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
Idaho Model Watersheds Admin/Impl. Support

BPA project number   9202603

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
ID Soil Conservation Commission

Sponsor type   ID-Model Watershed

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   Mark Shaw, EWP 503/230-5239

Biological opinion ID   None

NWPPC Program number   7.7B.1

Short description
Lemhi River basin, Pahsimeroi River basin and East Fork Salmon River basin watershed restoration planning and implementation.

Project start year   1992    End year   

Start of operation and/or maintenance   

Project development phase   Implementation

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects
Project 9202603 provides administration and implementation/technical support for project 9401700: Implementation of Idaho Model Watershed Habitat projects. Project 9401700 funds implementation of the top priority actions identified in the watershed plan. In addition to the BPA funds requested for 9401700, the State of Idaho may also provide a portion of 9401700 implementation funds, which are then used to cost share with land operators for maintenance and enhancement of stream side cover.

Project history
To develop comprehensive watershed level fisheries habitat maintenance and restoration plans for the Lemhi River basin, Pahsimeroi River basin, and East Fork of the Salmon River Basin in accordance with the NPPC measure to establish Model Watershed programs in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

Biological results achieved
Refer to Habitat project 9401700

Annual reports and technical papers
Quarterly reports since inception of project.
Model Watershed Plan for Lemhi River, Pahsimeroi River, and East Fork of the Salmon River.
Stream Habitat Inventory for Lemhi River, Pahsimeroi River, and East Fork of the Salmon River.
Project Implementation Reports for all projects.
Biological Assessments for all projects.

Management implications
a. Continued support of the Model Watershed Coordination effort allows for a central focus and clearing house for salmon habitat issues in the Model Watershed area. It also is a stimulus for similar activities in the upper Salmon River basin outside the Model Watershed area.

b. Project coordination performs an important function in bringing together public agencies and interested parties to address habitat concerns and develop practical solutions. In the absence of project coordination, the synergistic effect of cooperation is lost, with agencies and private entities pursuing individual and often unrelated goals.

Specific measureable objectives
a. Obtain funding commitments to address streamside vegetative improvement component of model watershed action plan. Possible funding sources are identified in the Model Watershed Action Plan appendix A.

b. Provide technical assistance to develop Resource Management Systems which include a streamside vegetation management component for the critical pasture and hayland acres along the priority stream segments identified in chapter 7 of the plan.

c. Obtain project engineering assistance to provide engineering design for structural components of action plan.

d. Obtain commitments from supporting agencies to provide agreed-to resources to achieve action plan objective.

NRCS - engineering technical assistance, technical assistance for pasture and hayland planning.

SCC - administration and clerical support, technical assistance for pasture and hayland planning.

Other - Biological and planning assistance (IDFG, BLM, USFS, DEQ, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.)

e. A memorandum of understanding will be executed among the Soil Conservation Commission (SCC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), US Bureau of Reclamation (BoR), Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDF&G), Sho-Ban Tribes, US Forest Service (USFS), and Idaho Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ), describing the roles, responsibilities, and commitment of resources among the parties to the agreement.

Testable hypothesis
Funding of the coordination of efforts for habitat improvement in the Model Watershed area will lead to cooperative efforts for salmon habitat improvement. Cooperation will come in terms of both technical assistance and funding and make BPA a partner and not the full under of all activities.

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints
With the Model Watershed Plan now complete, the underlying assumptions of the proposal are as follows:

a. Funding will be identified and obtained for action implementation

b. Land owners will continue to cooperate to implement actions identified as beneficial to fish habitat on private land.

Methods
The Model Watershed Plan will be the guiding document for the coordination effort. The advisory committee and the technical committee will continue to assist and guide the Project Coordinator and his staff to implement the plan's actions in a priority manner.

Brief schedule of activities
Fish habitat maintenance and enhancement
1997
- Hire pasture and hayland specialist
- Initiate planning activities with owners and operators of critical pasture and hayland in terms of fish habitat
- Develop land treatment contracts with participants and begin implementation of practices

1998 to 2001
- Complete development of 30-50 land treatment contracts
- Begin implementation of contracts (practice installation)
- O&M begins on individual contracts from three to five years following contract implementation. For contracts developed in 1998, O&M could begin by 2000

Diversions and fish screening
1997 - Initiate contact between coordinator, staff, irrigators, and irrigation districts to seek opportunities for consolidation of diversions. The purpose of these consolidations is to enhance irrigation water management and to thereby improve stream flows. Consolidation work will be completed in 1997 in the Lemhi drainage.

1998 to 2001
- Continue with negotiations and work on consolidations, and complete related work in the Pahsimeroi and East Fork of the Salmon River drainages.

Biological need
The underlying need for the project is to provide a coordination of activities and efforts to address the biological need described in Project 9401700, Idaho Model Watershed Habitat Projects.

Critical uncertainties
Diversions and fish screens:
Without the coordination and interaction of the model watershed Project Coordinator the effort will revert to "have ditch, will screen" mentality, without land owner participation in the expected outcomes.

Summary of expected outcome
Through project coordination, information and education activities, and provision of technical assistance, some progress will be made in reaching project goals through identification and use of current limited funding sources. However, with sufficient monies to provide for implementation of the fish habitat maintenance and enhancement and diversions and fish screening components of the action plan, intensive treatment would be applied to improve the quality and quantity of streamside vegetative cover on 75 percent of the priority stream segments (see project proposal #9401700). The accrued benefits would be enhanced spawning and rearing habitat on approximately 60 miles of stream in the Lemhi, Pahsimeroi and East Fork of the Salmon watersheds.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
Potential supplemental funding for fish habitat maintenance and enhancement through the Idaho State Agricultural Water Quality Program (SAWQP) would provide further cost-sharing of pasture and hayland treatment and accelerate project implementation.

Risks
Funding of the coordination portion does not guarantee funding from the other agencies for either technical assistance or project implementation.

Loss of current momentum for implementing action to assist habitat maintenance and enhancement.

Fragmenting the effort back to agency responsibility only will most likely lead to agencies working only in their areas of responsibilities.

Monitoring activity
A work plan will be developed containing project action items. Quarterly reports will be submitted to BPA on work plan progress. Funding will be documented through quarterly reports for reimbursement, with an itemization of expenditures provided.

These reports will be coordinated with habitat project implementation reports.

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   Snake River

Recommendation    Tier 1 - fund

Recommended funding level   $196,900

BPA 1997 authorized budget (approved start-of-year budget)   $139,000