The John Day is the nation’s second longest free-flowing river in the contiguous United States and the longest containing entirely un-supplemented runs of anadromous fish. Located in eastern Oregon, the basin drains over 8,000 square miles, Oregon's fourth largest drainage basin, and incorporates portions of eleven counties. Originating in the Strawberry Mountains near Prairie City, the John Day River flows 284 miles in a northwesterly direction, entering the Columbia River approximately four miles upstream of the John Day dam. With wild runs of spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead, westslope cutthroat, and redband and bull trout, the John Day system is truly a basin with national significance.

The John Day River basin is within the CTWS ceded lands and supporting restoration efforts such as this project is an important part of maintaining cultural foods and fish populations. The mission of the CTWS Branch of Natural Resources Fisheries Department is to provide fisheries populations at harvestable levels for tribal members using information gained from research, management, production, and habitat programs while exercising co-management authority across ceded lands and usual and accustomed stations. In 1997, the Tribes established an office in the basin to coordinate restoration projects, monitoring, planning and other watershed activities on private and public lands. Once established, the John Day Basin Office formed partnerships with local agencies and stakeholders to implement restoration actions.

The goal of this project is to address limiting factors by implementing restoration actions that protect and restore passage, flow, and habitat for anadromous fish and listed species in the John Day River Basin. This includes the use of the John Day Basin Watershed Restoration Strategy to assist the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTWS), John Day Watershed Restoration Program with the ability to focus on implementing suites of restoration actions that will more effectively address priority-limiting factors.

The CTWS John Day River Watershed Restoration Strategy (2014) prioritized geographic areas with the greatest restoration potential for focal fish species, these areas were identified based on a synthesis of analytical results from the Ecosystem Diagnostic and Treatment model, Qualitative Habitat Assessments, and Technical Team review. Watersheds are delineated with a Restoration Potential Benefit (RPB) score along the range of low potential (0) to high potential (9). Within the Strategy, the target and focused restoration actions were identified for each Subbasin to have the most impact in addressing limiting factors.

In addition to Tribal Strategy, CTWS worked as part of the John Day Basin Partnership to collaboratively analyze the most current biological and physical habitat data to prioritize sub-watersheds within the John Day Basin and rank restoration opportunities within those watersheds.  The Partnership's Prioritization utilized the Atlas Framework to determined tier I, II, and III priority areas and prioritized hundreds of restoration opportunities within these watersheds. The goals are to assist partners to implement projects that will address the highest priority limiting habitat factors to benefit the limiting life stages for focal species within the basin.

RPB, Atlas Tier and Atlas Opportunity Score, have been provided within relevant WE descriptions to help better understand project prioritization with the John Daye Basin. Definitions for each metric are defined as:

RPB Score - The Restoration Potential Benefit within a HUC5 watershed is ranked for bull trout, steelhead, and chinook salmon, on a scale of 0-3 and summed. RPB scores range from 0 (lowest) to 9 (highest).

Atlas Tier - Assigns a ranking to each sub-watershed using the cumulative scores for geomorphic potential, current condition, future condition, limiting life stage, and periodicity. Ranges from Tier I (highest priority) to Tier III (lowest priority).

Atlas Opportunity Score - Describes project opportunity for distinct reaches within a sub-watershed based on the priority of reach-specific restoration actions, actions' ability to address priority limiting habitat factors, natural process rating, and the actions' ability to lessen climate change impacts. Opportunity scores range from 0 (lowest) to 84 (highest).


Work implemented under this contract will cover restoration and conservation efforts associated with:

1      The John Day Basin Partnership – CTWS is one of 28 organizations signed onto a Memorandum of Understanding. The Partnership was awarded funding through OWEB’s Focused Investment Partnership (FIP) program in 2019 for 6 years of funding focused on native fish habitat. The Partnership uses the Atlas framework for prioritization of both native fish habitat and uplands restoration. CTWS works with the Partnership on projects covered under the FIP and located in priorities identified by the CTWS Watershed Restoration Strategy. The Atlas prioritization adds another level of focus and prioritization to the CTWS John Day River Watershed Restoration Strategy.
2      Structured Implementation and Monitoring (SIM) Framework - this is a joint effort between CTWS and ODFW to focus restoration and monitoring that will guide our efforts in the future. 2019 - 2022 covered the original implementation timeline in the Middle Fork Subbasin, but several projects will continue to be in-design for this contract.
3      The Upper John Day River is the intended focal watershed for the SIM framework during the 2023 – 2026 implementation window. CTWS is allocating increasing focus on identifying restoration opportunities in the Upper John Day with several projects in development and work intended to continue for several years.
4      The Resource Conservation and Partnership Project (RCPP) - CTWS was awarded an RCPP project for irrigation efficiency practices and conservation easements in the upper John Day and upper Middle Fork sub basins. This award spans 2018-2024 and will cover irrigation efficiency projects matched with BPA funding for irrigation diversion improvements and instream habitat projects.

Specific projects covered in this contract include:
1. NFJD – Fox Creek Reach 9 – Produce design.
2. NFJD – Fox Creek Reach 18 – Irrigation Project. Replace 3 unscreened diversions with 1 pump station and pivot. Related instream/riparian project completed in 2019.
3. NFJD – Fox Valley Juniper Treatment – Remove vegetation.
4. MFJD – Caribou Creek Reconnection – Produce design.
5. MFJD – Oxbow Phase 6 and 7 – Produce design.
6. MFJD – Deep Creek and Granite Creek Culvert Design
7. MFJD – Middle Fork Planting and Fencing. Work covers the collection of seed, propagation, and planting of native riparian plants, as well as protection from browse.
8. MFJD – DeWitt Homestead Roof Replacement and Interpretive Signage
9. UJD – Upper John Day and Jeff Davis Creek Restoration – Produce design.
10. UJD – Upper John Day Juniper Treatment – Remove vegetation.
11. UJD – Mainstem Forrest Conservation Area Restoration Design
12. UJD – Indian Creek Diversion Design
13. UJD – Belshaw Diversions and Irrigation System
14. UJD – Morgan Juniper Removal
15. LJD – Quant Ranch Juniper Removal
16. SFJD – Murderers Creek Riparian Plantings – Plant vegetation.
17. SFJD – Murderers Creek Restoration
18. Effectiveness Monitoring covers large scale projects implemented through the CTWS Program, such as Fox Creek, the Middle Fork, and the Upper John Day. The purpose is to monitor the overall effectiveness of achieving project objectives and relate those objectives back to the overarching goal of benefitting ESA listed steelhead and non-listed Chinook salmon.