FY 2002 Columbia Plateau proposal 25072

Section 1. General administrative information
Section 2. Past accomplishments
Section 3. Relationships to other projects
Section 4. Budgets for planning/design phase
Section 5. Budgets for construction/implementation phase
Section 6. Budgets for operations/maintenance phase
Section 7. Budgets for monitoring/evaluation phase
Section 8. Budget summary

Reviews and Recommendations

Additional documents

Title	Type
25072 Narrative	Narrative
25072 Sponsor Response to the ISRP	Response

Section 1. Administrative

Proposal title	Restore Tucannon River Riparian Habitat: Wooten Wildlife Area
Proposal ID	25072
Organization	Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW)
Proposal contact person or principal investigator
Name	Gary Stendal
Mailing address	2134 Tucannon Road Pomeroy, WA 99347
Phone / email	5098431530 /
Manager authorizing this project	Dinah Demers
Review cycle	Columbia Plateau
Province / Subbasin	Columbia Plateau / Tucannon
Short description	Remove six (6) campgrounds from within Tucannon River riparian zone; restore riparian habitat and function through revegetation and protection to improve anadromous fish habitat; establish three (3) new campgrounds outside riparian zone.
Target species	Anadromous fish (Snake River Spring Chinook Salmon, Steelhead trout); Riparian wildlife (cavity nesters, passerines, deer and elk).

Project location

Latitude	Longitude	Description
46.351	-117.6801	Tucannon River, starting at Wm. T. Wooten Wildlife Area Headquarters, Columbia County, and upstream approximately twelve (12) miles

Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs)

Sponsor-reported:

RPA

Relevant RPAs based on NMFS/BPA review:

Reviewing agency	Action #	BiOp Agency	Description
NMFS	Action 153	NMFS	BPA shall, working with agricultural incentive programs such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, negotiate and fund long-term protection for 100 miles of riparian buffers per year in accordance with criteria BPA and NMFS will develop by June 1, 2001.

Section 2. Past accomplishments

Year	Accomplishment
1980s	reduced overnight camping areas along Tucannon River from 30 to approximately 20
1992	reduced overnight camping areas to 14, in order to rehabilitate riparian streambanks and protect threatened salmon
1997	reduced overnight camping areas to 10, due to flood damage incurred in 1996 and 1997
1997	adopted Wm. T. Wooten Wildlife Area Management Plan, which outlined management needed to improve riparian habitat (including campground relocation and riparian re-vegetation)
1997	Tucannon Model Watershed Plan finalized; WDFW participated in development of Tucannon Model Watershed Plan, as member of Technical Advisory Committee

Section 3. Relationships to other projects

Project ID	Title	Description
199401806	Implement Tucannon River Model Watershed Plan to Restore Salmonid Habitat	Model Watershed Program, a "grass roots" public and agency collaborated effort to restore salmonid habitat on private and public property, identifies a goal to improve and reestablish riparian vegetation along the Tucannon River.

Section 4. Budget for Planning and Design phase

Task-based budget

Objective	Task	Duration in FYs	Estimated 2002 cost	Subcontractor
1. Design and coordinate Wooten Wildlife Area Tucannon River riparian habitat improvement activities by the end of FY 2002	a. coordinate and complete project engineering and design for removal of six campgrounds; obtain necessary permits	1	$50,000	Yes
	b. coordinate and complete project engineering and design for riparian rehabilitation and revegetation on six sites	1	$5,800
	c. coordinate and complete project engineering and design for three new campgrounds, including site evaluation and selection; obtain necessary permits	1	$75,000	Yes

Outyear objectives-based budget

Objective	Starting FY	Ending FY	Estimated cost
not applicable			$0

Outyear budgets for Planning and Design phase

Section 5. Budget for Construction and Implementation phase

Task-based budget

Objective	Task	Duration in FYs	Estimated 2002 cost	Subcontractor
1. Reduce the impacts of camp grounds on Tucannon River riparian habitat and function on the Wooten Wildlife Area by end of FY 2005	a. remove twelve (12) existing vault toilets and other existing facilities from six camp ground sites (firepits, etc)	2 (FYs 2003-2004)	$0	Yes
	b. Restore riparian habitat at the six old camp ground sites	2 (FYs 2003-2004)	$0
	c. Install three new campground facilities outside of the Tucannon Riparian corridor	2 (FYs 2003-2004)	$0	Yes
	d. Provide public information and education materials	4 (FYs 2002-2005)	$3,000

Outyear objectives-based budget

Objective	Starting FY	Ending FY	Estimated cost
1. Reduce the impacts of campgrounds on Tucannon River riparian habitat and function on the Wooten Wildlife Area by the end of FY 2005. a. remove vault toilets and other existing facilities from six campground sites	2003	2004	$21,000
b. Restore riparian habitat on old campground locations	2003	2004	$70,000
c. Install three new campground facilities outside of riparian corridor	2003	2004	$602,000
d. Provide public information and education materials	2003	2005	$20,000

Outyear budgets for Construction and Implementation phase

FY 2003	FY 2004	FY 2005
$354,000	$354,000	$5,000

Section 6. Budget for Operations and Maintenance phase

Task-based budget

Objective	Task	Duration in FYs	Estimated 2002 cost
1. Reduce the impacts of campgrounds on Tucannon River riparian habitat and function on the Wooten Wildlife Area by end of FY 2006	a. control weeds on site, utilizing manual and appropriate chemical application, replant vegetation as needed	4	$0
	b. enforce compliance with campground closures via routine and emphasis patrols, make appropriate public contacts	4	$0
			$0

Outyear objectives-based budget

Objective	Starting FY	Ending FY	Estimated cost
1. Reduce the impacts of campgrounds on Tucannon River riparian habitat and function on the Wooten Wildlife Area by end of FY 2006. a. re-establish riparian vegetation - weed control, and replanting as necessary	2003	2006	$10,000
b. Enforce compliance with campground closures.	2003	2006	$5,000

Outyear budgets for Operations and Maintenance phase

FY 2003	FY 2004	FY 2005	FY 2006
$2,000	$4,000	$4,500	$4,500

Section 7. Budget for Monitoring and Evaluation phase

Task-based budget

Objective	Task	Duration in FYs	Estimated 2002 cost	Subcontractor
1. Monitor effectiveness of riparian rehabilitation project to meet habitat objectives.	a. conduct pre- and post project vegetation assessments	5	$1,500
	b. photo documentation of project work and vegetation response	5	$100

Outyear objectives-based budget

Objective	Starting FY	Ending FY	Estimated cost
1. Monitor effectiveness of riparian rehabilitation project to meet habitat objectives.	2003	2006	$6,400

Outyear budgets for Monitoring and Evaluation phase

FY 2003	FY 2004	FY 2005	FY 2006
$1,600	$1,600	$1,600	$1,600

Section 8. Estimated budget summary

Itemized budget

Item	Note	FY 2002 cost
Personnel	FTE: appx 1.25 months, Bio 3	$5,210
Fringe		$1,300
Supplies	office supplies, plant materials	$1,050
Travel	mileage, at .35/mile (2000 miles)	$747
Indirect		$2,093
Subcontractor		$125,000
		$135,400

Total estimated budget

Total FY 2002 cost	$135,400
Amount anticipated from previously committed BPA funds	$0
Total FY 2002 budget request	$135,400
FY 2002 forecast from 2001	$0
% change from forecast	0.0%

Reason for change in estimated budget

not applicable

Reason for change in scope

not applicable

Cost sharing

Organization	Item or service provided	Amount	Cash or in-kind
WDFW	revegetation labor	$12,000	in-kind
WDFW	site preparation and habitat rehabilitation labor coordination	$10,000	in-kind
WDFW	habitat monitoring	$10,000	in-kind
WDFW	perform fish utilization and instream monitoring	$10,000	in-kind
WDFW	monitor public use compliance	$5,000	in-kind

Reviews and recommendations

This information was not provided on the original proposals, but was generated during the review process.

REVIEW:
ISRP Preliminary Review (ISRP 2001-6)

Recommendation:
Fundable only if response is adequate

Date:
Jun 15, 2001

Comment:

Do not fund unless an adequate response is provided that addresses the ISRP's concerns regarding priority, alternatives, and technical basis for activity.

This is a request for $734,400 to remove six campgrounds from the banks of the Tucannon River in Washington's Wooten Wildlife Area, and to construct three new campgrounds at some distance from the riverbank. The proposal includes re-vegetation of the reclaimed areas, construction of kiosks to provide informational material, and enforcement of camping restrictions on the closed areas. Improvement of riparian condition and function can be expected to improve in the areas where parking and camping occurred if these areas are protected from other disruptive agents. The area to be protected, however, is small relative to the entire watershed. Possible alternatives such as fencing to prevent overuse of stream banks were not discussed and should be discussed in the response.

The proposal should include a discussion of cost (loss of public campground) versus benefits expected from the added protection to be provided these relatively small areas. The ISRP concluded there are more degraded and extensive areas in need of protection.

REVIEW:
CBFWA Funding Recommendation

Recommendation:
High Priority (removal of site) Recommended Action (construction of new site)

Date:
Aug 3, 2001

Comment:

The current location of the campground (state land) jeopardizes the health of the riparian habitat. Reviewers are concerned with the large expenditure to replace/relocate camping/picnicking amenities to areas outside the riparian areas. Reviewers recognize that removal is high priority and should be funded. If a cost share is identified to cover at least 50% of the total project cost then the managers recommend that the remainder of the project should be reclassified as "High Priority".

REVIEW:
ISRP Final Review (ISRP 2001-8)

Recommendation:
Do Not Fund

Date:
Aug 10, 2001

Comment:

Not fundable. The ISRP is not convinced that the magnitude of the campground impact, relative to other habitat concerns in the watershed, is significant. The ISRP believes that all other alternatives to eliminating these campgrounds have not been eliminated. Fencing with occasional irrigation, for example, may provide the stimulus to initiate growth of native vegetation. Perhaps parking areas and the number of campers could be limited at each site. The hypothesis is that significant damage to chinook salmon is occurring because of these campgrounds. Argument provided in support of the hypotheses is not convincing. Fencing and signs and other forms of public education seem a more cost-effective approach than what is proposed (relocation).

REVIEW:
NMFS Review

Recommendation:

Date:
Oct 1, 2001

Comment:

Statement of Potential Biological Benefit to ESU
Improve riparian habitat conditions

Comments
High cost per unit of riparian habitat improvement

Already ESA Req? no

Biop? yes

REVIEW:
BPA Funding Recommendation

Recommendation:
Rank D

Date:
Oct 16, 2001

Comment:

The proposal is excessive and not a BPA responsibility.

REVIEW:
NWPPC Funding Recommendation

Recommendation:
Do Not Fund

Date:
Jan 3, 2002

Comment: