BACKGROUND TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PROJECT GOALS
WORK ELEMENTS (WE)

GROUP 1:  Project Management and Development WE  A - C
GROUP 2:  Klickitat River (RM 18 - 32) Floodplain Conservation and Restoration project (Phase 1) WE D - I
GROUP 3:  Habitat Assessment and Monitoring WE J - N
GROUP 4:  Trout Creek Fish passage Improvement Project WE O - S
GROUP 5:  White Creek Restoration Project (Phase 1) WE T - AG
GROUP 6:  Upper Klickitat River In-Channel and Floodplain enhancement project WE AH - AM
GROUP 7:  Improve Farming Practices WE AN
GROUP 8:  Assist Planning Activities WE AO
GROUP 9:  Klickitat Meadows (Diamond Fork) restoration project (Phase 2) WE AP
GROUP 10:  Lower Klickitat River Reparian Re-vegetation project (Phase 1) WE AQ - AR
GROUP 11:  Klickitat Mill Fish Passage Restoration Project WE AS
GROUP 12:  Railbed Confinement Enhancement Project WE AT - AV

BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION

The Klickitat Watershed Enhancement Project focuses on the Klickitat River and its tributaries that provide or affect salmonid habitat.  An emphasis is placed on restoration and protection of watersheds supporting native anadromous fish production, particularly steelhead (Oncorhyncus mykiss) which are listed as "Threatened" within the Mid-Columbia ESU and spring Chinook (O. tshawytscha).  Assessment and restoration work conducted in the West Fork system target bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), which are ESA "Threatened".  Restoration activities are aimed at restoring stream processes by removing or mitigating watershed perturbances and improving habitat conditions and water quality.  Habitat improvements also benefit fall Chinook (O. tshawytscha) and coho (O. kisutch) salmon, resident rainbow trout, and cutthroat trout (O. clarki) and enhance habitat for many terrestrial and amphibian wildlife species.  Protection activities compliment restoration efforts within the subbasin by securing refugia and preventing degradation.  Since 90% of the off-reservation project area is in private ownership, maximum effectiveness is accomplished via cooperation with state, federal, tribal, and private entities. The Klickitat Watershed Enhancement Project (KWEP) addresses goals and objectives presented in the Klickitat Subbasin Plan, Klickitat Lead Entity Strategic Plan, and the 1994 NWPPC Fish and Wildlife Program.  

BACKGROUND PROJECT GOALS
The overall goal of KWEP is to restore watershed health to aid recovery of salmonid stocks in the Klickitat subbasin.  There are three sub-goals:
•  Assess watershed and habitat conditions to prioritize sites for restoration activities.   This involves data collection, compilation, and review of existing as well as historic habitat and watershed conditions.  Identification and filling of data gaps is also a component of KWEP.
•  Protect, restore, and enhance priority watersheds and reaches to increase riparian, wetland, and stream habitat quality.  In-situ and watershed-scale restoration activities are pursued to mitigate or resolve conflicting historic, present, and/or future land-uses.  Protect areas of existing high-quality habitat condition and prevent further deterioration of degraded habitats.  Restore areas of degraded stream channel and/or habitat condition.
•  Monitor watershed conditions to assess trends and effectiveness of restoration activities.  Monitoring is a critical component to evaluating project success and guiding adaptive practices.  Site-specific and basin-wide spatial scales are addressed.  KWEP augments the Klickitat M&E project by assisting data collection and providing QA/QC and analysis of channel morphology, streamflow, temperature, habitat, and channel substrate.

BACKGROUND - GROUPS

Group 1:  Project Management and Development

Provide management oversight (budgeting, subcontracting, scheduling, coordination, etc.) for KWEP as well as individual projects.  Develop out-year projects and produce required reports.

Group 2:  Klickitat River (RM 18 to 32) Floodplain Conservation and Restoration Project (Phase 1)

The Klickitat River Floodplain Conservation and Restoration (Phase 1) project will protect and restore habitat between river miles 18.3 and 32.2 of the Klickitat River.  This portion of the river has the greatest habitat complexity of any reach in the lower Klickitat River and provides critical spawning, migration and rearing habitat for winter and summer steelhead (ESA-Threatened), Chinook salmon (spring and fall runs), and coho salmon. The project area occurs within a reach identified by the Klickitat Technical Advisory Group (KTAG) as second out of 21 priority areas within the Klickitat Lead Entity's scope.  This reach provides a high proportion of the basinwide spawning habitat for all three species, accounting for roughly 30%, 51%, and 38% of the annually observed spawning basinwide for steelhead, fall Chinook, and coho respectively.  Riparian and floodplain conditions have been degraded by a combination of 1996 flood deposits and channel encroachment by road fill.  Although the absence of other floodplain development coupled with somewhat less-confined valley conditions has afforded the river in this reach greater resiliency than downstream reaches.  Phase 1 will protect 320 acres of floodplain, riparian and associated upland, acquire a 14 mile-long road segment that encroaches on the floodplain, revegetate 7.5 acres of riparian and floodplain habitat, and conduct a feasibility assessment to assist Phase 2 planning for reduction of adverse road-river interaction.  Columbia Land Trust and the Campbell Group are immediate project partners.   The Campbell Group is the management entity for the property's current owner, Rainier Timber Co.

KWEP is contributing to the project as the technical lead for restoration actions and assisting planning activities.  Property acquisition associated with the project is being handled by Columbia Land Trust and is anticipated to occur in 2006.  Phase 1 implementation during FY05 will consist of riparian revegetation and is subject to receipt of SRFB funding (pending) sponsored by Columbia Land Trust.  KWEP will assist with planning for purchase of 350 ac of critical instream and floodplain habitat (including associated uplands) as well as 14 miles of floodplain road along the Klickitat River by Columbia Land Trust.  KWEP will cost-share the appraisal up to $5,000.  KWEP is providing design, permitting assistance, and construction oversight for Phase 1 revegetation as well as completion of feasibility study for Phase 2 implementation initiated in FY04.

Group 3:  Habitat Assessment and Monitoring

Group 4:  Trout Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project

Implementation of two culvert replacements will occur to restore fish passage and bedload and debris continuity in the Trout Creek watershed.  Both crossings are on the Peavine Ridge Road and occur within the Closed Area of the Yakama Reservation; one on Trout Creek and one on Bear Creek.  The pipes for both crossings were purchased in 2003 with BPA dollars.  Installation in 2004 was postponed because of sequencing conflicts, funding availability from Yakama Forest Products, and contractor availability.  Installation costs are anticipated to be covered fully by a SRFB grant and Yakama Forest Products as part of a timber sale.  KWEP is providing staff time for design, project management, and installation oversight, as well as funding a subcontract for geotechnical services (associated with footing design and bearing surface prescriptions) and assisting with purchase of materials.

Group 5:  White Creek Restoration Project (Phase 1)

White Creek drains a 138-mi2 watershed and is a tributary to the Klickitat River and provides rearing and spawning habitat for mid-Columbia steelhead (listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act).  Forest harvesting is the principal land use in the watershed, and historic harvest and road development (617 miles) in the White Creek watershed are thought to have altered its hydrology, increasing peak flows during rain-on-snow floods. Stream conditions in the White Creek watershed appear to have experienced widespread degradation.  Most meadow reaches are currently incised and many non-meadow reaches have a plane-bed morphology, coarsened substrate, and poor pool frequency and quality typical of simplified reaches.  Anecdotal accounts suggest that many of the reaches that currently exhibit intermittent hydrology were historically perennial.  Passage barriers have been identified by field surveys by Klickitat M&E personnel (using WDFW methodology) and are planned for modification or replacement in 2005 and 2006.  Assessment work funded by KWEP in 2003 identified numerous road segments in the upper portions of White and Tepee Creeks that contribute runoff to the stream network increasing peak discharges up to 32%.  Preliminary results from an active feasibility assessment along an incised portion of Tepee Creek suggest that streamflow only accesses the floodplain at discharges greater than 10-25 year floods (instead of the 1-2 year event that would be expected).  Despite degraded conditions, the White Creek watershed accounts for 40% of total observed steelhead spawning throughout the Klickitat subbasin.

Activities associated with the project are four-fold: data collection for assessment and monitoring, resolve passage issues, disconnect road drainage from the stream network, and restore stream process and morphology.   FY05 activities will involve: a) planning and design for replacement of 2 road crossings on Tepee Creek and 1 road crossing on the E.F. Tepee Creek, b) planning and design for in-channel treatments on an incised reach of Tepee Creek, c) planning and design for in-channel treatments on the mainstem of White Creek downstream of the Cedar Valley bridge, d) development of prescriptive treatments for hydrologically connected road segments, and e) ongoing assessment of historic and current conditions.  Implementation on two projects, the incised Tepee Creek reach and the three culvert replacements, may proceed during summer 2005 pending receipt of BIA and SRFB grant funding, respectively.    

Group 6: Upper Klickitat River In-Channel and Floodplain Enhancement Project

The Upper Klickitat River In-Channel and Floodplain Enhancement Project involves habitat enhancement and improving floodplain connectivity along the Klickitat River between RM 69.5 and 87.0.  Previous activities associated with this project were completed as part of the Klickitat River Meadows Restoration Project (Phase 1).  Work in FY05 will consist of planning and design for approximately 2200 feet of the Klickitat River and associated avulsion channel (vicinity of the 255 Rd crossing), perforation (addition of culverts) of 255 Road to improve floodplain connectivity, and in-channel LWD placement to mitigate river interaction with road fill.  
The majority of implementation is anticipated for FY06 though collection and delivery of materials (LWD and boulders) may occur pending availability of funding and approval by YN Tribal Council.  Maintenance of vegetation planted during Phase 1 will also occur.

Group 7: Improve Farming Practices

Group 8: Assist Planning Activities

Group 9: Klickitat Meadows (Diamond Fork) Restoration Project

Work in FY05 will consist primarily of monitoring Phase 1 implementation (treatments during 2004).  Ongoing riparian revegetation will continue.  Phase 2 planning for in-channel restoration and off-channel water development will be conducted.

Group 10: Lower Klickitat River Riparian Re-vegetation Project (Phase 1)

The Lower Klickitat River Riparian Re-vegetation Project will restore native riparian and floodplain vegetation (cottonwood, alder and willow) between river miles 2.6 and 18.3 of the Klickitat River.  This reach is a migration and rearing corridor for nearly 100% of all migratory fish in the Klickitat watershed and has accounted, on average, for 10% of observed basin wide steelhead spawning.  The goal of this project is to improve riparian and floodplain vegetation to increase bank cover, woody debris recruitment, and potential for trapping fine sediment.  The project area occurs within a reach identified by the Klickitat Technical Advisory Group (KTAG) as fourth out of 21 priority areas within the Klickitat Lead Entity's scope.

Riparian conditions in this reach are generally poor due to a combination of 1996 flood deposits and channel encroachment by highway and railroad fill.  Many of the flood deposits are well above the 2-year flood surface and at a comparable elevation to surfaces that are well-vegetated and are generally stable.  Vegetation has been very slow in colonizing these coarse, well-drained substrates.  Similar deposits from flooding in 1974 along Swale Creek (a Klickitat River tributary) are still bare.  This project addresses limiting features and functions (poor riparian and floodplain vegetation) identified by the Klickitat TAG for the project reach.  Phase I activities will occur on seven sites and total 6.9 acres with 1.45 miles of stream bank.  KWEP is contributing to the project as the technical lead for restoration actions and assisting planning activities.  Phase 1 implementation during FY05 will consist of riparian revegetation and is subject to receipt of SRFB funding (pending) sponsored by Mid-Columbia Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group.  KWEP is providing design, permitting assistance, and construction oversight for Phase 1 revegetation.

Group 11:  Klickitat Mill Fish Passage Restoration Project

Assist ongoing restoration efforts at the former Klickitat Mill site.  In 2003 work was initiated to restore fish passage through a 2600' long concrete flume, two road crossings, and one low-head dam.  Funding for the passage work was a mix of SRFB, RFEG, NOAA, WDFW, and KWEP.  Project partners include WDFW, YNFP, MCRFEG, and Klickitat County.  In FY05, KWEP staff will provide technical oversight of revegetation efforts sponsored by MCRFEG.  If necessary, we may also assist with purchasing plant materials.  

Group 12:  Railbed Confinement Enhancement Project

The former SP&S railbed runs adjacent to the lower 17 miles of the Klickitat River and 14 miles of Swale Creek.  Fill-slope materials contact the active channel of both water bodies in many places, including over 4 miles of the mainstem Klickitat River.  Historic railroad maintenance and construction activities coupled with increased hydraulic forces on the stream channel during floods has resulted in deteriorated riparian and in-channel habitat conditions, especially in Swale Creek.  Upon cessation of railroad operations, the railbed was rail-banked and is now under the administrative control of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.  Concerns associated with the continued presence of the railbed fall into four groups: 1) perpetuation of adverse geomorphic and hydrologic effects, 2) fish passage impediments, and 3) continued impairment of riparian vegetation.  

This project is still in the early stages of development and is included in the work statement largely as a placeholder.  During FY04, KWEP personnel assisted a Swale Creek landowner prepare a Washington State Landowner Incentive Program grant application.  Funding for the grant was approved and in FY05, KWEP personnel will provide design assistance for the stream restoration component of the grant.   KWEP personnel will also provide technical review as the administrative agencies (USFS and WSPRC) propose actions associated with Rails-To-Trails conversion of the former rail corridor.