The purpose of this project is to determine fish passage, rearing and spawning habitat conditions for steelhead and for potential reintroduction of salmon, and to assess steelhead and bull trout distribution, densities, and genetic composition in the Walla Walla Watershed.  

Project Location
  
The habitat and fish distribution/population work will occur within that portion of the Walla Walla watershed within Washington State.  However, we will coordinate our activities with assessment and restoration activities by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), the Conservation Districts and others within the basin in Oregon and Washington.  We are participating in a newly formed Walla Walla Monitoring Oversight Group (WWMOG) with these and other resource managers in the basin.  We also meet periodically as part of the Technical Workgroup (TWG) to discuss and coordinate technical efforts and oversight in the basin.  Additionally, we independently contact other resource managers in the basin to minimize data collection and monitoring redundancy and improve effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation efforts in the basin.  This project will include the main-stem Walla Walla River and all major tributaries within the basin in southeast Washington.

Relationship to the Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Program

The Northwest Power Planning Council Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1995) calls for regular updating of subbasin plans (7.0C) and collection of population status, life history and other data on wild and naturally spawning populations (7.1C and 7.1C.3), which includes bull trout (10.5A).  It also calls for improved hatchery production, or developing new hatchery supplementation programs, while proceeding with extreme caution to avoid damaging remaining wild and naturally spawning populations (7.2).  The Fish and Wildlife Program (FWP) recommends developing, implementing and evaluating supplementation plans and risk assessments (7.3, 7.3B.1, 7.4A).  It also requires writing a hatchery production Master Plan (7.4B, 7.4L) that includes identification of factors limiting production and setting project goals and objectives.  A watershed assessment and coordination of habitat planning efforts is recommended (7.6C).  The FWP also states that instream flow needs should be established and protected (7.8G).  The Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP 1997) and the NPPC (1997) recommended that watershed assessments precede implementation of restoration projects (III.B.11).

Coordination

This project will be performed in coordination with the Washington Department of Ecology, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the CTUIR, the local Conservation Districts, ODFW and others.  We will regularly participate in coordination meetings (TWG and WWMOG and the Mill Creek Management Workgroup) and independently consult and coordinate with other resource managers to minimize duplication and data gaps.  We also coordinate to ensure that baseline monitoring will continue as necessary.  We widely distribute hardcopies and electronic versions of our data and reports to all interested parties within the basin.