Umatilla Native Plant Nursery Operational Support I

The purpose of this project was to provide nursery services and locally adapted native plant products in support of restoration projects within the territory of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Plant materials from the native plant nursery may be used throughout the Columbia Basin for fish habitat restoration and watershed restoration projects with a focus on the Umatilla, Grande Ronde, Walla Walla, Tucannon and John Day Basins. Projects supported include CTUIR and their conservation partners. Services include site assessment and treatment prescription development, plant collection and propagation and maintenance of specified native plant species.

This project funded nursery activities occurring between July 2015 and February 2016.

The 2015 Funds for the CTUIR Tribal Native Plant Nursery were designated for salaries for employees. In 2015, the nursery employed three permanent employees, six seasonal employees and three summer youth employees. Nine of these employees are members of CTUIR and two are members of other tribes.

The funds supplied by the PCSRF for salaries benefitted the CTUIR Tribal Native Plant Nursery with consistent employment of seasonal workers from the previous year. This consistency allowed for further training and increased experience of the employees which then translated into the production of quality plants with increased ability to survive in the severe conditions of the out-planting sites. It also has provided opportunity for the nursery manager to confidently leave the nursery to visit habitats for more in-depth planning and development of plant lists for future projects.

The PCSRF grant has enabled the CTUIR Tribal Native Plant Nursery to expand and develop greater quality in the production of riparian native plant species for enhancement of stream. Having consistent staffing from year to year has increased the collective memory and understanding of best practices in the nursery. Tribal members are becoming experienced in raising quality native plants which will ensure that the tribal nursery will continue to provide habitats with the needed vegetation to restore ecosystems impacted by salmon enhancement in-stream construction as well as those that have been degraded by invasive species.
Increasing the continuity of workers has also elevated the status of the nursery as a potential worksite in the eyes of tribal members and will help us to recruit youth into the field of natural resource conservation.

Plant materials produced at the Nursery will benefit threatened summer steelhead, threatened bull trout, and reintroduced Chinook and Coho salmon by assuring the availability of healthy and vigorous locally sourced native plant materials for use in habitat restoration projects by the CTUIR and conservation partners. Locally sourced materials assure higher planting success and prevent unintended introduction of non-adapted genetic materials to the watersheds. Native riparian plants provide shade, structure and a substrate for macroinvertebrates that feed native fish stocks.

Native plant products support CTUIR’s “River Vision” which identifies a healthy riparian condition as a key component or touchstone to achieving healthy floodplain conditions necessary to protect, restore and enhance tribal First Foods for the perpetual cultural, economic, and sovereign benefit of CTUIR. Use of locally adapted plant stocks helps protect the ecological integrity of the local plant communities while improving overall floodplain health and fish production potential.