Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR) request an additional $136,394 of Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program (WWMP) funding for the North Santiam Conservation Project (also known as Chankáwan).  This request reflects an increase in project costs, that includes relocation of boundary fence that is not currently located on the property line, associated follow-up items suggested in the Level I Environmental Site Assessment and actions needed to meet the property standards acceptable to CTGR.  Please note that the Level I ESA follow-up items are not Recognized Environmental Conditions or RECs, but rather are actions recommended by the Level I ESA in the interest of minimizing environmental risks.  There is no change in property size and only a budget adjustment is being proposed.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife convened a sub-committee of the WWMP Wildlife Advisory Group (WAG) to review this recommendation.  The WWMP WAG met on January 8, 2016 to review the proposed amendment for the North Santiam/Chankawan project.  

In the interest of moving this project forward, the WAG subcommittee recommended approving the amendment request, contingent on the following:
• Adequate funding available from BPA;
• Acceptable resolution of BPA questions regarding the structure removal (including the need for additional information on septic system removal, soil stabilization, and the relation of cost estimates to appraisal assumptions); and
• An acceptable agreement with adjacent landowners regarding fence location and the property boundaries.

The Tribe and Western Rivers Conservancy have worked with BPA to satisfy the listed contingencies.