Sally Ann Creek County Road AOP Crossing Replacements

Sally Ann Creek is a tributary to the South Fork Clearwater River, home to ESA-listed steelhead and Chinook. Sally Ann Creek, with documented steelhead presence, has lost tributary connectivity through the development of a road system and agricultural practices. The Nez Perce Tribe will replace two passage barrier culverts on Sally Ann Creek to complete the last of the instream passage barriers in this creek. The downstream culvert is under-sized, poorly aligned, perched at the outlet with a drop, and has a crushed inlet due to the small size and poor stream alignment. The upstream crossing is found at the confluence of Sill and Sally Creeks. The undersized pipe was constructed of different sized culverts over the years as the road prism expanded, is rusted through the bottom, and has created a scour pool below the outlet drop making conveyance and migration difficult through the structure while posing a failure risk to the road. The objective of the combined project is to restore fish passage and quality habitat in Sally Ann Creek.

Due to the existing conditions of the barrier road crossings, potential habitat for salmonid rearing and spawning is severely limited. The new crossings are designed to restore passage and improve aquatic habitat by reducing sediment sources for all life stages of ESA-listed

species in the area. The replacements aid in restoration of tributary connectivity, opening access to potential upstream quality habitat. Furthermore, the risks of nonperformance include the continued deterioration of fish passage, resulting in fish stranding and mortality during low summer flow conditions, increasingly low returns of salmonids, as well as an increasingly high potential for structure and infrastructure failure. If the existing culverts fail, Sally Ann Creek and the South Fork Clearwater River would be negatively impacted with sediment and debris. The new structures will pass all aquatic organisms, including all life stages of anadromous and resident fish.



By replacing both culverts, the last of the barrier culverts will be removed in this stream. The downstream crossing replacement 1.55 miles of habitat; the upstream crossing replacement will open approximately 3.66 miles of additional habitat.