****** CCR 27079 Purpose, need, and justification: ISEMP has produced a tremendous amount of PIT tag information in the Wenatchee, Entiat, John Day, and Salmon Basins that will be used to estimate abundance, growth, and survival of Chinook and steelhead.  Survival rates over different life-stages are perhaps the most important variables evaluated in life-cycle modeling and informing responses of these listed species to mitigation measures outlined in the FCRPS Biological Opinion (BiOp).  This information is crucial for the the 2013 BiOp Comprehensive Evaluations.  In addition, the ability to produce accurate and precise survival estimates is dependent on the survey design implemented to capture, tag, resight, and recapture PIT tagged fish collected during field campaigns, rotary screw traps, and with both mobile and fixed PIT tag antennas, including antennas in the mainstem dams of the Snake and Columbia Rivers.  The improvement of these designs is based on results of previous surveys, and is thus iterative.   In order to inform this year’s survey design, analyses of past year information has to occur immediately.   Most of ISEMP’s summer field work begins in June/July, and initial results are needed to plan out the upcoming field sampling.
  Mark-recapture models are used to estimate survival rates and abundance of fish tagged with PIT tags in the ISEMP subbasins. These models can be very complex and computationally time consuming.  In addition, alternative mark-recapture models continue to be developed to provide the most accurate and precise estimates of survival, and thus analyses also have to be updated to incorporate the best available science.  For example, ISEMP conducted simulations to demonstrate that the Cormack-Jolly-Seber model traditionally used to estimate survival of PIT tag fish, are biased and less precise than the Barker Model (ISEMP 2009). The Barker model is a more complex model and requires a slightly different survey design to maximize the advantages of this approach.  Additionally, other models are available that incorporate movement and habitat use in multiple tributaries, allowing for a more-realistic formulation of life-stage specific survival.
  Given the complexities of estimating survival, people have specialized in conducting mark-recapture models as well as using specific software to support these analyses.  This level of effort has been funded under Contract 46273 REL 28.  ISEMP requires the hiring of an individual with these skills in order to complete these analyses to inform this year’s survey design and provide crucial information regarding the 2013 BiOp Comprehensive Evaluations through ELR contract 55970 (CCR 27079).  The change in work would fall under current work element F.  
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Contract Description: The Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP, 2003-017-00) is an ongoing collaborative effort to design, test, implement and evaluate Status and Trends Monitoring for salmon and steelhead populations and their habitat, and watershed-scale Effectiveness Monitoring for management actions impacting salmon and steelhead populations and habitat in the Interior Columbia River Basin.

ISEMP explicitly addresses work requirements of many 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion RPAs (56.1, 56.2, 56.3, 57.1, 57.2, 57.3, 57.4, 57.5) and is directly related to additional 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion implementation strategy requirements and recommendations. ISEMP takes a pilot-project approach to the research and development of monitoring by implementing experimental programs in several major subbasins of the Interior Columbia: the Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow, John Day, South Fork Salmon and Lemhi River basins. The overall goal of the project is to provide regional salmon management agencies with the data, information and tools necessary to design efficient and effective monitoring programs.

Specifically, ISEMP generates quantitative guidance on and examples of: the robustness and limitations of population and habitat monitoring protocols, indicators and metrics; sampling design approaches for the distribution of monitoring effort in time and space; analytical approaches to the evaluation of monitoring data, information and programs; effective data management and communication designs that support the use, standardization and compilation of implementation, compliance, status, trends and effectiveness monitoring data by regional data generators and decision makers; and finally the design and implementation of watershed-scale restoration actions to maximize both the biological impact and associated learning opportunities resulting from the design and implementation strategy.

Through its work to date, ISEMP has developed expertise in the coordination and implementation of large-scale monitoring data collection programs. Applying this experience, ISEMP coordinates the installation, maintenance and calibration of in-stream PIT tag arrays across the Snake River basin and is designing and coordinating the implementation of a Columbia River basin-wide stream habitat status and trends monitoring. These programmatic implementation facets of ISEMP leverage previous experience with logistics and social factors to effectively implement comprehensive, standardized monitoring research and development at an unprecedented scale.  

This contract is one of several contracts that will implement this project.  Each contract is responsible for an end of contract progress report.  Additionally, a project level "synthesis report" will also be produced under this project and data and analysis from this contract will be utilized in the production of that project level report.  The synthesis report is a deliverable under the TerraQua contract (not this contract) under this project.

Eco Logical Research, Inc will perform specific design and coordination elements of the overall project in the Wenatchee, Salmon, and John Day River basins.