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
Washington Wildlife Coordination

BPA project number   9306300

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
WDFW

Sponsor type   WA-State/Local Agency

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   Joe DeHerrera, EWP 503/230-3442

Biological opinion ID   Wildlife Trust Agreement

NWPPC Program number   11.3F.1

Short description
Planning and implementation of WDFW's share of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement.

Project start year   1993    End year   2000

Start of operation and/or maintenance   1998

Project development phase   Planning/Implementation

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects

Project history
FY93 $3,620,000 FY94 $1,956,000 FY95 $2,640,000 FY96 $2,082,000
Rather than using land acquisition exclusively, a portion of this project will be used to enhance existing WDFW lands: Scotch Creek 12,627 acres, Columbia Basin Wetland Projects 981 acres, Gloyd Seeps 361 acres, Sunnyside I-82 9,470 acres, Wenas 64,435 acres, Vancouver Lowlands 1,549 acres, Swanson Lakes 5,242 acres, Douglas County Pygmy Rabbit 240 acres (specific acreage for Desert, Gloyd Seeps and Quincy Lakes is unknown at this time.) Additionally, WDFW pays in-lieu property tax and will continue to do so for these properties and those which will be deeded to it from BPA as a result of the Washington Agreement. Currently BPA does not allow such payments to come out of this mitigation funding.

Biological results achieved
Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area - acquisition of 13,000 acres with an estimated 2,532 baseline Habitat Units.

Annual reports and technical papers
Each specific project is required to provide monthly reports to BPA.
-Final HEP Report for the Vancouver Lowlands Project, January 1995
-Vanc. Lowlands Prelim. Environ. Assess. and Mgmt. Plan, March 1995
-Tracy Rock sharp-tailed Grouse and Douglas County Pygmy Rabbit site Specific Management Plan, October 1992
-Recommendations for Graining Land Management Changes in the Swanson Lakes Management Area to Benefit Sharp-Tailed Grouse and Sage Grouse in Lincoln County, Washington, October 1994
-Swanson Lakes Enhancement Plan, revised July 1995
-Washington Wildlife Mitigation Trust Projects - Programmatic Environmental Assessment - Preliminary Draft, December 1995

Management implications
WDFW has a specific list of mitigation projects that it intends to implement with the BPA funding. Some of these projects involve management and enhancement of specific types of wildlife habitat within existing wildlife areas already under WDFW administration. Other projects involve the acquisition of additional property on which to conduct habitat enhancement and wildlife management activities. The focus of these projects is enhancing key pieces of habitat for species which were impacted by hydropower construction and avoid the invocation of the Endangered Species Act. Adaptive management is a principle that will be used for project monitoring and evaluation to ensure appropriate habitat and species response.

Specific measureable objectives
BPA will receive credit for approximately 40,000 Habitat Units as a result of full implementation of WDFW's share of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement.

Testable hypothesis
N/A

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints
Finding willing sellers for land acquisition elements of the project. Securing adequate funding for enhancement, operation, maintenance, monitoring and evaluation.

Methods
For applicable information pertaining planning and implementation of this wildlife mitigation project PLEASE SEE: Washington Wildlife Mitigation Trust Projects - Programmatic Environmental Assessment - Preliminary Draft, December 1995

Brief schedule of activities
FY 1997 Continue planning and implementation on: Vancouver Lowlands, Swanson Lakes, Scotch Creek and begin: Pygmy Rabbit Coordinated Resource Management Plan, Wenas, Sunnyside I-82, Gloyd Seeps, and shrub-steppe acquisitions and complete: Peregrine Reintroduction project, Douglas County Pygmy Rabbit and CRMP.

FY1998 Continue FY97 project implementation and begin acquisitions for Sage Grouse, complete: Gloyd Seeps and obtain : operation and maintenance funding for FY97 completed projects.

FY1999 Continue FY98 project implementation, begin: Desert, complete:Scotch Creek, Desert and Sage Grouse acquisitions,obtain: operation and maintenance funding for FY97 and FY98 completed projects.

FY2000 Complete: all implementation aspects of WDFW's portion of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Program and obtain : operation and maintenance funding for projects completed during FY97-FY99.

FY2001 Obtain: operation and maintenance funding for all projects.

Biological need
The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act includes provisions for the protection, mitigation, and enhancement of fish and wildlife affected by the development and operation of hydroelectric facilities of the Columbia River Basin. This Act authorizes the Administrator of the BPA to use the BPA fund to carry out the provisions of the Act. The development of the hydropower system in the Columbia River Basin has affected many species of wildlife. Some floodplain and riparian habitats important to wildlife were inundated when reservoirs were filled. Fluctuating water levels caused by dam operations have created barren vegetation zones, which expose wildlife to increased predation. Activities associated with hydroelectric development have altered land and stream areas in ways that adversely affect wildlife. The impacts of dam construction and reservoir inundation have been documented and the wildlife losses are included in the NPPC's program.

Critical uncertainties
Adequate funding for wildlife mitigation in the Columbia River Basin.

Summary of expected outcome
BPA will receive credit for approximately 40,000 Habitat Units when full implementation of WDFW's portion is achieved. This assumes BPA provides adequate funding for operation, maintenance, monitoring and project evaluation to sustain these Habitat Units. With the current loss assessments, WDFW would have approximately 46,000 Habitat Units still requiring mitigation.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
Willing sellers will have to be found for the land acquisition portions of this project. A Programmatic Environmental Assessment is currently in draft form (completion scheduled during FY96) for all project elements with the exception of the Vancouver Lowlands which BPA is requiring an Environmental Impact Statement because it is located within a Historic District. The Vancouver Lowlands project does have a draft Environmental Assessment, since much of the work has already been done, the development of an EIS should not impact project implementation. WDFW does not anticipate any adverse impacts to cultural or historic resources within the project boundary.

Risks
None known.

Monitoring activity
Long-term monitoring and evaluation of management activities will occur 1) to determine if the objectives of a given proposed action ar met, 2) to evaluate the success of the management plan for each wildlife or project area, 3) to ensure the principles of adaptive management are undertaken for any corrective action needed. Included in the monitoring and evaluation program will be:
1. Monitoring and evaluation of habitat through the use of a quantifiable method to analyze change in Habitat Units (as determined by Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) studies for each area in response to habitat maintenance and enhancement activities.
2. Monitoring of species presence and occurrence before, during, and after project implementation in response to habitat maintenance and enhancement activities.
3. Cost effectiveness of comparative methodologies during the development of project proposals and implementation.

BPA will monitor and evaluate the propose projects through periodic reports submitted by WDFW.

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   Wildlife

Recommendation    No recommendation