Middle Mission Restoration Phase 2

A ford used to provide access across Mission Creek to a barn and livestock feeding operation required annual instream maintenance with heavy equipment. Most of the riparian corridor was not fenced and cattle accessed the stream wherever banks were low. The site has historically been used as a winter feedlot for cattle. The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District (NPSWCD) has worked with the landowner since 2009 to address the resource concerns of erosion, bacteria, nutrients and water quantity.



The Middle Mission Restoration, Phase 2 project installed a bridge at the ford site to improve passage to 7.89 miles of upstream habitat in Mission Creek. Select portions of streambank were lowered to create floodplain. An exclusion fence was installed to prevent livestock access to the stream, and a grazing management plan for a 12-acre pasture was developed.



Several components of the project were not completed due to funding shortfalls, and include riparian plantings, weed control, streambank stabilization, and in-stream habitat improvements. These actions were funded under PCSRF project 004 23 CW and will take place in 2024, as a third and final project phase.

The project goals include 1) restoration of channel function and 2) improve aquatic habitat suitability, and 3) reduce elevated water temperatures for salmonids. Steelhead production limiting factors addressed by this project include fish passage and sediment.