Upper Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, and Bull Trout Recovery

5.5Habitat Actions

5.5.1Background

In general, spring Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout require cold, clean, connected, and complex habitat (Bjornn and Reiser 1991; Spence et al. 1996). These fish typically grow and survive best in streams with summer temperatures less than 15°C and winter temperatures greater than 0°C.¹⁰⁶ They prefer streams that are free of toxic pollutants (e.g., heavy metals, urban runoff, and other point- and nonpoint-source pollutants) and lack high levels of fine sediments and high turbidity. These fish are most often found in complex and diverse habitats. For example, juvenile Chinook are most often associated with streams that contain large woody debris (LWD) and pools in low-gradient alluvial valleys.¹⁰⁷ In higher-gradient fluvial canyons, large boulders provide habitat complexity. Juvenile steelhead often rear in these higher-gradient reaches.¹⁰⁸ Juvenile and adult bull trout frequently inhabit side channels, stream margins, and pools with suitable cover and areas with cold hyporheic zones or groundwater upwellings. All three species require suitable stream flows for rearing, spawning, and migration. They also require a network of connected spawning and rearing habitats. Areas of suitable spawning and rearing habitats can become fragmented or disconnected by physical barriers (e.g., dams, diversions, dewatering), chemical barriers (e.g., pollutants), and by unnaturally warm temperatures. If any of these habitat elements are missing or compromised, then abundance, productivity, spatial structure, and diversity of the species is reduced.

Over the decade many books on salmon conservation have emerged (e.g., NRC 1996; Stouder et al. 1997; Lichatowich 1999; Knudsen et al. 2000; Lynch et al. 2002; Montgomery et al. 2003; Wissmar and Bisson 2003), and all agree that habitat restoration should be a cornerstone of any recovery program.¹⁰⁹ As such, this plan aims to address habitat threats by protecting and restoring ecosystem functions or processes whenever and wherever feasible and practical. This approach is science based (but considers socio-economic issues; see Sections 6 and 8) and provides a means for required habitat to be maintained long-term in a dynamic way by natural processes. The implementation of this plan will be sensitive to and consistent with local planning processes, Section 7 and 10 consultations with federal services, local landowner and tribal interests, and reserved and adjudicated rights.

This plan recognizes that at some point the implementation of habitat actions will have diminishing returns (i.e., benefits per cost analysis). In other words, at some point in the future, all improvements, through protection and restoration, will have a very limited affect on fish habitat. This plan promotes an end point of habitat improvements, that when met, will conclude the responsibility of landowner action to improve or preserve habitat.

5.5.2Limiting Factors and Threats

Past land and water management activities within the Upper Columbia Basin have degraded habitat conditions and compromised ecological processes in some locations (for a more detailed discussion see Section 3.7). Habitat within many of the upper reaches of most subbasins is in relatively pristine condition (e.g., upper reaches of the Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow subbasins). Human activities have reduced habitat complexity, connectivity, water quantity and quality, and riparian function in many stream reaches in the Upper Columbia Basin. Loss of LWD and floodplain connectivity have reduced rearing habitat for Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout in larger rivers (e.g., Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow, and Okanogan rivers). Fish management, including past introductions and persistence of non-native (exotic) fish species continues to affect habitat conditions for listed species.

This plan relied on several tools to identify and assess habitat conditions, limiting factors, and threats within the Upper Columbia Basin. This included information derived from watershed plans, subbasin plans, limiting factors analysis, the Biological Strategy (UCRTT 2003), EDT, empirical and derived data, and local knowledge and professional judgment. EDT¹¹⁰ was used to identify the potential for increasing the viability of spring Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout by restoring¹¹¹ and protecting habitat in the Upper Columbia Basin. This tool, in combination with limiting factors analysis, watershed plans, subbasin plans, and the Biological Strategy also identified locations within each subbasin that would most benefit from habitat restoration and protection. The lack of data in some subbasins (e.g., Okanogan subbasin) emphasizes the importance of monitoring and adaptive management.

5.5.3Habitat Objectives

The following objectives for habitat restoration apply to all streams that currently support or may support (in a restored condition) spring Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout in the Upper Columbia Basin. These objectives are consistent with subbasin plans, watershed plans, the Biological Strategy, HCPs, and relicensing agreements and are intended to reduce threats to the habitat needs of the listed species. These objectives may be modified in response to monitoring, research, and adaptive management. These objectives will be implemented within natural, social, and economic constraints.

Short-Term Objectives

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  Protect¹¹² existing areas where high ecological integrity and natural ecosystem processes persist.
  
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  Restore connectivity (access) throughout the historic range where feasible and practical for each listed species.¹¹³
  
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  Where appropriate, establish, restore, and protect stream flows (within the natural hydrologic regime and existing water rights) suitable for spawning, rearing, and migration (based on current research and modeling).
  
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  Protect and restore water quality where feasible and practical within natural constraints.
  
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  Increase habitat diversity in the short term by adding instream structures (e.g., LWD, rocks, etc.) where appropriate.¹¹⁴
  
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  Protect and restore riparian habitat along spawning and rearing streams and identify long-term opportunities for riparian habitat enhancement.
  
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  Protect and restore floodplain function and reconnection, off-channel habitat, and channel migration processes where appropriate and identify long-term opportunities for enhancing these conditions.
  
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  Restore natural sediment delivery processes by improving road network, restoring natural floodplain connectivity, riparian health, natural bank erosion, and wood recruitment.
  
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  Replace nutrients in tributaries that formerly were provided by salmon returning from the sea.
  
• 
  Reduce the abundance and distribution of exotic species that compete and interbreed with or prey on listed species in spawning, rearing, and migration areas.¹¹⁵
  

Long-Term Objectives

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  Protect areas with high ecological integrity and natural ecosystem processes.
  
• 
  Maintain connectivity through the range of the listed species where feasible and practical.
  
• 
  Maintain suitable stream flows (within natural hydrologic regimes and existing water rights) for spawning, rearing, and migration.
  
• 
  Protect and restore water quality where feasible and practical within natural constraints.
  
• 
  Protect and restore off-channel and riparian habitat.
  
• 
  Increase habitat diversity by rebuilding, maintaining, and adding instream structures (e.g., LWD, rocks, etc.) where long-term channel form and function efforts are not feasible.
  
• 
  Reduce sediment recruitment where feasible and practical within natural constraints.
  
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  Reduce the abundance and distribution of exotic species that compete and interbreed with or prey on listed species in spawning, rearing, and migration areas.
  

Administrative/Institutional Objectives

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  Maximize restoration efficiency by concentrating habitat actions in currently productive areas with significant scope for improvement and areas where listed species will benefit (Category 1 and 2 areas described in Section 5.5.5).
  
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  Develop incentive and collaborative programs with local stakeholders and land owners to enhance and restore habitat within productive areas.
  
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  Ensure compliance with Federal, State, and local regulatory mechanisms designed to conserve fishery resources, maintain water quality, and protect aquatic habitat.
  
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  Counties will continue to consider recovery needs of salmon and trout in comprehensive land-use planning processes.
  
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  Provide information to the public on the importance of “healthy”¹¹⁶ streams and the potential effects of land and water management activities on the habitat requirements of listed species.¹¹⁷
  
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  Until recovery is achieved, improve or streamline the permitting process for conducting research and monitoring on ESA-listed species and for implementing restoration actions.
  
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  Develop, maintain, and provide a comprehensive inventory of habitat projects and their costs and benefits (effectiveness) to the public annually.
  

Research and Monitoring Objectives

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  Monitor the effectiveness of each “class” of habitat action implemented in the Upper Columbia Basin on listed species and community structure.¹¹⁸
  
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  Accurately monitor trends in VSP parameters (including smolts/redd) at the population and subpopulation scale.
  
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  Assess stream flows (within the natural hydrologic regime and existing water rights) suitable for spawning, rearing, and migration (based on current research and modeling).
  
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  Implement current monitoring protocols and continue to develop standardized monitoring methods.
  
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  Examine relationships between habitat and biological (including VSP) parameters at coarse (landscape) and fine (stream segment) scales.
  
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  Update, revise, and refine watershed and salmonid performance assessment tools (e.g., EDT) to adaptively manage the implementation and prioritization strategy.
  
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  Examine the effects of exotics species on listed species.
  
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  Assess abundance and consumption rates of exotic fish that feed on listed species.
  
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  Conduct channel migration studies within each subbasin to identify priority locations for protection and restoration.
  
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  Examine fluvial geomorphic processes within each subbasin to assess how these processes affect habitat creation and loss.
  
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  Inventory and assess fish passage barriers and screens within each subbasin.
  
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  Conduct hydrologic assessments to better understand water balance and surface/groundwater relations within the subbasins.¹¹⁹
  

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