Comment on proposed FY 2006 budget

The project proponent wishes to renew funding for fiscal year 2006. Contracting for this project through Bonneville is split across fiscal years and new funding will be needed beginning June 2006. The identified budget (1,197,873), while consistent with Bonneville’s approved budget, is insufficient to cover both the personnel costs for existing staff and accomplish all the FY2006 goals described below. We request an additional $69,144 to install and maintain fish traps in Lake and Benewah creeks and continue PIT tag studies in these same watersheds. This data helps address ISRP concerns expressed during the review process (ISRP 2001-4) and is critical to a number of ongoing analyses, including: determining juvenile to adult survival rates and inter-annual growth rate for adfluvial adults during their lake residence; development of a recruits per spawner relationship based on age composition from scale analysis; and separating within lake growth and survival from tributary production. These analyses provide the best inference on changes in production relative to restoration response.

Accomplishments since the last review

2002: Completed Habitat Protection Plan to identify and prioritize the overall spatial array of habitats needed to protect westslope cutthroat trout populations 2002: Completed Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Plan to document an experimental design to test major hypotheses concerning habitat condition and trout production 2002: Completed geomorphic assessment and restoration prescriptions for 3.2 mile segment of Benewah Creek 2002: Completed comprehensive technical report (1999-2001) and a summary of all implementation and evaluation efforts (1995-2001) 2002: Completed vegetative treatments for 30 acres and 0.78 miles of riparian habitat 2002-2005: Collected data on adfluvial migrants in Benewah and Lake creeks. Sampled fish at 105 index sites in four watersheds to estimate population and distribution of westslope cutthroat trout and non-native brook trout. 2003: Completed power analysis of population estimates for trout from four target watersheds to evaluate and refine monitoring strategies 2003: Completed 2002 annual report 2003: Completed vegetative treatments for 56.8 acres and 2.89 miles of riparian habitat 2003: Constructed 0.47 miles of side channel habitats 2003: Enhanced 22.98 acres of floodplain through addition of large woody debris 2003-2004: Measure physical habitat variables at 20-paired treatment and control sites 2004: Completed 2003 annual report 2004: Removed 671 brook trout from 4.3 miles of Benewah Creek 2004: Completed vegetative treatments for 16.5 acres and 0.78 miles of riparian habitat 2004: Constructed 0.17 miles of side channel habitats 2004: Enhanced 2.3 acres of floodplain through addition of large woody debris 2004: Replaced a partial fish passage barrier to open 2.7 miles of spawning and rearing habitat 2004: Improved 0.1 miles of stream habitat in Benewah Creek by restoring the channel bed to historical elevations 2005: PIT tagged 670 juvenile cutthroat in Lake Creek as of May 19 2005: Prepared draft 2004 annual report 2005: Completed vegetative treatments for 22.5 acres and 1.72 miles of riparian habitat

FY 2006 goals and anticipated accomplishments

Planned FY 2006 efforts will focus on Benewah Creek. The Tribe will begin the second year of construction on an extensive channel restoration project that will ultimately treat 3.2 miles of entrenched mainstem habitats. The design approach restores the channel bed to historical elevations by filling the channel at specific locations and restoring channel length by reactivating historical alignments. The project will reconnect the channel with its former floodplain to increase the frequency and duration of overbank flooding and increase dynamic and long-term surface and ground water storage. A total of 0.41 miles of stream channel will be treated during FY 2006. Vegetation treatments will be implemented on 15 acres of riparian habitats and 0.82 miles of streambank associated with the channel construction. Monitoring of biological, physical and chemical variables will be undertaken as in past years to increase the statistical power of datasets. Resistance board weir traps will be used to monitor adfluvial migrants in Lake and Benewah creeks. Up to 2,000 juvenile cutthroat trout will be PIT tagged from these sites as to determine juvenile-to-adult survival and to refine spawner:recruit ratios. Population estimates will be generated at 105 index sites in 4 target watersheds to measure population responses to restoration activities at the watershed scale. Physical habitat variables will be measured at 20 stratified sites to determine the inter-annual variability of measured parameters and to statistically test for differences between treatment and control sites. Water temperature, air temperature and discharge will be measured at sites along the longitudinal gradient of target streams to produce high resolution data that can be used to compare treatment and control sites, map thermal refugia, and detect changes over time. Brook trout will be removed for the third consecutive year from tributaries in Benewah Creek. Potential production removed from the system will be estimated using age structure, gender ratio, age-at-maturity, and gonadosomatic indices.

Subbasin planning

How is this project consistent with subbasin plans?

The project is consistent with and implements the following Aquatic Objectives and Strategies: Objective 2A2 - Protect and Restore Westslope Cutthroat Trout Strategy a: Improve riparian conditions; increase channel stability. Strategy b: Increase habitat diversity. Strategy c (priority equal to d): Reduce fine sediment. Strategy d (priority equal to c): Increase flows where appropriate. Strategy e: Remove passage obstructions. Strategy f: Reduce stream temperatures. Strategy g: Decrease pollutants. Strategy h: Evaluate native resident fish distribution and abundance and assess need for conservation aquaculture facilities. Objective 2C1 - Establish put-and take fisheries for westslope cutthroat trout Strategy a (priority equal to b): Construct a total of 5 ponds in the Coeur d’ Alene Watershed to function as put-and-take westslope cutthroat trout fisheries by 2012. Strategy b (priority equal to a): Identify stream reaches that do not, and likely will not, support westslope cutthroat trout by 2010 for establishment of put and take fisheries. Strategy c: Supplement pond and streams identified in strategies a and b with sufficient numbers of hatchery raised westslope cutthroat from locally adapted stocks to meet subsistence and harvest goals. The metrics summarized above in FY2006 Goals are consistent with the following objectives and strategies from the Subbasin Plan (Table 10.1-3): Riparian Condition (15) 1B1, strategies a, c,d,e,g Channel Stability (15) 1B1, strategies a, f Habitat Diversity (15) 1B1, strategies a, f Fine Sediment (6) 1B1, strategies f, k; 1B2 Low Flow (5) 1B1, strategy c High Temperatures (4) 1B2 Pollutants (3) 1B1, strategy b; 1B2 Obstructions (1) 1B1, strategies h, i, j High Flow (1) 1B1, strategy c

How do goals match subbasin plan priorities?

This project implements five of the top six priorities, including the two highest priority objectives for the Subbasin: restoration of adfluvial westslope cutthroat trout and implementation of put and take harvest opportunities (Table 10.3.1). The target watersheds addressed by this proposal include Benewah, Lake, Alder and Evans; all are priority adfluvial cutthroat bearing streams. Benewah, Lake and Alder are ranked 1st, 3rd, and 16th respectively for restoration and Evans is ranked 15th for protection based on their departure from reference conditions (See tables 6-4 through 6-20). In addition to their relative rankings, each of these streams are culturally significant to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and are the highest priorities for resident fish substitution in the Council’s 2000 Program. Biological evaluations indicate that populations occupying lower elevation watersheds in the subbsasin are at highest risk based on low population numbers and habitat losses. Target watersheds addressed by this project all fall within this high-risk category. Affected attributes include low flow, high flow, fine sediment, high temperatures, and pollutants. The top three watersheds, including Benewah and Lake Creek, are in close proximity to Coeur d’ Alene Lake and are heavily impacted by land use practices (agriculture, timber harvest, logging, and/or residential development). Of the top three ranked watersheds that have experienced significant habitat alterations based on watershed land use activities, Lake Creek has the greater biological potential (Table 6.8). Lake Creek provides critical passageway for adfluvial westslope cutthroat trout. This project specifically addresses the following water quality impairments: Lake Creek - Sediment and temperature limit fisheries production in the watershed (Table 6.18, Page 6-52) Benewah - Temperature is the primary limiting factor for fisheries production in the watershed (Page 6-53).

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