Warm Springs River and Beaver Creek LWD Additions III

The Warm Springs River and Beaver Creek Large Wood Placement Project will create critical habitat for resident and anadromous salmonids by utilizing a helicopter to place large woody debris (LWD) structures in strategic locations along a section of the Warms Springs River and a section of middle Beaver Creek. Both are critical locations for salmonid production, as they support all life stages of ESA-listed mid-Columbia River summer steelhead, spring Chinook salmon, and resident redband trout, as well as Pacific Lamprey. The Warm Springs River also supports all life stages of ESA-listed bull trout.



For the Project, large woody debris (LWD) structures will be placed in strategic locations using a heavy-lift helicopter along the project reaches of the Warm Springs River and middle Beaver Creek. This will directly address the limiting factors discussed above by accomplishing two objectives:

1. Restore channel complexity and create critical habitat (e.g., spawning gravels, thermal and hydraulic refugia, overhead shelter, side channel habitat, and deep pools) for salmonid reproduction and survival.

2. Increase sediment sorting within the active channel to reduce levels of fine sediment in spawning gravels. LWD structures will focus stream-energy to scour the streambed to increase sediment sorting.



LWD placement locations will be guided by analysis of the channel morphology and flood-event modeling, stream habitat surveys, and annual redd surveys. Different LWD designs will be placed in different locations depending on the desired effect(s) at an individual spot (e.g., promote pool formation, promote side channel formation, generate bank complexity). Thus, the series of LWD structures will create the full suite of habitat components within the project reaches to support resident and anadromous salmonids throughout their entire lifecycle, and will increase salmonid survival and production. LWD treatments will be completed at two separate reaches, one on the Warm Springs River (Worksite #1) and one on Beaver Creek (Worksite #2).



The funds requested in this proposal are a continuation of the previous Warm Springs River and Beaver Creek LWD Additions I & II (PCSRF projects 20-Warm-03 and 21-Warm-02). CTWS is in the process of acquiring the necessary funds throughout several funding cycles to complete this large-scale restoration activity. Funding from this 2022 PCSRF proposal will be continue the work from the 2021 PCSRF proposal. The proposed metrics in this project are additions to the work being accomplished under projects 21-warm-01 and 20-warm-03.

The proposed large woody debris (LWD) additions will provide ESA-listed and culturally significant salmonid species with critical spawning, rearing, and adult holding habitat. LWD has shown to be vital for generating habitat complexity, providing thermal and hydraulic refugia, pool creation, the accumulation and sorting of suitable spawning gravels, and providing protection from predators. Previous fisheries surveys conducted in the Warm Springs River (2006 – 2010) found that juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead/redband trout utilized LWD structures with respective average densities of 4.2 and 1.1 individuals per square meter (fish/m2) of LWD habitat. Additionally, snorkel surveys conducted in 2017 and 2018 in a reach of the Warm Springs River that was treated with LWD placements in 2016, found the average abundance of Chinook salmon to be between 7 (2017) and 2.8 (2018) times greater compared to a reference, untreated reach. Thus, the proposed LWD treatments are expected to increase the productivity and viability of populations of ESA-listed and culturally significant salmonid species in the Warm Springs River and Beaver Creek.