The Wind River Watershed project is a collaborative effort to restore wild steelhead in the Wind River.  The four agencies forming the nucleus of this partnership include the US Forest Service (FS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), U.S. Geological Survey Columbia River Research Lab (CRRL), and Underwood Conservation District (UCD).  This partnership was established in the early 1990's and with support from BPA, has continued to conduct important habitat, research, monitoring and coordination activities across the subbasin.  The project works at multiple levels to identify and characterize key limiting habitat factors in the Wind River, to restore degraded habitats and watershed processes, to measure, track and document fish populations, life histories, and interactions, and to share information across agency and non-agency boundaries.

This contract funds continued habitat restoration within the Wind River watershed.  In FY13, a portion of the USFS budget ($30,000) has been moved to UCD to help cover work on the Little Wind River Restoration project.  The USFS contract for FY2013 includes continued operation of the Wind River Gage to support all of the habitat and monitoring efforts underway across the watershed.  The contract will also help fund the following work items:  1) work to enhance access to a side channel in the Hemlock Reach of Lower Trout Creek;  2) preparation of a subcontract that will result in removal of a culvert and installation of a bridge at Layout Creek on Forest Road 4300;  3) monitoring of channel conditions at the Martha Creek Dam removal project site; and  4) assessment of instream wood placement opportunities in Trout Creek upstream of the Hemlock site..