Design Phase:  Anchor QEA, LLC, under prior contract with the Columbia Conservation District (CCD) developed 30 % designs for restoration within Project Area (PA) 14 of the Tucannon River from approximately river mile (RM) 39.2 to 37.15 -- as delineated in the Conceptual Restoration Plan (Anchor QEA 2011).  The design plan and report is attached at the project-level in PISCES.  The 30% Design Report for Project Area (PA) 14 -Tucannon River (Phase II) describes the purpose, function, design, and construction of restoration treatments that are proposed for implementation in this river segment.  

Walla Walla Community College and the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board received grant funding to advance the 30% design to a final design during the 2012 field season.  A final assessment and design report, and project design, is being completed pursuant to other funding by October 2012, and will be attached to the contract.
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Implementation Phase: This contract would be to complete:
- any subsequent design modifications (following review)
- permitting
- environmental and cultural resource clearances, and
- implementation of the design (construction of improved habitat features and ecological restoration actions).  

Enhancing and restoring instream habitat in this project area will be accomplished through a variety of treatment actions in the main channel, along the banks, and within the floodplain. These treatments include construction of instream habitat features such as engineered log jams (ELJs), removal of infrastructure such as spoils material and artificial embankment, and the installation of riparian plantings. In addition a gravel augmentation program is proposed to place former dredge spoils back into the river to help treat incision and arrest an existing headcut moving through the reach near the upstream extent of PA-14.  The principal benefits of project implementation will be restoration of historic spring Chinook spawning, rearing, and migration corridor habitats.  The associated treatment of riparian areas is expected to induce naturally occurring repair, restoration, and recovery of riparian zone function and processes.
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Background:  The Tucannon River basin is located in Southeast Washington State in Columbia and Garfield counties.  A description of the project area with respect to existing natural processes and habitat conditions is provided in the Design Report, along with the specific physical and biological objectives that the proposed restoration features are expected to achieve.  In addition, the project’s contribution to the overall watershed-scale restoration plan is described. Construction considerations and best management practices are included for the proposed treatment actions.

The system-wide restoration objective for the Tucannon River is to improve habitat conditions for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed species (Snake River Spring Chinook and Steelhead) for all life history stages.  It is expected that improved habitat conditions will lead to an increase in the abundance of listed species returning to the river.  Increasing abundance will lead to de-listing of the species, which is the overall recovery goal for the system.  Previous efforts (CCD 2004; SRSRB 2006) have identified the habitat-limiting factors associated with the decline of ESA-listed populations.