The Scope of Work and budget presented in this document represent the activities associated with the Coeur 'd Alene Tribe's resident fish enhancement project on Hangman Creek within the Spokane Sub-basin corresponding to the contract period May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019.  Total amount of this budget request is $359,000  The Coeur d'Alene Tribe has requested that BPA transfer $51,900 dollars from funds available to BPA project #199004400 to Project #200103200  in order to meet the Tribe's restoration priorities.

Ongoing objectives include:
o Determine areas that are in need of restoration to supply spawning and rearing habitat for Redband and other naturally reproducing trout.
o Support an educational outreach program to facilitate a “holistic watershed protection process managed thru BPA Project #199004400.
o Implement a habitat/in-stream restoration strategy that will provide self-sustaining, naturally reproducing, and harvestable populations of native trout.
o Implement a monitoring and evaluation program to determine the effectiveness of habitat/in-stream restoration project.


The Hangman Creek watershed has experienced land use changes that have resulted in degraded in-stream habitat for fish and other aquatic species.  Conserving habitats in the upper tributaries is a priority along with increasing fish distribution and reconnecting fragmented populations. A primary method of accomplishing habitat enhancement is to enlist beaver in a holistic strategy to address multiple ecological and hydrologic process deficiencies. Beaver influenced channel and floodplain morphology and vegetation historically, but alteration of their habitat and trapping have substantially reduced their influence and the ability for their populations to rebound.  The absence of large wood to serve as foundations for dams and impacts to the availability of suitable dam-building material in the riparian zone have influenced the resilience of beaver dams currently.  If conditions could be made more favorable for their re-establishment, it is likely that channel conditions and in-stream habitat could be restored to a more desired state, thereby restoring fish habitat, the riparian zone, and the floodplain in the process.

The following work will facilitate measured progress toward achieving the objectives for the project during this scope of work:
      
1) Implementing restoration designs for utilizing beaver as a partner in restoring natural hydrologic function, overbank flow, and connection between streams and riparian habitats.
An EPA grant awarded as an $80,000 cost share will supply plant materials for WEs E, F, G and H in the form of willow cuttings and large deciduous potted plants.
WE I will provide a temporary source of food and building materials for beaver by providing clippings at key locations with active beaver colonies.

New restoration work elements include:
WE D - Reactivation of historic channel alignments in lower Sheep Creek.
WE J  - Bank stabilization in Phase 2 of the k'wne' 'ulchiyark'wmtsut Project, using bioengineering.
WE K - Construction of 4,000 feet of wildlife exclusion fencing to minimize damage to plantings by animal browse.

2) RM&E activities to track status and trends for water quality and fish populations and their movement.
This includes WE's for continuous temperature monitoring throughout the watershed (WE Q); as well as discharge and hydrolab monitoring (WE P), RM&E activities associated with trout populations and movement include summer backpack electroshock surveys (WE M & S), evaluate status and trends in redband trout populations, and spring migration trapping (WE L & T ) and associated pit tagging technology (WEs M, N & U)  to monitor seasonal movements of redband trout in specific reaches of the upper Hangman watershed.

Fixed PIT-tag antennae arrays will be installed at three locations on Hangman Creek to monitor mainstem use by redband trout: one at the mouth of Indian Creek; at the mouth of Nehchen Creek; and a new station within the k'wne' 'ulchiyark'wmtsut restoration area. New tributary stations will be installed at Indian Creek, Smith Creek, Nehchen Creek and Sheep Creek.

WE O is a non-native fish removal project on Nehchen Creek where a genetically confirmed population of illegally introduced cutthroat trout have occupied the upper reaches of the mainstem. Non-native fish removal began in summer of 2015. WE L and M help monitor the responses to removal efforts.

3) Reporting on project activities and outcomes.
A non-technical report will be drafted during this contract as a means of reporting on the instream work completed through four phases of the k'wne' 'ulchiyark'wmntsut project. Monitoring data will be compiled from the 2017-2018 field seasons to aid in writing a technical report covering RM&E activities that will be delivered during the 2019 contract period.