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Title: Big Canyon Creek Ecological Restoration Strategy.

Abstract

He-yey, Nez Perce for steelhead or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), are a culturally and ecologically significant resource within the Big Canyon Creek watershed; they are also part of the federally listed Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS. The majority of the Big Canyon Creek drainage is considered critical habitat for that DPS as well as for the federally listed Snake River fall chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) ESU. The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District (District) and the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resources Management-Watershed (Tribe), in an effort to support the continued existence of these and other aquatic species, have developed this document to direct funding toward priority restoration projects in priority areas for the Big Canyon Creek watershed. In order to achieve this, the District and the Tribe: (1) Developed a working group and technical team composed of managers from a variety of stakeholders within the basin; (2) Established geographically distinct sub-watershed areas called Assessment Units (AUs); (3) Created a prioritization framework for the AUs and prioritized them; and (4) Developed treatment strategies to utilize within the prioritized AUs. Assessment Units were delineated by significant shifts in sampled juvenile O. mykiss (steelhead/rainbow trout) densities, which were found to fallmore » at fish passage barriers. The prioritization framework considered four aspects critical to determining the relative importance of performing restoration in a certain area: density of critical fish species, physical condition of the AU, water quantity, and water quality. It was established, through vigorous data analysis within these four areas, that the geographic priority areas for restoration within the Big Canyon Creek watershed are Big Canyon Creek from stream km 45.5 to the headwaters, Little Canyon from km 15 to 30, the mainstem corridors of Big Canyon (mouth to 7km) and Little Canyon (mouth to 7km). The District and the Tribe then used data collected from the District's stream assessment and inventory, utilizing the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP), to determine treatment necessary to bring 90% of reaches ranked Poor or Fair through the SVAP up to good or excellent. In 10 year's time, all reaches that were previously evaluated with SVAP will be reevaluated to determine progress and to adapt methods for continued success. Over 400 miles of stream need treatment in order to meet identified restoration goals. Treatments include practices which result in riparian habitat improvements, nutrient reductions, channel condition improvements, fish habitat improvements, invasive species control, water withdrawal reductions, improved hydrologic alterations, upland sediment reductions, and passage barrier removal. The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District (District) and the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resource Management Watershed Division (Tribe) developed this document to guide restoration activities within the Big Canyon Creek watershed for the period of 2008-2018. This plan was created to demonstrate the ongoing need and potential for anadromous fish habitat restoration within the watershed and to ensure continued implementation of restoration actions and activities. It was developed not only to guide the District and the Tribe, but also to encourage cooperation among all stakeholders, including landowners, government agencies, private organizations, tribal governments, and elected officials. Through sharing information, skills, and resources in an active, cooperative relationships, all concerned parties will have the opportunity to join together to strengthen and maintain a sustainable natural resource base for present and future generations within the watershed. The primary goal of the strategy is to address aquatic habitat restoration needs on a watershed level for resident and anadromous fish species, promoting quality habitat within a self-sustaining watershed. Seven objectives have been developed to support this goal: (1) Identify factors limiting quality and quantity of steelhead spawning and rearing habitat; (2) Identify targets for optimal conditions within the basin; (3) Identify treatments to address limiting factors and goals for optimal conditions; (4) Prioritize location of restoration activities; (5) Identify information and data gaps; (6) Identify future monitoring strategy to support adaptive management; and (7) Identify opportunities for collaboration with stakeholders.« less

Authors:
;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Portland, OR (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
949220
Report Number(s):
P104292
R&D Project: 1999-015-00; TRN: US200909%%410
DOE Contract Number:  
32704
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Related Information: This project was funded by the Bonneville Power Administration.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
13 HYDRO ENERGY; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; DATA ANALYSIS; DRAINAGE; FISHERIES; HABITAT; IMPLEMENTATION; JUVENILES; MANAGEMENT; MONITORING; NUTRIENTS; REARING; REMOVAL; RESOURCE MANAGEMENT; SEDIMENTS; SOILS; STREAMS; TARGETS; TROUT; WATER QUALITY; WATERSHEDS

Citation Formats

Rasmussen, Lynn, and Richardson, Shannon. Big Canyon Creek Ecological Restoration Strategy.. United States: N. p., 2007. Web. doi:10.2172/949220.
Rasmussen, Lynn, & Richardson, Shannon. Big Canyon Creek Ecological Restoration Strategy.. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/949220
Rasmussen, Lynn, and Richardson, Shannon. 2007. "Big Canyon Creek Ecological Restoration Strategy.". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/949220. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/949220.
@article{osti_949220,
title = {Big Canyon Creek Ecological Restoration Strategy.},
author = {Rasmussen, Lynn and Richardson, Shannon},
abstractNote = {He-yey, Nez Perce for steelhead or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), are a culturally and ecologically significant resource within the Big Canyon Creek watershed; they are also part of the federally listed Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS. The majority of the Big Canyon Creek drainage is considered critical habitat for that DPS as well as for the federally listed Snake River fall chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) ESU. The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District (District) and the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resources Management-Watershed (Tribe), in an effort to support the continued existence of these and other aquatic species, have developed this document to direct funding toward priority restoration projects in priority areas for the Big Canyon Creek watershed. In order to achieve this, the District and the Tribe: (1) Developed a working group and technical team composed of managers from a variety of stakeholders within the basin; (2) Established geographically distinct sub-watershed areas called Assessment Units (AUs); (3) Created a prioritization framework for the AUs and prioritized them; and (4) Developed treatment strategies to utilize within the prioritized AUs. Assessment Units were delineated by significant shifts in sampled juvenile O. mykiss (steelhead/rainbow trout) densities, which were found to fall at fish passage barriers. The prioritization framework considered four aspects critical to determining the relative importance of performing restoration in a certain area: density of critical fish species, physical condition of the AU, water quantity, and water quality. It was established, through vigorous data analysis within these four areas, that the geographic priority areas for restoration within the Big Canyon Creek watershed are Big Canyon Creek from stream km 45.5 to the headwaters, Little Canyon from km 15 to 30, the mainstem corridors of Big Canyon (mouth to 7km) and Little Canyon (mouth to 7km). The District and the Tribe then used data collected from the District's stream assessment and inventory, utilizing the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP), to determine treatment necessary to bring 90% of reaches ranked Poor or Fair through the SVAP up to good or excellent. In 10 year's time, all reaches that were previously evaluated with SVAP will be reevaluated to determine progress and to adapt methods for continued success. Over 400 miles of stream need treatment in order to meet identified restoration goals. Treatments include practices which result in riparian habitat improvements, nutrient reductions, channel condition improvements, fish habitat improvements, invasive species control, water withdrawal reductions, improved hydrologic alterations, upland sediment reductions, and passage barrier removal. The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District (District) and the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resource Management Watershed Division (Tribe) developed this document to guide restoration activities within the Big Canyon Creek watershed for the period of 2008-2018. This plan was created to demonstrate the ongoing need and potential for anadromous fish habitat restoration within the watershed and to ensure continued implementation of restoration actions and activities. It was developed not only to guide the District and the Tribe, but also to encourage cooperation among all stakeholders, including landowners, government agencies, private organizations, tribal governments, and elected officials. Through sharing information, skills, and resources in an active, cooperative relationships, all concerned parties will have the opportunity to join together to strengthen and maintain a sustainable natural resource base for present and future generations within the watershed. The primary goal of the strategy is to address aquatic habitat restoration needs on a watershed level for resident and anadromous fish species, promoting quality habitat within a self-sustaining watershed. Seven objectives have been developed to support this goal: (1) Identify factors limiting quality and quantity of steelhead spawning and rearing habitat; (2) Identify targets for optimal conditions within the basin; (3) Identify treatments to address limiting factors and goals for optimal conditions; (4) Prioritize location of restoration activities; (5) Identify information and data gaps; (6) Identify future monitoring strategy to support adaptive management; and (7) Identify opportunities for collaboration with stakeholders.},
doi = {10.2172/949220},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/949220}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2007},
month = {Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2007}
}