Entiat Trib. Baseflow and Hab. Restoration

The Entiat Tributary Baseflow & Habitat Restoration project is part of a larger solution to address low summer base flows and rising stream temperature with the ongoing impacts of climate change. The most important outcome is to provide significant biological benefits for salmonids through implementing 190 beaver dam analogs (BDAs) and post-assisted log structures (PALS) along seven kilometers of priority reaches of the Potato, Mud, and Stormy Creek tributaries to the Entiat River. The Coordinated Resource Management (CRM) team comprised of Cascadia Conservation District, Cascade Fisheries, and Trout Unlimited, will implement BDAs to reconnect floodplains, retain and slow water from peak flows, increase shade through increasing riparian vegetation and cool water habitat, increase pools, and others to significantly increase biological benefits for steelhead, spring chinook, and other salmonids. This proposal builds upon the previous 33 BDAs installed on Potato Creek in 2020 by adding 190 BDAs/PALS in this same section of tributaries within the middle Entiat River. Upon completion the Potato Creek site that is publicly owned (USFS) will provide ample opportunities for the public to see how BDAs and PALS benefit the salmon recovery process, accelerate the growth of native plants, enhance birdwatching, and even create a green fuel break barrier to limit the spread of wildfires such as the Cougar Creek fire in 2018.

Goal: Restore Entiat River tributaries to increase base flow, reduce in-stream temperatures, and biological benefits for salmonids by 2025
i. Support/increase base flows and increase floodplain habitat range for salmonids. The root cause is incised channels from anthropogenic activities. a. Construct BDA and PALS complexes to aggrade the stream bed and reconnect the floodplains.
b. Implement regular observation and maintenance of Phase I BDAs and PALS so as to inform implementation of consequent BDA/PAL structures.
ii. Lower or stabilize Entiat tributary stream temperatures over a five-year period. The root cause is reduced groundwater storage & flows, and decreased riparian canopy/shading. a. Construct BDAs and PALS to reconnect floodplains, store surface and groundwater, and increase riparian vegetative shading. b. Document and estimate increase in canopy to the extent possible and include in final report. iii. Reduce/eliminate structural starvation of streams so in-channel wood drive changes that increase habitat complexity and opportunities for salmonids. a. Install wooden structures in the stream b. log & wood placement as available and feasible c. Install sediment sticks above BDAs to estimate stream aggradation (floodplain connection);