Dungeness and Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca Salmon Recovery Planning and Assessment

This project involved 3 components, as summarized below:

1. Strategic Salmon Recovery Planning: The Tribe continued its leadership role on the Dungeness River Management Team (DRMT), the local watershed council, by coordinating cooperative watershed/sub-basin and salmon recovery planning. The Tribe participated in the implementation phase of WRIA 18 watershed planning (including attendance at planning/focus sessions and in-stream flow rule-making consultation meetings with DOE). The Tribe continued (as tribal entity and as DRMT member) to participate in regional salmon recovery planning, which began transitioning to the implementation phase of the regional plan. The Tribes Natural Resources Director represented the DRMT at Shared Strategy Development Committee and related meetings. The Tribe continued to analyze in-stream flow requirements and hydraulic continuity during rule-making.

2. Riparian Corridor Protection/Restoration/Planning: The Tribes restoration planner coordinated meetings and follow-up actions for the Dungeness Restoration Work Group (DRWG), and: (i) Worked with Clallam County to update maps for CAO; (ii) Collected and analyzed information on possible dike modifications in the lower Dungeness and corresponding impacts/ benefits to salmon recovery, and facilitated related meetings; Provided related outreach to affected community; Searched for additional funding for necessary engineering/ planning/studies. Worked closely with habitat biologist and US Bureau of Reclamation; (iii) Assisted in permitting and outreach for engineered logjam project; (iv) Continued to assist WDFW and NOLT in identifying priority parcels for protection and providing landowner contact and assistance; (v) Lead revegetation work below RM 3.0; (vi) Served as Tribes alternate representative at NOPLEG and TRG meetings.

The Tribes habitat biologist continued floodplain restoration planning, oversaw and contributed to work conducted by restoration planner, and participated in DRWG meetings. He also lead planning for a large-scale habitat restoration project (logjams) in the lower Dungeness, and was the contact for our aerial flights.

3. Water Conservation: The Tribe focused water conservation activities in four areas: (i) Continued water conservation efforts (in-stream flow protection) by working with the agricultural community and funding agencies to promote, research, apply for and administer grants related to irrigation efficiency programs that implement the Water Users Association (WUA) Water Conservation Plan. (ii) Continued participation in Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Planning (CIDMP), led by WUA; Met with Services to discuss latest CIDMP proposals. (iii) Continued to provide comments and track activities related to DOEs settlement agreement with the WUA and Graysmarsh, LLC. This included technical analyses by a Natural Resources Consultant. (iv) Conducted additional analyses on salmonid in-stream flow requirements; Obtained technical assistance reviewing Countys Aquifer Storage and Recharge Feasibility Study.

NOTE: This project originally included a fourth component (stock assessments). However, after project completion, the fourth component was parsed out into a seperate (RM&E) project (2005-JSKT-02) per request by NOAA.

Coordinated, scientifically based planning and assessments (from specific in-stream habitat restoration planning to watershed-wide and regional planning) are the foundation of all salmon recovery activities. The components of our project will all help in the effort to recover salmon in key watersheds within our Tribes usual and accustomed fishing area:

Strategic Salmon Recovery Planning: Initiation of rule-making and instream flow recommendations will facilitate the implementation phase of watershed-wide planning. Recommendations in the Plan are expected to improve water quality, in-stream habitat, in-stream flows, and aid in salmon recovery. On a regional scale, our participation on the Shared Strategy Development Committee will give us a stronger voice in decision-making for the next step of regional salmon recovery. Helping to obtain assurances of commitment from other stakeholders will also be a significant step toward salmon recovery.

Riparian Corridor Protection/Restoration/Planning: The riparian corridor continues to lose substantial amounts and types of habitat to shoreline development. This sub-task will target critical habitat parcels to halt or reverse this decline and will focus on lower river and estuary restoration. Updating the critical areas maps will add significant acreage to the critical areas designation, e.g. by changing floodplain and channel meander hazard mapping. Planning for lower river dike modifications will improve spawning, rearing and refugia habitat, which has been inhibited by lower river dikes, sediment aggradation and other impacts resulting from the altered floodplain. The logjam project (its implementation is funded by other sources), will help create salmonid high flow refugia and rearing pools, as well as stabilize gravel bars for riparian forest reestablishment and downstream spawning. Public outreach related to these activities will help inform the public about the causes and potential remedies to salmon habitat degradation.
Water Conservation: Past efforts have resulted in documented, measurable increases in in-stream flows in the Dungeness River, but flows in the late summer do not yet meet targeted needs for chinook salmon during the spawning portion of their life cycle. Further irrigation efficiencies projects will improve in-stream flows. The CIDMP will result in reduced irrigation diversions and WUA compliance with both the ESA and CWA. Further water resource analyses will help us understand the conditions ESA-listed species are experiencing.