FY07-09 proposal 199608600

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Section 1. Administrative

Proposal titleClearwater Focus Program, Idaho SCC
Proposal ID199608600
OrganizationIdaho Soil Conservation Commission
Short descriptionIdaho State co-coordinator of the Clearwater Focus Program to provide technical and management assistance to habitat restoration groups, performs staff functions for Clearwater PAC, and interagency liaison for program development.
Information transferInformation on program status is reported quarterly to the Bonneville Power Administration, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Idaho Office of Species Conservation, bi-monthly to the Idaho Soil Conservation Commission, and montly to the ISCC administrator.
Proposal contact person or principal investigator
Contacts
ContactOrganizationEmail
Form submitter
Janet Hohle Idaho Soil Conservation Commission jhohle@idahoag.us
All assigned contacts
Linda Georgiev Idaho Department of Agriculture lgeorgiev@idahoag.us
Janet Hohle Idaho Soil Conservation Commission jhohle@idahoag.us
Jerry Nicolescu Idaho Soil Conservation Commission jerry.nicolescu@idahoag.us

Section 2. Locations

Province / subbasin: Mountain Snake / Clearwater

LatitudeLongitudeWaterbodyDescription
Project area includes the entire Clearwater River subbasin

Section 3. Focal species

primary: All Anadromous Fish
secondary: All Wildlife
Additional: All focal terrestrial species, Clearwater Subbasin Assessment 2003, Sections 5 & 6

Section 4. Past accomplishments

YearAccomplishments
2005 SWCD management planning, designed protocol & participated in SWCD program review; prepared MOU for SCC and Idaho OSC; project implementation support role; 4 of 5 PCSRF proposals funded (SWCD, city, county) coordinated legal contract development
2004 Prepared subbasin plan adoption supplement; resubmitted plan; presented workshops on plan documents; continued project implementaiton support role; prepared 4 PCSRF proposals- 2 funded.
2003 Coordinated subbasin plan review and response to ISRP comments; contributing author; resubmitted subbasin plan; continued project implementation support role.
2002 Completed subbasin assessment; inititated subbasin planning implemented public process, contributing author to plan documents; submitted draft subbasin plan to council; continued project implementation support role.
2001 Coordinated subbasin summary review, coordinated provincial review in Clearwater; developed new project proposals for Potlatch River
2000 convened PAC terrestrial and aquatic subcommittees for subbasin assessment, continued project support role; began monitoring in Potlatch; facilitated subbasin summary process
1999 Continued implementation assistance; convened Clearwater Policy Advisory Committee; began subbasin assessment process; prepared SOWs for SWCD projects.
1998 Coordinated subbasin review; compiled information on the Potlatch River, Big Canyon Creek, and Little Canyon Creek for project design; prepared proposals and secured funding for Big Canyon and Little Canyon creeks, assisted SWCDs with implementation.
1997 Compiled existing plans, program, policies, laws; developed resource bibliography of projects and databases; compiled list of funding sources;

Section 5. Relationships to other projects

Funding sourceRelated IDRelated titleRelationship
BPA 199706000 Clearwater Focus Watershed Np Clearwater Focus Program co-coordiantion w/ Idaho SCC
BPA 199901400 Little Canyon Creek Habitat SWCD Focus project
BPA 199901500 Big Canyon Fish Habitat SWCD Focus project
BPA 199901600 Protect/Restore Big Canyon Cr. NPT Focus project
BPA 199901700 Rehabilitate Lapwai Creek NPT Focus project
BPA 200206100 Restore Potlatch R Watershed SWCD Focus project
BPA 200207000 Lapwai Cr Anadromous Habitat SWCD Focus project

Section 6. Biological objectives

Biological objectivesFull descriptionAssociated subbasin planStrategy
Enhance Enhancement and Restoration Opportunities Coordinate and integrate regional expertise and funding for implementation opportunities to maximize ecosystem benefits Clearwater LL1: Integrate local community needs and resources in program development and implementation. LL2: Coordinate agency implementation goals and efforts to aviod duplication.
Protect Functioning Wetlands Complete wetland delineations on private lands in lower Clearwater watersheds by finalizing portions of the National Wetlands Inventory maps. Investigate opportunities for conservation easements, land acquisitions, land exchanges, etc. Clearwater Z1: finalize national wetlands inventory map; Z2: protect wetlandhabitats through land acquistion, conservation easements, land exchanges
Protect, Enhance, and Restore Ecological Diversity Implement the categorical priorities - protect, enhance, and restore, by facilitating organized watershed based implementation. Clearwater Clearwater Subbasin Adoption Supplement, Section J. General Summary of Management Approach-Protection/Restoration

Section 7. Work elements (coming back to this)

Work element nameWork element titleDescriptionStart dateEnd dateEst budget
Coordination Support SWCDs, county commissions, watershed groups Provide assistance and consultation with project development, management, implementation, and contracting; includes grant writing and proposal development. 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $74,760
Biological objectives
Enhance Enhancement and Restoration Opportunities
Metrics
Coordination Coordinate and administer Clearwater PAC and other subbasin agency partners Interagency coordination in subbasin; PAC convenes quarterly unless special project circumstances arise which may include implementation of the Snake River Basin Adjudication restoration work. May include components of WE #114-project identificaiton & selection 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $59,964
Biological objectives
Enhance Enhancement and Restoration Opportunities
Metrics
Provide Technical Review Assist SWCDs and other groups with technical review of plans, designs, reports. Participate on technical advisory teams; 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $14,796
Biological objectives
Protect, Enhance, and Restore Ecological Diversity
Metrics
Produce Environmental Compliance Documentation Assist Bonneville project sponsors with environmental compliance Assist Bonneville project sponsors to develop biological assessemnts, NEPA checklists, supplemental anaysis, cultural resource reviews, and permit applications. 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $29,592
Biological objectives
Protect, Enhance, and Restore Ecological Diversity
Metrics
Other Wetland Delineation Retain specialists to complete delineations for wetlands in critical areas: field verify for final determination wetlands preliminarily identified on the National Wetlands Inventory. Select areas to enhance implemetation projects. 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $15,000
Biological objectives
Protect Functioning Wetlands
Metrics
Other Contract services for engineering or legal consultation Provide service to SWCDs for legal review in the development of construction contracts and other legal agreements. 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $10,500
Biological objectives
Protect, Enhance, and Restore Ecological Diversity
Metrics
Other Assist subbasin restoration partners with funding proposal development Prepare proposal documents for funding from other organizations: Idaho Soil Conservation Commisison, Idaho PCSRF; NOAA Fisheries; Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Bonneville funding can be used for cost share required by Idaho PCSRF program and all state programs. 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $59,964
Biological objectives
Protect, Enhance, and Restore Ecological Diversity
Metrics
Produce Inventory or Assessment Restoration project and monitoring inventory Maintain subbasin project inventory database. Investigate alternative methods for compiling and organizing database. 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $45,169
Biological objectives
Enhance Enhancement and Restoration Opportunities
Metrics
Manage and Administer Projects General administration of project Draft SOW, budgets, property inventory, management assistance to other Bonneville project sponsors as requested. 7/1/2007 6/30/2009 $9,663
Biological objectives
Enhance Enhancement and Restoration Opportunities
Metrics
Produce Status Report Pisces Quarterly Status Report [Work Element Description Not Entered] 9/30/2007 6/30/2009 $1,000
Biological objectives
Enhance Enhancement and Restoration Opportunities
Metrics
Produce Annual Report Annual Report Produce annual summary report on contract year activities, accomplishments, and issues encountered. 6/30/2007 6/30/2009 $1,000
Biological objectives
Enhance Enhancement and Restoration Opportunities
Metrics

Section 8. Budgets

Itemized estimated budget
ItemNoteFY07FY08FY09
Personnel 26.50*2080 hrs $55,120 $55,120 $55,120
Fringe Benefits @33% $18,300 $18,300 $18,300
Supplies printing, publishing, office space, mtgs, misc. office & computer supplies, mileage or car rental $11,425 $11,425 $11,425
Travel BOI, GEG, PDX $3,880 $3,880 $3,880
Overhead @11.17% $9,911 $9,911 $9,911
Other Subcontracts: legal, engineering, wetlands $8,500 $8,500 $8,500
Totals $107,136 $107,136 $107,136
Total estimated FY 2007-2009 budgets
Total itemized budget: $321,408
Total work element budget: $321,408
Cost sharing
Funding source/orgItem or service providedFY 07 est value ($)FY 08 est value ($)FY 09 est value ($)Cash or in-kind?Status
ISCC GIS support $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 In-Kind Confirmed
Totals $5,000 $5,000 $5,000

Section 9. Project future

FY 2010 estimated budget: $107,000
FY 2011 estimated budget: $107,000
Comments: This project has very stable funding projections that vary little.

Future O&M costs: n/a

Termination date:
Comments:

Final deliverables:

Section 10. Narrative and other documents


Reviews and recommendations

FY07 budget FY08 budget FY09 budget Total budget Type Category Recommendation
NPCC FINAL FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS (Oct 23, 2006) [full Council recs]
$98,000 $98,000 $98,000 $294,000 Expense ProvinceExpense Fund
NPCC DRAFT FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS (Sep 15, 2006) [full Council recs]
$98,000 $98,000 $98,000 $0 ProvinceExpense

ISRP PRELIMINARY REVIEW (Jun 2, 2006)

Recommendation: Admin (see comments)

NPCC comments: This proposal is to provide a coordinator to integrate activities by Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Nez Perce Tribe, and others with the priorities in the Clearwater subbasin plan. The funding request is for a single FTE. Although the ISRP placed this proposal in the administrative category, the proposal is not justified as presented. This position may be an essential element of stewardship for the subbasin. But based on the proposal, it is not clear that this project is showing results in the basin for restoration and evaluation. This project is supposed to provide vital services, but it is not clear what essential functions this individual provides, and what would happen regarding subbasin integration and facilitation of other Council Fish and Wildlife Program proposals if this coordinator was not available. The list of tasks for the Focus Coordinator are extensive, leading reviewers to be skeptical of whether this position covers these tasks, for example, "Maintain subbasin inventory database and maps" (page 10 #3) and "Provide contract engineering or legal assistance to Bonneville project sponsors" (page 11 #3). These are disparate tasks for a single person, thus it is not clear what the coordinator actually does. The focus of this proposal seems to be facilitating meetings. The ISRP’s province review recommendation included the statement: “This project should demonstrate performance by the next review cycle otherwise it should be terminated.” The coordinator clearly played a role in completion of the subbasin plan, but the continued value of the coordination is not persuasively presented. Past ISRP reviews indicated a need to increase activity in coordinating M&E in the subbasin. From this proposal it is clear that there is no intent to do that. The project began in 1996, but there is an inadequate summary of the assignments actually performed by the Focus Coordinator. There is a list of the meetings that the coordinator facilitated, but it is not clear that this facilitation improved the coordination of activities in the subbasin. Four projects are identified as Clearwater focus projects, and there is connection to two other through the NPT Focus coordinator. This seems to be minimal rationale to justify a coordinator to link these projects. Moreover, the proposals from the focus projects need significant improvement, so there is no evidence that this position is critical to the SWCDs being able to connect with each other, BPA, and Idaho PCSRF. In other words, the results of the ongoing efforts and how this project improved those efforts through coordination and support are not evident, and based on the other proposals submitted are not promising. In sum, there is not a clear demonstration that this coordinator is essential to execute proposals to BPA and PCSRF. As with other watershed coordinator proposals, the proposed effort would be better integrated into a proposal that is directed toward management based on science including on-the-ground work and monitoring.


ISRP FINAL REVIEW (Aug 31, 2006)

Recommendation: Admin (see comments)

NPCC comments: This proposal is to provide a coordinator to integrate activities by Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Nez Perce Tribe, and others with the priorities in the Clearwater subbasin plan. The funding request is for a single FTE. Although the ISRP placed this proposal in the administrative category, the proposal is not justified as presented. This position may be an essential element of stewardship for the subbasin. But based on the proposal, it is not clear that this project is showing results in the basin for restoration and evaluation. This project is supposed to provide vital services, but it is not clear what essential functions this individual provides, and what would happen regarding subbasin integration and facilitation of other Council Fish and Wildlife Program proposals if this coordinator was not available. The list of tasks for the Focus Coordinator are extensive, leading reviewers to be skeptical of whether this position covers these tasks, for example, "Maintain subbasin inventory database and maps" (page 10 #3) and "Provide contract engineering or legal assistance to Bonneville project sponsors" (page 11 #3). These are disparate tasks for a single person, thus it is not clear what the coordinator actually does. The focus of this proposal seems to be facilitating meetings. The ISRP’s province review recommendation included the statement: “This project should demonstrate performance by the next review cycle otherwise it should be terminated.” The coordinator clearly played a role in completion of the subbasin plan, but the continued value of the coordination is not persuasively presented. Past ISRP reviews indicated a need to increase activity in coordinating M&E in the subbasin. From this proposal it is clear that there is no intent to do that. The project began in 1996, but there is an inadequate summary of the assignments actually performed by the Focus Coordinator. There is a list of the meetings that the coordinator facilitated, but it is not clear that this facilitation improved the coordination of activities in the subbasin. Four projects are identified as Clearwater focus projects, and there is connection to two other through the NPT Focus coordinator. This seems to be minimal rationale to justify a coordinator to link these projects. Moreover, the proposals from the focus projects need significant improvement, so there is no evidence that this position is critical to the SWCDs being able to connect with each other, BPA, and Idaho PCSRF. In other words, the results of the ongoing efforts and how this project improved those efforts through coordination and support are not evident, and based on the other proposals submitted are not promising. In sum, there is not a clear demonstration that this coordinator is essential to execute proposals to BPA and PCSRF. As with other watershed coordinator proposals, the proposed effort would be better integrated into a proposal that is directed toward management based on science including on-the-ground work and monitoring.