The Wind River Watershed project is a collaborative effort to restore wild steelhead in the Wind River.  The four agencies working in this partnership include the US Forest Service (FS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), U.S. Geological Survey Columbia River Research Lab (CRRL), and Underwood Conservation District (UCD).  The partnership was established in the early 1990's and with support from BPA, has continued to conduct important habitat, research, monitoring and coordination activities across the watershed.  The project works at multiple levels to identify and characterize key limiting habitat factors in the Wind River, to restore degraded habitats and watershed processes, to measure, track and document fish populations, life histories, and interactions, and to share information with all interested parties.

This FY2017 contract funds continued habitat restoration in Trout Creek, an important tributary to the Wind River. Work under this contract includes additional log and rock placement in the reach immediately upstream of the Hemlock Restoration site.  The intent of the work under this contract is to add habitat complexity to the stream reach and side channels treated in 2016.  In 2016 we placed over 100 logs and trees in Lower Trout Creek and at the inlet areas to two side channels in that reach as part of the effort to re-activate those side channels and restore floodplain function.  That work resulted in rewatering and enhancing flow to nearly one mile of side channel habitat on both sides of Trout Creek.  As part of that work, we did not place the full complement of woody structure we would like to see in the treated areas, and we did nothing to enhance the side channels beyond the inlet areas.  This was due to a combination of budgetary constraints in 2016 and our interest in letting the side channels function for a year before adding complexity to them.  In 2017 we intend to return to those same side channels--which have now been active since October 2016--and to add woody debris and in some cases manipulate woody debris already onsite, to enhance hydraulic diversity, provide hiding cover and habitat features for fish.  In addition to the large wood placement in and along the side channels, this contract proposes replanting the riparian areas disturbed by heavy equipment and log handling during the instream work that occurred in 2016 and that will occur in 2017.  The USFS contract for FY2017 also includes continued operation of the Wind River Gage to support all of the habitat and monitoring efforts underway across the watershed.