Assessing the Status and Trends of Spring Chinook Habitat in the Upper Grande Ronde River and Catherine Creek: Annual Report 2014 publication date: March 31, 2015 Authors: Dale A. McCullough, Seth White, Casey Justice, Monica Blanchard, Robert Lessard, Denise Kelsey, David Graves, and Joe Nowinski Technical Report 15-05 Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission 700 NE Multnomah St, Ste 1200, Portland OR 97232 · (503)238-0667 · www.critfc.org Funding for this work came from the Columbia Basin Fish Accords (2008-2018), a ten-year tribal/federal partnership between the Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, US Army Corps of Engineers, and The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Assessing the Status and Trends of Spring Chinook Habitat in the Upper Grande Ronde River and Catherine Creek BPA Project # 2009-004-00 Report covers work performed under BPA contract #(s) 64398 Report was completed under BPA contract #(s) 64398 Report covers work performed from: January 2014 – December 2014 Dale A. McCullough, Seth White, Casey Justice, Monica Blanchard, Robert Lessard, Denise Kelsey, David Graves, and Joe Nowinski Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), Portland, OR 97232 Report Created March 2015 This report was funded by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), U.S. Department of Energy, as part of BPA's program to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife affected by the development and operation of hydroelectric facilities on the Columbia River and its tributaries. The views in this report are the author's and do not necessarily represent the views of BPA. 1 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 Methods ................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Study Area ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 Stream biota ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 Fish Populations ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Benthic Macroinvertebrates ......................................................................................................................... 14 Stream Habitat .................................................................................................................................................. 16 CHaMP Habitat Surveys ................................................................................................................................ 16 CHaMP Data Collection in the Minam River ................................................................................................. 21 Analysis of CHaMP Data Relative to Landscape Metrics ............................................................................... 21 Water Temperature ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Water Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Large Woody Debris (Remote Estimation) .................................................................................................... 23 Riparian Vegetation ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Hydrology-Low Flows .................................................................................................................................... 24 Road Density ................................................................................................................................................. 24 Restoration Database .................................................................................................................................... 25 Life Cycle Model ................................................................................................................................................ 26 Results ................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Stream Biota ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 Fish Populations ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Benthic Macroinvertebrates ......................................................................................................................... 29 Stream Habitat .................................................................................................................................................. 32 CHaMP Habitat Surveys ................................................................................................................................ 32 Analysis of CHaMP Data Relative to Landscape Metrics ............................................................................... 36 Water Temperature ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Water Chemistry ........................................................................................................................................... 44 Large Woody Debris (Remote Estimation) .................................................................................................... 47 Riparian Vegetation ....................................................................................................................................... 49 2 Hydrology-Low Flows .................................................................................................................................... 51 Road Density ................................................................................................................................................. 51 Restoration Database .................................................................................................................................... 51 Life Cycle Model ................................................................................................................................................ 56 Coordination and Data Management ............................................................................................................... 58 Fish Database Development ......................................................................................................................... 58 CRITFC GIS Database ..................................................................................................................................... 58 Upload Data to CHaMP Website ................................................................................................................... 58 Development of Road Layer in the Upper Grande Ronde Basin ................................................................... 58 GIS Tool for extraction of landscape data from riparian buffers and watershed polygons .......................... 58 Coordination with regional agencies, tribes, and landowners ..................................................................... 59 Dissemination of Project Findings ..................................................................................................................... 61 Presentations ................................................................................................................................................ 61 Publications ................................................................................................................................................... 64 Draft journal article based on CHaMP data .................................................................................................. 64 Discussion/Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 65 CHaMP Habitat Surveys ................................................................................................................................ 65 Water Temperature ...................................................................................................................................... 66 Fish Populations ............................................................................................................................................ 66 Benthic Macroinvertebrates ......................................................................................................................... 67 Hydrology-Low