Upper Salmon Basin and Clearwater Basin Design Suite

Salmonid Restoration Planning and Assessments

Restoration Planning And Coordination
Project ID019 22 CW
Recovery DomainsSnake River
Start Date12/16/2022
End Date09/30/2024
Year2022
StatusOngoing
Last Edited02/27/2024
 
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Description    


The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) will design four projects in the Salmon basin and one in the Clearwater basin. All five projects have been identified and reviewed by the appropriate technical teams, and implementation is expected to take place.



In the Salmon River basin, Poison Creek and Kinnikinic Creek are culvert to bridge projects to provide fish passage for ESA-listed Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout. Both tributaries are currently disconnected from the Salmon River and reconnection will provide spawning and rearing habitat. Funding will produce a final design and cost estimate. The Pahsimeroi River Valley Ranch restoration project design will provide alternatives for spring channel connection to the Pahsimeroi River and designs for restoration on three miles of the Pahsimeroi River and additional springs. The North Fork Salmon River restoration project will produce a design to activate lateral floodplain and instream complexity. Funding for the Pahsimeroi and North Fork projects will produce a 30% design and cost estimate.



In the Clearwater River basin within the Potlatch River drainage, IDFG will design habitat treatments on a 0.36-mile segment of the West Fork Little Bear Creek located near the confluence with Little Bear Creek in the Bear Creek drainage of the Potlatch River watershed. This property is adjacent to the currently funded Cooley Project (010 21 CW). Current habitat conditions include a flow-limited river segment that exhibits elevated summer water temperature, lacks pools and thermal refugia, contains little instream woody material or other lateral habitat, a disengaged floodplain, and limited overstory shading from riparian vegetation.

Project Benefit    


The NOAA recovery plan for Snake River basin steelhead (NMFS 2017) identified impaired fish passage, reduced stream complexity and channel structure, excess fine sediment, elevated summer water temperatures, diminished streamflow during critical periods, reduced floodplain connectivity and function, and degraded riparian conditions as the primary steelhead liming factors in the Potlatch River watershed. While previous projects on the West Fork of Little Bear Creek (PCSRF 010 11 CW; PCSRF 006 13 CW) and its main tributary (PCSRF 004 11 CW; 014 13 CW: 014 16 CW) have focused on addressing passage barriers, the Cooley #2 project will focus on creating pools, increasing stream complexity, floodplain connectivity and function, and decreasing summer water temperature. Additionally, it will directly connect to project PCSRF 010 21 CW, which will be implemented in 2023. Combined, these two projects will restore 1.35 miles of stream habitat. Restoring natural river processes and function will directly increase habitat capacity for juvenile steelhead. The impact of this project should be detectable as it is located in the tributary with the highest densities of steelhead in the Potlatch River Basin (Knoth et al. 2021). Further, there is potential for similar treatments in the 3.5 river miles immediately upstream of the project as this project will demonstrate the efficacy and low risk of this process-based approach to steelhead habitat improvements to interested landowners.

Accomplishments

Metric Completed Originally
Proposed

Funding Details

SourceFunds
Other$135,000
Report Total:$135,000


Project Map



Worksites

1 of 5, Poison Crk    


  • Worksite Identifier: 1 of 5, Poison Crk
  • Start Date: 01/31/2023
  • End Date: 04/30/2024
Area Description

No Area Description data was found for this worksite.

Location Information

  • Basin: Salmon (170602)
  • Subbasin: Middle Salmon-Panther (17060203)
  • Watershed: Iron Creek-Salmon River (1706020302)
  • Subwatershed: Cabin Creek-Salmon River (170602030203)
  • State: Idaho
  • Recovery Domain: Snake River
  • Latitude: 44.877388
  • Longitude: -113.971725

ESU

  • Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS
  • Snake River Spring/Summer-run Chinook Salmon ESU

Map

Photos

Metrics

Metrics
  • B.0 Salmonid Restoration Planning and AssessmentsY (Y/N)
    •      . . B.0.a Planning And Assessment Funding .00
    •      . . B.0.b.1 Area Encompassed
    •      . . B.0.b.2 Stream Miles Affected
    •      . . B.1 Restoration Planning And CoordinationY (Y/N)
      •      . . . . B.1.a Planning and Coordination funding
      •      . . . . B.1.b.11 Engineering/design work for restoration projectsY (Y/N)
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.a
          Name of plan implemented
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.b
          Description and scope of the plan implemented

2 of 5, Kinnikinic Creek    


  • Worksite Identifier: 2 of 5, Kinnikinic Creek
  • Start Date: 01/31/2023
  • End Date: 04/30/2024
Area Description

No Area Description data was found for this worksite.

Location Information

  • Basin: Salmon (170602)
  • Subbasin: Upper Salmon (17060201)
  • Watershed: Slate Creek-Salmon River (1706020109)
  • Subwatershed: Kinnikinic Creek (170602010905)
  • State: Idaho
  • Recovery Domain: Snake River
  • Latitude: 44.258759
  • Longitude: -114.402544

ESU

  • Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS
  • Snake River Spring/Summer-run Chinook Salmon ESU

Map

Photos

Metrics

Metrics
  • B.0 Salmonid Restoration Planning and AssessmentsY (Y/N)
    •      . . B.0.a Planning And Assessment Funding .00
    •      . . B.0.b.1 Area Encompassed
    •      . . B.0.b.2 Stream Miles Affected
    •      . . B.1 Restoration Planning And CoordinationY (Y/N)
      •      . . . . B.1.a Planning and Coordination funding
      •      . . . . B.1.b.11 Engineering/design work for restoration projectsY (Y/N)
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.a
          Name of plan implemented
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.b
          Description and scope of the plan implemented

3 of 5, Pahsimeroi River    


  • Worksite Identifier: 3 of 5, Pahsimeroi River
  • Start Date: 01/31/2023
  • End Date: 04/30/2024
Area Description

No Area Description data was found for this worksite.

Location Information

  • Basin: Salmon (170602)
  • Subbasin: Pahsimeroi (17060202)
  • Watershed: Lower Pahsimeroi River (1706020203)
  • Subwatershed: Patterson Creek-Pahsimeroi River (170602020313)
  • State: Idaho
  • Recovery Domain: Snake River
  • Latitude: 44.642218
  • Longitude: -114.005684

ESU

  • Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS
  • Snake River Spring/Summer-run Chinook Salmon ESU

Map

Photos

Metrics

Metrics
  • B.0 Salmonid Restoration Planning and AssessmentsY (Y/N)
    •      . . B.0.a Planning And Assessment Funding .00
    •      . . B.0.b.1 Area Encompassed
    •      . . B.0.b.2 Stream Miles Affected
    •      . . B.1 Restoration Planning And CoordinationY (Y/N)
      •      . . . . B.1.a Planning and Coordination funding
      •      . . . . B.1.b.11 Engineering/design work for restoration projectsY (Y/N)
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.a
          Name of plan implemented
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.b
          Description and scope of the plan implemented

4 of 5, North Fork Salmon River    


  • Worksite Identifier: 4 of 5, North Fork Salmon River
  • Start Date: 01/31/2023
  • End Date: 04/30/2024
Area Description

No Area Description data was found for this worksite.

Location Information

  • Basin: Salmon (170602)
  • Subbasin: Middle Salmon-Panther (17060203)
  • Watershed: North Fork Salmon River (1706020306)
  • Subwatershed: Lower North Fork Salmon River (170602030606)
  • State: Idaho
  • Recovery Domain: Snake River
  • Latitude: 45.466823
  • Longitude: -113.993061

ESU

  • Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS
  • Snake River Spring/Summer-run Chinook Salmon ESU

Map

Photos

Metrics

Metrics
  • B.0 Salmonid Restoration Planning and AssessmentsY (Y/N)
    •      . . B.0.a Planning And Assessment Funding .00
    •      . . B.0.b.1 Area Encompassed
    •      . . B.0.b.2 Stream Miles Affected
    •      . . B.1 Restoration Planning And CoordinationY (Y/N)
      •      . . . . B.1.a Planning and Coordination funding
      •      . . . . B.1.b.11 Engineering/design work for restoration projectsY (Y/N)
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.a
          Name of plan implemented
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.b
          Description and scope of the plan implemented

5 of 5, WF Little Bear Creek    


  • Worksite Identifier: 5 of 5, WF Little Bear Creek
  • Start Date: 12/16/2022
  • End Date: 09/30/2024
Area Description

No Area Description data was found for this worksite.

Location Information

  • Basin: Clearwater (170603)
  • Subbasin: Clearwater (17060306)
  • Watershed: Big Bear Creek (1706030610)
  • Subwatershed: Little Bear Creek (170603061002)
  • State: Idaho
  • Recovery Domain: Snake River
  • Latitude: 46.67735
  • Longitude: -116.7218

ESU

  • Snake River Basin Steelhead DPS

Map

Photos

Metrics

Metrics
  • B.0 Salmonid Restoration Planning and AssessmentsY (Y/N)
    •      . . B.0.a Planning And Assessment Funding .00
    •      . . B.0.b.1 Area Encompassed
    •      . . B.0.b.2 Stream Miles Affected
    •      . . B.1 Restoration Planning And CoordinationY (Y/N)
      •      . . . . B.1.a Planning and Coordination funding
      •      . . . . B.1.b.11 Engineering/design work for restoration projectsY (Y/N)
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.a
          Name of plan implemented
        •      . . . . . . B.1.b.11.b
          Description and scope of the plan implemented