FINAL WEST BRANCH LITTLE SPOKANE RIVER WATERSHED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Submitted to: West Branch of the Little Spokane River Committee C/O Pend Oreille Conservation District 100 N. Washington Ave. P.O. Box 280 Newport, WA 99156 Submitted by: Golder Associates Inc. 1200 W. Ironwood Drive, Suite 102 Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 Funded through Grant # G07000057 from the Washington State Department of Ecology. Distribution: 25 Copies - West Branch of the Little Spokane River Committee 1 Copy - Golder Associates Inc. December 31, 2008 073-93025.000 WBLSR_PLAN_12-31-08.doc DRAFT WBLSR Implementation Plan -i- December 31, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Setting ........................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 West Branch Little Spokane River Watershed Committee .......................................... 3 1.3 Funding ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Planning Process .......................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Significant Discussions / Decisions ............................................................................. 6 1.6 Public Outreach ............................................................................................................ 7 1.7 Plan Availability ........................................................................................................... 8 2.0 COMMITTEE OPERATION ............................................................................................ 9 2.1 Committee Roles and Responsibilities ......................................................................... 9 2.2 Committee Structure................................................................................................... 10 3.0 THE WBLSR WATERSHED ACTION PLAN ............................................................. 12 4.0 IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH ............................................................................... 15 4.1 Prioritization ............................................................................................................... 15 4.2 Top Tier Actions ........................................................................................................ 16 4.3 Beaver Mitigation Projects ......................................................................................... 19 4.3.1 Management of Deceivers / Levelers at Dam Nos. 1, 2 and 3 below Sacheen Lake ............................................................................................................... 19 4.3.2 Cross Sectional Surveys and Installation of Water Level Loggers in Pools above and below Dam Nos. 1, 2 and 3 below Sacheen Lake ........................ 20 4.3.3 Bank Stabilization and Revegetation Sites at Sacheen Lake ......................... 21 4.3.4 Beaver Trapping ............................................................................................ 23 5.0 EARLY IMPLEMENTATION ....................................................................................... 24 5.1 Completed Actions ..................................................................................................... 24 5.2 Ongoing Actions ........................................................................................................ 24 6.0 FUNDING MECHANISMS ............................................................................................ 27 6.1 Current (as of December 2008) Funds ....................................................................... 27 6.2 Additional Resources Committed .............................................................................. 27 6.3 Review of Grant Funding Sources ............................................................................. 27 7.0 RELATED PLANNING PROGRAMS AND PROCESSES ......................................... 29 7.1 Watershed Planning in WRIA 55/57 .......................................................................... 29 7.2 Little Spokane River Total Daily Maximum Loads (TMDLs)................................... 30 7.3 Shorelines Management ............................................................................................. 30 7.4 Conservation District Programs ................................................................................. 31 7.5 Columbia River Management Program ...................................................................... 32 Golder Project No. 073-93025.000 DRAFT WBLSR Implementation Plan -ii- December 31, 2008 7.6 Forest Practice Rules and Forest and Fish Report ...................................................... 33 8.0 IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST FOR 2009 ............................................................ 34 9.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 36 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Location Map LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Action Tracking Table Appendix B WB LSR Watershed Committee Operating Procedures (dated March 26, 2007). Appendix C April 2007 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Management of Water Resources in Lakes of the Little Spokane River Watershed Appendix D WB LSR Watershed Committee Verbatim Issue List (dated April 30, 2007) Appendix E Information Supporting Committee Decisions / Discussions Appendix F 2008 WB LSR Watershed Stream Gaging Sites Golder Project No. 073-93025.000 DRAFT WBLSR Implementation Plan -iii- December 31, 2008 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS amsl above mean sea level BMP Best Management Practice BPA Bonneville Power Administration CARA Critical Aquifer Recharge Area CD Conservation District cfs cubic feet per second CRM Coordinated Resource Management CTED Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development DIP Detailed Implementation Plan DNR Washington State Department of Natural Resources Ecology Washington State Department of Ecology EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency ESA Endangered Species Act (Federal) ESHB Engrossed Substitute House Bill HPA Hydraulic Project Approval (through WDFW) JARPA Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application LSR Little Spokane River gpm gallons per minute MOA Memorandum of Agreement MOU Memorandum of Understanding PUD Public Utility District RCW Revised Code of Washington SEPA State Environmental Policy Act TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load U.S. EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers WAC Washington Administrative Code WAU Watershed Administrative Unit (DNR designation) WBLSR West Branch Little Spokane River WDFW Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife WDOH Washington State Department of Health WMA Watershed Management Act (RCW 90.82; ESHB 2514) (Washington State) WIT Water Implementation Team WRIA Water Resource Inventory Area WRIA 55 Water Resource Inventory Area 55 – Little Spokane River Watershed WRIA 57 Water Resource Inventory Area 57 – Middle Spokane River Watershed Golder Project No. 073-93025.000 WBLSR Implementation Plan -1- December 31, 2008 1.0 INTRODUCTION This Implementation Plan (Plan) is intended to guide implementation of the West Branch Little Spokane River (WBLSR) Watershed actions. The actions (including projects, studies, and recommendations) are listed in the Action Table which is included as Appendix A of this Plan. This Plan is intended for a number of audiences including: those who are reading the information for the first time; those who have been involved in the Committee planning process from the start; and, those entities who will be implementing Plan actions. With this in mind, this Plan is organized as follows: Chapter 1 – presents the purpose of this Plan, describes how the Plan is organized, describes the physical setting of the watershed, provides an overview of the planning process, describes public outreach and educational efforts associated with this Plan and lists the locations where this Plan is available for public review. Chapter 2 – documents how the Committee anticipates operating, starting in January 2009. Chapter 3 – presents the implementation actions (which are included on the Action Table in Appendix A). Chapter 4 – presents the implementation strategy, including priorities. Chapter 5 – presents information on completed and ongoing implementation efforts. Chapter 6 – describes the available options to fund implementation. Chapter 7 – describes programs and processes to support coordination efforts. Chapter 8 – presents an implementation checklist for 2009. Chapter 9 – lists the references cited in this Plan. Appendices: Appendix A – includes the Action Table that will be maintained by the Committee to track the progress of implementation actions. Appendix B – includes the Committee’s current operating procedures (dated March 26, 2007). Appendix C – includes the April 2007 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the management of the WBLSR watershed water resources. Appendix D – provides the Committee’s verbatim issue list (dated April 30, 2007). Appendix E – includes supporting information for important Committee discussions and decisions between March 2007 and December 2008. Appendix F – includes 2008 information on streamflow and lake level gaging in the WB LSR watershed. Golder Project No. 073-93025.000 WBLSR Implementation Plan -2- December 31, 2008