Upper Wenatchee Engineered Log Jam

The original project anticipated a cost share for part three of the contract to be supplied by the Chelan HCP Tributary Committee. That organization chose not to participate in this project, so we do not have a final report (as anticipated) from the contractor. We expect to pay for the remaining portion of this project, which would include the alternative development and final report, out of MOA accord funding. This project is complete. There are some GIS products and PowerPoint Presentations that we will provide to CRITFC for the final record.

The upper Wenatchee River and lower Peshastin Creek have been significantly channelized due to past logging activities, dikes, roads and other various developments. As a result, significant amounts of spawning and rearing habitat quantity and diversity have been lost throughout these stream reaches. Log structures within stream channels have long been noted by fisheries biologists as providing structural complexity in streams and habitat diversity for various fish life stages. These initial target areas are notably devoid of any in-channel structural diversity. Structures in Peshastin Creek will provide spawning and rearing habitat for both spring Chinook and steelhead. Structures in the upper Wenatchee will provide primarily rearing habitat for spring and summer Chinook, steelhead, Bull Trout, and many other resident species.
This lost habitat quality and quantity has been consistently noted in past planning documents, including but not limited to the Washington Conservation Commission Limiting Factors report, the Wenatchee Watershed Plan, the Wenatchee Subbasin Plan and the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Plan. These areas are important spawning and/or rearing areas for ESA listed summer steelhead, spring Chinook salmon and Bull Trout. The upper Wenatchee is also a very important spawning area for summer Chinook and is a migration corridor for Lake Wenatchee sockeye salmon. Both stream systems also maintain critical habitat for coho salmon which are being re-introduced by the Yakama Nation Fisheries Resource Management program.