Projects

Conceived by the Entiat Watershed Planning Unit, the Bridge-to-Bridge reach restoration project entails instream and off-channel habitat restoration in a 1.2 mile reach of the lower Entiat River, between RM 3.2 and 4.4, to benefit ESA listed spring Chinook, steelhead and bull trout. Phase 1 of the project was sponsored and successfully implemented by the Chelan County Conservation District, with the assistance of numerous partners and two private landowners, in 2006. Phase 1 involved construction of a rock cross-vane to create large resting pool habitat for adults, installation of rootwads to provide additional habitat complexity and cover, and the use of wood and rocks in a split-channel area to improve juvenile rearing conditions. Improvements to an irrigation canal slide-gate and outfall were also performed to enable year-round rearing in the canal and improve fish passage. In addition, riparian restoration work was performed on four private properties within the reach.

Utilizing Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) resources, the Colville Confederated Tribes have been vigorously improving habitat conditions for anadromous fish throughout the Okanogan River system. An example is the Haley Creek Road Culvert Replacement project. This project identified two 5.5 ft. diameter culverts that were cracked and allowing water to flow through the walls and underneath the culverts (Figure 1). By replacing these culverts with a bottomless arch design (Figure 4), the risk of this road section washing out (approximately 30 cubic yards of road fill) was prevented and the high quality steelhead habitat downstream was maintained.

This project is located within the Omak Creek, a tributary to the Okanogan River. Omak Creek is wholly contained within the boundary of the Colville Confederated Tribes Reservation. Omak Creek is a unique tributary of the Okanogan River, as it is one of the few tributaries that is not adversely altered by irrigation withdrawals or diversions. Omak Creek is inhabited by summer steelhead, an anadromous species which is federally listed as endangered. This Haley Creek Road project was identified as a high priority for improving and protecting high quality steelhead habitat. Often the best habitat restoration projects are preventative in nature. This project is an example of a proactive effort, rather than reactive, to ensure favorable habitat conditions for steelhead production.

Using partial funding from the Upper Columbia Community Salmon Fund, the Foster Creek Conservation District installed an in-stream erosion control structure on East Foster Creek to reduce high-volume runoff flow energy, remove entrained sediment, halt channel incisement and restore natural riparian floodplain structure and function. The in-stream erosion control structure reduced the amount of sediment delivered to the downstream anadromous fish habitat in mainstem Foster Creek. This project site is located ten miles east of Bridgeport at milepost 127.8 on Highway 17.