Pataha Creek is a major tributary of the Tucannon River, tributary to the Snake River. Pataha Creek is located in Garfield and Columbia Counties of southeastern Washington. Fish stocks of concern in the Pataha are Bull trout and Snake River Steelhead. Sediment contributions from the Pataha to the Tucannon River also affect the Snake River Fall Chinook and steelhead that spawn below the stream confluence. The object of this proposal is to decrease stream temperatures in Pataha Creek by planting native riparian vegetation along Pataha Creek. Secondary benefits of the planting will be increased bank stabilization and increased bank roughness, reducing water velocities and increasing filtering of suspended sediment. The Pataha Creek Model Watershed Plan, a watershed based fish habitat recovery plan, identified sediment and high water temperatures as limiting factors to fish production. The Pataha Creek Plan was locally developed with the assistance of many state and federal agencies specialists with the support of the Bonneville Power Administration. In 1994 the Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service entered into an agreement with the Lynn A. Brown Plant Materials Center (PMC) to propagate native plant materials and return them to the district for planting along stream sections lacking riparian vegetation. This year the PMC will be returning approximately 4000 cottonwood poles, several thousand willows, and other rooted sock for planting
