BPA Fish and Wildlife FY 1997 Proposal

Section 1. Administrative
Section 2. Narrative
Section 3. Budget

see CBFWA and BPA funding recommendations

Section 1. Administrative

Title of project
Willamette Valley Mitigation Habitat Mapping

BPA project number   5519600

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
ODFW

Sponsor type   OR-State/Local Agency

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   ,

Biological opinion ID   

NWPPC Program number   

Short description
This project would contribute to completing an interagency geographic information system for exisiting and historical vegetation in the Willamette Valley. This information is/will be linked to a state wildlife species information system for both mitigation planning and biodiversity conservation by a consortium of agencies, counties and local governments.

Project start year   1997    End year   1997

Start of operation and/or maintenance   0

Project development phase   Planning

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects
This project is related to 4 ongoing mitigation projects in the Willamette Basin: Willamette Valley Mitigation Phase II (96 65), Oregon Trust Agreement Planning (95 65), Willow Creek (91 078) and Burlington Bottoms (92 059). All have or will involve some level of vegetation mapping that should be consistent across projects so that cumulative affects of habitat mitigation projects can be determined and tracked within the Willamette basin. The proposed project will contribute toward developing a basin wide vegetation/ habitat (historical and current) geographic information system.

Project history
This is not currently an ongoing BPA project however much of this project is ongoing by various agencies including Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Oregon Natural Heritage Program, and Oregon Division of State Lands (DSL). Funding to date has come from ODFW (@$100,000), Environmental Protection Agency (@$60,000), Bureau of Land Management @(20,000) and DSL. Partial funding is being requested from BPA to complete these projects and combine results into a composite GIS system which can be used for mitigation planning and implementation.

Biological results achieved

Annual reports and technical papers

Management implications

Specific measureable objectives
See tasks below under Schedule of Activities.

Testable hypothesis

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints
Primary constraints are funding and manpower limitations. It is assumed that exisiting agency GIS equipment will still be available to complete digitizing and analysis.

Methods
See tasks listed below under Schedule of Activities.

Brief schedule of activities
This is a one year project only. Tasks include the following:

1. Complete vegetation mapping of USGS orthophoto quads corrected to 1993 into an
Arc/Info system at 1":24,000' for Linn, Marion and Clackamas counties. Edge map
with completed adjacent Willamette valley counties and develop a composite
coverage of existing vegetation based on Kagan and Caicco (Manual of Oregon
Actual Vegetation 1992).
2. Accuracy check, field verify and edge map final digital vegetation maps for Linn,
Marion, Clackamas, Yamhill, Polk, Benton, and Lane counties.
3. Complete historical vegetation mapping (General Land Office Surveys, 1800's) for 25
Townships for Multnomah and Clackamas counties through the Oregon Natural
Heritage Program. Enter data into Arc/Info at 1":24,000'. Combine with existing
historical data for remaining Willamette Valley counties.
4. Update and digitize National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps for the Willamette
Valley (n =20). To be conducted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to meet national
standards.
5. Complete digitization of current NWI maps (n = 60) for the Willamette Valley and
edge map with those in #4 above. To be conducted by the Oregon Division of State
Lands and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Biological need
The Willamette Valley has been identified by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as the ecosystem in Oregon most altered and at greatest risk to loss of structure and function from long term development, intensive agriculture and rapid human population increase. Twenty four of 121 species listed as Sensitive by the State are associated with the valley. In addition , the Willamette River and associated tributaries are important habitats for anadromous as well as resident fish. Destruction of remaining wildlife habitats, particularly riparian habitats, has been exacerbated by the development of upriver hydro and flood control facilities. Maintenance and restoration of wildlife habitat and associated species must be addressed on a landscape and basin level in order to reasonably deal with cumulative effects of compounding environmental stressors.
Completion of a valley wide vegetation (i.e., habitat) GIS, linked to existing species information systems, will allow analysis of the existing conditions, historical conditions (for restoration), and quickly identify priority areas to focus on for protection and restoration.

Critical uncertainties
Funding for mitigation projects in a timely manner. Many opportunities for land acquisition exist for mitigation purposes but funding must be available to obtain an option on the selected properties on short notice and with certainty for the landowner.

Summary of expected outcome
See Schedule of Activities above.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
As indicated under Project History this is an ongoing project involving a number of cooperatorsincluding the Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Oregon Division of State Lands, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Environmental Protection. In addition, numerous other projects dealing with conservation and mitigation for ecological resources in the Willamette Valley would benefit from the mapping products that will be available from this project.

Risks

Monitoring activity
GIS products must meet state and/or national standards and are peer reviewed.

Section 3. Budget

* For most projects, Authorized is the amount recommended by CBFWA and the Council. Planned is amount currently allocated. Contracted is the amount obligated to date of printout.

Funding recommendations

CBFWA funding review group   Wildlife

Recommendation    No recommendation