Couse Creek Riparian

The purpose of the Couse Creek Riparian Project was to establish 10 acres of native riparian vegetation on a 1,800-foot reach of Couse Creek. Couse Creek is a salmon and steelhead bearing Snake River tributary located in Asotin County, approximately 12 miles upriver from the town of Asotin. The stream is designated as an mSA priority protection reach for salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan. This project benefits fish through shading to reduce surface temperatures in the drainage and increase the drainages holding potential for base flows. Fish surveys reveal steelhead production and Chinook salmon presence in the lower 1.6 miles where there is extensive riparian habitat. The stream had good riparian cover in the upper and lower reaches, but the middle reach, approximately 1,800 feet, had very poor riparian habitat. This project established native trees over this middle reach within the riparian area between the existing road and the canyon wall.

The site is a gravel wash. 3,200 peachleaf, Mackenzie, and Pacific willow cuttings 36 inches long were planted on both sides of the main Couse Creek channel and on some sections of the high water overflow side channels within this reach. Willows were mechanically planted using a stinger mounted on an excavator. Spacing of the willows was 1 to 2 feet apart where you could get them in to a minimum depth of 18 inches. In addition, 929 plugs of Rocky Mountain Juniper, Choke Cherries, and Antelope Bitterbrush were inter-planted by hand using pick axes planted in openings on the floodplain that had plantable sites. No site prep was done prior to planting as the landowner had been weed spraying.

The plants received supplemental watering once a week in July and August 2010 and July, August and September 2011 to aid in establishment. No further watering is planned. Deer Off was applied to the surviving plants in September 2011. The entire 1800 foot reach is in CREP or CREP similar program with livestock exclusion fence. This reach had been planted in 2005 with some survival success. The bare areas were inter-planted with this project.

The goal of the project did not change. 1800 feet of reach was planted and watered during the critical dry time of 2010 and 2011 to help plants establish. The district will continue to observe what plant species survive and grow, how the landscape handles high water events and if we can speed up the natural improvement of riparian habitat.