sign in sign up
<<
Home , Cedar River (Washington)

’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries

SEATTLE’S WATERSHEDS OUTSIDE THE MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES

Cedar

Overview provisions of Seattle’s Cedar Conservation Plan (HCP). Levees and revet- The Greater Lake Basin is approxi- ments exist along at least one bank or the other mately 700 square miles in area and is located for 64 percent of the river’s length. A direct loss wholly within King County. The Cedar River of about 56 percent of fish habitat due to the Subbasin drains about 191 square miles and synergistic effects of levees, revetments and represents about 53% of the flow into Lake altered flows has been calculated (King County Washington, ultimately reaching 1993). It is unknown what proportion of lost through the Ship Canal and Chittenden Locks at habitat consisted of off-channel areas. This Shilshole Bay. The upper two thirds of the confined and degraded channel causes loss of subbasin (above the Landsburg Diversion Dam rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids (particu- at RM 21.6) is protected within Seattle’s Cedar larly for juvenile chinook ) (Greater Lake River Municipal Watershed. The lower Cedar Washington Technical Committee 2001). River includes the area below the Landsburg Diversion Dam and drains a 66 square-mile area. Seattle’s primary interest in the Cedar subbasin is The mainstem Cedar River below Landsburg based on ownership of the 141 sq. mile Cedar provides the majority of the current spawning Watershed at the headwaters of the river and the habitat for chinook, sockeye, and steelhead in diversion of 22% of the average annual flow of the Greater Basin. the Cedar under a flow agreement which is part of the Cedar River Habitat Conservation Plan. The hydrology of the basin has been massively altered by the rerouting of the Cedar River from the Duwamish system into Lake Washington, the Biological Resources construction by the City of Seattle of the , , , Landsburg Diversion Dam and Masonry Dam winter steelhead, bull trout, kokanee, and (RM 37) for water supply and hydro-generation, coastal cutthroat trout all utilize the Cedar River and the confinement of much of the lower watershed. Cedar River channel by levies, dikes, and revetments. Levees and revetments and flow Wild chinook escapement averages about 700 alterations have affected some sources of gravel. fish in the Cedar River (Greater Lake Washington Technical Committee 2001). The fall 2000 The Upper Cedar River above Landsburg Diver- escapement of chinook salmon appears to be at sion Dam has an excellent intact riparian corri- a near-record low of about 140 fish. (Karl dor with many large coniferous and deciduous Burton, personal communication, City of Se- trees. Currently all large woody debris (LWD) attle). that floats downstream and accumulates on the upstream face of the Landsburg Dam is perma- A population of more than 3000 bull trout lives nently removed from the river by the City of in Chester Morse Reservoir in Seattle’s Cedar Seattle because of legal liability issues (City of River Municipal Watershed (City of Seattle Seattle, 2000a). 2000a). No other viable bull trout population is known in the Cedar/ Lake Washington Basin, Upstream passage of fish at the Landsburg although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has Diversion Dam is currently prohibited, but will classified the Ship Canal, Lake Washington, and be provided to chinook, coho, steelhead and the Lower Cedar River as bull trout migration sea-run coastal cutthroat trout by 2003 under and over-wintering habitat. 111 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries Valley, and0.8percentiswithin thelocal local jurisdictionalboundary ofthecityMaple ary ofthecityRenton, 2.1 percentiswithin percent iswithinthelocal jurisdictionalbound- local jurisdictionalboundary ofKingCounty,7.8 of theLowerCedarRiver basin iswithinthe byKingCountyin1999,89.4percent performed analysis According togeographicinformation HCP. provided by2003aspartofSeattle’sCedarRiver (City ofSeattle2000a).Passagefacilitieswillbe occupiedhabitat tributary length)offormerly mous fishto17.5miles(totalmainstemand in 1901,presentlyblocksthepassageofanadro- to migration.TheLandsburg Dam,constructed Cedar RiveruptoFalls,anaturalbarrier Historically, chinooksalmoncouldaccessthe County, 1993). habitat(King spawningandrearing former scouring,andeliminated enhanced streambed sures. Theseactionshaveconfinedriverflows, development activities,andfloodcontrolmea- storage, ,railroadconstruction,land reduced byacombinationofdamsandwater Chinook productionintheCedarRiverhasbeen Human Impacts and lightlevels(Tabor etal.1993,1998). river velocity,habitattypes,watertemperature, abundance,sizeofchinook, including predator appears tobeinfluencedbyavarietyoffactors, mouth oftheCedarRiver. Predationonchinook Exotic speciescontributetopredationatthe sculpins, cutthroattrout,andcohosalmon. mergansers andherons,fish,suchas includingbirdssuchas number ofpredators, Studies intheCedarRiverhaveidentifieda (Marshall etal.1995andWDF1993). believedtobenativestocks populations are Act isthattheriver’schinookandsteelhead Of particularnoteundertheEndangeredSpecies Washington Technical Committee2001). have averagedaround300fish(GreaterLake Winter years Steelheadescapementsinrecent ton Technical Committee2001). LakeWashing-high escapementyears(Greater fisheryinLakeWashingtonmajor recreational in thebasisfora to theCedarRiverandform matically), about125,000sockeyesalmonreturn On average(theexactnumberfluctuatesdra- 112 bank . This has resulted in 64 percent of in64percent bank erosion. Thishasresulted constructed tocontrolflooding andprevent of leveesandrevetments along theriverwas King Countyinthe1960s, anextensivenetwork Corps ofEngineersand bytheUSArmy efforts In the1930s,andculminating infloodcontrol time (KingCounty,1993). only about16percentoftheriverlengthat bordered constructed leveesandrevetments since water withdrawalandflowregulation, islargelybelieved thatthisreduction dueto 1865 averageof250feetto170feet.Itis by approximately30percentfromtheestimated mainstem averagechannelwidthwasreduced lessen theneedforbridges.By1936, to somerivermeandersprotectthetrackand tions hadalsobuiltleveesandeliminatedaccess Prior tothistime,railroadconstructionopera- hydroelectric generation(CityofSeattle,2000a). for watersupply,floodcontrolstorage,and atRM37 built MasonryDamfurtherupstream (City ofSeattle,2000a).In1914theCityalso Dam in1901todivertwaterformunicipaluse The cityofSeattlebuilttheLandsburg Diversion extensive erosioninthe1887flood(Paul1937). plain wasconsideredamaincontributorto and ruralresidentialdevelopmentintheflood- Land clearingassociatedwithearlyagricultural andriparianhabitat. condition ofin–stream ment inthelate1800sinitiatedchanges railroad construction,andlightruraldevelop- coalmining, human activities.Agriculture, by sion Damhasbeendramaticallyaltered lower CedarRiverbelowtheLandsburg Diver- of mainstemaquatichabitatinthe Over thepast150years,muchof21.7miles Seattle 2000aand2000b). Municipal andIndustrialwatersupply(Cityof 1998) attheLandsburg DiversionDamfor percent oftheCedarRiver’sflow(mean1949- The cityofSeattleremovesapproximately22 cal Committee2001). LakeWashingtonthe year2020(Greater Techni- 61,704 withanexpectationtogrow70,172by River watershediscurrentlyestimatedtobe ment. HumanpopulationintheLowerCedar opment and0.9percentishighdensitydevelop- percent isdesignatedasmediumdensitydevel- tobelowdensitydevelopment;7.7 determined percent oftheLowerCedarRiver, 21.3percentis landcovertotals60.6 pal watershed.Forested jurisdictional boundaryofcityKentasmunici- Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries the lower Cedar River having a revetment or chinook tend to remain and rear in the stream levee along at least one bank. These flood and outmigrate at a larger size as smolts. Trap- control structures constricted the average chan- ping at the mouth of Bear Creek in north Lake nel width an additional 35 percent by 1989, Washington in 1999 showed a nearly opposite when compared to the 1936 condition, to its ratio of smaller fry to larger smolts than was present average of 110 feet. In all, surface area observed in the Cedar River. Approximately of the channel decreased by approximately 56 14% of the Bear Creek outmigrants were fry and percent (320 acres) between 1865 and 1989. 86% were smolts (Seiler 2001). In 2000, 33% of Following these flood control efforts, pockets of the Bear Creek juveniles emigrated as fry and urbanization and industrialization of the lower 67% as smolts. reaches and surrounding plateaus have been developed, although much of the valley floor Regional Watershed Planning upstream of Renton is still relatively rural in nature (King County 1993). Seattle is an active participant in the Greater Lake Washington Basin watershed planning Many fisheries scientists think that the amount of group organized under State Bill “2496”, the rearing habitat for juvenile chinook salmon in Salmon Recovery Act. The Steering Committee the Cedar River below Landsburg is inadequate formed in December 1998 and the Technical because so many of the riverbanks have been Committee formed in August 1999. Members of rip-rapped, levied, or diked. Much of their the planning group include representatives of thinking is based on comparing the results of Seattle, King County, Snohomish County, Belle- screw trapping of juvenile chinook salmon at vue, small cities, natural resource agencies, the mouths of the Cedar River and Bear Creek (a Muckleshoot Tribe (only on Technical Flow tributary of the Sammamish River in north Lake Committee) environmental groups, and business Washington). Trapping at the mouth of the interests. Cedar River over the last two years has demon- strated that between 75 and 85% of the The Greater Lake Washington Basin Steering outmigrants leave the Cedar River and enter Committee adopted the following as their goal: Lake Washington as fry at about 40 mm in size To develop a watershed conservation plan that between January and mid-April (Seiler 2001). will recommend actions to conserve and recover These chinook fry tightly hug the south Lake chinook salmon and other anadromous fish. Washington shoreline as they rear and slowly The focus of this phase shall be to preserve, migrate north toward the Lake Washington Ship protect and restore habitat with the intent to Canal (Roger Tabor personal communication). recover listed species, including sustainable, The fry are thought to seek the shallow water as genetically diverse, harvestable populations of a refuge from larger predatory fish such as naturally-spawning chinook salmon. smallmouth bass, cutthroat trout, and northern pike minnows. The Steering Committee recently completed its Reconnaissance Assessment Report in first The remaining 15 to 25% of the Cedar River quarter of 2001. It will next produce a “Near- juvenile chinook remain in the river and grow to Term Action Agenda” based on the results of the about 75 to 100 mm before entering Lake Reconnaissance Assessment Report by the fourth Washington as smolts between April and June quarter of 2001. (Seiler 2001). They appear to move through the Lake to the Ship Canal in 20 to 40 days (DeVries 2000). Seattle’s Salmon Recovery Actions in the Cedar River Subbasin This pattern of juvenile chinook outmigration from the Cedar River contrasts sharply with the Seattle’s Cedar River Habitat Conservation Plan outmigration pattern observed in Bear Creek. (HCP) was signed in 2000 and is a comprehen- Very few of Bear Creek’s banks have been rip- sive plan for the upper Cedar River watershed rapped, levied, or diked and subsequently the that will protect and restore it for the next 50 rearing habitat for juvenile chinook salmon years. The HCP incorporates more than 10 generally appears to be in better condition than years of scientific research and monitoring, and in the Cedar River. In Bear Creek, most juvenile commits about $89 million to improve condi- 113 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries .Water supply intakestructures atLandsburg 5. Passagefacilitiesforchinook salmon,coho 4. Protectionofallriparianforest,aswell 3. Becausenocommercialtimberharvestwill 2. Eliminationofalltimberharvestforcommer- 1. listedbelow. 2000a) are cally applytotheCedarRiver(CityofSeattle Major elementsofthe50-yearHCPthatspecifi- invertebrates (CityofSeattle,2000a). as wellmanyspeciesofamphibiansand steelhead trout,andchinookcohosalmon, commonloons,bulltrout, marbled murrelets, Municipal Watershed includingspottedowls, potentially befound,withintheCedarRiver of fishandwildlifethatarefound,ormay ecosystem-based planthataddresses83species tions forfishandwildlife.Itisamulti-species, will be screened specifically toprevent will bescreened the municipalwatershed. within theLandsburg DrainageSubbasinin distribution ofresidentsalmonids) current habitat insmallertributaries (basedon and approximately5.0milesofpotential high qualitymainstemCedarRiverhabitat anadromous speciesaccessto12.5milesof Landsburg DiversionDamandallowthese Landsburg passageatthe torestore water quality)willbeconstructedat numerous carcasseswouldhaveondrinking thattheir excluded becauseoftheeffect species(sockeyesalmonwillbe lamprey ofcoastalcutthroat troutandpossibly form salmon, steelheadtrout,andtheanadromous complex anditstributaries; wetlands,andthereservoir all streams, the habitatqualityofforestsassociatedwith willimprove in ripariananduplandareas, overtime andlate-successionalforest mature withrecruitmentofsubstantial upland forest, inecologicalreservestatus; protected andnon-forested), are elements (forested including allaquaticandriparianecosystem lands outsidelimiteddevelopedareas, be conductedinthemunicipalwatershed,all ated withloghauling; fromroaduseassoci- specifically resulting bance, andsubstantiallyreducedisturbance reduce theoveralllevelofhabitatdistur- virtually eliminatelarge scalehabitatimpacts, cial purposeswithinthewatershedwill 114 9. Continued closure ofthemunicipalwater- Continuedclosure 9. Provisionofover$5milliondollarstoprotect 8. designedtoprotect flowsare Instream 7. crossingsintheforest atstream Structures 6. salmonids); sport activities(e.g.,fishing mortalityof fromrecreational/ wildlife speciesresulting disturbance and/ormortality offishand maintained, thusessentially eliminating shed tounsupervisedpublic accesswillbe basin. salmonidsinthelowerCedar reproducing habitat foranyand/orallspeciesnaturally acquisition andwillbedirectedtoward restoration projectsmayincludehabitat of theMunicipalWatershed. and Protection habitat inthelowerCedarRiverdownstream aquatic,riparian, andfloodplain and restore levels. riverflowstopre-development restore flowlevels,itisnotintended to with recent isanimprovementcompared flow regime steelhead duringspring.Althoughthisnew during specificperiods,e.g.,spawning may belessdesirableforsomespecies with speciesandthattherevisedflowregime vary The HCPnotesthatflowrequirements guaranteedflowsduringsummer.increasing adequate flowsforadultmigrationby theissueof alsoaddress flow agreement chinook salmon.TheHCPandtheinstream should bebeneficialtomigratingjuvenile redds. Higherminimumflowsduringspring probability ofdewateringsomechinook the minimum winterflowsshouldreduce spawning andincubationperiod.Revised withexistingflows)during the (compared willbehigherminimumflows flow regime potential benefitforchinookoftherevised variety ofinvestigators.TheHCPstatesthata flowsbya studies andanalysesofinstream This planistheculminationof14years oftheCedarFallsPowerhouse. upstream Cedar River, including theCanyonreach and willbemaintainedinthemainstem salmonid speciesduringalllifehistorystages mous fishspecies; passageofbothresidentandanadro- restore to upgraded,orreplaced will beremoved, that impedefishpassage(primarilyculverts) road systemwithinthemunicipalwatershed especially juvenilefish; impingement ofoutmigratingsalmonids, Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries

10. The natural maturation of second-growth Assessment and research needs on the forests into mature and late-successional Cedar River seral stages will reestablish more natural ecosystem function in aquatic and riparian Key assessment and research questions are listed system of the watershed; below. Some or all of these questions are being considered for research prioritization and 11. Silvicultural treatments, such as restoration funding by the Cedar River HCP Instream Flow planting (about 1,400 acres), restoration Commission and/or the Greater Lake Washing- thinning (about 11,000 acres), and ecological ton Technical Committee. thinning (about 2,000 acres) will be designed to accelerate the development of natural 1. In what ecologically significant ways have functions in riparian forests (e.g., conifer physical alterations to the channel and underplanting) and mature, late-successional riparian corridor altered hydraulic character- and old-growth structural characteristics in istics, fish habitat characteristics and sedi- second-growth forests in some areas; ment dynamics from conditions that were 12. Instream habitat restoration projects, such as present in the system prior to development? projects to retain and/or add large woody 2. How do the integrated effects of stream flow debris to streams where LWD has been regulation and alteration of the stream identified as deficient, are expected to channel and riparian corridor affect habitat improve microhabitat conditions (e.g., conditions in the Cedar River? temperature regimes and instream habitat complexity) in many reaches; 3. Are the numbers of recently emerged chinook fry that arrive at the fry trap in the 13. Road improvements and decommissioning, Cedar River at Renton correlated with stream and improved road maintenance, will reduce flow? sediment loading to streams and other aquatic ; 4. Is in-river emigration survival of chinook smolts correlated with streamflow? 14. At present, approximately 520 miles of forest road (out of a total of about 620 miles in the 5. Is chinook survival to smolt and adult municipal watershed), most of which is not correlated with early life history strategy? used for heavy haul, is regularly maintained. 6. What is the preferred rearing habitat of An aggressive road decommissioning pro- juvenile chinook in the Cedar River and how gram, however, will over time, reduce the is it affected by stream flow? extent of regularly maintained road to a “core system” of approximately 380 miles. 7. What is the effect of stream flow on the An average of 10 miles of forest road per temporal and spatial distribution of chinook year will be decommissioned during the first spawning activity in the Cedar River? 20 years of the HCP. 8. Is there a shortage of spawning gravel in the 15. Improvement (e.g., drainage to forest floor) Cedar River below the Landsburg Diversion will be made to about 4 to 10 miles of Dam? existing road per year (occasionally more in some years), reducing the potential for sediment input to streams; and, guidelines and prescriptions will be designed to reduce sediment production and delivery to aquatic systems during watershed management activities. 16. A monitoring and research program to ensure compliance with the HCP, to deter- mine effectiveness of mitigation, to identify trends in habitats and key species popula- tions, to test critical assumptions in the plan, and to provide for flexible, adaptive manage- ment of conservation strategies. 115 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries Marshall, A.R.,C.Smith,R.Brix,W. Dammers,J. WaterKing CountySurface ManagementDivi- LakeWashingtonGreater Technical Committee. City ofSeattle.2000b.Technical Appendices City ofSeattle.2000.FinalCedarRiverWater- DeVries, P. 2000.PITTagging ofJuvenile Burton, Karl,FisheriesBiologist,SeattlePublic Literature Cited Literature m $4,247,000 innext6 Objective(s) Habitat Upland ForestRestoration Ongoing $4,446,000 innext6years &RiparianRestoration Stream Ongoing $5,369,000 innext6years Road Decommissioning&Improvements Ongoing $10,134,000 Landsburg FishPassageImprovements Ongoing $13,254,000 Cedar SockeyeHatchery Name Project Washington. Department ofFishandWildlife, Olympia, cal ReportNo.RAD95-02. Washington of salmonidfishesinWashington. Techni- diversity unitsandmajorancestral lineages Busack andJ.B.Shaklee(eds). Genetic for chinooksalmoninWashington. InC. diversity unitsandmajorancestrallineages Hymer, andL.Lavoy.1995.Genetic Future ConditionsReport. sion. 1993.CedarRiverCurrentand Decline ofSalmonids.202pp. Habitat FactorsthatContributetothe 2001. DraftReconnaissanceAssessment– Habitat ConservationPlan. for theFinalCedarRiverWatershed shed HabitatConservationPlan. CorpsofEngineers,Nov.2000. Army Basin: Year 2000PilotStudyResults.U.S. Salmon SmoltsintheLakeWashington Utilities, CityofSeattle. Habitat ImprovementProjects(Cedar/LakeWashington Basin,WRIA8) 116 Tabor, R.J.Chan,and S.Hager. 1998.Preda- Tabor, R.A.,R.S.Shively,andT.P. Poe.1993. Tabor, R.FisheriesBiologist.U.S.Fishand Seiler, D.2001.EvaluationofDownstream Paul, F.H. 1937.ReportonCedarRiverFlood growth standstowardsold Improve diversityofforest substrate improvements large woodydebris,bankimprovements, Fish passageimprovements,bankrevegetation, Water Quality Fish passageimprovements Other -seecomments ton. Fish andWildlife Service,Lacey,Washing- LakeWashington,and southern 1997.U.S. other predatoryfishesinthe CedarRiver tion ofsockeyesalmonfry bycottidsand Management. 13:831-838. ofFisheries ton. NorthAmericanJournal Columbia RivernearRichland,Washing- squawfishinthe mouth bassandnorthern Predation onjuvenilesalmonidsbysmall- Wildlife Service,OlympiaWashington. index010214.htm dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/fish/ Resources. Onthewebat: King County,DepartmentofNatural sponsoredby Ongoing &RecentResearch Proceedings andPapersofSelected LakeWashingtonGreater Watershed, Bear Creek.In,ChinookSalmoninthe Washington Tributaries, CedarRiverand Lake Migrant ChinookProductioninTwo ber 1937. Control Project. KingCounty,WA. Octo- . http:// Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries

Tolt/Snohomish

Overview because adequate supply is provided by the North Fork Tolt. The Tolt/Snohomish basin is located in northern King County and Southern Snohomish County. It drains about 1,856 square miles and is the Biological Resources second largest watershed draining to Puget The Tolt/Snohomish system includes the full Sound. The Tolt river is a tributary to the range of salmonid species, with the exception of . The Snoqualmie and sockeye salmon. Bull trout presence has been Skykomish join near the city of Monroe to reported in the North Fork, though their pres- form the mainstem Snohomish, which discharges ence in the Tolt basin is unconfirmed. The to Puget Sound at Port Gardner Bay in the city Snohomish includes salmon stocks that are of Everett. unusual in the Puget Sound region, including a Seattle’s primary interest in this watershed is the “stream-type” chinook life history and an “even- Tolt sub-basin, where the City owns the South year” pink salmon stock. The Snohomish Fork Tolt water supply and hydroelectric system provides important chinook habitat, with projects. This combined facility contributes 30% 4 stocks identified: Snohomish River Summer; of water supply and less than 1% of electrical Snohomish River Fall; Bridal Veil Creek Fall; and power to the Seattle service area. The Tolt River Wallace River Summer/Fall. Under current drains a watershed of about 97 square miles, fisheries management guidelines the composite equal to about 5% of the entire Snohomish basin chinook escapement goal is 5,250 fish, a goal or 30% of the Snoqualmie basin downstream of which has been met only once in the last 18 Snoqualmie Falls. years. The City has committed significant funds for In the Snoqualmie Basin, chinook spawn in habitat protection and restoration in the Tolt three key tributaries and in the mainstem basin, through both its federal hydroelectric downstream of each. In order of size, these project license and its Early Action program in include the Tolt and Raging Rivers and Tokul response to the ESA listing of chinook salmon. Creek. The Tolt and adjacent Snoqualmie form Seattle actions resulting from its license and an important complex for Chinook spawning, negotiated settlement agreement are intended to with the Tolt itself accounting for at least 20% of mitigate for potential project impacts to salmo- the Snoqualmie stock. Spawning occurs nids occuring in the Tolt. Flows are managed to throughout the 9 miles of the Tolt mainstem, protect spawning and rearing, and minimum in- and in the lower 1.6 miles of the South Fork. stream flows are maintained. Guaranteed minimum flows have increased as a new water Human Impacts filtration plant came on line in 2001. Offsite mitigation projects have made positive contribu- Human activities have impacted salmon habitat tions to fish habitat downstream and in nearby in the Snohomish Basin. Private, state, and watersheds. The project dam and reservoir are federal forest lands occupy 74% of basin area. located upstream of a natural barrier (80 ft. high Two major water supply and hydroelectric dams waterfall) to salmon migration. are located on the Sultan and Tolt Rivers. (The Tolt project is above a natural barrier to fish One potentially significant issue involves gravel migration.) supply to the South Fork Tolt, a portion of which is interrupted by the dam. Assessment of Population centers include the cities of Everett, this situation was conducted in 1991, and funds Marysville, Monroe, Lake Stevens, Snohomish were set aside for mitigation. New assessment and many smaller towns. Not quite 6% of the work, now being conducted or planned, will basin land area is designated as Urban Growth compare current conditions to the prior baseline Area, with 57% of that capacity concentrated in and may define a beneficial use of these mitiga- the estuarine and nearshore drainage areas. tion funds. Reduced gravel supply to the Overall, population in the basin is expected to mainstem Tolt is not considered an issue, increase from 206,000 in 1995 to 315,000 in 117 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries continued discussion ofinitiatingawatershed Also, attheSnohomishBasin level,thereis activities. tofundits pleted aninterlocalagreement hascom- County, andcitizenrepresentative, includes fourSnoqualmie Valley cities,King Needs Assessmententity.TheForum,which Watershed Forumwas organized asa Regional In theSnoqualmieBasin, completed inthenext3yrs. planshouldbe recovery 2001. Thelong-term aNear-Termproducing ActionAgenda during finer scalefor63sub-basins.TheForumis has competedahabitatevaluationmatrixat analysis forabreakdownof5sub-basinsand The Forumhascompleteditslimitingfactors culturalandecologicalvalues. salmon-related sustain fisheriesandothernon-consumptive Snohomish Riverwatershedtoalevelthatwill diversity ofallwildsalmonidstocksinthe and andenhanceproductivity restore protect, planto Develop amulti-speciessalmonrecovery adopted thefollowingasitsgoal: The SnohomishSalmonRecoveryForum and policyplanning. the pasttwoyearstodevelopstrongtechnical stakeholders. Thegrouphasbeenworkingfor counties, cities,theTulalipTribes, andother Salmon RecoveryAct.Membershipincludes nized asaState“2496”leadentityunderthe the SnohomishSalmonRecoveryForumorga- shed planningintheSnohomishBasinthrough water- Seattle isanactiveparticipantinregional Regional Watershed Planning mitigation projects. recent yearsthroughnaturalprocessesand in areas ofintertidalmarshhavebeenrestored extensive dikingforagriculture.Significant and navigationchanneldevelopmentaswell byport Snohomish estuaryhasbeenaffected includes majorportandNavyfacilities.The The cityofEverettislocatedontheestuaryand Snoqualmie sub-basins. especially inthemainstemSnohomishand diking anddraininghastakenplaceontheriver, human growthanddevelopment,extensive out theSnoqualmiefloodplain.To support through- agriculture, includingsignificantareas 2020. Fivepercentofthebasinisdevotedto 118 will beintegrated. Watershed PlanningandSalmonRecoveryeffort unclearhowthe convened. Itiscurrently although aplanningunithasnotyetbeen Tulalip Tribes havereceived aplanninggrant, shed PlanningAct.ThecityofEverettand planning processundertheState“2514”Water- o o o o the Tolt/Snohomish Basin: Seattle’s SalmonRecoveryActionsin area. Ultimately,theproject willrestore area. habitatinthestudy spawning andrearing thequalityandquantityof goal ofincreasing levees awayfromtheriver channel,witha This studyevaluatesthefeasibility ofmoving restoration opportunityon Tolt mainstem. conducting asiteanalysisformajorhabitat Seattle, incooperationwithKingCounty,is Lower Tolt FloodplainReconnectionproject. million overthe40-yearlicense. license mitigationimplementationisabout$4 Totalvalue ofpowerproduced. costof the conditioned toprotectfish,reducing tion projects,SouthForkTolt flowsare as MossLake.Inadditiontospecificmitiga- ofalargeand preservation wetlandknown culverts withbridges,wetlandrestoration, replacementofblocking structure, return Mitigation projectshaveincludedariver-flow FERC licenseandsettlementagreement. Ongoing implementationofSouthForkTolt late 2000. flows.Theprojectcameonline in stream minimum in- water capacitywhileincreasing down toalowerelevation.Thiswillboost voir andallowstheCitytodrawreservoir turbidity issuesintheSouthForkTolt reser- investment ofabout$90million,addresses aCity II pipeline.Thisproject,representing South ForkTolt waterfiltrationplantandTolt Snohomish Basin. account fortheneedsoffishin water supplyplansandprojectstoexplicitly willallowfuture ers Forum.Thiseffort basin andakeypartnerintheWater Suppli- other majorwatersupplierintheSnohomish ThecityofEverettisthe Sound region. supply planningacrosstheCentralPuget Forum, whichisconductingintegratedwater member ofthePugetSoundWater Suppliers Water supplyplanning.Seattleisanactive Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries

function to a key spawning area that is now o Better picture of the relative contribution of underutilized. Seattle’s initial commitment is the North and South Forks to hydrology and $80,000, to date leveraging $110,00 in sediment supply on the Tolt mainstem and additional funding from State and local how this contribution will change over time. sources. o Habitat protection. Seattle is evaluating opportunities for habitat protection and restoration in the Tolt and the nearby Snoqualmie basin through partnerships with Cascade Land Conservancy, King County and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Actions may include fee simple acquisition or the purchase of conservation easements or development credits. Together with its commitment to the Tolt Floodplain project, $3 million in “early action” funds to benefit chinook have been committed. o Juvenile salmon study. Seattle has commit- ted up to $75,000 to the Tulalip Tribe for its planned operation of a juvenile salmon trap on the Snoqualmie. The trap will produce an estimate of juvenile production for chinook and coho salmon by capturing and releasing a known proportion of juvenile outmigrants. Together with catch and spawning escapement data, this will add significantly to our understanding of the population dynamics of these stocks.

Research needs Assessment and research needs on the Tolt involve baseline data needed for future monitor- ing and information needed to prioritize and design our voluntary protection and restoration projects. Some of these needs are being ad- dressed by others and some by Seattle’s early actions. They include: o Location-specific spawning information throughout the Tolt system. o Enumeration of juvenile production for the Snoqualmie, through trapping. o Method for distinguishing contribution of Tolt spawners to system-wide juvenile production. o Better understanding of spawning and rearing habitat and habitat-forming processes on the Tolt mainstem, to identify priorities for protection and restoration.

119 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries escapement of 13,000spawnersperyear. The Sound. Chinookinthisbasin haveanaverage population ofwildchinook salmoninthePuget The SkagitRiverdrainage supportsthelargest Biological Resources are managedunderCityLight’sFishFirstPolicy. ational, cultural,andhistoricalresources.Flows life habitat,andimproveprotectrecre- fishandwild- resident fish,protectandrestore impacts ofriverflowsonanadromousand mitigation fundingisbeingusedtominimize million. Inadditiontolicensemitigation,this The costofthemitigationagreedtois$100 organization tomitigatefortheprojectsimpacts. agencies, theSkagittribes,andanenvironmental license intervenorsincludingstateandfederal reached anhistoricagreementwithallofthe process,SeattleCity Light of therelicensing Energy Regulatory Commissionin1995.Aspart The projectwasrelicensedbytheFederal provided toalmost700,000people. 25% oftheCity’stotalpowersupplywhichis hydroelectric generatingcapacity,andrepresents facility provides40%oftheCitySeattle’s barrier toanadromousfishmigration.This River nearMile100,aboveanaturalfish (Ross, Diablo,andGorge) ontheupperSkagit Hydroelectric Project,consistingofthreedams from itsownershipofSeattleCityLight’sSkagit inthiswatershedstems Seattle’s primaryinterest Cascade rivers. Skagit RiverincludetheSauk,Baker, and nental UnitedStates.Majortributariesofthe largest drainageonthewestcoast of theconti- intheregion.Itissixth trout, andbulltrout and diversepopulationsofsalmon,steelhead Puget Sound,andpossessesthemostabundant The SkagitRiveristhelargest riverbasininthe ,whichislocatedinPugetSound. and finallythroughthebroadSkagitdeltato States andCanada,throughlow-lyingvalleys, ters intheCascadeMountainsUnited miles, andflowsfor162milesfromitsheadwa- of3,140square Skagit Riverdrainsanarea Skagit, Snohomish,andWhatcomcounties.The The SkagitBasin(WRIA3&4)islocatedin Overview Skagit 120 niles peryear. and estuaryrangesfrom15,000to49,000juve- the upperdrainageintoSkagitRiverdelta of thenumberbulltroutoutmigratingfrom tobe“healthy”byWDFW.considered Estimates native charstockinthelowerSkagitRiveris largest inthestate.The populationofbulltrout the PugetSound,andprobablycontains of nativechar(bulltroutandDollyVarden) in The SkagitRiversupportsthelargest population trout. of cohosalmon,sockeyeandsteelhead spawners. Thebasinalsosupportssizeableruns annual escapementofpinksalmonis400,000 salmon is69,000spawners,andtheaverage States. Theaverageannualescapementofchum chum andpinksalmoninthecontinentalUnited The SkagitRiversupportsthelargest runsof ington Dept.ofFishandWildlife (WDFW). tobe“healthy”bytheWash-Sound considered the fewstocksofchinooksalmoninPuget oftheriversupportsone drainage. Thisarea chinook salmonspawnersintheSkagitRiver The uppermainstemsupportssixtypercentof . spring; SuiattleandupperCascade tributary fall;lowerSauksummer;upper tributary summer;lowerSkagitmainstemand fied inthebasin:upperSkagitmainstemand Six stocksofchinooksalmonhavebeenidenti- spawners peryear. escapement goalforsummer/fallfishis14,900 Baker Riverjoins theSkagitatRM56. The hydroelectric projectonthe BakerRiver. The Puget SoundEnergy (PSE)operatesamajor 100. Skagit River, locatednearRiver Mile whichare majordamsonthe upper and operatesthree mous fishpopulations.SeattleCityLightowns area isaboveanaturalfishbarrierforanadro- cial Park,andManningProvincialPark.This SkagitValley Area, Pasayten Provin- boundaries oftheNorthCascadesNationalPark, development bybeinglocatedwithinthe undisturbed, andisprotectedfromfuture The upperportionofthewatershedislargely Human Impacts Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries upstream passage of salmon, steelhead, and production and productivity of healthy ecosys- native char into the Baker River is blocked by a tems in order to support sustainable fisheries. diversion structure located just downstream of The SWC has been instrumental in the coordina- Baker Dam. Salmon are trapped at this structure tion, prioritization, funding, and implementation by PSE, trucked upriver, and then released into of habitat protection and restoration projects for the upper Baker River drainage. salmon and other fish species including native char in the Skagit River basin. The SWC has two The Skagit River basin has a population of about main committees: administration, and restoration 100,000 people. Most of the population is and protection. There are a number of active located within the lower end of the basin below subcommittees, including education, protection, the Sauk River. The population centers are the project review and feasibility, monitoring, and towns of Mount Vernon and Sedro Wooley. research. Agriculture is the dominant land use in the lower watershed, while most of the middle and Watershed planning for protecting and restoring upper watershed are located within forested fish resources in the Skagit basin follows the lands. SWC’s “Habitat and Restoration Strategy”. This landscape-based strategy is based upon the best Agricultural and flood control activities (dikes available science regarding natural processes, and levees) have resulted in the loss over 40 human disturbance, habitat conditions, fish percent of the historic off-channel habitat in the population distribution and trends, and ecosys- lower Skagit River drainage. Loss of off-channel tem health. habitat due to human disturbance is especially a concern in the delta and estuary. Off-channel The SWC has completed a basin-wide evaluation habitat in the mainstem river provides critical of habitat conditions for salmon, which is habitat to coho salmon, while off-channel described in their planning document “Applica- habitat in the delta and estuary has been found tion of the Skagit Watershed Council’s Strategy: to be valuable for juvenile chinook salmon. River Basin Analysis of the Skagit and Samish Over 60 percent of the historic delta and estuary Basins”. This planning tool has been used to area have been lost due to land development, screen and prioritize fish habitat protection and mainly from the conversion of tidelands, estuary restoration projects in the basin, identifying habitats, and freshwater wetlands to agricultural “priority” subbasins in the Skagit River water- uses. An extensive system of dikes, levees, and shed for protection and restoration projects. tide gates has hydrologically isolated much of the Skagit River delta and estuary from riverine Seattle’s Salmon Recovery Actions in and tidal influences. Consequently, much of the the Skagit Basin habitat areas historically formed and maintained by riverine and tidal processes has been lost. Seattle is an active participant in the Skagit Watershed Council (including administrative, Regional Watershed Planning restoration and protection committees). serves as the administrator for the Seattle is an active participant in regional water- Skagit Flow/Nonflow Committee, which includes shed planning in the Skagit Basin through the federal and state agencies and tribes. The co- Skagit Watershed Council (SWC), a non-profit managers (agencies and tribes) oversee the flow organization located in Mount Vernon, Washing- measures implemented to minimize impacts of ton. The SWC includes 36 member organiza- the Skagit Hydroelectric Project to fish, and the tions, including tribes, county, state and federal expenditure of SCL funds for chinook salmon governmental entities, conservation organiza- research, steelhead production, off-channel tions, and business and industry groups. SWC is habitat improvement, sediment reduction, and recognized as a State “2496” lead entity under resident fish protection. the Salmon Recovery Act. In addition to license mitigation, the City of The mission of SWC is to provide technical Seattle has allocated $3.8 million to the Skagit assistance, public outreach and education and a River over five years under the ESA Early Action collaborative approach within the Skagit Water- Plan. The protection, restoration, and research shed to understand, protect and restore the projects being funded with the City’s Early 121 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries conditions withinthewatershed. ently completingadraftassessment ofhabitat base. TheSkagitChinook Workgroup ispres- System(GIS)data- a GeographicInformation County, andtheSkagitWatershed Council using by theSkagitSystemCooperative, recently fishpassagebarriers,isbeingcompiled limitingfactors,includingmost Data oncurrent completed bytheSkagitSystemCooperative. habitatconditionswas historic versuscurrent Energy, andothers.Adetailedcomparisonof Service,SeattleCityLight,PugetSound Forest Cooperative, theNationalParkService,U.S. Dept. ofFishandWildlife, theSkagitSystem the basinhasbeencollectedbyWashington Data onsalmonidpopulationsandhabitatwithin dance andtimingdataoverthepasttenyears. River hasprovidedsmoltoutmigrationabun- the region.AsmolttraponlowerSkagit salmonid productionthaninotherwatersheds andlimitingfactors on juvenile rearingareas, smolt survival,thedistributionofspawningand spawner escapement,smoltproduction,egg-to- extensivedataavailableonannual more important fishrunsinthiswatershed,thereare Because ofthebiologicallyandcommercially needs Research areas. salmon innearshore onhabitatuseofjuvenile chinook ued research estuary restorationfeasibilitystudy,andcontin- Washington state),thecontinuationofakey Slough Project(largest leveesetbackprojectin completedDeepwater monitoring oftherecently and theSaukRiver, abiologicalassessmentand salmon andnativecharinthelowerSkagitRiver of criticalsidechannelhabitatsforchinook Action Projectsfor2001includetheacquisition Skagit deltaandestuary.PotentialESAEarly requirements ofjuvenilechinooksalmoninthe studies onthemigrationbehaviorandhabitat $70,000 arebeingusedtofundongoingresearch ongoing sloughrestorationfeasibilitystudy,and beingusedforan watershed, $100,000are activitiesintheFinneyCreek ing restoration and Suiattleriverdrainages,$200,000arefund- habitats criticaltochinooksalmonintheSauk $300,000 arebeingusedfortheacquisitionof with theSWC.Underthisfirstyearpackage, selectedthroughapartnership Action fundsare 122 o o o o o o o o o andassessmentissuesinclude: Key research populations (bulltroutandDollyVarden). tion, andgeneticdiversityofnativechar Life historytraits,abundance,spatialdistribu- salmonid habitatandsurvival. Impacts oflanddisturbanceandsedimenton among sub-basins. to chinooksalmonproduction:comparison Natural andhumancausedhabitatlimitations salmon, andotherfishspecies. river sectionsbychinooksalmon,coho (e.g., riprap)habitattypeswithinmainstem woody debris,sidechannels)andman-made Availability andutilizationofnatural(e.g., quality onsalmonidproduction. Importance offlowsandhabitatquantity ductivity. carcasses forsalmonidandecosystempro- Role ofnutrientsderivedfromsalmon populations). River possessessixdistinctchinooksalmon population stabilityanddiversity(theSkagit (e.g., springchinook)tooverallchinook Importance ofspecificchinookpopulations juvenile chinooksalmonandbulltrout Estuary habitatavailabilityandutilizationby survival andgrowth. Role ofestuaryhabitatforjuvenilechinook Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries

Habitat Improvement Projects (Skagit Basin, WRIAs 3 & 4) Project Name Habitat Objective(s)

Bacon Creek Habitat Restoration Natural stream channel was impacted by sediment and $20,000 bank erosion for coho salmon, chum salmon, and bull Completed trout. Barnaby Slough Rip Rap Re- Rip rap wall compromised by heavy equipment, then moval obliterated by high flow event. Bank softening; $32,000 Streambank Restoration Half mile long section of rip rap Completed located along south bank of river. Adjacent to key steelhead and chinook salmon areas. Browns and Hall Slough Com- Estuary restoration feasibility study. Browns and Hall plex Estuary Restoration Feasi- Sloughs have been diked for agricultural use, resulting in bility Study loss of historic fish habitat. Project is developing and $100,000 comparing levee setback and removal alternatives for Ongoing restoring critical juvenile chinook habitat. Finney Creek Roads Improve- Finney Creek, historically a major tributary spawning and ment Project rearing area for salmon and steelhead, has been greatly $200,000 impacted by landslides and sedimentation. Ongoing Illabot Slough Side Channel New side channel construction within historic river Expansion migration zone. $400,000 Completed Johnson Parcel Land Acquisition Side channel habitat acquisition. Natural side channel $350,000 provides excellent spawning and rearing habitat for Completed salmon and steelhead. Lower Suiattle River Land Acqui- Habitat protection of one mile section of river provides sition (Seattle Timber Parcel) important spawning and juvenile rearing habitat to $191,000 Suiattle spring chinook salmon. Completed Newhalem Creek Minimum Flow Regime Improvement. Flows in Newhalem Creek Instream Flow Improvements were previously reduced to low of 10 cfs by hydroelectric $47,000 per year project. Now minimum flows presently range from 45 to Ongoing 90 cfs, depending upon month. Newhalem Creek Tailrace Fish Fish Protection Newhalem Hydroelectric Powerhouse Barrier tailrace caused potential migration delay and injury to $130,000 salmon and steelhead. barrier was con- Completed structed to prevent adult fish from straying into power- house tailrace. Skagit Flow Management Flow Regime Improvement in twenty mile section of river $1,500,000 per year downstream of dams produces over 70% of chinook Ongoing salmon spawning within basin. Flow regimes have been modified to prevent fry stranding and protect salmon and steelhead redds. Continued on next page...

123 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries Completed $150,000 Taylor SideChannelProject 95% compete $20 million Fish andWildlifeHabitat of Acquisition andPreservation Objective(s) Habitat Ongoing $15,000 Chinook SalmonMigrationStudy Swinomish ChannelJuvenile Ongoing $120,000 peryear Skagit SmoltTrap Operation Ongoing $60,000 Study Habitat Skagit RiverNearshore Name Project peak flows. restrictions tonaturalsidechannelscausedbyreduced migration zone.Mitigationforsalmonhabitataccess New sidechannelconstructionwithinhistoricriver ontheNooksack). havebeenacquired 4000 acres todate(and anadditional Skagit havebeenacquired ofkeyfishandwildlife habitatonthe Over 4000acres through SwinomishChannel. evaluating outmigrationofjuvenilechinooksalmon Swinomish ChanneltoPadillaBayestuary.Studyis preventschinooksmoltsfromcurrently migratingthrough modification feasibilitystudy).One-milelongrockjetty andchannel (barrierremoval Migration improvement Smolt outmigrationenumeration. areas. juvenile chinookhabitatuseinSkagitnearshore other landuses.Studyismappinghabitattypesand and delta hasbeendikedormodifiedforagriculture feasibilitystudy.MuchofSkagitRiver Estuary restoration 124 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries

Pend Oreille

Overview Seattle’s interest in the Pend Oreille Basin is based on the City-owned, 350 foot high, Bound- The Pend Oreille watershed (WRIA 62) is ary Dam Hydroelectric Project, which is located located in Pend Oreille County in the north- on the lower Pend Oreille River, 1 mile south of eastern corner of Washington State. The entire the Washington-Canadian border. The Boundary watershed covers about 25,000 square miles in Project generates approximately 50% of the City Idaho and Montana and about 25,000 square of Seattle’s power supply. The Federal Energy miles in British Columbia. Only 1,300 square Regulatory Commission License for the Bound- miles are in Washington State, which is less than ary Project expires in 2011. Seattle is actively three percent of the watershed. The Pend engaged in research and in resource manage- Oreille River is a tributary of the Columbia River ment to protect fish in the project area. with the confluence in British Columbia. Annual runoff is produced primarily by melting snow, with peak flows typically occurring from April Biological Resources through June. Base (low) flow typically occurs Due to Columbia River dams that block fish in August and September. passage, anadromous fish do not reach the Pend Elevations in the WRIA range from less than Oreille. There is discussion among resource 1,500 feet above mean sea level to greater than agencies, however, about creating fish passage 6,000 feet above mean sea level. Major natural for resident fish. Meanwhile, initial surveys have lakes in the WRIA include Sullivan Lake which been conducted to assess bull trout populations feeds the largest stream (Sullivan Creek) in the at Boundary. Bull trout have not been found in WRIA. Sullivan Creek drains a basin of approxi- any tributaries to Boundary, but an occasional mately 142 square miles. bull trout is captured in the reservoir. It is likely that bull trout originate from Lake Pend Oreille There are several dams on the Pend Oreille/ where a self sustaining population exists. Clark Fork River system in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Canada. Downstream of Historically, salmon and steelhead utilized the Seattle’s Boundary Project, the Pend Oreille lower 20 miles of the Pend Oreille River and River flows past two dams in Canada, Seven were reported to be abundant until declines Mile owned and operated by B.C. Hydro and began in the late 19th century and early 20th Waneta owned and operated by Cominco, century. before it enters the Columbia River. Box Can- Non-native fish are abundant in the watershed, yon Dam, owned and operated by Pend Oreille including species such as yellow perch, large- PUD, is 17 miles upstream of Boundary Dam mouth bass, pumpkinseed, brook trout, brown and Albeni Falls Dam (Army Corps of Engineers) trout and . The State and the is 60 miles upstream of Box Canyon Dam, near Kalispel Tribe plant bass and rainbow trout the Washington-Idaho border. Albeni Falls Dam grown in hatcheries into the Pend Oreille River controls the outflow from Lake Pend Oreille on an annual basis. which then determines the flows for the City Light dam. Human Impacts Much of the land within the lower Pend Oreille sub-basin lies within the Colville National Forest. The population of Pend Oreille County is about State, tribal and private land holdings make up 12,000. The city of Newport is the largest city in the majority of the remaining ownership within the WRIA and is located on the Washington- the sub-basin. Rangeland and agricultural land Idaho border. Other developed areas include are located adjacent to the Pend Oreille River Cusick, Metaline, Ione and Usk. corridor. Farmland accounts for approximately The Pend Oreille River has been changed 63,000 acres within the sub-basin. Agricultural extensively by dams. Historically, the aquatic uses include cultivated crops, grazing and cattle habitat consisted of riverine habitat. Currently ranches. most of the aquatic habitat is inundated by reservoirs. 125 Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries historic riverchannel. resulted inthelossofasignificantportion Flood controlactivities(dikesandlevees)have 150%. levelsashigh times oftheyearandcanreach exceeds Washington Statestandardsatcertain Total dissolvedgasinthePendOreilleRiver Basin Fishand Wildlife Program, whichwas ThiseffortispartoftheColumbia processes. whom arealsoactiveinthe 2496and2514 resource agenciesandIndian tribes,manyof underwaywhichincludesstateand federal effort sub-basinplanning Council hasaPendOreille In addition,theNorthwestPowerPlanning economic stability. watershedhealthand localconcerns, addressing Develop andimplementawatershedplan The missionstatementofthe2514processis: federal andtribalgovernments. between privatecitizensandlocal,state, effort acooperative through habitat onwhichtheyrely the to healthy,harvestablelevelsandimprove nativesalmonidpopulationsinWRIA62 Restore process is: try groups.Themissionstatementofthe2496 conservation organizations, businessandindus- Kalispel Tribe entities, andothergovernmental leads bothgroupsandmembershipincludesthe Act. ThePendOreilleConservationDistrict Recovery Actand“2514”Watershed Planning organizedefforts undertheState“2496”Salmon basin regionalwatershedplanningincluding Seattle isanactiveparticipantinPendOreille in someandcloselymonitorsothers. the PendOreillesub-basin.Seattleparticipates in aremultiplewatershedplanningefforts There Regional Watershed Planning canexceed75 tures aquatic plants(eurasianmilfoil).Water tempera- 303(d) listfortemperature,pHandexotic The PendOreilleRiverisonthe1998WDOE andaesthetics. recreation protection, tation, fisheriesenhancement,culturalsite for floodcontrol,powerpeaking,flowaugmen- of river. Modificationsto flowreleasesaremade seasonally anddaily,dependingonthesection natural hydrographofthesub-basinboth The operationofhydroelectricprojectsaltersthe o F inthesummermonths. 126 project. onthe these reportsandassessing theireffects report expectedin2003.Seattle isreviewing issued in1995,1998,and 2000 withafinal including AlbeniFallsDam.Reportswere inthePend Oreille-ClarkForkrivers, projects various federalhydroelectricandstorage theoperationof hydropower systemtoaddress cal Opinionhasbeendevelopedforthefederal fish(bulltroutandsturgeon)A resident Biologi- available. notyet ofthisassessmentare 2000. Theresults funding wasprovidedbySeattleCityLightin Boundary Reservoiranditstributaries,additional Power Administration.Forthosestudiesin Wildlife. isfundedbytheBonneville Thiseffort the Washington StateDepartmentofFishand status) isunderwaybytheKalispelTribe and fishstock A sub-basinassessment(resident monitoring thiswork. additional studiesmayoccurin2001.Seattleis Project. Thisprocessisnotyetcompleteand sion relicensingprocessfortheBoxCanyon theFederalEnergythrough RegulatoryCommis- in BoxCanyonReservoiranditstributaries Baseline fisheriesstudieshavebeencompleted Seattle iscontributingtosomeprojects. has receivedagrantforsomeoftheworkand been fundedbythePUD.TheKalispeltribe funded throughthe2496processandsomehave troutAfeware native cutthroat andbulltrout. focus onimprovementsfornativefishsuchas Theseprojects placement ofinstreamstructures. riparian planting,livestockfencingandthe includeculvertreplacement, These efforts way intributariestoBoxCanyonReservoir. Various under- are habitatenhancementefforts effort. and 2514processes.Seattleismonitoringthis how tolinkthesubbasinplanningwith2496 ongoingabout ning Council.Discussionsare tion (BPA) throughtheNorthwestPowerPlan- be fundedbytheBonnevillePowerAdministra- Mitigationwill upper andlowerPendOreille. group hascompleteddraftplansforboththe specific implementationgoalsandplans.This and overall frameworkformitigationefforts River. Sub-basinplanningwilldevelopan federal hydropowersystemintheColumbia established tomitigatefortheimpactsof Seattle’s Watersheds Outside the Municipal Boundaries

An adhoc group, the Transboundary Gas Group, Research needs has formed to address the issue of high levels of Key issues and research needs include: dissolved gas in the Columbia River basin. Their focus is in coordinating the multiple efforts o Evaluation of abundance and utilization of throughout the basin and modeling dissolved Boundary reservoir by bull trout and other gas problems. They have issued several reports. resident species. Some effort has been made Seattle is participating in this effort. on these studies. A recovery team has been formed by the USFWS o Better understanding of upstream impound- to address bull trout recovery. They expect to ment and flow management as it influences have a plan out later in 2001. temperature and dissolved gas in water entering Boundary reservoir. In 1996, BPA funded and the Kalispel Tribe constructed a largemouth bass hatchery on Box o Evaluation of potential engineering and Canyon Reservoir. Annual production is ap- operating strategies at Boundary for their proximately 150,000 juvenile bass. potential to affect temperature and dissolved gas downstream. Bass habitat enhancement efforts have been conducted on Box Canyon Reservoir for the past o Evaluation of land management activities that several years. This project is intended to in- may affect water in stream flowing directly crease the survival of juvenile bass and includes into Boundary reservoir. the placement of enhancement structures in the reservoir.

Seattle’s Salmon Recovery Actions in the Pend Oreille Basin: The City is in the very early stages of relicensing the Boundary Project. A relicensing strategy is currently being developed, but the general approach for relicensing the Project is to work in a collaborative process to reach settlement agreements with agencies, tribes, and other stakeholders to mitigate for impacts of the hydroelectric project. To date, Seattle City Light has funded resident fish assessments and bull trout studies in Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries and examined dissolved gas levels above and below the Boundary Hydroelectric Project

127