Response for project 199401807: Habitat For Fall Chinook, Stee (Garfield sediment reduction…)
Comment on proposed FY 2006 budget
This budget is consistent with the budget submitted by the district to BPA and desire that it be renewed for FY 2006. It will enable the Pomeroy Conservation District to continue with its program of reducing sediment from the uplands and also assist ranchers in improving the management of their livestock in riparian areas along the streams of Garfield County. This budget will allow for the administration of an ongoing program since 1993 that involves the improvement of habitat for Chinook Salmon, Steelhead trout and other native fish and wildlife. Practices that will be implemented are a small number of sediment basins and terraces, implementation of more no-till and direct seed acres in priority areas of the watershed, fencing projects that may not be eligible for other funding programs to improve the management of livestock in the riparian areas, the planting of these riparian areas to native trees and shrubs, provide offsite watering facilities in areas where access to the stream is not an option. We will also continue with our water quality monitoring program that is showing a continued improvement resulting from previous practices being implemented in the Pomeroy CD.
Accomplishments since the last review
| # of people reached in each of 3 classes (T/S/G): Teachers, Students, General public | the district provides landowners and producers with newsletters and newspaper articles that informs them of district activities and funding opportunities. The district also operates an aquarium at the Pomeroy Grade School. | |
| Identify and Select Projects | the district identified, prioritized, and selected the projects that were implemented and cost shared. | |
| Manage and Administer Projects | provided management and administration of the on the ground implementation of all projects. Provided financial reports as needed, developed SOW package. | |
| Produce Plan | Lower Snake Sub-basin plan developed. Provided information for Tucannon Sub-basin plan | |
| Produce Annual Report | the district provides an annual report of yearly activities and practices implemented to the BPA | |
| Develop Alternative Water Source | one spring development | |
| # of miles of fence (0.01 mi.) | .62 miles of fence installed | |
| # of acres of vegetation planted (0.1 ac.) | .5 of native trees planted | |
| # of riparian miles treated (0.01 mi.; count each bank separately) | .25 riparian miles treated | |
| # of acres treated (0.1 ac) | 1,266 acres of direct seed | |
| # of acres treated (0.1 ac) | 1,986 acres of no-till seeding | |
| # of acres treated (0.1 ac) | 2 acres sediment basins | |
| # of acres treated (0.1 ac) | 28.5 acres of critical area seeding | |
| # of acres treated (0.1 ac) | 2 acres of grass waterway installed | |
| Manage/Maintain Database | the district maintains a database of all practices implemented in the district since 1993 and has provided most of this information to Paladin (database management company)Projects are also entered into a GIS program. |
5,800 ft.of pipeline over 1,000 acres of CREP has been installed in the Alpowa, Deadman, and Pataha watersheds since it was introduced in 2003.
FY 2006 goals and anticipated accomplishments
| # of people reached in each of 3 classes (T/S/G): Teachers, Students, General public | the district will continue to provide landowners and producers with newsletters and newspaper articles that informs them of district activities and funding opportunities. The district will continue to operate an aquarium at the Pomeroy Grade School. | |
| Identify and Select Projects | the district will identify, priorit, and select the projects that will be implemented and cost shared with this funding. | |
| Manage and Administer Projects | the district will continue to maintain a database of all practices implemented in the district since 1993 and will provide this years information to Paladin (database management company)Projects will also be entered into a GIS program. | |
| Manage and Administer Projects | continue to provide management and administration of all the on the ground implementation of projects. Provide financial reports as needed, develope SOW package for FY07. | |
| Produce Annual Report | the district will produce an annual report of yearly activities and practices implemented | |
| Produce Status Report | the district will prepare and submit status reports of all activities and practices implemented. | |
| Develop Alternative Water Source | develop two off site watering facilites. These could be spring developments or piggybacked with other fundings for wells. | |
| # of miles of fence (0.01 mi.) | .63 miles of fence | |
| # of acres of vegetation planted (0.1 ac.) | 10 acres of native tree and schrub planting | |
| # of riparian miles treated (0.01 mi.; count each bank separately) | .83 riparian miles | |
| # of acres treated (0.1 ac) | 1,333 acres of No-till seeding 1,500 acres of Direct Seeding | |
| # of acres treated (0.1 ac) | 10 ac. of terrace and sediment basin installation. Other practices such as grassed waterways may also be installed | |
| Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data | continue to work with WSU in the collection and evaluation of water quality sampling on the Pataha, Alpowa, Deadman, and Meadow creeks. |
The district will continue with its effort to enroll more CREP and CCRP acres in the county. We will also continue to administer two Department of Ecology grants that are being used to improve water quality with improved management of livestock within the riparian areas of all the streams in Garfield County.
Subbasin planning
How is this project consistent with subbasin plans?
The project is consistent with and implements Aquatic Strategies for the Lower Snake Subbasin Plan (Management Plan pages 115 thru 127)and the Tucannon Subbasin Plan (Management Plan page 136 7.3 Aquatic Strategies The following two categories of aquatic strategies were developed for the Lower Snake Subbasin: · strategies to address imminent threats throughout the subbasin, · strategies for priority restoration/protection areas All are considered equally important for implementation. Activities such as riparian planting and upland infiltration enhancement are not considered active restoration actions. Passive restoration takes advantage of natural processes and out-of-stream activities to achieve instream habitat enhancement. Examples includes planting riparian vegetation, implementing conservation easements, increasing upland infiltration (e.g. direct seed/no-till), use of sediment basins, developing alternative livestock watering facilities, and water conservation. Note that this is the definition of passive restoration for the terms of this subbasin plan, and may not be consistent with the typical conception of what constitutes passive restoration. Although passive restoration is a valuable approach in many cases, it will take longer to show measurable results. These results may be achieved only in part during the 10 to 15 year time-frame of this plan. The following three categories of aquatic strategies were developed for the Tucannon Subbasin: · strategies to address imminent threats throughout the subbasin · strategies for priority restoration areas · strategies for priority protection areas. The explanation of these strategies is very similar to the one for the Lower Snake.
How do goals match subbasin plan priorities?
The prioritization of projects is show in the following tables of the two separate subbasin plans and will be utilized as stated. Section 7.3.2 Priority Restoration/Protection Area Strategies for the Lower Snake Subbasin Strategies developed for the priority restoration/protection geographic areas in the Lower Snake are provided in Table 7-4.(pg 115 thru 127) This table lists the working hypotheses, associated biological objectives, and associated strategies for each geographic area. Section 7.3.3 Priority Protection Areas for the Tucannon Subbasin are shown (Tucannon Subasin plan pg. 155-158
Other comments
The Pomeroy Conservation District has been involved with BPA since 1993 when it was selected as one of three model watersheds in Washington State. Since that time, the district has used BPA, Washington State Conservation Commission, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Ecology, Salmon Recovery Fund Board, and Governors Salmon Recovery funding to improve water quality and enhance and restore habitat for endangered Snake River Chinook Salmon and Steelhead. We have made tremendous strides in this effort as our water quality monitoring program is showing. A continued effort is needed to sustain this movement and continued funding from all these sources will be needed.