BPA Fish and Wildlife FY 1997 Proposal

Section 1. Administrative
Section 2. Narrative
Section 3. Budget

see CBFWA and BPA funding recommendations

Section 1. Administrative

Title of project
Mobile Environmental Education Telecommunication Strategy "Meets"

BPA project number   5507400

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
C&C Sciences, P.C.

Sponsor type   OR-Consultant

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   , EWP

Biological opinion ID   

NWPPC Program number   

Short description
The establishment of a Global Positioning System GPS computer-based watershed landscape "service learning" and information tracking system to monitor ecological health of the Snake/Columbia Rivers salmon habitat loss, recovery, rehabilitation, and restoration efforts in selected key watersheds (i.e., Grande Ronde, Yakama Basin).

Project start year   1997    End year   2000

Start of operation and/or maintenance   0

Project development phase   Planning

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects
Their has been four quarters of project support since, FY 1993 with various apprenticeship style programs with tribal, minorities and women participants. Most recently, the AmeriCorps National Community Service Initiative with Northwest Service Academy Project NWSA, Salmon Corps, and others in Oregon and Washington.

* The Nez Perce Salmon Corps cared for 600,000 coho smolts (conducted population data inventories and fed) at Sweetwater Spring Hatchery Project-8335000.

Habitat restoration, fencing and revegetation in Dworshak Model Watershed development Project-8740700.

* Shoshone Bannock Salmon Corps constructed jackfence project (cut and prep lodge-pole pine) on Pahsimero streambank protection from over grazing and stream channel damage Lemi Model Watershed-Project 9202603.

Habitat improvement and enhancement projects (revegetation, weed control) FortHall Bottoms-Project 9201000.

* The Yakama Salmon Corps at the Hanford K-Basin support fall chinook salmon, Naches River system, and coho Klickitat, Rattlesnake habitat restoration and survey's Project-9506300.

Involved in Basin Environmental Education Tribal Cultural activities and local School Education Districts use of BPA fish farming kits part of field labs, conducted Revegetation and Silvicultural methods NWSA support Project-9405900.

* Umatilla Salmon Corps site preparation at the tribes Bonifer Project-8343500/8805300 and Minthorn Project Acclimation Ponds actives link with NWSA.

* C&C Sciences,P.C. has established "service learning centers" equiped with PC-workstation (5).

Project history

Biological results achieved

Annual reports and technical papers

Management implications

Specific measureable objectives
To analyze the impacts of socioeconomic, dams, irrigation, forest management, agriculture-livestock grazing, and recreation on protection of the genetic make up of spawning population (salmon) and habitats to insure increased genetic diversity.

The major objectives of MEETS are:

1. Identify a typical watershed and define its landscape and habitat conditions in response to biological opinion of the National Fisheries Service regarding the effects of hydropower operations on Snake River Salmon, Final Recommendations to NMFS April 1994, and President Bill Clinton in the Memorandum to the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies April 29, 1994.

2. To analyze the impacts of selected economic, demographic, lifestyle and other socioeconomic factors affecting watershed-landscape ecology at the county level in the states of ID,OR,WA with tribal and BPA representatives. Collect/Conduct ecosystems, social, and environmental resources inventories utilizing historic and present data on the range of anadromous fish in the Columbia/Snake Rivers (best published and unpublished).

3. Promote the development of an innovative "apprenticeshipstyle" partnership with institutions (i.e., ChemeketaCommunity College), and business leaders. While at thesame time develop a service learning field orientatedpilot strategy in support of BPA selected projects.

4. Computer-assisted natural resources, management sciencescurricula instruction and experiential in support of theaforementioned objectives. Using a Global PositioningSystem GPS for ecological/socioeconomic database modelingto simulate the conditions.

Testable hypothesis
Their are some primary working hypothesis:

One, in the watershed landscape analysis, outputs are still produced to met society's need, but much more attention is placed on a service learning approach to enhance the government to government relationship with tribal governments, minorities and women through a benefit/cost analysis on watershed sustainability;

Two, A survey/questionnaire will relate to the biological capabilities of the watershed-landscape socially acceptable, environmental educational awareness, and telecommunication levels;

A logic model assume that societal-geo-political and socioeconomic factors weigh heavily on the quality and quantity of watershed-landscape genetic diversity within the Columbia River Basin (tributaries) within county boundaries.

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints
Their are interrelated assumptions, in that, environmental education and awareness of impacts from various socioeconomic factors is important to understanding the loss of natural salmon production, and genetic diversity which can be compensated by habitat restoration and enhancement projects the benefit/cost is link to environmental academic enrichment projects.

Also, a long-term monitoring program requires better landscape information about habitat structure and function, to design a project to improve migration habitat conditions in the snake and columbia rivers which would lead to greater survival of juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead.

Methods
The project will will use multiple standards for identifying
and forecasting watershed-landscape (models) conditions to assess the effectiveness of existing model watersheds (two-three units annually i.e. Lemhi, Grande Ronde, Dworshak). Multiple standards make possible the assessment of potential degradation in environmental conditions.

It became obvious to C&C Sciences very early in the planning, that handheld Global Positioning System GPS receiver to record geographic locations and PC software to display that information on a geographic Information System GIS. The GPS pathfinder professional system through Trimble Navigation products will be selected, software include AutoCAD, Arc/Info 6.0, and ArcView for windows. Five, tribal sites with one independent mobile unit.

Equipment basic needs:
* Lease a 1 (ton) Ford Van 4x4 preferred $ 450.00 monthly
* ATV w/Trailer $3000.00
* Generator AC hookup $ 600.00
* (2) Trimble Navigation Products $5000.00
* (1) CalComp 1040GT Plotter Rec'd $6000.00 partner
* Software Purchases Rec'd some $4000.00 partner
* Video and Production equipment Rec'd $1500.00 partner

The logit procedure will allow model fitting, hypothesis testing, and parameter estimation. The dependent variable is dichotomous (BPA/TRIBES) taken on two values. A value is the ratio of the frequency that an activitiy occurs to the frequency that it does not occur. The criterion is the expected values of a coho salmon smolt or chinook, steelhead migration success over the next five years. As a function of the selected watershed ecological health and habitat rehabilitation the exogenous variable. It account for the variation in a model watershed. A logistic distribution function is derived Y=1/(1+ExP-(A+Bx).
* Use of BPA fish farming kits*

Y=Dependent Variables (BPA,Tribal Governments, Partners)
X=exogenous variable
A,B=Parameters to estimated

Within the ongoing projects; 600,000 coho smolt, 700,000 fall chinook salmon, and 100,000 steelhead.

C&C Sciences, P.C. through consultants and associate advisors, has maintain an environmental education apprenticeship-style system, ecosystem management consultants, and academic interactive telecommunication networks (i.e. E-mail,GPS/GIS).

*not-to-be disclosed to public*

Brief schedule of activities
The criteria for assessment of database and schedule of activities; 1) Breadth of watershed studies, 2) Relevance of exist or new project with scope of BPA and Tribes, 3) Number of success dimensions, 4) Quality of experimental design, 5) Data Quality, 6) Timeliness, 7) Objectives of Model Watershed selected, and 8) Policy relevance (Government to Government approach).

A creative tracking system provide for a one, two week turnaround time for response to project needs. The primary purpose of the computerized tracking systems is to; conduct long-term planning, and evaluate projects and the total program on budget.

The key parameters to focus on are time, cost, and quality.

Projected summary: Project BPAPDX.PJ *Total FY Hours 4280 *SuperProject Expert software*.

Task ID 1. --------One-Year-Plan partners/database 1640
Task ID 2. --------Assessment Socioeconomic 1200
Task ID 3. --------Evaluation ICO's BPA/Tribal 720
Task ID 12.--------Implementation/Service Learning 720

Both survey and questionnaires will be integrated with data on ecological health; a minimum of three watersheds; two acclimation ponds, and three to four projects (restoration, rehabilitation, habitat survey's).

Biological need

Critical uncertainties
The concept of genetic maintenance and ecosystem adaptation place a need on increased understanding of individual watersheds and in management of individual watersheds collaborative process.

Within the development of recommendation made in the "Upstream" National Research Council, 1995 and the Snake River Salmon Recovery Team Final Recommendations to NMFS 1994 reports it is a departure from the status quo management and coordination.

* not-to-be disclosed to public*

Summary of expected outcome
With 164 key watersheds and more than 300 critical watershed already identified, this proposal will provide a model program in socioeconomic linked to a "MEETS" providing service learning in watershed landscape projects and academic enrichment opportunities.

Base-line data will be gathered by a mobile trimble navigation GPS GIS unit. A comparison matrix build on case studies, that is, based on information available in BPA prioritize fish and wildlife projects.

- Promote development of advanced telecommunication (Geographic Information System GIS) infrastructure.

- Sponsor broadbased environmental methodology through Watershed/Landscape analysis workshops with tribal, BPA, and other partners.

- Act as a catalyst for research on sustaining social, biological, ecosystem management principles, and ecological health education linked to communities and institutions.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
This proposal strategy develops awareness of the need for dialogue with partners, it emphasizes the importance of protection in genetic diversity of a healthy ecosystem for spawning salmon.

The proposal promotes education and a government-to-government approach through grassroots to understand tribal culture.

Hands-on workshops with participants representing, state, federal, private, and tribes will help shape the strategy through synthesized best ideas as advice for conducting future analysis, so collaboration with partners will be very important.

Some project my require effective environmental analysis beginning with scoping (NEPA).



* not-to-be disclosed to public*

Risks
Their are some limitations with this proposed project; First, it should be clear that we have not covered the full range of model watersheds and tribal involvement during the start of project; Second, this strategic plan requires a multicultural strategic team; Third, no effort has been made to draw a random sample for selecting model watersheds, or other prioritized BPA fish and wildlife projects; Fourth, this strategic plan is based on the needs and recommendations in the "Upstream Report" if adopted, and reallocation of financial and natural resources.

Monitoring activity
The complexity of the project, the Urban Environmental Technology Center will conduct the monitoring and evaluation. The evaluation will be linked to the Northwest Center for Sustainable Resources at Chemeketa Community College, OSU, Selected Tribal Government representatives, and BPA COTR.

The GPS/GIS mobile unit will provide a unique opportunity to test the impact of socioeconomic variables. The use of cross-cutting data test the influence of various watershed to reflect changes in habitat representing ecological health of the Columbia/Snake River tributaries.

The key question asked; what is the desired recovery or developmental stage in the ecosystem to meet the needs? The key procedure is to be simple for detecting recovery phases in stream ecosystems, and forecasting recovery time. The logit model will provide a conventional sampling design and statistical method for various levels of resolution of data to enhance evaluation of parameters and thresholds.

Section 3. Budget

* For most projects, Authorized is the amount recommended by CBFWA and the Council. Planned is amount currently allocated. Contracted is the amount obligated to date of printout.

Funding recommendations

CBFWA funding review group   System Policy

Recommendation    Tier 3 - do not fund