The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CCT) are concerned with the poor fish access to Barnaby Creek during critical migration periods of adfluvial kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from Lake Roosevelt (Sears 2006). Under current conditions, the culvert on Barnaby Creek can be perched up to 41 ft above the reservoir water surface preventing fish access over significant periods of time each year.  

The goal of this capital improvement project is to improve access to Barnaby Creek over the entire year and at all lake elevations.  This improvement would remove the existing structure (culvert) and replace it with a bottomless arch culvert with an outlet elevation of 1259' and inlet elevation of 1272.  An additional culvert 10' in diameter will be inserted just south of the bottomless arch allowing passage above 1277'.  Both will be connected to the original channel.  In spring 2011, the Bureau of Reclamation will be lowering the reservoir to an elevation below 1255 for repair and maintenance of the generators and will allow the project an opportunity to work at these lower elevations that may not be allowed during other years.  

CCT will subcontract the removal of the existing culvert and the installation of two new culverts .  Detailed plans (water diversion, traffic, etc) are currently being developed by Tetra Tech and we anticipate these the end of January 2011 or beginning of February 2011.  Preliminary drawings have been uploaded into the PISCES account for your reference.

Documentation of native fish distribution in Barnaby Creek is limited. However, the creek has been stocked primarily with catchable rainbow trout, ranging in numbers from 500 to 1500 annually. Fingerling brook trout as well as kokanee have also been stocked more recently. The creek is estimated at providing 900 angler-days per year, with creel consisting almost entirely of rainbow trout (Halfmoon 1978).

Based on documented surveys by Sears (2006), McMichael et al. (2004) and Halfmoon (1978), physical conditions appear suitable in Barnaby Creek for salmonid rearing and spawning. Stream survey information on flows, channel width and depth, temperature and benthos was collected by Colville Tribes on 21 July 1976 (Halfmoon 1978). Survey data indicate that Barnaby Creek usually has a wetted width of approximately 3 ft (CCT unpubl. data), mean channel width of 10-15 ft, and depth of 0.3-0.7 ft. Flows were measured in three sections of the creek at between 4.7 and 6.0 cfs. Channel substrates are comprised mostly of gravel with some silt and sand. Pools are mostly shallow with fair-to-good cover and comprising about 40% of the total stream length. Riparian vegetation consists mainly of Douglas fir, yellow pine and mountain alder. Water temperatures from June through November 2004 ranged between 0.63 and 19.29 0C and averaged 11.06 0C (Sears 2006). Only one fish barrier consisting of a boulder cascade dropping 4 ft was found located in the upper section of the stream near the northern CCT Reservation boundary.  Based on foot surveys conducted in 2009 this barrier does not exist anymore.  The creek has cut around the small cascade allowing fish to pass freely. Barnaby Creek has a watershed area of 46 mi2 with much of the watershed in timber cover (Halfmoon 1978).