Sweetwater Ford Removal, AOP, and Approach

The Nez Perce Tribe and Wittman Farms are partnering together to remove an agricultural ford that is a passage barrier for salmonids on Sweetwater Creek. This ford currently is the only suitable access for trucks and agricultural equipment through this reach. This project will implement already completed designs to rehabilitate the ford, adjacent riparian area, remove an aging and undersized upstream bridge, decommission two old access roads, and install one properly sized AOP improving habitat for fish and access for agriculture. Rehabilitation of the ford will also allow full access to five miles of upstream habitat in Sweetwater Creek. Project actions on Sweetwater Creek include: 1) remove and rehabilitate a ford, 2) install a fish-passable structure, 3) remove an aging and undersized bridge, and rehabilitate the site through channel bed restoration, rock placement, and streambank stabilization using vegetation, 4) decommission two old access roads, and 5) plant native vegetation in the riparian zone.

By removing and rehabilitating the ford, ESA listed steelhead, along with reintroduced Spring Chinook and Coho will have full access to five miles of habitat upstream of the ford. Removing the ford, old bridge upstream, and two access roads will also reduce sediment

delivery to the stream through the reach. Lastly, removing the ford will eliminate truck and equipment crossings through Essential Fish Habitat and Designated Critical Habitat for ESA listed Steelhead, along with reintroduced Spring Chinook and Coho Salmon.