CCR-32973  

Metrics in work element C were updated.
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%   CCR-32139

The contractor needs additional time to successfully complete revegetation component of project.  It was determined that the time allotted in the contract was not adequate to satisfactorily finish all elements of the project.  BPA’s 1-year contract time line policy does not always provide the necessary time to complete all phases of a project.

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The actions funded under this contract are elements of a larger multi-agency effort to implement habitat improvement projects within the Upper Columbia River Tributary system designed to address the priorities established by the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Plan.  The Bureau of Reclamation completed the Middle Methow (M2) Reach Assessment in August 2010.  The assessment provided the basis for identification and prioritization of projects to benefit ESA-listed fish species.  As part of this effort, Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation (MSRF) and its partners, including Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Yakama Nation (YN), WA Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and Trout Unlimited (TU), began to implement multiple salmon habitat enhancement projects in the M2 reach of the Methow River in 2012.  

In the first phase of the M2 project, MSRF contracted with BPA on two construction projects within the larger M2 Habitat project for implementation in 2012-2013: M2-Whitefish Island Habitat Improvement Project (WFI), and M2-WDFW Floodplain Habitat Improvement Project (WDFW).

The current contract is for the second phase of the larger M2 project, and it includes implementation activities for the (M2) River Rock Reach (3R) Floodplain and Side Channel project.

Implementation for the M2 3R project includes the following elements:

     •  Construction of instream habitat complexity structures,
     •  Connection of off-channel habitat,
     •  Restoration and enhancement of riparian areas

The project site was identified through a reach-scale effort to improve habitat and habitat forming processes to support the long- and short-term recovery of ESA-listed spring Chinook and steelhead.  Most of the M2 reach has little cover or complexity, and off-channel habitat is limited.  Historic and ongoing land uses, including bank hardening, conversion of riparian areas, and loss of natural stands of cottonwood forest, severely limit opportunities for natural restoration of river processes.  The purpose of the specific project elements is to restore natural processes to the greatest degree feasible while adding sustainable features that immediately improve habitat based on the reach-level goals.  The project primarily targets rearing juvenile fish during low water, but project features are also intended to provide benefits for both juvenile and adult fish during all flows.