200750800 - Designing Pre- and Post-Fire Restoration Strategies For Recovery of Salmonid Habitats in a Period of Climate Change and Increased Forest Fire Disturbance

Sponsor: Earth Systems Institute

Short description: We propose to apply new watershed analysis tools to identify critical pre-fire and post-fire restoration and management strategies for enhancing recovery of Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout habitats in a period of increasing natural disturbance.

Location: Columbia Cascade province, Methow subbasin

Budgets: FY08: $38,500 | FY09: $49,800

Primary species:
Anadromous: Chinook: Upper Columbia River Spring ESU (endangered)
 Anadromous: Steelhead: Upper Columbia River ESU (endangered)
 Resident: Bull Trout

Objectives

ObjectiveDescriptionSubbasin planStrategies
Aplly new watershed tools.to target restoration Apply new watershed tools to the Methow watershed (4,300 km2; 1, 050,000 acres) to identify critical pre-fire upland and riparian management opportunities and post-fire rehabilitation projects to restore habitats of Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout habitat, in the context of climate change and increasing forest fire disturbance. The analysis and restoration strategies will be made available to appropriate land owners, land managers, and conservation organizations including the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board Implementation Team, Methow Salmon Conservancy, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Forest Service (Methow Valley Ranger District, Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest), and other identified groups. A value added component is that the digital watershed database, in conjunction with new analysis software, could provide the basis for development of a regional monitoring and evaluation framework. Methow

Narrative

Recommendations

  • ISRP: Innovative, Research-Oriented, Highly Justified
  • Council: Not fundable
  • BPA: Not fundable