Overview:  The Snake River Salmon Recovery Board (SRSRB) manages the Tucannon River Programmatic Habitat Project (2010-077-00) through this parent contract for the operations support, management organization, implementation assistance, and reporting described in this summary.  The goal of the Tucannon River programmatic is to restore habitat function and channel processes in the spring Chinook priority restoration reaches of the Tucannon River, leading to improved population productivity and abundance.  

Current Emphases:  Project management activities in 2014 will encompass the following major task: the SRSFB will assists CCD, CTUIR and WDFW staff to implement the ecological restoration and habitat improvement projects in the following priority stream reaches, including PA-15, PA-3, PA-1 and PA-14.  These projects have been prioritized and selected for their high-benefit to spring Chinook habitat.  The primary focus of the four projects is to increase stream channel complexity through wood placement, and promote floodplain connectivity through increasing connection to side and off-channel habitats.  Project Areas 1 & 3 (PA-1, PA-3) are located on both WDFW and USFS properties, with PA-1 starting at the Panjab Bridge downstream to private property and PA-3 starting below those private lands downstream to just above Camp Wooten.  Project Area 14 (PA-14) -- located on WDFW property beginning at the hatchery bridge downstream to WDFW Wildlife Area Headquarters.  PA-15 is located on both private and public lands beginning just below WDFW Headquarters downstream to near the lower end of the wildlife area.  The SRSRB will assist in the review and finalization of designs, identification and acquisition coordination of materials, and coordination of field activities during implementation of projects.  

The SRSRB will continue to work with sponsors to prioritize restoration actions and complete restoration designs for future implementation.  The SRSRB will coordinate and manage sub-contracting to finalize designs on PA-24, a high priority restoration project located on private property, in coordination with the CCD for EC clearance in 2014 and implementation in 2015.  The SRSRB will support WDFW with the finalization of designs for PA-11, located on WDFW property, for implementation in 2015.  The SRSRB will support CTUIR in the identification of an additional high-priority project for design and implementation in 2014/2015.

The SRSRB will also assist WDFW with the conceptualization, scoping, design, permitting and development of the Beetle Kill project, which will focus on identifying ponderosa pines killed on the Wooten Wildlife Areas by pine beetle, and placing those into the river.  The objective of the project will be to identify and treat restoration reaches adjacent to wildlife area land that have been characterized as deficient in large wood key-pieces.  The project concept is to utilize whole trees near the restoration reaches where trees have died that can be uprooted and transported to the river either using conventional equipment or helicopter placement.  The greatest effort and emphasis will be to place whole trees; designs will be developed for instream placement or structures based on the materials available.  An estimated 250 to 500 trees have been killed during the beetle outbreak and may be available for habitat projects.  It is anticipated this project would follow PA-11 for WDFW implementation in the 2016-2017 work window.
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Background:  Habitat restoration projects developed though the programmatic approach are vetted in the SRSRB recovery process building local support in the communities where the restoration will take place.  Restoration projects recommended for funding under the programmatic have undergone multiple levels of review and technical comment before being recommended for implementation.  Only projects exhibiting high benefit to spring Chinook are currently recommended for funding, with selection criteria that prioritize projects that will address the limiting factors outlined for the Tucannon River in the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion.

Purpose:  The projects are expected to increase pool and LWD frequency, improve off-channel habitat, promote floodplain connectivity by increasing stream channel roughness (LWD), and increase channel and side channel length.

Objectives:  The restoration objectives for the Tucannon spring Chinook are as follows (channel structure, LWD and floodplain connectivity being the highest priority):  
  1.  Increase riparian function to 75% of maximum
  2.  Increase large woody debris to 2 or more pieces per channel width
  3.  Increase pool frequency to 15% of stream area
  4.  Reduce channel confinement/increase floodplain connectivity to at least 25% of river length
  5.  Reduce maximum daily water temperature so that it does not exceed 72F at confluence of Pataha Creek (RM 11.8 of the Tucannon)
  6.  Decrease substrate embeddedness to 20% in all reaches above confluence of Pataha Creek (RM 11.8).

Status:  In 2013,  the SRSRB RTT worked with project sponsors to identify the high priority projects which are in stage of design that could put them in position for construction in the 2014 & 2015 work windows. The RTT has selected projects based on their ability to achieve measurable progress towards one or more of the objectives listed below, that are outlined in a work plan through 2018.  Solicitation of projects will take place annually as the following two years work is outlined and recommended to BPA for funding. Project designs will be evaluated by the RTT and the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board as they are developed leading into implementation.

Management Considerations:  Implementation of projects is expected to be completed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Columbia Conservation District, Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (legislative program that supports non-profit groups of volunteers who cooperate with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to improve salmon resources throughout the state), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Pomeroy Conservation District, and/or other qualified groups, tribes, or agencies that submit proposals that are approved by the SRSRB.

This ongoing BPA contract support will facilitate the development of future projects and the refinement of the work plan as well as soliciting project sponsors for implementation.  The SRSRB will also facilitate the collection and reporting of data for implementation status, action and habitat effectiveness, and trend monitoring.  The SRSRB will update the Habitat Work Schedule restoration project data base with new project starts, and the completion status for active projects.  With long-term and sufficient funding levels, restoring channel processes and habitat function across large reaches will improve spring Chinook productivity in the Tucannon River.