68684

2011-006-00 EXP CHAMP - ODFW - U GR RONDE & CATHERINE CK

3/1/2015

2/29/2016

157. Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data

Work Element Usage Report

D: 157 - Conduct CHaMP fish habitat surveys in steelhead and Chinook salmon populations in the UGR

In support of habitat restoration, rehabilitation and conservation action performance assessments and adaptive management requirements of the 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion (BiOp), the Bonneville Power Administration is working with NOAA and other regional fish management agencies to monitor status and trends of fish habitat for each major population group (MPG) in the Pacific Northwest identified through the Endangered Species Act (ESA). BPA is adopting a standardized fish habitat monitoring protocol, the Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (CHaMP) for the Columbia River Basin monitoring programs.

CHaMP is a Columbia River basin-wide habitat status and trends monitoring program built around a single habitat monitoring protocol with a program-wide approach to data collection and management. CHaMP will capture habitat features that drive fish population biology and will result in systematic habitat status and trends information that will be used to assess basin-wide habitat condition and correlated with biological response indicators to evaluate habitat management strategies.

BPA is implementing CHaMP in at least one population within each steelhead and Chinook MPG which has, or will have, fish in-fish out monitoring. The goal of this work element is to implement CHaMP in the Upper Grande Ronde River and Catherine Creek. Watersheds within the Upper Grande Ronde encompass summer steelhead and spring Chinook populations. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) will implement CHaMP habitat monitoring and collaborate with the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) for the monitoring of the summer steelhead and spring Chinook populations at 30 sites in the Upper Grande Ronde River. The data from this project will be used to evaluate the quantity and quality of tributary fish habitat available to salmonids across the Columbia River basin. When combined with parallel fish monitoring metrics from related projects, these data will also be used assess the impact of habitat management actions on fish population processes.

A generalized random tessellation stratified (GRTS) survey design is recommended by Crawford and Rumsey (2009) for monitoring habitat status and trend in the Columbia River Basin. The GRTS-based sampling approach is dependent upon compiling and processing GIS layers consistent with sampling decisions. The Contractor will work with the CHaMP Lead Coordinator and CHaMP personnel in assimilating, managing, and processing GIS data to support sampling design needs in advance of the field season. In addition, implementing a GRTS survey design correctly is critical to producing a final dataset with known statistical characteristics; however, doing so requires the implementation of strict procedures during the site evaluation and selection process. Contractor personnel will work with the CHaMP Lead Coordinator and CHaMP personnel to implement the GRTS Site Selection Protocol and Tool to ensure the correct implementation of the survey design.

In addition to agency-specific safety and other training, contractor personnel will complete a 10 day training course for the CHaMP protocol and be competent in the use of the necessary field equipment and familiar with the concepts and terms of the CHaMP habitat monitoring protocol (Bouwes et al 2010). This training workshop will be run by CHaMP and offered from 1-10 June 2015 and will be comprised of:
Two days of laboratory training that includes the policy and ecological motivations underlying the CHaMP protocol and program; GIS training for the processing of total station-based topographical surveys; data logger download skills; and crew-level data management and quality assurance.
2. Five days of in-field training for contractor’s field crew leaders and technicians using the CHaMP protocol. Crews will be trained to measure habitat and record data with data loggers.
3. Three days of in-field supervised practice where contractor's field crews will conduct CHaMP surveys under the supervision of qualified trainers at actual stream sample sites.

At each site, the agency name crew will implement and complete a habitat survey using the CHaMP protocol. Data collected under the CHaMP protocol will include at a minimum:
• Water quality
• Water temperature
• Water Chemistry
• Stream discharge
• Drift invertebrates
• Canopy cover
• Riparian structure
• Human influence
• Bank morphology
• Substrate composition
• Large woody debris
• Channel morphology
• Fish cover
• Particle size distribution and embeddedness
• Subsurface fines
• Solar input

$110,915

59.02%

03/01/2015

02/29/2016

09/30/2015

Concluded

n/a

n/a

Recurring