Ch1 Overview
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RESERVATION OF RIGHTS A number of governments and agencies participated in the development of this Kootenai Subbasin Plan, Part I (Assessment Volume), Part II (Inventory Volume), and Part III (Management Plan Volume), its appendices, and electronically linked references and information (hereafter Plan). The primary purpose of the Plan is to help direct Northwest Power and Conservation Council funding of projects that respond to impacts from the development and operation of the Columbia River hydropower system. Nothing in this Plan, or the participation in its development, is intended to, and shall not be interpreted to, compromise, influence, or preclude any government or agency from carrying out any past, present, or future duty or responsibility which it bears or may bear under any authority. Nothing in this Plan or the participation in its development constitutes a waiver or release of any rights, including the right to election of other remedies, or is intended to compromise, influence, or preclude any government or agency from developing and prosecuting any damage claim for those natural resource impacts identified in the Plan which are not directly and exclusively resulting from, or related to, the development and operation of the Columbia River hydropower system. Nothing in this Plan or the participation in its development is intended to, and shall not be interpreted to, waive any rights of enforcement of regulatory, adjudicatory, or police powers against potentially responsible parties for compliance with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to natural resource damages throughout the Kootenai Subbasin whether or not specifically identified in this Plan. © 2004 Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (KTOI) and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) Citation: Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. 2004. Kootenai Subbasin Plan. Part I: Kootenai River Subbasin Assessment. A report prepared for the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Portland, OR. Lead Agencies: MFWP and KTOI Subbasin Coordinator: Sue Ireland, KTOI and Brian Marotz, MFWP Contributors Paul Anders S.P. Cramer and Associates, Inc. Genny Hoyle Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Harvey Andrusak Redfish Consulting Jeff Hutten Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Scott Bacon Idaho Dept. of Lands Sue Ireland Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Gary Barton U.S. Geological Survey Bob Jamieson BioQuest International Consulting Ltd. Pat Berhens US Forest Service Steve Johnson USFS, Forest Hydrologist Dwight Bergeron Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Gretchen Kruse Free Run Aquatic Research Lee Brundin USFS Kootenai National Forest Brett Lyndaker USFS Roland Capilo Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Seth Makepeace Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes John Carlson USFS, Forest Fisheries Biologist Bruce Marcot USFS—IBIS Beth Chase Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Brian Marotz Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Albert Chirico B.C. Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Chip McConnaha Mobrand Biometrics, Inc. Chip Corsi Idaho Dept. Fish and Game Dave Mosier Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Tom Dayley Northwest Power and Conservation Council Matt Neufeld BC Fisheries Shanda Dekome Idaho Panhandle Nat, Forests Tom O’Neil Northwest Habitat Institute—IBIS Dan Downing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Patty Perry Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Jim Dunnigan Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Mike Panain BC Ministry of Sustainable Resources Jason Flory U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Vaughn Paragamian Idaho Department of Fish & Game Wade Fredenberg US Fish and Wildlfie Service Rick Patten Idaho Panhandle Nat Forests Jerry Garten Idaho Department of Lands Bob Ralphs Idaho Panhandle Nat Forests Mike Gondek Natural Resources Cons. Service Jack Sjostrom MNR Remote Sensing Bob Hallock U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Scott Soults Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Jay Hammond Golden Associates Herb Tepper B.C. Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection Paul Hanna U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service K.J. Torgerson The Nature Conservancy Ryan Hardy Idaho Dept. Fish and Game Betsy Torell Mobrand Biometrics, Inc. Mike Hensler Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Virginia Tribe Facilitator Brian Hemlick Idaho Dept. Fish and Game Jody Walters Idaho Fish and Game Department Mike Herrin Idaho Panhandle National Forest Bill Westover B.C. Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection Greg Hoffman US Army Corps of Engineers Alan Wood Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Charlie Holderman Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Dean Yashan Department of Environmental Quality Document Prepared by David Rockwell GIS work by Susan Ball and Volker Mell, CSKT For information on this document, contact: Sue Ireland, Subbasin Coordinator (ID portion) Brian Marotz, Subbasin Coordinator (MT portion) Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks PO Box 1269 490 North Meridian Rd Bonners Ferry, ID 85805 Kalispell, MT 59901 Phone: (208) 267-3620 Phone: (406) 751-4546 email: [email protected] [email protected] 84 INTRODUCTION This assessment constitutes the technical evaluation of the biological and physical characteristics of the Kootenai River Subbasin, the first step in the development of a subbasin plan, which once completed will be reviewed and adopted as part of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The primary purpose of the plan is to help direct Bonneville Power Administration funding of projects that protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife that have been adversely impacted by the development and operation of the Columbia River hydropower system. This is an international basin, and while our analysis is focused on the U.S. portion of the subbasin, Canadian management agencies have contributed significant amounts of data, which we have included where appropriate. The primary purpose of the assessment is to bring together and synthesize technical information so that it can be used to develop the biological objectives that will form the foundation of the management plan. Chapter 1 is an overview of the subbasin environment. Chapter 2 examines in some detail the major biomes For the PowerPoint found in the subbasin—aquatic, riparian/wetland, grassland, coniferous forest. introduction to the Kootenai Each of these biomes is evaluated in terms of ecological function and process and and Flathead Subbasin Plans how human activities have affected those functions and processes. For each biome that the Subbasin Coordinators gave the we also describe the current condition and several reference conditions. Chapter Independent Scientific Review 3 assesses fish and wildlife communities in the subbasin, Chapter 4 examines the Panel, go to Appendix 114. status of individual focal and target species. In Chapter 5, we present the results of a detailed aquatic evaluation of each 6th-field Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)1 in the subbasin and a terrestrial assessment of various units within each of our targeted biomes. This resulted in a ranking of the restoration potential and protection value of each. Finally, in the last chapter we interpret and synthesize our results, setting the stage for the development of specific objectives, which are part of the management plan. It is our hope that this approach, moving from the broad (biomes and communities) to the more specific (individual species and 6th field HUCs), is a logical framework for developing objectives and strategies to protect, mitigate, and enhance the fish and wildlife of the Kootenai Subbasin. The assessment and the other parts of the Kootenai Subbasin Plan have been designed as electronic documents with numerous web-based and internal links. Our intention has been to create a multilayered, electronic plan with user- friendly access to the enormous amount of information that went into the planning process. While we have made every attempt to ensure that the web links are 1 HUC stands for Hydrologic Unit Code. The US is divided and sub-divided into successively smaller HUCs. HUC 5, HUC 6, and HUC 7 refer to different sizes of hydrologic units or watersheds. A HUC 6 watershed ranges from 10,000 to 40,000 acres in size, and is the typical size of watershed at which a landscape analysis is conducted. 1 INTRODUCTION accurate and while we intend to update the links on a periodic basis, websites can be somewhat fluid, and so some links may become inaccessible before they can be updated. Also, planners are not responsible for the content of websites that belong to other agencies and organizations. This assessment, much of which is a compilation of existing information, draws heavily on the previous work of many agencies, groups, educational institutions, consulting firms, and individuals. Throughout we have used excerpts or condensed or adapted sections from other reports, studies, and plans. In each case we have acknowledged such use. The Kootenai River Subbasin Plan Technical Team expresses its gratitude for the use of these materials. The Technical Team also thanks Chip McConnaha, Drew Parkin, and Betsy Torell for their assistance with QHA (the principle aquatic assessment tool that we used for streams), Paul Anders for his work on LQHA (a lake version of QHA), Mike Panian for developing the terrestrial assessment tool (called TBA), Bob Jamieson for his revisions of the assessment outline and early organizational work on TBA, and Susan Ball and Volker Mell for their GIS work. We are also grateful to Albert Chirico and our other colleagues in the British Columbia ministries for their help and cooperation with this effort. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................................