Lapwai Creek Habitat Improvements

The Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District will install habitat improvements at five sites within the Lapwai Creek watershed. On Sweetwater Creek, instream habitat complexity structures using beaver analog dams, post assisted log structures and log jumbles will be installed in a 0.8 mile reach and a 0.7 mile reach, and the removal of one partial juvenile fish barrier will provide access to 0.25 miles of habitat. On Mission Creek, large and small wood structures will be installed in a 0.7 mile reach. On Rock Creek, large and small wood structures will be installed in a 0.3 mile reach. Potted native plants will be planted at each site receiving wood treatments.



Project actions include: 1) installation of beaver analog dams, post assisted log structures and log jumbles at two sites on Sweetwater Creek and one site on Mission Creek and Rock Creek, 2) removal of a juvenile fish barrier on Sweetwater Creek, and 3) installation of potted native plants on Sweetwater, Mission, and Rock creeks.

In all cases, current habitat conditions are a lack of woody material, disconnected floodplain, sparse riparian vegetation, elevated water temperatures, and lack of refugia. Wood structures will provide instream habitat complexity through pool creation and rearing cover, slow stream velocity, trap debris, and improve meadow function by raising water tables.



The purpose of this project is to improve juvenile steelhead summer and overwinter refugia, lower stream temperatures, reduce sediment, and improve stream margin habitat through the installation of habitat improvement measures on three perennial streams in the Lapwai Creek watershed.

The Lapwai Creek Habitat Improvements are part of an integrated steelhead habitat recovery planning effort which works toward the goal of restoring the Lapwai Creek aquatic ecosystem, so that the physical habitat no longer limits recovery of ESA threatened Lower Clearwater steelhead population (2021, NPSWCD).



The project goals include 1) improve meadow function by elevating stream channels and raising water tables nearer to natural levels, 2) improve instream habitat complexity and provide areas for increased pool creation, and 3) reduce elevated water temperatures for steelhead. As channel complexity improves, the number of juvenile steelhead utilizing the planned stream segments is expected to increase.