Assess Current and Potential Salmonid Production in Rattlesnake Creek Associated with Restoration Efforts; Underwood Conservation District, Annual Report 2001-2002.
The White Salmon River Watershed Enhancement Project (WSRWEP) began in 1993 through efforts of the Underwood Conservation District (UCD), local stakeholders and various agencies. Early accomplishments of the project included the formation of a multi-stakeholder watershed management committee (WMC) and technical advisory committee (TAC), completion of several baseline assessments, drafting of a watershed management plan, and beginning implementation of the plan. Since inception, the effort has utilized the support of various government/private grants, and local in-kind contributions to accomplish project goals. The WMC and its partners utilize a four-pronged approach for achieving watershed enhancement: on-ground restoration, extension of technical and financial assistance to cooperators, community and environmental education, and assessment/monitoring to develop strategies and track the success of ongoing work. Project activities are generally targeted to sub-basins and stream reaches within the White Salmon watershed that exhibit important water quality and fish/wildlife habitat problems. Such project prioritization is being conducted with the active input of both the White Salmon WMC and TAC. An important current phase of the WSRWEP targets detailed monitoring and assessment of the Rattlesnake Creek sub-basin, and is the focus of this report. The 'Assessment of Rattlesnake Creek in Relation to Restoration Efforts' project (BPA Project ID Number 21009) was identified and prioritized for accomplishment by the White Salmon River TAC in January of 2000. Rationale for the project stemmed from the group's realization that Condit Dam on the lower White Salmon is scheduled for removal, or fish passage retrofitting, within the near future. Given this eventuality, the TAC identified the current lack of understanding regarding both potential anadromous habitat and existing native fish and habitat conditions above Condit Dam (RM 3.2) as an important need. In response to the TAC's determination, the US Geological Survey (USGS), Yakama Nation (YN) and UCD began work to develop the current project that is intended to address the above. The overall goal of the Rattlesnake Creek assessment is to document existing riparian habitat and water quality conditions, native fish populations, and future restoration sites before future return of anadromous fish to the basin above RM 3.2. Since the project is jointly enacted by the USGS, YN and UCD, a high degree of shared planning and joint implementation is applied during completion of tasks. In general, the USGS and YN are cooperatively working to monitor and assess fish populations and riparian habitat conditions within the drainage and adjacent sections of the White Salmon. The UCD is generally responsible for assessing water quality, mapping stream channel geomorphology to enable future restoration planning, and measuring the ratios of carbon and nitrogen isotopes at various trophic levels The remainder of this report provides a summary of significant activities achieved by the UCD under BPA Project 21009 during the first project year. The report follows the FY 2001 UCD/BPA contract Statement of Work (SOW) format. Discussion of major problems encountered, changes in the work plan and schedule deviations are noted in italics after the description of accomplishments for each task.
- Research Organization:
- Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Portland, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- 6301
- OSTI ID:
- 963106
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/BP-00006301-1; TRN: US200917%%487
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Assess Current and Potential Salmonid Production in Rattlesnake Creek Associated with Restoration Efforts; US Geological Survey Reports, 2001-2002 Annual Report.
Assess Current and Potential Salmonid Production in Rattlesnake Creek Associated with Restoration Efforts; Yakama Indian Nation, Annual Report 2002-2003.