2007-086-00

Wenatchee River Riparian Enhancement

he UPA Wenatchee Subbasin Riparian Enhancement Programmatic projects will be located in the Wenatchee subbasin and will benefit Upper Columbia steelhead, spring Chinook and bull trout. The Chelan County Natural Resource Department (CCNRD) is proposing riparian enhancement projects to recover watershed processes and functions associated with native plant communities.

The ISRP comments for the proposal include:
This project will construct up to 1,000 feet of livestock exclusion fence and plant up to 2.14 acres of native riparian vegetation in the Wenatchee subbasin. Two sites have been selected: a farm on the lower reaches of Icicle Creek, and the Wenatchee River at the Leavenworth golf course. Other potential sites are identified, but landowner agreements have not yet been finalized. The technical background describes the need to restore damaged streambanks and riparian zones in the subbasin. It is not clear whether the sites selected represent high priority areas based on an analysis of riparian condition, or were selected because the landowner was willing to cooperate with a restoration project. A general list of species that might occur at the sites is given, but no site-specific fish data were presented nor were there any statements of what life history stages would benefit from riparian fencing and planting at the areas in question, or how long it might take to realize the benefits of the riparian plantings. The fencing objective is well grounded in concept and is not very expensive. The riparian restoration part of the proposal was not adequately justified at the sites in question; specific benefits to fish populations in those areas were not described. The option of passive restoration – allowing riparian vegetation to re-grow naturally – was not considered as a lower cost option. Actively managing the riparian plant communities through planting, watering, and weeding is expensive and time-consuming, and this activity commands a major part of the budget proposal. It might be possible to achieve similar benefits without much of the expense by allowing for natural vegetation recovery. At the very least, it ought to be possible to actively manage part of the area and allow the other part to recover naturally - this would create an interesting management experiment. The ISRP believes funding to complete the landowner agreements is warranted, and further funding can be justified for planning the projects once agreements are finalized. The sponsors note that additional projects will be pursued in the future using a proposal for each project.

The specific projects that were identified in the proposal were completed with other funding sources. The Irwin Riparian project was identified on the lower Wenatchee River and is scheduled for construction in 2008. Other riparian projects will be identified for implementation in 2009.

None

2007

2014

Joseph Connor

Closed - Project Status Report

Province	Subbasin	%
Columbia Cascade	Wenatchee	100.00%

Habitat

Restoration/Protection

Chinook - Upper Columbia River Spring ESU
Coho - Unspecified Population
Steelhead - Upper Columbia River DPS
Trout, Bull

Anadromous: 100.0%   Resident: 0.0%   Wildlife: 0.0%

Updated Proposed Action (UPA) (Public Tags)
WA - by WE Location Expenditure (Public Tags)

None

Tributary Habitat Implementation 2007 to 2009,
Tributary Habitat Implementation 2007 to 2009,
Tributary Habitat Implementation 2007 to 2009