Grande Ronde Restoration Partnership Habitat and Fish Surveys

This project addressed critical data gaps in the Upper Grande Ronde Focused Investment Partnership (UGR FIP) area by conducting Effectiveness Monitoring via stream habitat and fish population surveys. Over four years, the project collected valuable data on key tributaries to assess habitat conditions, restoration effectiveness, and inform future management decisions. By placing this work in a larger watershed context, the project contributed to the long-term monitoring framework for the Upper Grande Ronde watershed. The data helps assess restoration effectiveness, track changes in fish habitat availability, and guide future conservation investments. These efforts align with broader watershed restoration goals, including improving fish passage, increasing habitat complexity, and supporting native fish populations in a region vital to salmon and steelhead recovery.
Because this projects scheduled end date is after the PCSRF FFY 2018 award closes, no funds allocated for this project are reported as match to PCSRF funds.

Salmon and steelhead and their habitats will benefit from this monitoring because the results will fill knowledge gaps in habitat quantity and quality of important migration, spawning and rearing areas for both species. Snorkel surveys paired with the habitat surveys will provide information on fish presence and absence, counts and sizes of individual fish. Snorkel surveys in areas recently restored can indicate whether fish are utilizing the reaches and potentially key in on individual habitat types that fish are frequenting. For streams that have not recently been restored we will be able to assess if fish are using those segments of stream and potentially identify a need for restoration.