noxious weeds with annual herbicide treatments until the grass stand is fully established (Idaho/Washington Palouse Prairie Restoration SAFE Proposal 2007).  Mowing prior to seed production will reduce an intrusion of non-native annual grasses if they become prevalent in the establishing native grass stand.  Once the important first step of establishing native grasses is completed, native forbs, shrubs, and trees can then be planted.

Work Classes
Work Elements

BPA Internal Operations:
5. Land Purchase and/or Conservation Easement
Habitat:
Habitat work elements typically address the known limiting factors of each location defined for each deliverable. Details about each deliverable’s locations, limiting factors and work elements are found under the Deliverables sections.

26. Investigate Trespass
27. Remove Debris
30. Realign, Connect, and/or Create Channel
40. Install Fence
47. Plant Vegetation
55. Erosion and Sedimentation Control
87. Prepare HEP Report
92. Lease Land
150. Install Sprinkler
180. Enhance Floodplain/Remove, Modify, Breach Dike
181. Create, Restore, and/or Enhance Wetland
188. Provide Access and Public Information
197. Maintain/Remove Vegetation
29. Increase Aquatic and/or Floodplain Complexity
82. Install Well
Planning and Coordination:
99. Outreach and Education
114. Identify and Select Projects
115. Produce Inventory or Assessment
122. Provide Technical Review and Recommendation
174. Produce Plan
175. Produce Design
189. Coordination-Columbia Basinwide
191. Watershed Coordination
193. Produce Land Management Plan
RM & E and Data Management:
157. Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data
159. Transfer/Consolidate Regionally Standardized Data
160. Create/Manage/Maintain Database
161. Disseminate Raw/Summary Data and Results
Please describe which opportunities have been explored to restore or reintroduce resident native fish and their habitats?
This Project, along with BPA Project #2001-032-00, has been working to restore the native redband trout to the Project Area through habitat restoration. This Project focuses on landscape level issues that diminish base flows, while Project #2001-032-00 has focused on improving the instream and near stream habitats in stream reaches that support the redband populations. This approach is unique but is warranted given the precarious low population levels and extreme habitat conditions. Each project offers a different set of talents and processes to address the factors limiting redband distribution and abundance. The two projects coordinate closely to ensure the proper resources are devoted to the proper tasks. These two projects represent the only attempt to restore and manage the native resident fish in the Project Area. Project #2001-032-00 has used form restoration in stream reaches occupied by the redband populations to optimize the available habitat. Woody debris has been added to streams to increase the number and size of pools, plantings have been established to increase shading, and recently planning was initiated to partner with beaver to more quickly restore the processes that develop functioning floodplain/riparian habitats. Project #2001-033-00 has worked to improve habitats in the larger watershed with the intent of improving baseflows as a prerequisite for the work to be accomplished by #2001-032-00. Artificial drainage networks in the broad valley bottom floodplain of Hangman Creek are being decommissioned, channels are being returned to their pre-disturbance alignment, and native habitats are being restored to the valley bottoms to increase water infiltration of the soil and to hold water in the floodplain for longer durations. Most recently, partnering with beaver has become a focus to quickly restore the processes that develop functioning riparian/floodplain ecosystems.
Has a loss assessment been completed for your particular subbasin/or province?
No
Describe how the project addresses the loss assessment. If a loss assessment is in progress or being proposed, describe the status and scope of that work.
The only loss assessment we are aware of for the Hangman Watershed was Scholz et al. 2005, which identified the confluence of Hangman Creek and the Spokane River and the site near the present day town of Tekoa, Washington as two of the core anadromous fisheries for the Coeur d'Alenes. This project is attempting to restore the native redband trout to the streams of the Project Area in order to substitute for the loss of the anadromous fish. We are unaware of any loss assessment for the native resident fish of the Project Area.
If you are using non-native fish species to achieve mitigation, have you completed an environmental risk assessment of potential negative impacts to native resident fish?
No
Please describe: for the production of non-native fish, what are the potential impacts on native fish populations, including predation, competition, genetic impacts, and food web implications?
We are not using non-native fish as substitution for the loss of the anadromous fish resource.
Does your proposed work support or implement a production goal identified in a USFWS Bull Trout Recovery Plan?
No
What tools (e.g., guidance material, technologies, decision support models) are you creating and using that support data management and sharing?
Currently, data is recorded in the field using hard copy data sheets or a Juniper Systems, Inc, Allegro CX that can associate data with GIS referenced points, lines or polygons. The data gathered at this time is not extensive and can be stored in Excell spreadsheet format. As the implementation of the hnt'k'wipn Management Plan progresses (a guidance document) more sophisticated data management processes using Access and ArcMap will store and manage data. An Upper Hangman Basin Hydrologic Monitoring Plan has been drafted and is being reviewed and prepared for acceptance by the Wildlife, Fisheries and Water Resource Programs. The plan details the establishment of seven gauging stations in addition to the State Line Gauging Station (#12422990)that is managed and maintained by the USGS. The Monitoring Plan identifies the tools needed, the contributions and the responsibilities of each of the Programs in data gathering, equipment oversight and maintenance and data management. Once again, by working in cooperation we are able to achieve an end that would be beyond the reach of any of the programs individually.
Describe the process used to facilitate receiving and sharing of data, such as standardizing data entry format through a template or data steward, including data exchange templates that describe the data collection methods, and the provision of an interface that makes data electronically accessible.
Currently, this project does not have a standardized process for receiving and sharing data.
Please describe the sources from which you are compiling data, as well as what proportion of data is from the primary source versus secondary or other sources?
All the data that are being compiled and managed are field data that come from primary sources.
Please explain how you manage the data and corresponding metadata you collect.
We are collecting effectiveness monitoring data to determine the success of native vegetation establishment, on the duration of shallow ground water within the Hangman and Sheep Creek floodplains, and on the distribution, size and construction materials of beaver dams in the Hangman Mainstem, Indian Creek and Sheep Creek. Metadata are stored with the data, however we are unaware of any standards for documenting supporting metadata other than the standard information such as recorder, observers, date, time, location etc. that is collected with each set of data.
Describe how you distribute your project's data to data users and what requirements or restrictions there may be for data access.
Data compiled and analyzed from field activities are presented in text and in tabular and graph formats that are included in annual reports that are accessible on the BPA website. This is in accordance with the Program's charge that "Data and metadata must be compiled, analysed, and reported annually...(p. 26, 2009 Program guidance).
What type(s) of RM&E will you be doing?
Project Implementation Monitoring
Status and Trend Monitoring
Action Effectiveness Research
Project Compliance Monitoring
Where will you post or publish the data your project generates?

The Large Habitat Program section is required because you selected one or more of the following work elements in Edit Types of Work: 114

Instructions: As applies to your project, please describe your methods to solicit, review, prioritize and select habitat projects as outlined here. You should also reference any related documents attached that further explain your methods.

Describe all the steps in the program's process to solicit, review, prioritize, and select habitat projects for implementation. Explain how the solicitation process incorporates or is consistent with other similar regional or state processes as appropriate. The following outlines the information to include:

Solicitation: Describe in detail the solicitation process and criteria. Include how the announcement is communicated and who is included in the communication, eligibility criteria for submitting proposals, types of projects funded, expressed priorities, and any other applicant requirements.

Review: Include and describe the review/scoring/prioritization criteria used to determine and select technically feasible projects. Discuss how you incorporate current scientific information and limiting factors to support the prioritization of projects. Describe feasibility factors that affect priority such as land ownership, permitting, cost, cost/benefit ratio, risk, etc. Also describe the review process, provide the resumes and qualifications of the review panel and explain how potential conflict of interest issues are avoided in regard to project prioritization.

Selection: Describe who makes funding recommendations and who makes final funding decisions. Describe all steps in this process including how potential conflicts of interest are avoided with regard to project funding.

Large Habitat Programs: View instructions
This Project developed a PRIORITIZATION AREA SELECTION WITHIN THE HANGMAN WATERSHED OF THE COEUR D'ALENE RESERVATION to guide the selection of opportunities to improve habitats within the Project Area. The plan defines the priority habitats for the Hangman Fisheries Project (#2001-032-00), which are the instream habitats and near stream habitats that support or can connect native redband populations, and for this Project (#2001-033-00), which is those areas that hold a high potential for soil saturation and wetland development (i.e. floodplain storage). The priority area for 2001-032-00 was developed by georeferencing all the fish shocking data gathered by that project. Incidents of native fish sampling were tied to identified stream reaches and mapped using ArcMap. The priority area for 2001-033-00 was developed by testing landscape indices to determine which was the most predictive of saturated soil and wetland development. A low downslope gradient proved to be the strongest predictor for the Project Area. In other words, a specific site's tendency to hold water is more important than the tendency for water to flow to that site, and more important than other landscape features associated with the site. This predictor readily identified the floodplains as the most important landscape feature in determining the variations in the hydroperiod within the watershed. This confirmed that focusing on floodplain/riparian restoration on the landscape scale offers the highest probability of improving base flows. An order within the extensive priority areas was determined by identifying the area and watershed where fish are currently distributed as the first choice in seeking and selecting opportunities. This is the area where the two disparate priority areas overlap. The order sequence then progresses through the watersheds from the one closest to supporting native trout to the one most removed from the potential to support native trout.
Loading ...
Layers
Legend
Name (Identifier) Area Type Source for Limiting Factor Information
Type of Location Count
Upper Hangman Creek (1701030601) HUC 5 QHA (Qualitative Habitat Assessment) 6
Middle Hangman Creek (1701030602) HUC 5 QHA (Qualitative Habitat Assessment) 5

Project Deliverable definition: A significant output of a project that often spans multiple years and therefore may be accomplished by multiple contracts and multiple work elements. Contract Deliverables on the other hand are smaller in scope and correspond with an individual work element. Title and describe each Project Deliverable including an estimated budget, start year and end year. Title: A synopsis of the deliverable. For example: Crooked River Barrier and Channel Modification. Deliverable Description: Describe the work required to produce this deliverable in 5000 characters or less. A habitat restoration deliverable will contain a suite of actions to address particular Limiting Factors over time for a specified Geographic area typically not to exceed a species population’s range. Briefly include the methods for implementation, in particular any novel methods you propose to use, including an assessment of factors that may limit success. Do not go into great detail on RM&E Metrics, Indicators, and Methods if you are collecting or analyzing data – later in this proposal you’ll be asked for these details.
Project Deliverables: View instructions
Access to Priority Habitats (DELV-1)
Access includes conservation easement acquisition, partnering with CRP and CCRP to establish conservation leases, partnering with other programs and projects to obtain fee title of priority properties, and establishing landowner agreements to allow restoration of priority habitats.

Fee title acquisition can be accomplished through cooperation with other agencies and entities needing to mitigate for habitat disturbance. This Project has a database of properties and the potential of those properties for mitigation purposes. Landowner distrust of easements has made the acquisition of conservation easements unobtainable in the past. However, landowner turnover may change the potential for accessing priority habitats through easement acquisitions. CRP and CCRP has been viewed with similar distrust by local landowners, however, the economic disruptions my change the prospects for success with that process as well.

The duration of this Project has meant that we have become a known entitiy in the watershed and familiarity with the landowners may also open opportunities to establish landowner agreements. The Project Manager, Gerald Green, has been successful in acquiring properties, coordinating Project involvement in CRP lease agreements, and establishing landowner agreements to gain access to priority habitats and he will remain the lead for this deliverable.
Types of Work:
Work Class Work Elements
Habitat
92. Lease Land
BPA Internal Operations
5. Land Purchase and/or Conservation Easement
Planning and Coordination
114. Identify and Select Projects

Riparian/Floodplain Management (DELV-2)
Riparian management includes decommissioning the artificial drainage networks within project sites (removing drain tile, re-contouring ditches, etc.), establishing native plant communities, and planting native riparian forest vegetation. This Project currently manages the hnt'k'wipn Management Area which includes approximately 750 acres of floodplain/riparian habitats in various stages of native habitat establishment. This Project also is working to restore riparian/floodplain habitats on five other properties totaling approximately 108 acres. In addition, this property will be coordinating to guide the management of approximately 361.9 acres (217.4 acres of riparian/floodplain habitat) recently purchased for Avista mitigation.

This project has become familiar with restoring former agricultural lands to native habitats through management of the hnt'k'wipn Management Area and is using that knowledge to restore habitats throughout the Project Area. Lessons are still being learned from the hnt'k'wipn Management Area. Currently, exclosures are being established to serve as nurseries for cutting stock to outplant into areas ready for tree and shrub establishment. An emphasis is placed on providing vegetative species that encourage beaver proliferation and dam building.

The Project lead technician, Ron Torpey will be responsible for much of this deliverable. Ron is assisted in the field by Pete Valle, a Project technician, and occasionally a temporary employee will be hired during periods of high work loads. The field technicians will be supervised by the Project manager, Gerald Green.
Types of Work:
Work Class Work Elements
Habitat
30. Realign, Connect, and/or Create Channel
40. Install Fence
47. Plant Vegetation
55. Erosion and Sedimentation Control
150. Install Sprinkler
180. Enhance Floodplain/Remove, Modify, Breach Dike
181. Create, Restore, and/or Enhance Wetland
197. Maintain/Remove Vegetation
26. Investigate Trespass See note and explanation below *
27. Remove Debris See note and explanation below *
87. Prepare HEP Report See note and explanation below *
188. Provide Access and Public Information See note and explanation below *
Planning and Coordination
99. Outreach and Education
115. Produce Inventory or Assessment
122. Provide Technical Review and Recommendation
174. Produce Plan
175. Produce Design
189. Coordination-Columbia Basinwide
191. Watershed Coordination
193. Produce Land Management Plan

Beaver Dams that withstand High Flows and Persist from Year to Year (DELV-3)
Beaver dams hold the potential to quickly achieve the objectives of storing water within the floodplain and increasing base flows through slow water release. Currently beaver dams do not appear to persist for long durations and they are too small to provide the needed benefits. The flashy hydrology of the Hangman Watershed focuses high energies within the narrow, entrenched channels and either beavers lack the material to build dams that will withstand the flows or flows currently exceed the resistance capability of beaver dams in general. In either case, solidifying the dams with fence posts or other supports will assist in retaining the dams and securing the benefits they bring. This technique is being tested and has achieved some success in Bridge Creek of the John Day (Pollock 2011) and the technique can be readily tested against conditions in the Hangman Watershed.

Beaver dams and associated inundated pool habitat in Project Area streams (particularly Hangman Mainstem, Indian and Sheep Creeks) will be surveyed, georeferenced in a GIS database, and measured for size. The construction materials initialled used by the beaver will be described as will any support posts or materials used to reinforce the dam. Dams locations will be resurveyed annually to evaluate the effectiveness of attempts to increase the overall stability of beaver dams and determine changes in instream storage of water.

The Project lead technicians, Ron Torpey will be responsible for much of the beaver dam reinforcement. Ron is assisted in the field by Pete Valle, a Project technician, and occasionally a temporary employee will be hired during periods of high work loads. The field technicians will be supervised by the Project manager, Gerald Green. The Project manager will also be responsible for the followup surveys to determine effectivenesss of beaver dam reinforcement.
Types of Work:

Indices indicating an increase in the duration of shallow groundwater storage in the floodplain (DELV-4)
Storage capacity and duration increases can occur through channel bed aggradation and water impoundment. Beaver have the capacity to positively affect each of these processes by promoting both surface water and shallow groundwater storage. Their dams slow flood waters allowing sediment deposition, which can aggrade a channel bed (Pollock et al. 2007, Pollock et al. 2011). Surveys of beaver dams, the water impounded and measurements on the depth of shallow groundwater obtained from shallow groundwater monitoring wells in associated floodplains will provide data specifying the changes riparian management and beaver dam reinforcement will effect.

The Project Manager, Gerald Green, will be responsible for this deliverable. The Project field technician will assist when nessessary. Summer youth and students from local schools will also occasionally assist with data gathering.
Types of Work:


Objective: Floodplain Storage (OBJ-1)

Project Deliverables How the project deliverables help meet this objective*

Access to Priority Habitats (DELV-1) Access to priority habitats via any of the described processes (or via other processes if any additional mechanisms are discovered) must be obtained before any landscape alterations or habitat restoration can occur. Gaining access to priority habitats has always been a major objective of this project since nothing can be done to improve habitats within the Hangman Watershed without the legal right to do so. Once access is gained, restoration of the landscape, habitats and various processes that form a functioning floodplain system can proceed. Restoring a properly functioning floodplain will not only achieve the desired floodplain storage changes but offer the highest probability of increasing base flows as well.

Riparian/Floodplain Management (DELV-2) Currently, streams within the low elevational floodplains of the Project Area are deeply entrenched (3-8 feet throughout the Project Area). Floodplains are altered with deep drainage ditches that are linear and carry water the shortest distance to the nearest entrenched stream. Drain tiles have been installed throughout the floodplains of the Project Area valley bottoms. Restoring native habitats to the floodplain will increase the infiltration rates and decommissioning the various artificial drainage networks will slow the water's downstream movement. The greater ease of infiltration and slower drainage will result in increased floodplain storage and longer duration of groundwater availability.

Beaver Dams that withstand High Flows and Persist from Year to Year (DELV-3) Beaver dams that persist and are of substantial size will slow high water movement through the system and promote hyporheic exchange with adjacent floodplains. The surface water stored behind a beaver dam is only the visible portion of a larger pool of water that encompasses the adjacent floodplain as well. As long as a dam can persist through periods of high flow it will slow the movement of water and facilitate floodplain storage.


Objective: Baseflow (OBJ-2)

Project Deliverables How the project deliverables help meet this objective*

Indices indicating an increase in the duration of shallow groundwater storage in the floodplain (DELV-4) More shallow groundwater remaining within the floodplain through the dry season is an indication that more water is available for slow release into the streams resulting in an increase in baseflow.


Objective: Public Outreach (OBJ-3)

Project Deliverables How the project deliverables help meet this objective*


*This section was not available on proposals submitted prior to 9/1/2011

Project Deliverable Start End Budget
Access to Priority Habitats (DELV-1) 2013 2017 $212,665
Riparian/Floodplain Management (DELV-2) 2013 2017 $1,787,335
Beaver Dams that withstand High Flows and Persist from Year to Year (DELV-3) 2013 2017 $50,000
Indices indicating an increase in the duration of shallow groundwater storage in the floodplain (DELV-4) 2013 2017 $28,000
Total $2,078,000
Requested Budget by Fiscal Year

Fiscal Year Proposal Budget Limit Actual Request Explanation of amount above FY2012
2013 $386,033 Salaries were averaged across all years to determine the total budget, but were changed incrementally per year for the line item budget to allow for cost of living increases.
2014 $400,095
2015 $414,862
2016 $430,366
2017 $446,644
Total $0 $2,078,000
Item Notes FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017
Personnel $225,000 $236,250 $248,063 $260,466 $273,489
Travel $800 $800 $800 $800 $800
Prof. Meetings & Training $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000
Vehicles $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000
Facilities/Equipment (See explanation below) $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000
Rent/Utilities $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000
Capital Equipment $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Overhead/Indirect Calculated at 25% $68,700 $71,512 $74,466 $77,567 $80,822
Other Easement Acquisitions $42,533 $42,533 $42,533 $42,533 $42,533
PIT Tags $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total $386,033 $400,095 $414,862 $430,366 $446,644
Major Facilities and Equipment explanation:
Staff, which consists of two field technicians and the Project Manager, have offices and some storage space in Plummer, Idaho in the Tribe's Felix Aripa Building. The office complex also houses the Fisheries Program, Water Resources Program and Lake Management Staff. The office complex facilitates an easy interaction and collaboration between the Tribe's Natural Resources staff. Each office is connected to the high-speed local area network (LAN) maintained by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's Information Technology Department. The offices are connected to the Tribe's GIS system through the same network and most staff have ArcMap software at their work stations. An adjacent fenced parking area houses some of the capital and non-expendable field equipment used by this project. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe owns most of the heavy equipment needed to implement the habitat restoration treatments including excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks, skid steer, tractor, etc. Scheduling conflicts with other BPA funded projects may nessecitate the rental of some heavy equipment. Most of the capital, non-expendable equipment specific to this project is housed at a shop near the confluence of Sheep and Hangman Creeks. The shop location offers easy access to project sites in the southern portion of the Project Area where most of the work will be accomplished during this project submittal cycle. Specific equipment used by this Project includes a 4-wheeler, a side-by-side all terrain vehicle with track capability to access floodplains during wet spring planting conditions, augers, chainsaws, mowers and spraying equipment.

Source / Organization Fiscal Year Proposed Amount Type Description
Avista Corporation 2013 $100,000 Cash Avista funding will directly contribute to meeting project benchmarks for improving habitats through purchase, protection and restoration of wetlands required under the FERC licensing conditions.
Avista Corporation 2014 $100,000 Cash Avista funding will directly contribute to meeting project benchmarks for improving habitats through purchase, protection and restoration of wetlands required under the FERC license conditions.
Avista Corporation 2015 $100,000 Cash Avista funding will directly contribute to meeting project benchmarks for improving habitats through purchase, protection and restoration of wetlands required under the FERC license conditions.
Avista Corporation 2016 $100,000 Cash Avista funding will directly contribute to meeting project benchmarks for improving habitats through purchase, protection and restoration of wetlands required under the FERC license conditions.
Avista Corporation 2017 $100,000 Cash Avista funding will directly contribute to meeting project benchmarks for improving habitats through purchase, protection and restoration of wetlands required under the FERC license conditions.
(Unspecified Org) 2013 $40,000 Cash Crop income generated from farming on the mitigation property will be put back into the project and used for additional restoration efforts.
USDA Farm Service Agency 2013 $2,767 Cash Payments to owners of lands enrolled in CRP and CCRP
USDA Farm Service Agency 2014 $2,767 Cash Payments to owners of lands enrolled in CRP and CCRP
USDA Farm Service Agency 2015 $2,767 Cash Payments to owners of lands enrolled in CRP and CCRP
USDA Farm Service Agency 2016 $2,767 Cash Payments to owners of lands in CRP and CCRP
USDA Farm Service Agency 2017 $2,767 Cash Payments to owners of lands in CRP and CCRP

Bauer, S. B. and T. Wilson. 1983. Water Quality Status Report: Assessment of Nonirrigated Cropland Runoff, Hangman Creek, Benewah County, 1981-1982. Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Report No. WQ-51. 124pp. Battin, J.; Wiley, M.W.; Ruckelshaus, M.H.; Palmer, R.N.; Korb, E.; Bartz, K.K; Imaki, H. 2007. Projected impacts of climate change on salmon habitat restoration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 10.1073/pnas.0701685104. Beechie, T. J., M. M. Pollock, and S. Baker. 2007. Channel Incision, evolution, and potential recovery in the Walla Walla and Tucannon River Basins, Northwestern U.S.A. Beechie, T. J., D. A. Sear, J. D Olden, G. R. Pess, J. M. Buffington, H. Moir, P. Roni, and M. M. Pollock. 2010. Process-based Principles for Restoring River Ecosystems. BioScience. Vol. 60 #3. pp 209-222. Black, A. E., E. Strand, R. G. Wright, J. M. Scott, P. Morgan, and C. Watson. 1998. Land use history at multiple scales: implications for conservation planning. Landscape and Planning 43:49-63. Brunke M. and T. Gonser. 1997. The ecological significance of exchange processes between rivers and groundwater. Freshwater Bio. 37: 1-33. Bird, B., M. O’Brian, and M. Petersen. 2011. Beaver and Climate Change Adaptation in North America. WildEarth Guardians, Grand Canyon Trust, and the Lands Council. Callery, D. Predicting Surface Saturation with Topographic Indices: Are LIDAR – Derived Datasets Worthwhile? 2007. Master’s Thesis, Oregon State University College of Forestry Forest Engineering, Resources and Management. 40pp. Coeur d’Alene Tribe Forestry Program. 2002. Coeur d’Alene Reservation Forest Management Plan 2003 to 2017. Approved Resolution CDA 70(03). Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Plummer, Idaho. 33pp. plus appendixes. Coeur d’ Alene Tribe. 2000. Assessment of environmental concerns on and near the Coeur d’ Alene Reservation. Executive Summary, Volume 1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 182pp. Coeur d’Alene Tribe Cultural Resource Program. 2011. Interim Report on the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s FY2010 Archaeological Findings within the Sheep Creek Realignment. Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Plummer, ID. Coeur d’Alene Tribe Wildlife Program. 2011. hnt’k’wipn 2010 Habitat Evaluation Procedure Report for BPA Project #2001-033-00. Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Plummer, ID. Coeur d’Alene Tribe Wildlife Program. 2011. Prioritization Area Selection within the Hangman Watershed of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation for BPA Project #2001-033-00. Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Plummer, Idaho. Darby, S. E. and A. Simon (Eds). 1999. Incised River Channels. John Wiley and Sons: Chichester. Fouty, S. 2008. Climate Change and Beaver Activity: How Restoring Nature’s Engineers can Alleviate Problems. Beaversprite. Gilpin, M. E. and M. E. Soule. 1986. Minimum viable populations: Processes of species extinction. In M. E. Soule (ed.), Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity, pp. 19-34. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA. Hardin-Davis, Inc. 2003. Latah Creek Instream Flow Study: Final Report. Prepared for the Latah (Hangman) Creek Watershed Planning Unit (WRIA56), May 2003. Hardin-Davis, Inc. 2005. Physical Habitat and Temperature in Hangman Creek, Idaho: Final Report for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Plummer, Idaho. Healey, M. C. 1991. Life History of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). In C. Groot and L. Margolis (ed.), Pacific Salmon Life Histories, pp. 313-393. UBC Press, University of Britich Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Canada. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. 2007. Upper Hangman Creek Subbasin Assessment and Total Maximum Daily Load. Boise, Idaho. Idaho/Washington Palouse Prairie Restoration SAFE Proposal. 2007. State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) Notice: CRP-560. Natural Resource Conservation Service. Boise, Idaho. 21pp. Inter-Fluve, Inc. 2006. Hangman and Sheep Creek Restoration Alternatives Analysis. Assessment Report provided for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Natural Resources. Plummer, ID. Inter-Fluve, Inc. 2008. Designs for Rehabilitating Sheep Creek and Decommissioning Ditches to Hangman Creek. Design Report provided to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe Natural Resources. Plummer, ID. Intermountain Province Subbasin Plan. 2004. Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Portland, OR. Jankovsky-Jones, M. 1999. Conservation strategy for Spokane River Basin wetlands. Unpublished report prepared with funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency through Section 104(b) (3) of the Clean Water Act. 26pp. plus appendices. Kinkead, B., and J. Firehammer. 2011. Hangman Creek Fisheries Restoration 2004-2007. BPA Project #2001-032-00. Year End Progress Report. Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Plummer, Idaho. Ko, C.A., A. C. Meuller, J. W. Crosby III, and J. F. Orsborn. 1974. Preliminary investigation of the water resources of the Hangman Creek Drainage Basin. Research report No. 74/15-81, Research Division, College of Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. Leopold, L. B. 1994. A View of the River. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Li, H.W., G.A. Lamberti, T.N. Pearsons, C.K. Tait, J.L. Li, and J.C. Buckhouse. 1994. Cumulative effects of riparian disturbances along high desert trout streams of the John Day Basin, Oregon. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 123: 627-640. Lichthardt, J. and K. Gray. 2010. Water howellia (Howellia aquatilis) survey and monitoring in northern Idaho, 2005 to 2009. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Natural Heritage Program, Boise, ID. 16 pp. plus appendices. McCreary, D. D., and J. Techlin. 2000. Homemade dibble facilitates planting willow and cottonwood cuttings. Native Plants Journal. V1. No. 1. Meyer, K.A., J.A. Lamansky Jr., and D.J. Schill. 2010. Biotic and abiotic factors related to redband trout occurrence and abundance in desert and montane streams. Western North American Naturalist 70: 77-91. Mitsch, W. J., and J. G. Gosselink, 2007. Wetlands. 4th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 600pp. Mote, P.W., Parson, E.A., Hamlet, A.F., Ideker, K.N., Keeton, W.S., Lettenmaier, D.P., Mantua, N.J., Miles, E.L., Peterson, D.W., Peterson, D.L., Slaughter, R., Snover, A.K., 2003. Preparing for climate change: the water, salmon and forests of the Pacific Northwest. Climat. Change 61, 45–88. Naiman, R. J., C. A. Johnston, and J.C. Kelley. 1988. Alteration of North American streams by beaver. Bioscience 38:753-761. Peters, R. L., B. Kinkead, and M. Stanger. 2003. Implement Fisheries Enhancement on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation: Hangman Creek. BPA Project #2001-032-00. Year End Report. Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Plummer, Idaho. Pollock, M. M., M. Heim, and D. Werner. 2003. Hydrologic and geomorphic effects of beaver dams and their influence on fishes. In: Gregory, S. V., K. Boyer, and A. Gurnell (Eds), The ecology and management of wood in world rivers. American Fisherieis Society: Bethesda, Maryland, pp. 213-233. Pollock, M. M., T. J. Beechie, and C. E. Jordan. 2007. Geomorphic changes upstream of beaver dams in Bridge Creek, and incised stream in the Interior Columbia River basin. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 32: 1174-1185. Pollock, M. M., J. M. Wheaton, N. Bouwes, and C. E. Jordan. 2011. Working with Beaver to Restore Salmon Habitat in the Bridge Creek Intensively Monitored Watershed: Design, Rational and Hypotheses, Interim Report. NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center: Seattle, WA 63.pp. Redmond, R. L. and M. L. Prather. 1996. Mapping Existing Vegetation and Land Cover Across Western Montana and Northern Idaho. Wildlife Spacial Analysis Lab. University of Montana. Missoula, Montana. Rosell, F., O. Bozser, P. Collen, and H. Parker. 2005. Ecological impact of beavers Castor fiber and C. Canadensis and their ability to modify ecosystems. Mammal Review 248-276. Rosgen, D. 1996. Applied River Morphology. Wildland Hydrology: Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Ruedemann, R., and W. J. Schoonmaker. 1938. Beaver dams as geologic agents. Science, December 2:523-525. Scholz, A., K. O’Laughlin, D. Geist, D. Peone, J. Uehara, L. Fields, T. Kleist, I. Zozaya, T. Peone, and K. Teesatuski. 1985. Compilation of information on salmon and steelhead trout run size, catch, and hydropower related losses in the Upper Columbia River Basin, above Grand Coulee Dam. Upper Columbia United Tribes, Fisheries Center. Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA. Fisheries Technical Report No. 2. Seavy, N. E., T. Gardali, G. H. Golet, F. T. Griggs, C. A. Howell, R. Kelsey, S. Small, J. H. Viers, J. F. Weigand. 2009. Why climate change makes riparian restoration more important than ever: Recommendations for Practice and Research. Ecological Restoration 27:330-338. (open access available at: http://er.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/27/3/330) Shields, F. D. Jr., S. S. Knight, C. M. Cooper. 1995. Rehabilitation of watersheds with incising channels. Water Resources Bulletin. 31(6): 971-982. Small, M. P., and J. Von Bargen. 2005. Final Draft Report: Microsatellite DNA analysis of rainbow trout population structure in the Hangman Creek drainage with comparison to populations in the greater Spokane River drainage and hatchery rainbow trout collections. Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Science Division, Conservation, Genetic Lab. 19pp. Spittlehouse, D.L. 2008. Climate Change, impacts, and adaptation scenarios: climate change and forest and range management in British Columbia. B.C. Ministry of Forests &Range, Research Branch, Victoria, B.C. Tech. Rep. 045. P.38. Tilley, D., and J. C. Hoag. 2008. Evaluation of fall versus spring planting of dormant hardwood willow cuttings with and without soaking. Riparian/Wetland Project Information Series. No. 25, Nov. 2008. Natural Resource Conservation Service. Uhlman, K. 2007. Ground Water Model of the Hangman Creek – Sheep Creek Drainage Area. Final Report Prepared for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. 15pp plus maps and appendixes. USDA Forest Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management. 1996. Status of the Interior Columbia Basin, Summary of Scientific Findings. USDA, Forest Service, General Technical Report PNW-GTR-385. Portland, OR. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1996. Water Howellia (Howellia aquatilis) recovery plan. Helena, Montana. vi. plus 52pp. Washington Department of Ecology. 2009. Hangman Creek Watershed Fecal Coliform, and Turbidity Total Maximum Daily Load. Water Quality Program. Spokane, WA. Westbrook, C. J., D. J. Cooper, and B. W. Baker. 2006. Beaver dams and overbank floods influence groundwater-surface water interactions of a Rocky Mountain riparian area. Water Resources Research. 42: 1-12. Westbrook, C. J., D. J. Cooper, and B. W. Baker. 2011. Beaver assisted river valley formation. River Research and Applications. 27(2): 247-256. Wild, C. 2011. Beaver as a Climate Change Adaptation Tool: Concepts and Priority Sites in New Mexico. Seventh Generation Institute. Santa Fe, NM. WRCC. 2008. Western Regional Climate Center. DeSmet 1 S, Idaho Station # 102513. (www.wrcc.dri.edu) Zoellick, B.W. 2004. Density and biomass of redband trout relative to stream shading and temperature in southwestern Idaho. Western North American Naturalist 64: 18-26.

Review: Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Category Review

Independent Scientific Review Panel Assessment

Assessment Number: 2001-033-00-ISRP-20120215
Project: 2001-033-00 - Hangman Creek Fish & Wildlife Restoration
Review: Resident Fish, Regional Coordination, and Data Management Category Review
Proposal Number: RESCAT-2001-033-00
Completed Date: 4/17/2012
Final Round ISRP Date: 4/3/2012
Final Round ISRP Rating: Meets Scientific Review Criteria
Final Round ISRP Comment:
First Round ISRP Date: 2/8/2012
First Round ISRP Rating: Meets Scientific Review Criteria
First Round ISRP Comment:

The proposal contains good background information and is well prepared. The project has identified priority habitats and activities. The sponsors have responded to previous ISRP concerns. This is a long-term project the sponsors have provided good results from the initial work.  The sponsors are purchasing properties with Avista mitigation money from Albeni Falls, encouraging beaver activity and learning from work in John Day, Coeur d’Alene, and Colorado. One question remains: Is the intent to rebuild resident populations for Tribal harvest or for conservation purposes only?

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

Recovery of redband trout is clearly an appropriate restoration priority, and the efforts implemented under this project to date have been focused in areas that are high priority for these fish in the Hangman Creek watershed. The existing project sites are in riparian areas with potential to contribute to groundwater recharge and located near existing populations of redband trout. This project is designed to address landscape issues that limit base flow at the streams in the project area and is responsible for landscape restoration as a precursor to the work done in stream and near stream to establish a redband trout fishery. This project was submitted in conjunction with 200103200 which studies instream fish habitats in the same area. The project focuses on increasing base stream flows by obtaining access to land in several ways, such as, land acquisition, conservation easements, leases and landowner agreements. This project provides dual benefits, (1) credits against HU ledger of wildlife habitat lost from Albeni Falls Dam, and (2) crucial habitat for redband trout (NPCC established a resident fish substitution policy in areas blocked from anadromous fish passage). 

Once restored, stream channels within the mitigation property will expand the isolated redband population in Sheep Creek and increase the probability of that population’s interactions with the other isolated populations of the Upper Hangman Watershed. This Project will focus on monitoring changes in ground water and provide funding for stream flow monitoring.

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

The project history was described in detail. Restoration efforts target the impaired aquatic and riparian ecosystem processes supported by several citations in a previous limiting factor analysis which included hydraulic modeling. High stream temperatures documented (2004-2007), along with low summer flows, high sediment levels and inadequate DO yielded suboptimal rearing conditions for fish. A genetic analysis of isolated redband trout populations in the project area showed a cohesive group and suggests that historically there was movement among subpopulations in the area. Genetic information now suggests that either substantial inbreeding has occurred or each subpopulation experienced a recent genetic bottleneck. Collectively, results suggest increasing connectivity of tributary subpopulations would promote a more robust and resilient population structure. Also, redband trout are relatively pure in spite of rainbow trout introduced regularly in the Spokane River (1933-2002).

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions for Type of Work (hatchery, RME, tagging)

This project is closely related to 200103200 which is the CDA Fisheries Enhancement for the same project area. The ISEMP Bridge Creek Watershed Study provided the direction for addressing large-scale landscape issues associated with entrenched stream channels and low base flows. From 2004 to 2007, high stream temperatures during the spawning/incubation period of early summer (Figure 4) and low flows (e.g., isolated pools and dewatered reaches) coupled with inadequate dissolved oxygen levels (i.e., < 7 mg/L) during summer base flow periods presented suboptimal rearing conditions for redband trout in the lower elevational portions of the Project Area that are heavily impacted by agriculture. These findings join a growing body of evidence that indicate the ubiquitous distribution of the low base flows, lack of oxygen, high summer stream temperatures and high sediment loads in the larger, lower elevation streams of the Project Area have relegated the remnant populations of native redband trout to the isolated, higher elevation, forested stream reaches of the Project Area.

The sponsors also recognized issues involving climate change on ground water tables and noxious weeds. They suggest that restoration of natural vegetation along the riparian zone will help offset these issues. A noxious weed issue has been identified in the agricultural lands associated with native vegetation planting, and control measures, including mowing, burning, and herbicides are being evaluated. In addition to the riparian habitat work, they are assisting the beavers with their dams by providing materials suitable for dam construction.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

Four deliverables were mentioned: (1) Access to priority habitats: some priority land has been acquired, with more needed, (2) Riparian/Floodplain Management: decommissioned artificial drainage networks in the agricultural, (3) Create beaver dams that withstand high flows and persist and (4) Develop indices indicating increase in duration of shallow groundwater storage in flood. Initially, three 40 foot wells were established in 2006 at confluence of Hangman and Sheep Creek where water depth did not vary from year to year. Regarding beaver dams, 82 small dams were found in a 2009 survey, and with improvement of dam material, they believe the dams can store considerably more water for the project. Storing water in the area is believed to be a critically important component of achieving restoration goals, and the ISRP agrees. The ongoing project only completed 71% of the contract deliverables, but many of these failures were due to quarterly reports. Annual reports have been on time. 

4a. Specific comments on protocols and methods described in MonitoringMethods.org

Data collected for this project is limited because the fish and aquatic habitat RME work is covered in a different project (200103200). But project relationships are clearly described. Data collected for this project includes the success of the establishment of native vegetation planted, beaver dam surveys, and the evaluation of shallow groundwater level at 2-week intervals in 18 shallow wells. Interesting data from these wells was provided in the proposal to illustrate baseline patterns of groundwater loss during summer. A USGS gauging station and several others are used to monitor surface flow.

The past ISRP review had concerns about "ongoing pattern of climate and stream flow" not being addressed. The response to this concern was "groundwater modeling” completed in 2007 that demonstrated drain tile removal would assist in maintaining base flows. Also, studies suggest that watershed changes could be brought about with construction and maintenance of beaver dams that would rebuild floodplain connectivity.

Earlier, the ISRP had concerns about explaining the difference between this project and the associated fisheries project. The sponsors responded that this project involves landscape level issues that limit in stream fish habitat dealing with agricultural methods, management rights, riparian management, and terrestrial habitat restoration. Other information regarding M&E is covered in the fisheries project.

Modified by Dal Marsters on 4/17/2012 2:44:35 PM.
Documentation Links:
Proponent Response: