A Multiple Watershed Approach to Assessing the Effects of Habitat Restoration Actions on Anadromous and Resident Fish Populations

Document Details:

Title: A Multiple Watershed Approach to Assessing the Effects of Habitat Restoration Actions on Anadromous and Resident Fish Populations
Category: Technical Report
File: Marmorek-et-al_2004_0226_A-Multiple-Watershed-Approach-to-Assessing.pdf
Updated Date: 24.03.2017
Author(s)/Source(s): Marmorek, David, Ian Parnell, Marc Porter, Christine Pinkham, Clint Alexander, Calvin Peters, Joel Hubble, Charles Paulsen, Timothy Fisher
Publication Date: 2004-Mar-19
Focal Topic: Habitat Restoration, Salmon, Other threatened fishes, Land Management & Irrigation
Location: United States
Abstract:

Habitat protection and restoration is a cornerstone of current strategies to restore ecosystems, recover endangered fish species, and rebuild fish stocks within the Columbia River Basin. Strategies featuring habitat restoration include the 2000 Biological Opinion on operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS BiOp) developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the 2000 Biological Opinion on Bull Trout developed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Sub- Basin Plans developed under the Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC). There is however little quantitative information about the effectiveness of different habitat restoration techniques. Such information is crucial for helping scientists and program managers allocate limited funds towards the greatest benefits for fish populations. Therefore, it is critical to systematically test the hypotheses underlying habitat restoration actions for both anadromous and resident fish populations. This pilot project was developed through a proposal to the Innovative Projects fund of the NWPCC (ESSA 2002). It was funded by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) following reviews by the Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP 2002), the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA 2002), the NWPCC and BPA. The study was designed to respond directly to the above described needs for information on the effectiveness of habitat restoration actions, including legal measures specified in the 2000 FCRPS BiOp (RPA 183, pg. 9-133, NMFS 2000). Due to the urgency of addressing these measures, the timeline of the project was accelerated from a duration of 18 months to 14 months. The purpose of this pilot project was to explore methods for evaluating past habitat restoration actions and their effects on fish populations.

Keyword Tags:
Bull trout, Spring Chinook, Habitat Restoration, alternative multi-watershed designs, Implementation monitoring, Monitoring protocols, Yakima River subbasin, Salmon River, Columbia Basin,