Amendment: This is an amended contract for the Wenatchee Complexity proposal (200732500). Work Elements A through P include the work from the old contract. Work Elements Q through AF describe the work for September 27, 2008 through December 31, 2009. These new work elements have the designation of "A2" in the Work Element Title. The Alternatives Analysis and Feasibility Analysis were delayed during the first performance period. This delay caused related delays for surveys, designs and permitting for one of the CMZ 6, CMZ 17 and CMZ 20 projects. The work that was not accomplished during the first performance period is scheduled to be completed during this performance period under the amended contract. Discrepancies in the projected and actual budget for CMZ 11 (in the 2007-08 performance period) are a result of CCNRD awarding the contract to the lowest bidder for the project. Bids received from local contractors were much closer to CCNRD cost estimates. This amended contract includes plans, designs and construction for CMZ N4. Plans and designs will occur for two of the CMZ 6, CMZ 17 or CMZ 20 sites based on the results of the alternatives analysis. Landowner Agreements will be obtained from willing landowners. Permitting will be completed on CMZ N4. Permitting will be started and possibly completed for two of the CMZ 6, CMZ 17 or CMZ 20 projects.

Property Inventory: No property was secured under this contract during the 2007-08 performance period that needs to be reported.

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The UPA Wenatchee Complexity projects are proposed by the Chelan County Natural Resource Department and are part of a regional commitment by Chelan County to initiate long-term habitat protection and restoration efforts within the Wenatchee River subbasin for ESA-listed species. The UPA Wenatchee Subbasin Complexity Programmatic (Wenatchee Complexity) projects will be located in the Wenatchee subbasin and will benefit Upper Columbia steelhead, spring Chinook and bull trout. Five potential complexity projects were proposed, including Channel Migration Zone (CMZ) N4, CMZ 6, CMZ 11, CMZ 17 and CMZ 20.

ISRP comments for this complexity proposal include:
Reconnecting potential floodplain habitats is definitely worthwhile, but this proposal does not provide enough information to enable a technical evaluation of the merits of each project individually. In some of the site descriptions there was insufficient information on how the berms/levees/roads would be breached or otherwise removed to reconnect the river with potential floodplain habitats, or what habitat conditions (e.g., acres of wetland ponds, riparian terraces, side channels, etc.) would be created after access is restored. Without this information, it was difficult to assess the potential benefits of each site scientifically. Therefore, the ISRP recommends partial funding for this project until the plans for each site are more fully developed and landowner agreements are finalized. Given the high total cost of the reconnecting the five floodplain sites, each location should be treated as an individual project and justified more completely. It is highly likely that these floodplain reconnection projects could have real benefits to fish and wildlife in the Wenatchee subbasin, but each area deserves a more complete description, a landowner agreement, and a reasonable monitoring plan. We suggest that funding be provided for securing agreements and developing thorough engineering plans, with implementation contingent on preparation of more complete proposals for each site.

This contract will address the ISRP comments by treating each site individually, obtaining landowner willingness, developing designs for feasible projects and creating a monitoring plan for each site that is designed for construction.

At least two projects will be fully designed. Plans and designs will occur for CMZ N4. Plans, designs and construction will occur for CMZ 11. Alternatives analysis and feasibility analysis will be accomplished for CMZ 6, CMZ 17 and CMZ 20. The alternatives analysis will suggest potential actions that could occur at each site and a preferred alternative will be chosen based on biological benefits and landowner input. The feasibility analysis will involve contacting the landowners and determining their willingness to have a project at that location. Landowner Agreements will be obtained from willing landowners. Sites that do not have complete landowner willingness will be considered less feasible than ones with complete support by all landowners. The preferred alternative for each of the three projects (6, 17 and 20) will be identified and the project that ranks the highest will be designed for construction in 2009. If funds remain in the complexity contract during this performance period, the other two projects (CMZ 6, 17 or 20) may be designed for implementation in a future year.

CMZ N4 is a 4.6-acre site at RM 1.1, located on the right bank of Nason Creek.  It is an oxbow channel of Nason Creek that has been disconnected from the active valley flat by SR 207 and is bound by a high terrace to the south. An 18-inch precast concrete culvert located at the downstream end of the oxbow provides a connection between Nason Creek and this site.  The site has ponded surface water throughout much of the year, if not year round, although the surface water is due to the elevation of the culvert. The hydraulic connection between the oxbow and Nason Creek likely occurs only during periods of high flow.  Much of this remnant channel now supports young hardwood forest and a shrub-dominated wetland community.  A narrow channel drains from the culvert at SR 207 to the main channel of Nason Creek.

CMZ 6 is a 23.3-acre site in reach 2 at RM 3.5, located on the left bank of the Wenatchee River.  The site consists of open water wetlands and forested wetland habitats associated with a historic Wenatchee River oxbow and valley flat.  While surface flows from the Wenatchee River to this oxbow have been blocked by the construction of SR 2, the oxbow still maintains its historic channel form.  Elevations within the oxbow pond and adjacent valley flat correspond closely with the current OHWM river and valley flat elevations.  A culvert at the eastern end (downstream) of the site currently drains water to the Wenatchee River during high flow events, but is perched during low flows and is undersized to provide fish access.  Water is pumped from the open water ponds for adjacent orchards.

CMZ 11 is an 11.9-acre site in reach 6 at RM 12.5, located on the left bank (north) of the Wenatchee River.  The site is located within the active valley flat of the river, bordered to the north by SR 2 and to the east by bedrock outcrop.  The road prism of SR 2 has effectively cut off much of the historic valley flat that once extended to the north of this site beyond present-day SR 2.  A high alluvial terrace on the right bank (south) side of the river generally confines the channel migration zone within the vicinity of CMZ Site 11.  Gravel mining has occurred at the site thus the elevation of the site is variable in areas where barrow pits are still evident and access roads remain.  Castoff material forms a low berm at the western end of the site.

CMZ 17 is a 21.6-acre site in reach 6 at RM 17.1, located on the right bank of the Wenatchee River.  The site is located at the confluence of Peshastin Creek and the Wenatchee River.  Within the project site, Peshastin Creek has been diked and straightened.  The confinement of the Peshastin Creek has diverted flow from the historic channel onsite.  The Peshastin Creek instream habitat is predominantly riffle with substrates composed of boulder, cobble, and gravel.  Complex habitat features within this reach are few, and LWD is notably absent. Peshastin Creek appears to transport significant amounts of bedload, which is deposited at the confluence with the Wenatchee River, creating an alluvial fan.  Currently, a large portion of the site, is used for gravel storage.  The Dryden Diversion Dam is located immediately downstream of the confluence, and creates a backwater ponding effect into which Peshastin Creek flows.  The majority of forested riparian vegetation native to this type of floodplain habitat is absent. The current proposed project would reconnect the stream to the historic floodplain through an overflow channel, thus increasing stream sinuosity, increasing flood capacity, and improving instream habitats along 1,500 linear feet of Peshastin Creek at confluence with the Wenatchee River. This would address the reduction in channel length and abandonment of floodplain conditions that currently have a significant negative impact on Peshastin Creek.  

CMZ 20 is a 67.2-acre site in reach 9 at RM 24.8, located on the right bank of the Wenatchee River at the confluence of Icicle Creek and the Wenatchee River.  The site consists of two separate floodplain alluvial terraces: 1) low alluvial terrace associated with the large forested island, and 2) high alluvial terrace associated with the right bank floodplain of Icicle Creek.  The low island is approximately 5 to 10 feet above the OHWM of the Wenatchee River main channel.  The high alluvial terrace is approximately 10 to 15 feet above the OHWM of Icicle Creek.  A high-flow channel of Icicle Creek meanders through the center of this site separating the island, which is primarily associated with the Wenatchee River and the high-terrace.  The site was inundated in the early 1900s when a dam was constructed near Leavenworth for impoundment of water for saw mill operations, which consequently led to the deposition of several feet of fine sediments.  Downcutting of the river through the fine sediments remaining from the historic impoundment of this reach may drop water elevations in the near future, thus abandoning high terrace floodplains. Near the upstream extent of the site, Icicle Creek is actively eroding riverbanks though natural fluvial processes. However, several sections of riverbank have been cleared of woody vegetation, which has been accelerating this erosion.  Scattered borrow pits remain across the high-terrace valley flat from past gravel mining operations.  This site holds the potential for adding off-channel habitats, as well as instream habitat complexity (e.g. LWD).