Background on the Tucannon River:  The Tucannon River basin is located in Southeast Washington State in Columbia and Garfield counties.  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.

The CTUIR performs all restoration activities according to their Mission and Vision.  CTUIR Fisheries Habitat Project Mission: to protect, enhance, and restore functional floodplain, channel, and watershed processes to provide sustainable and healthy habitat for aquatic species of the First Food order.  CTUIR River Vision: includes a healthy river capable of providing First Foods that sustain the continuity of the Tribe's culture.  This vision requires a river that is dynamic, and shaped not only by physical and biological processes, but the interactions and interconnections between those processes.

Hartsock Project Summary:  Enhancing and restoring instream habitat in project area (PA) 18 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 embankments/levees, reconnection of existing side channels, and the installation of riparian plantings.  The principal benefits of project implementation will be restoration of historic spring Chinook and steelhead spawning, rearing, and migration corridor habitats.  The associated treatment of riparian areas is expected to induce naturally occurring and self-sustaining repair, restoration, and recovery of both floodplain and riparian zone function and processes.

Expected Implementation Actions (from the 30% Conceptual Design):  Reconnect isolated habitat in several areas within the project reach through the removal of existing river levees, to re-establish floodplain connectivity to approximately 10 acres of low floodplain.   Install ELJs and other LWD to increase channel complexity over a 1.2 mile reach.  Re-plant adjacent floodplain and riparian areas; to re-vegetate and restore disturbed construction access sites and staging areas.  

Geomorphic Implications:  Setting back infrastructure will allow a wider corridor for channel migration and accessible floodplain area. Increased connectivity with the floodplain will lead to decreased channel velocities and dispersion of sediment across the floodplain during high flows.  In addition, LWD will initiate a geomorphic response resulting in bed scour and sorting of fine and medium grained sediment, which forms critical habitat features (e.g., pools, riffles, and spawning habitat).  Because the channel profile is controlled by man-made features and has aggraded to bedrock, the wood placements will capture sediments and affect the channel grade. The ELJs will also influence the development of additional pools and depositional areas in the plane-bed sections of the channel. In addition, large wood structures will promote development of a more complex channel networks throughout this reach by splitting flow, initiating gravel bar and island development, and promoting channel migration within the reconnected floodplain area.

Biological Benefits:  Increasing the amount of LWD in channel will provide increased roughness elements increasing the connectivity with the floodplain, providing instream pool development and gravel for riffle habitat for spawning. Immediate biological benefits of the project include decreased instream velocities during high flows to provide better rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids.  As the channel is able to establish a more complex planform through the reconnected floodplain, more diverse habitat areas will be available to increase the carrying capacity for juvenile salmonids. Deposition of sediment and formation of side channels will create additional spawning area. Over time, the greater floodplain connectivity will also lead to a healthier riparian zone and, in turn, promote improved ecosystem processes and habitat function.

Potential Challenges: Multiple access points will be necessary to place LWD and remove infrastructure. These actions will disturb some existing trees and other vegetation. The project design under development for PA-17 will require the acceptance of multiple landowners.
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Project Background:  Under prior contracts (#67768) CTUIR coordinated the development of  Project Area 17 &18 conceptual/preliminary designs, starting with PA-18 in Phase I. It is the intention to finalize project design components for PA-18 in the spring of 2016 for implementation during the in-water work periods of 2016-17.  During this time, private landowners will be contacted about potential work on their properties in the PA-17 reach upstream.  It is anticipated that as restoration designs are constructed on PA-18 adjacent landowners may become comfortable with the program and express increased interest in restoration actions on their properties.  Project Areas 17 & 18 are identified as high priority for spring Chinook in the Tucannon River Habitat Assessment (Anchor Aug 2011) and Tucannon River Conceptual Restoration Plan (Anchor Nov 2011) from RM-30 upstream to RM-50.  

Project Area Summary:  Project Areas 17 & 18 (PA-17/18) are located within the active river channel and floodplain on the Tucannon River, on WDFW and private property from the bridge at RM-35.15 to approximately RM-32.1.  The project is identified as a Tier-1 project in the Conceptual Restoration Plan (Anchor QEA, 2011) developed for the Tucannon River.  The primary objectives of the projects are to increase floodplain connectivity through removing channel confining features, increasing off channel and reconnecting side channels, and improve channel complexity through placement of large wood debris in the form of constructed log jams.

Prior Design Phase:  The PA-18 project was previously designed to a ~30% level, as part contract (#67768) managed by CTUIR Tucannon Habitat Project in 2015-16.

Pending Design Contract:  CTUIR Tucannon Habitat Project will advance the development of this restoration design to a near-final design (90%) Plan and Report (#72049), this project is expected to be completed in two Phases with Phase I completed summer of 2016, followed by Phase II in the summer of 2017.  During this period, staff will begin to initiate and coordinate permitting requirements and environmental clearances for the Project Area 18 project, in anticipation of design implementation and project construction in the summer of 2017.  

Status:  The project spans three contract periods over a 24 - 36 month duration covering design (Year-1); and the subsequent implementation of the restoration design, including the construction of engineered structures and riparian planting (Year-2/3).   It is anticipated that in year-3 (FY17), this FY16 contract will be amended to add funds sufficient to complete the entire project.

  (a)  Contract #67768 (Year-1) is to be completed in March 2016 and will include: a preliminary design report, project design, implementation cost estimate, any subsequent design modifications (following review), and the initiation of permitting including environmental and cultural resources clearances, if possible.
  (b)  Contract #72049 (Year-2) is active from April 2016 thru March 2017 and will include; a final (90%) design, cultural resources clearances, environmental clearances, RFP for construction, RFP for materials and provide construction over site of the project during 2016-17.
  (c)  This 20-month contract (CR-294900) is to complete the implementation of the Phase I design during the construction phase (in water work windows 2016 and 2017); including:  
-- any subsequent design modifications that may be required (following review), or as an adaptation in response to changes in channel geomorphology or site conditions (since completion of the design), and as adjusted during the pre-construction phase
-- modifications to or renewal of existing permits; or additional required permitting
-- revised or amended environmental and cultural resource clearances
-- adjustments to implementation strategies or approaches, including scheduling and logistics, that facilitate the construction of improved habitat features, in-channel structures, and other actions to restore ecological function
-- vegetative plantings that are an integral component of the restoration design, to improve habitat function and connectivity; and
--  the remediation of construction impacts that includes the clean-up and restoration of construction access points and materials or equipment storage and mobilization areas.

  (d)  [CCR-39187] In the next10-mos period, it is anticipated that work identified in the Phase II (PA-17) design (completed Spring 2018) would be initiated in Summer 2018, and fully implemented during the following in-water work window (2019).