Crystal Springs Master Plan Volume 1

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Crystal Springs Master Plan Volume 1 This page is intentionally blank. Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery and Programs for Snake River Chinook Salmon And Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Master Plan February 15, 2011 Prepared by the Shoshone Bannock Tribes Fort Hall, Idaho This page is intentionally blank. Shoshone ‐ Bannock Tribes EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Shoshone‐Bannock Tribes (the Tribes) submit this Master Plan for the Crystal Springs Hatchery to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council to fulfill Step 1 of the Council’s Step Review requirements for artificial propagation projects involving new construction and/or programs that will produce fish for reintroduction. The Tribes have a long history of managing fish, wildlife and their habitat through a variety of government and Tribal funds; both within and outside the exterior boundaries of the Fort Hall Reservation. It is the obligation of the Tribes’ Fish and Wildlife Department to protect, preserve and enhance fish, wildlife and their habitats in perpetuity for all Tribal members. This is pursued in partnership with a number of state and federal agencies to help achieve mutual resource goals and management objectives. Successfully implementing the proposed Crystal Springs Program will be achieved only by continuing this cooperation with agencies that include the Bonneville Power Administration, US Forest Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA‐Fisheries. The Crystal Springs program is designed to help restore two native fish species of cultural and economic significance to the Tribes: Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) and Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri ). Restoration will occur in geographically distinct regions of Idaho. Chinook salmon produced at Crystal Springs Hatchery will be acclimated and released in the Yankee Fork and in Panther Creek, both tributaries to the upper Salmon River. Yellowstone cutthroat trout produced at Crystal Springs Hatchery will be released in various streams on or near the Fort Hall Reservation. The proposed Chinook program is also designed to contribute to the recovery of the Snake River spring/summer Chinook Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) by restoring a locally adapted hatchery and natural spawning population to the Yankee Fork and Panther Creek. While contributing to recovery is an important objective of the Tribes, regional efforts to recover the Major Population Group (MPG) have been largely directed at other systems in the upper Salmon. With other populations being the focus of species recovery, Yankee Fork and Panther Creek are suitable locations to establish populations that can support treaty‐reserved tribal harvest, a very important Tribal program objective. The Shoshone‐Bannock Tribe’s goal for its proposed Yellowstone cutthroat trout program at Crystal Springs Hatchery is to (1) conserve the Yellowstone cutthroat trout population on tribal lands, (2) increase the abundance and range of pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and (3) provide hatchery fish for tribal and non‐tribal harvest, thereby reducing human impacts on this species. The program will implement a small‐scale hatchery action to increase the distribution and abundance of Yellowstone cutthroat trout within a portion of the upper Snake River Basin. It is designed to produce fish that are as genetically and behaviorally similar to natural local populations as possible. This Master Plan describes the proposed aquaculture programs and associated facilities for Snake River Chinook salmon and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Although distinct biological requirements of each species necessitate some independent facility components, the Tribes believe that significant Crystal Springs Hatchery Program ‐ Master Plan Page i Shoshone ‐ Bannock Tribes efficiencies are possible by combining these programs through the use of shared facilities and operations. In summary, the proposed programs would: • Develop hatchery facilities at the Crystal Springs site near the Fort Hall Reservation, with components that include process water systems, utilities, incubation facilities, rearing facilities, housing, administration and other support facilities, and effluent treatment facilities. • Provide adult, trapping, holding and juvenile stress relief facilities at Yankee Fork and Panther Creek in the upper Salmon River subbasin Implementing the proposed facilities and programs will enable the Shoshone‐Bannock peoples to better meet their solemn obligation to protect, preserve and enhance native species of deep cultural significance to the Tribe. Page ii Crystal Springs Hatchery Program ‐ Master Plan Shoshone ‐ Bannock Tribes CONTENTS Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. i Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................................................................. xiii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Three‐Step Review .............................................. 4 1.2 Document Overview and Organization ......................................................................................... 5 2. Overview of the Proposed Shoshone‐Bannock Aquaculture Programs .......................................... 6 2.1 Summary of the Proposed Snake River Chinook Programs .......................................................... 6 2.1.1 Vision for the Chinook Programs .......................................................................................... 6 2.1.2 Yankee Fork Program Component ........................................................................................ 7 2.1.3 Panther Creek Program Component ..................................................................................... 7 2.2 Summary of the Proposed Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Program .............................................. 8 3. Local and Regional Context for the Salmon River Subbasin Programs ......................................... 10 3.1 Geographic and Environmental Context ..................................................................................... 11 3.1.1 Location ............................................................................................................................... 11 3.1.2 Climate ................................................................................................................................ 13 3.1.3 Geology, Soils and Land Types ............................................................................................ 14 3.1.4 Hydrology ............................................................................................................................ 15 3.1.5 Water Quality ...................................................................................................................... 16 3.1.6 Habitat and Biota ................................................................................................................ 17 3.2 Socioeconomic Context............................................................................................................... 23 3.2.1 Upper Salmon Watershed ................................................................................................... 23 3.2.2 Middle Salmon‐Panther Watershed ................................................................................... 24 3.3 Relationship of the Chinook Program to Salmon River Subbasin Plan and Recovery Plans ....... 24 3.3.1 Salmon Subbasin Plan ......................................................................................................... 24 3.3.2 Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook Draft Recovery Plan ................................................ 26 3.3.3 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords (Shoshone‐Bannock Tribes) ......................................... 26 3.3.4 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion and Idaho Fish Accords ..................................................... 27 3.3.5 Shoshone‐Bannock Tribes’ Fish and Wildlife Department Supplementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation Program ................................................................................. 27 3.3.6 Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Fisheries Management Plan: 2007‐2012 .............. 28 3.3.7 Lower Snake River Compensation Plan ............................................................................... 28 3.3.8 Shoshone‐Bannock Tribes’ Snake River Policy .................................................................... 29 3.4 Salmon River Subbasin ‐ Local and Regional Habitat Management Context ............................. 29 3.4.1 Fish Management and Recovery ......................................................................................... 29 3.4.2 Habitat ................................................................................................................................. 30 3.4.3 Hatchery Programs ............................................................................................................. 32 Crystal Springs Hatchery Program ‐ Master Plan Page iii Shoshone ‐ Bannock Tribes 3.4.4 Hydropower ........................................................................................................................ 33 3.4.5 Harvest ................................................................................................................................ 34 3.4.6 Climate
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