Husum Field Office Native Plant Nursery

All the components were acquired for construction of a functional native plant nursery at Yakama Nation’s Husum Field Office which will the tribe to propagate, raise, and stage plants for in-basin and nearby restoration projects. The nursery has already been in use to irrigate plants for later use. The components of a nursery and shade house have all been purchased, including the tools to assemble/build them. While the initial plan was to order a pre-constructed greenhouse kit, delays at the manufacturer during the ordering process meant that the materials would not be received in time to close out the grant. Therefore, staff decided on a greenhouse plan and bought all the necessary lumber and components to construct it, as well as to convert the existing pole shed on the property into a shade house. Purchases included additional irrigation supplies (distribution line, emitters, drippers, valves, timers, hose and spray nozzles) for both greenhouse and shade house watering systems, lumber for the greenhouse and for potting and work benches for inside the greenhouse and shade house. In addition, tools were purchased to construct the greenhouse structure including a level, skill saw, drill and reciprocating saw, as well as a few tools for periodic O&M of structures and grounds, or if needed for other hands assisting. A small, portable air compressor was purchased to blow out (winterize) the irrigation lines at the end of each growing season and to inflate wheelbarrow tires. Replacement boards and blocks were purchased to replace 2”x4”s that were broken off from their attachment points on the nursery frames by heavy snow last winter (and from one of the legacy posts rotting off at ground level and toppling over onto the frames). The blocks will help support the long runs of the frames in between posts. Additional tools and supplies were purchased to assist with securing and attaching shade cloth to the structure of the shade house (such as a ladder and stapler, 1”x2” wood stays to attach to shed framing) and building/framing in doorways for the shade-house, greenhouse and nursery. Additional posts and fencing tools were purchased to finish installation and maintain fencing around the perimeter of the nursery (and to replace old ones, if needed). A few items were purchased to help organize tools and other needed supplies in the field office garage.

YN staff looks forward to having several work days to construct, convert and finish various components of the nursery this summer/fall.

The establishment of a native plant nursery at Yakama Nation’s Husum Field Office for use on basin restoration projects will ensure that local materials can be propagated for use that are better adapted to local conditions and therefore more likely to survive and provide benefits to fish habitat and watershed processes (that also benefit wildlife). Using the WWRI grant-funded project as an example, the nursery will help with the effort to set revegetation on a successional trajectory to achieve an autogenic, or self-renewing, state while minimizing the potential for long-term erosion and delivery of sediment to the river and streams caused by construction activities and the effects of dam removal. The strategy will also start riparian vegetation which will shade the river while minimizing the colonization of noxious weeds within the project area disturbed by construction activities.

The outcomes of the dam decommissioning project, of which revegetation is merely one component, are the reconnection of between 14 and 33 river miles of quality habitat for Chinook, coho, steelhead and Pacific lamprey that has been blocked for nearly a century. In addition, the White Salmon River mainstem has been designated critical habitat for threatened bull trout, and the removal of the Condit Dam enables a fluvial and/or anadromous life history for bull trout to be revived in the White Salmon, as well as enabling resident cutthroat trout to once again access the mainstem Columbia River or Pacific Ocean. Since the complete removal of the dam, steelhead, coho, spring and fall Chinook have begun recolonizing the river, and an angler caught the first bull trout in 2 decades on the river above the former dam site.

Revegetation of the riparian and affected upland areas with locally-derived plant materials (as much as possible) will improve primary productivity of terrestrial species, but will also help restore watershed processes such as aiding infiltration of precipitation and filtering water as it percolates from surface to groundwater and/or returns to the river. Revegetation through vegetative treatments, seeding, and planting will also be used as stabilization measures to resist surficial erosion resulting from heavy rains and promote long-term stability of slopes and riverbanks. Planting trees and shrubs will help insure future large woody debris recruitment for the stream channel while shading from riparian plants will help maintain cool water temperatures. Noxious weed treatment pre- and post-removal will help new plantings succeed and additional desired plants fill in through reseeding and natural re-colonization. Various other grant-funded habitat projects are underway or needed in the basin, of which revegetation is a key component. Having a local source of plant material will enable cost savings and ensure better survival of plantings due to better adaptation to local conditions.