This Salmon Cassel Design project will advance the preliminary design completed by MSRF and the engineering contractor under an earlier WA RCO-SRFB agreement. MSRF and the engineering subcontractor will work collaboratively with BPA to advance the project design to 80% and then final design following HIP guidelines/requirements. This project was selected by BPA staff to be funded in the FY26 Upper Columbia Habitat Programmatic funding cycle.

Under this contract, MSRF and the engineering subcontractor will work collaboratively with BPA to advance the project design to 80% and then final design following HIP guidelines/requirements. Project designs will enhance existing identified thermal refuge areas by creating thermally and geomorphically stable pools and backwater habitats to provide refugia and cover in the Upper Methow River to benefit ESA-listed Upper Columbia River (UCR) Spring Chinook Salmon, UCR Steelhead, Bull Trout, and other native salmonids.

Anchor QEA, a licensed professional engineering firm, completed the project preliminary design under contract to MSRF prior to the start of this contract. Anchor was selected as project engineer following a competitive RFP process. MSRF will contract Anchor QEA to lead the design group through refinement from preliminary design to 80% drawings and BDR. The project engineer and MSRF will be responsible for periodic check in and coordination with BPA and others for 80% design review and comment via the established HIP tracking protocol.

The Salmon Cassel project is along the Methow River north of Winthrop. This is in the Methow River-Fawn Creek Assessment Unit (AU), which is included in the Upper Methow River Reach Assessment (Inter-Fluve, 2015). This is considered to be a major spawning area for both Spring Chinook and Steelhead, and is ranked highly in regional prioritization processes. The Regional Prioritization Framework ranks these reaches as Rank 1 & 2 for restoration targeted at restoring reach function within this Tier 1 AU.  

The current reach assessment indicates this reach is in unacceptable condition for cover, floodplain connectivity, and at risk for riparian condition and channel stability. EDT modeling estimates in-stream wood at 13% & 67% of template conditions. This reach supports the highest concentrations of cold-water refugia in the Methow Subbasin, offering rearing and migrating fish opportunities to access emerging hyporheic flows, but most of these areas lack sufficient depth and cover to support extensive fish use.

BPA support will allow MSRF to complete design and implementation of priority actions to increase the amount of accessible cold-water refugia with complex cover in these high priority areas.  

MSRF Contract Manager and staff will coordinate, collaborate, and maintain effective communication with BPA PM/COR, EC Lead, HIP Review Lead, Habitat Area Lead, and Hydraulic Engineer during the entire length of this contract with regards to project design. MSRF and its subcontractors will address BPA comments and concerns, and the two entities will arrive at a mutual beneficial consensus.