The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) propose ongoing fish habitat protection, restoration and enhancement, maintenance, and monitoring activities under the CTUIR Grande Ronde Subbasin Restoration Project (199608300) to achieve the vision, goals, and objectives established in the Grande Ronde Subbasin Plan (NPCC, 2004) and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 2000).  The Project plans, designs, implements, maintains, and monitors habitat protection, enhancement and restoration projects in the Subbasin with a primary goal of protecting high quality habitat and restoring/enhancing degraded habitats to support the recovery of focal species, including Threatened Snake River spring-summer Chinook salmon and summer steelhead.  

Planned FY2007 project activities presented in this proposal have been developed by the CTUIR in cooperation with the Grande Ronde Model Watershed (GRMW) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) as a component of Subbasin Plan implementation.  In addition to ongoing project activities associated with completing projects currently underway and conducting annual maintenance and monitoring, the project will continue development of the End Creek and Meadow Creek Restoration Projects constructed during FY2006 and initiate cooperative projects with ODFW on the Wallowa River (McDaniel Phase 2) and Ladd Marsh Restoration Projects.  Project activities on the Meadow Creek and End Creek projects includes additional tree, shrub, and sedge/rush planting, overseeding disturbed areas, and maintenance/operation of temporary irrigation systems to facilitate vegetative recovery.  The Dake portion of the End Creek project complex, involving construction of approximately 1 mile of restoration channel and spring fed swales, floodplain ponds, and seeding/planting, will also be constructed during 2007 with project actions including subcontracting for construction and administration/inspection.   Project actions on the Wallowa River and Ladd Marsh projects include planning, design, permitting, and initial construction during 2007.  Late FY07 activities will include fall planting and planning/design for FY08 projects.  Maintenance and monitoring/evaluation will also be ongoing during FY 2007.

A total of $190,000 is being sought to perform watershed restoration-related tasks associated with several project areas.  Funds provided under this contract are utilized to conduct pre-project planning, project maintenance and monitoring and evaluation, and solicit/leverage cost share funding from other sources and ensure that beneficial projects are put on the ground in a timely manner.