Lower White Salmon R Habitat Protection Planning

The goal of this project was to create a plan for protection of key habitats in the lowest six miles of the White Salmon River, focusing on lands owned by PacifiCorp. This scope of work included:
· a salmonid habitat assessment of the project area,
· identification of potential risks to the habitat,
· a stakeholder engagement process to solicit community input on geographic focus areas and habitat protection with the goal of making sure the habitat conservation approach addressed community uses and interests,
· completion of the final document.
The final documents from this project are attached to PRISM and can be found at Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group’s website, . The final documents include:
· Lower White Salmon River Fish Habitat Conservation Approach
· An appendix to the above, which includes a development suitability analysis, summaries of two public meetings and an online public meeting, and a summary of an online survey.
· Salmon Habitat Assessment for Habitat Conservation Planning on the Lower White Salmon River.
The original scope of work for the grant included an additional task of analyzing habitat protection scenarios and funding strategies for protecting the highest priority habitats for conservation. Consideration was given to habitat protection scenarios and funding strategies as part of the scope of work, but final recommendations were not prepared for this task. Because the work focused on PacifiCorp ownership and the utility currently does not have plans to divest of lands along the White Salmon basin, further work on this task would have been premature at this time.

The goal of this project was to create a plan for protection of key habitats in the White Salmon River. The project area is the lowest 6 miles of the river, with a focus on lands owned by PacifiCorp. Habitat was assessed and key areas identified and prioritized. Stakeholders were engaged in the creation of a final document, called a habitat conservation approach.