Sediment pollution has been identified as a key limiting factor for native salmonids, including bull trout, a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and westslope cutthroat trout, a federal species of concern in the Kalispell basin. This project will reduce sediment delivery to Kalispel Creek, a tributary to Priest Lake in the Pend Oreille Subbasin, by 200-400 tons per year. Project implementation will include obliteration of a three mile section of Forest Service Road 308, which is directly adjacent to Kalispell Creek. Riparian slopes will be recontoured, instream structures will be installed to improve fish habitat, culvert crossings will be removed, noxious weed will be treated, and all exposed soils will be revegetated with native grasses, shrubs, and trees. Decommissioning the road will also reduce mortality to grizzly bear, a threatened species under ESA, by providing increased secure spring range. This project is well supported by the Intermountain Province Subbasin Plan, as well as, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Draft Bull Trout Recovery Plan (2002) and the Strategy for Protection and Improvement of Native Salmonid Habitat in the Pend Oreille Watershed (Pend Oreille Salmonid Recovery Team 2005).
Key biological objectives of the project are to:
1) Reduce sediment delivery to Kalispell Creek by 200-400 ton/year by 2010;
2) Restore instream and riparian habitat along three miles of Kalispell Creek to improve habitat function for bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout by September 2009; and,
3) Reduce risk of grizzly bear mortality in the Kalispell Bear Management Unit by increasing the proportion of secure spring range in grizzly bear core habitat by 5% or 4,300 acres by 2010.
The Kalispell Riparian Road Removal project is part of a larger ecosystem-based aquatic restoration effort, which includes a concurrent project funded by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board to restore adjacent bull trout habitat in the Kalispell subbasin. Jointly the projects will compliment and enhance the effectiveness of each other.
The project is located in Sections 29 and 30, Township 61 North, Range 5 West, Boise Meridian and Sections 23 and 24, Township 36 North, Range 45 East, Williamette Meridian. The project occurs in both Washington and Idaho.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has challenged the USDA-Forest Service, Idaho Panhandle National Forest (Forest Service) to be a partner in the project. WDFW will contribute funding to the Forest Service for the project via a contact or Interlocal Agreement. The Forest Service will also support the project via non-cash, in-kind contributions of labor, materials, and equipment.
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