PROJECT/CONTRACT HISTORY:

Our mission is to work proactively within the region’s diverse landscapes to restore and protect the ecological processes of the Lapwai Creek watershed to the greatest extent possible.  We will work to rehabilitate habitat that will support healthy, self-sustaining fish populations and provide clean water for the benefit of all.  We will work within present challenges and opportunities toward achieving a balance whereby all communities can thrive for generations to come.

Hé-yey, Nez Perce for steelhead or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), are a culturally and ecologically significant resource of the Lapwai Creek watershed and compose a portion of the federally listed Snake River Basin Steelhead distinct population segment (DPS).  The majority of the Lapwai Creek drainage is federally identified as critical habitat for this DPS while also providing habitat for the federally listed Snake River Nacó’x, or fall Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), evolutionarily significant unit (ESU).  The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District (District) and the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resources Management- Watershed (Tribe), in an effort to support the continued existence of these and other aquatic species, have developed the "Strategy for the Ecological Restoration of Lapwai Creek Watershed" document (2009) to direct efforts and resources toward the highest priority restoration projects and areas of the Lapwai Creek watershed. This restoration strategy is attached to this project in CBFish under contract 46784.

The prioritization framework considered four aspects to determine the relative importance of performing restoration in a certain area: density of critical fish species, physical condition of the habitat, water quantity, and water quality.  It was established, through vigorous data analysis within these four areas, that the top three areas to pursue restoration within the Lapwai Creek watershed are Lapwai Creek from stream km 17-34, Sweetwater Creek from the mouth to km 13, and from the mouth of Lapwai Creek to km 17.

Presence of steelhead within the Lapwai Creek watershed has been documented through the following work that has been conducted to various degrees since 2003: 1) the 2003-2006 BPA funded project to collect juvenile steelhead fish distribution and abundance data (this data set was the basis of the watershed restoration plan), 2) juvenile steelhead density monitoring conducted in 2010-2019 by University of Idaho, and 3) an adult PIT tag study conducted by the Nez Perce Tribe from 2010-2019. Based upon the adult data indicating that Mission Creek and Sweetwater Creek have similar numbers of adult fish, these tributaries will continue to be a priority for restoration. Instream habitat in mainstem Lapwai Creek will also be addressed, as described in this contract through the Reach 14 and the highway pullout removal projects.  

SUMMARY OF FY23 CONTRACT:

The "Strategy for the Ecological Restoration of Lapwai Creek Watershed" was the main reference for prioritizing implementation and developing the FY23 SOW.  Within this document the two highest priority reaches within the Lapwai Creek drainage were Upper Lapwai Creek and Lower Sweetwater Creek.  

Implementation projects planned for the 2023 SOW include the following:

A total of 7 sites, treating 20.35 acres.

o  Tribal Trust Unit 3123 Spring Creek Raceway- implementation of noxious weed control and maintenance of riparian planting on 1.0 acre.
o  Tribal Trust Unit 3123 Spring Creek Wetlands- implementation of noxious weed control on 1.0 acre.
o  Tribal Trust Unit 3125 Fisheries Building -  implementation of noxious weed control and maintenance of riparian planting on 0.4 acre.
o  Tribal Allotment 365 - implementation of noxious weed control and maintenance of riparian plantings on 5.45 acres.
o  Tribal Allotment 419A - implementation of noxious weed control on 9.0 acres.
o  Lutes Wetland adjacent to Tribal Allotment 350 - implementation of noxious weed control and maintenance of plantings on 0.5 acre.
o Lapwai Creek Reach 14 - implementation of noxious weed control on approximately 3.0 acres.
    
Instream Complexity -
Continue Post Assisted Log Structure (PALS) project on Lapwai Creek - Tribal Allotment 3125.  This project falls within the Lapwai Creek reach identified in the Strategy for Ecological Restoration of Lapwai Creek Watershed document.  This area ranked third in priority. The PALS project is intended to improve instream habitat complexity and will provide additional benefits in a portion of Lapwai Creek that has experienced an increase in base water flows (an additional 4.5 cfs at 50 degrees) due to the 2017 Lewiston Orchards Water and Land Title Exchange Project. Up to an additional 20 PALS structures are planned to be installed in 2023.

Floodplain Restoration --
In coordination with the Idaho Transportation Department's Highway 95 Culdesac Canyon passing lane improvement project, NPT has the opportunity to remove one of the existing streamside pullouts in the summer/fall of 2023 and will re-vegetate the disturbed site with a native grass/forb mix. This will reclaim some of the historic floodplain that Lapwai Creek lost due to the construction of Highway 95.

As Part of a suite of ongoing restoration activities within Lower Sweetwater Creek, the Nez Perce Tribe in coordination with the United State Army Corps of Engineers will restore riparian and aquatic habitat and ecosystem functionality in Sweetwater Creek on the Nez Perce Reservation. FY23 work will include realty actions and restoration design.

Outreach and Education-- Education and outreach will continue to the general public, fellow professionals, high school and college students, and especially elementary school students, e.g. the  "Steelhead in the Classroom" program for 6th graders. Partners include the Lapwai School District, Lewiston School District, and Idaho Department of Fish and Game.