Version and Date (e.g., Draft December 2004)
Fifteenmile Creek Riparian Fencing / Stream Survey
Statement of Work and Budget FY2005

BPA Project Number:  200102000
Fifteenmile Creek Riparian Fencing / Stream Survey
Contract Number:  200102000
Fifteenmile Creek Riparian Fencing / Stream Survey
October 1, 2004 -September 30, 2005

Description of Fifteenmile Basin:

Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin is located in North Central Oregon and drains approximately 373 square miles of Wasco and Hood River counties. The entire Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin is located within the boundary of lands ceded to The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. Originating on the east slope of Lookout Mountain about nine miles east of Mt. Hood, Fifteenmile Creek flows northeast out of the timbered higher elevations, swings north through the dry land wheat country, then west to empty into the Columbia River near The Dalles, Oregon at river mile 192. The Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin contains approximately 239,000 acres in Wasco and Hood River counties. The watershed is approximately 40 miles long and two to fifteen miles wide.

Principle tributaries to Fifteenmile Creek include Ramsey, Pine, Dry, Fivemile and Eightmile Creeks. Eightmile Creek, the largest tributary, drains 118 square miles and joins Fifteenmile Creek only two miles above the confluence with the Columbia River. The Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin is bounded on the west by the Mosier, Mill, Threemile, and Hood River Subbasin; on the south by the White River Subbasin; and on the east by the Deschutes River Subbasin.

The flora of the Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin ranges from dominantly fir and pine coniferous forests in the headwaters to grasses, perennial forbs, oak and widely scattered pine woodlands bordering the agricultural lands at the middle and lower elevations. The lower half of the basin is predominantly open range and dry land agricultural.

The Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin lies in the transition zone between western and eastern Oregon. Both summer and winter air temperatures can be somewhat extreme. Annual precipitation in the Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin ranges from 12 to 100 inches, depending on elevation. The mean annual precipitation is 14 inches at The Dalles and 12 inches at Dufur. The majority of the precipitation occurs as snowfall during the winter months, only five to ten percent of the precipitation falls during June through August. The area is characterized by a high spring runoff from winter snowmelt combined with spring rains. Only 22 percent of the stream miles in the Fifteenmile Subbasin are classified as perennial

Irrigation is the largest water use in the watershed. Low stream flows during the irrigation season greatly limit the amount of irrigation. Summer flows have been fully appropriated since the early 1900's and only a few hundred acres regularly receive an adequate water supply during the July to September period. In an attempt to provide adequate flow for juvenile and adult salmonids, minimum streamflows were adopted in 1974 for the mainstem of Fifteenmile Creek. These minimum streamflows were later converted to instream water rights and are held in trust for the people of the state of Oregon. These instream water rights are junior to all prior rights

The U.S. Forest Service manages the mid to high elevation forests, approximately 15 percent (35,000 acres) of the Fifteenmile Creek Subbasin. The primary land uses on the National Forest are timber management and recreation.

The Bureau of Land Management manages 600 acres of forested area in the Fivemile Creek portion of the Subbasin. Primary land use on the Bureau of Land Management is timber management.

Agriculture is the most important element of the economy in the Fifteenmile Creek subbasin. Approximately 90 percent of the private land is used for the production of crops and livestock. Principal crops include wheat, alfalfa and irrigated pasture. Some orchards are located in the mid and lower portion of the watershed. Of the approximately 239,000 acres in the subbasin, about 124,700 acres are cropland, about 7,400 acres of which are irrigated; 47,400 acres are rangeland; 65,900 acres are forestland; and 500 acres are within the urban area of the city of Dufur. The non-irrigated cropland is almost exclusively in wheat or other grain production.

History of the Fifteenmile habitat restoration project

Fifteenmile Creek Basin was selected as a mitigation site for wild winter steelhead enhancement under the Northwest Power Planning Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Measure 703 (c) (1), action item 4.2 (amended 1987). The Fifteenmile Basin Fish Habitat Improvement Implementation Plan (Smith et. al. 1987), by the ODFW and the Mt. Hood National Forest in cooperation with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (CTWSRO), was designed to maximize wild winter steelhead production in the subbasin in the most cost-effective manner. Largely funded by the Bonneville Power Administration as part of the NWPPC's Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 704-d-1, 34.02), the Plan identified existing stream habitat problems, solutions, goals and objectives, priorities, estimated project costs and associated fishery benefits.

Six factors were identified which affect the quantity and/or quality of summer rearing habitat for winter steelhead in the Fifteenmile Creek basin. These factors are: 1) up and downstream passage barriers; 2) lethal summer water temperatures; 3) low summer flows; 4) lack of habitat diversity; 5) lack of channel stability; and 6) sediment loading. To address these problems in the basin, 80 to 90 miles of stream habitat were to be treated using: 1) structural improvements for adult and juvenile passage; 2) riparian fencing; 3) structural channel stabilization; and 4) structural rearing habitat improvements.

The implementation plan developed priorities for habitat improvement activities in the Fifteenmile Creek basin. Priorities were based on potential benefits, cost effectiveness and location within the basin, within the constraints of logistic feasibility and landowner cooperation. Treatment strategies included passage improvement, riparian restoration, channel stabilization and habitat diversity improvement.