Barber Dam Project FERC No. 4881 Pre-Application Document Diversion Water Priority Volume Owner Beneficial Uses Rate Right Date (AFA) (cfs) 63-32816 5/1/1866 Irrigation 0.02 -- Esther Simplot and Bernadine Quinn Riverside Parks 63-32350 8/30/1956 Municipal storage -- 560 City of Boise 63-32351 8/30/1956 Municipal storage -- 140 63-32352 8/30/1956 Municipal storage -- 220 Thurman Mill Canal 63-135 6/1/1864 Irrigation 3.3 -- 63-176 6/1/1869 Irrigation 1.6 -- 63-193 6/1/1876 Irrigation 0.44 -- 63-210 6/1/1880 Irrigation 2.4 -- 63-211 10/20/1880 Irrigation 0.9 -- 63-221 6/1/1883 Irrigation 0.9 -- Thurman Mill Ditch Co Aesthetic storage 0.16 -- 63-250 7/1/1895 Diversion to storage -- 23.9 Irrigation 0.5 -- 63-30125 6/1/1865 Irrigation 1.86 -- 63-30129 6/1/1872 Irrigation 2.1 -- 63-30130 6/1/1868 Irrigation 15.48 -- 63-30131 6/1/1882 Irrigation 6 -- Irrigation 2.15 -- 63-192 6/1/1876 Aesthetic storage -- 26.3 Diversion to storage 0.15 -- Irrigation 0.37 -- Warm Springs Ditch 63-216C 6/1/1889 Aesthetic storage -- 4.7 Co. Diversion to storage 0.03 -- Irrigation 4.73 -- 63-19425 6/1/1882 Aesthetic storage -- 57.8 Diversion to storage 0.33 -- Drainage District #4 63-31936 8/13/1925 Irrigation 11.42 -- Farms Union and Boise Valley Canals 63-120G 6/1/1864 Irrigation 1.8 -- 63-123C 6/1/1864 Irrigation 8.4 -- 63-124Q 6/1/1864 Irrigation 0.1 -- 63-125J 6/1/1871 Irrigation 0.26 -- Farmers Union Ditch 63-126F 6/1/1891 Irrigation 0.08 -- Co. 63-165M 6/1/1866 Irrigation 1.69 -- 63-198AG 6/1/1877 Irrigation 3.12 -- 63-248 7/2/1894 Irrigation 110 -- 63-297 7/2/1894 Irrigation 54.46 -- 38 November 30, 2018 Barber Dam Project FERC No. 4881 Pre-Application Document Diversion Water Priority Volume Owner Beneficial Uses Rate Right Date (AFA) (cfs) 63-21729 5/20/1926 Irrigation 1.8 -- 63-2360 7/19/1921 Irrigation 1.2 -- Aesthetic 0.17 -- Aesthetic storage -- 43.8 Diversion to storage 0.71 -- Boise Valley Irrigation Irrigation 48.8 10,146.50 Ditch Co. 63-31832 6/1/1865 Irrigation from storage -- 14.5 Irrigation storage -- 14.5 Mitigation 0.05 8.8 Mitigation by non-use 0.32 67 Capitol View Irrigation 63-123E 6/1/1864 Irrigation 7 -- Inc. 63-18700 2/17/1929 Irrigation 0.91 -- Drainage District #2 63-31937 7/13/1923 Irrigation 31.02 -- Source: IDWR (2018) 4.4 Fish and Aquatic Resources 4.4.1 Existing Aquatic Habitat and Fish Communities The Boise River is a major tributary of the Snake River and drains an area of about 4,100 square miles. The headwaters of the Boise River originate in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho at elevations in excess of 10,000 feet. It flows in a westerly direction for about 200 miles to its confluence with the Snake River near Parma, Idaho. The Boise River has three major mainstem reservoirs—Anderson Ranch, Arrowrock, and Lucky Peak Reservoirs—and one large off-stream impoundment—Lake Lowell. The four large reservoirs have a combined storage capacity of 1,143,249 acre-feet, and the storage is used for irrigation, flood control, recreation, hydropower, and instream flows. Because of its wide range in elevations, geographic features, and water uses, the Boise River has a variety of habitat types and fish species. The basin has major population centers in the state (Boise, Caldwell, and Nampa), has greater than 350,000 acres of irrigated cropland, and is home to some of Idaho’s earliest mining, logging, and hydroelectric developments. Historical human- caused impacts have severely degraded aquatic habitat in some parts of the basin. The Project (RM 59) is located in the lower Boise River segment of the Boise River Watershed, which begins at Lucky Peak Dam and flows for 64 miles to its confluence with the Snake River. This reach includes a variety of urban and agricultural settings and has been heavily affected by associated land and water uses (MacCoy, 2004). Flows are regulated for both agricultural demands and flood control, and the regulated flows have altered the channel throughout this reach. From the mouth of the Boise River upstream to Star, Idaho (RM 39), low summer flows and poor water quality affect sport fish production. This section of river, however, supports a warmwater fishery for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish. From Star upstream to Lucky Peak Dam, which includes the Project reach, the river changes from a 39 November 30, 2018 Barber Dam Project FERC No. 4881 Pre-Application Document warmwater to a coldwater fishery. Mountain whitefish make up the bulk of the game fish biomass with hatchery rainbow trout, wild rainbow trout, and brown trout supporting the bulk of the fishery. When available, surplus hatchery Chinook salmon adults are stocked in the summer, and hatchery steelhead adults are stocked in the fall, creating intense fisheries in this reach (IDFG, 2013). The Boise River, however, is no longer accessible to anadromous species, which currently ascend the Snake River as far upstream as the Hells Canyon Dam (constructed in 1967). Hells Canyon Dam is located more than 100 miles downstream of the Boise River’s confluence with the Snake River. The Hells Canyon/Oxbow/Brownlee Dam Complex does not have fish passage facilities for passing fish upstream of the complex. The Project reach of the Boise River extends from Boise River Diversion Dam, located about 2.4 river miles upstream of Barber Dam, to a low-head diversion dam located about 0.6 river mile downstream of the Project near the Eckert Road Bridge (Figure 4-13). Existing habitat in the upstream segment within approximately 1 mile of Boise River Diversion Dam transitions from shallow riverine riffle/run to deeper run, entering the backwater from Barber Dam. The former shallow impoundment associated with Barber Dam (constructed in 1904 to create a log-holding pond to support the nearby Barber Lumber Mill [Corps, 2002a]) has mostly filled in with sediment, and the Boise River flows through multiple channels around islands in the former impoundment area (Figure 4-1). These channels are primarily run habitat with a sand/gravel substrate, becoming more lacustrine closer to the dam. The Project impoundment has an area of 75 acres at the normal pool elevation of 2,778.2 feet and averages 4 feet in depth. The 0.6-mile downstream segment of the Boise River downstream of Barber Dam is primarily riffle/run with a substrate of gravel/cobble. The Boise River downstream of the diversion dam at the Eckert Road Bridge supports substantial recreational fishing and boating/floating. IDFG, USGS, Trout Unlimited, and Braun and Walser (2011) conducted several fisheries surveys on the lower Boise River including the Project reach since 1974; they are summarized by Boise River Enhancement Network (2016). These surveys demonstrate that although the Project is located in the lower reach of the Boise River most heavily affected by humans, the Project vicinity still supports a coldwater fishery consisting of both wild and hatchery rainbow and brown trout, but mountain whitefish dominate the coldwater fish community. However, IDFG creel surveys found that wild trout compose only a minor portion of the angler harvest in the lower Boise River (less than 5 percent), while hatchery rainbow trout compose 40 to 60 percent of the harvest (Boise River Enhancement Network, 2016). IDFG (2017) recently conducted an electrofishing survey in the lower Boise River within the Project vicinity: from the Boise River Diversion Dam to Barber Dam and from Barber Dam to the East Parkcenter Bridge, about 2 miles downstream of Barber Dam. During the survey, IDFG found wild juvenile rainbow trout in both reaches, although higher numbers were found downstream of Barber Dam. IDFG (2017) also reports that hatchery rainbow trout dominated the angler harvest with the wild trout population underutilized by anglers. No threatened or endangered species of fish have been reported for the lower Boise River (IDFG, 2018). The Boise River is within the historical range of the federally listed threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), but none have been reported in the lower Boise River. 40 November 30, 2018 Barber Dam Project FERC No. 4881 Pre-Application Document Source: ESRI (2018b) Figure 4-13. Boise River Project Reach 41 November 30, 2018 Barber Dam Project FERC No. 4881 Pre-Application Document Table 4-8 lists the common and scientific names of fish species reported in the Project reach of the Boise River. Table 4-8. Fish Species Found in Barber Dam Hydroelectric Project Area of the Boise River Common Name Scientific Name Resident Species Mountain whitefish Prosopium williamsoni Rainbow trout Oncorynchus mykiss Umatilla dace Rhinichthys umatilla Longnose dace Rhinichthys cataractae Redside shiner Richardsonius balteatus Chiselmouth Acrocheilus alutaceus Bridgelip sucker Catastomus columbianus Largescale sucker Catastomus macrocheilus Mottled sculpin Cottus bairdi Shorthead sculpin Cottus confusus Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieui Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus Black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus Stocked Species Steelhead trout Oncorynchus mykiss Rainbow trout Oncorynchus mykiss Brown trout Salmo trutta Chinook salmon Oncorynchus tshawytscha Sources: Corps (2002a); MacCoy (2006); IDFG (2013) 4.4.1.1 Mussels Specific mussel surveys were not identified for the lower Boise River, but review of A Guide to Southern Idaho’s Freshwater Mollusks (Lysne, 2009) found that several species of snails and clams, including some invasive species, may occur in the lower Boise River. However, no threatened or endangered mussel species have been reported for the lower Boise River (IDFG, 2018).