Swanson Lake Wildlife Mitigation Project (Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area) proposal 199106100

FY07-09 proposal 199106100

Section 1. Administrative

Proposal title	Swanson Lake Wildlife Mitigation Project (Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area)
Proposal ID	199106100
Organization	Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
Short description	Protect, increase, and maintain a viable sharp-tailed grouse meta population, increase mule deer use of the project site, and enhance habitat for shrubsteppe obligate species, as mitigation for losses associated with the Grand Coulee Dam.
Information transfer	Expected outcomes are qualitative. Data reside locally at project site, at WDFW headquarters, and at BPA. Data are in both printed and electronic form. Data are used in WDFW-published management and recovery documents for sharp-tailed grouse. Data are available through WDFW's website: wdfw.wa.gov. Information derived from this project will be used to improve wildlife/habitat management techniques on mitigation and non-mitigation wildlife areas and will be provided to CBFWA project managers and other interested parties either electronically or in hard copy reports. All data, reports, techniques, and methods resulting from monitoring and research will be made available in accordance with WDFW policies regulating the release of sensitive fish and wildlife information.
Proposal contact person or principal investigator

Contacts

Contact	Organization	Email
Form submitter
Juli Anderson	Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife/Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area	anderjaa@dfw.wa.gov
All assigned contacts
Juli Anderson	Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife/Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area	anderjaa@dfw.wa.gov
Paul Dahmer	WDFW	dahmepad@dfw.wa.gov

Section 2. Locations

Province / subbasin: Columbia Plateau / Crab

Latitude	Longitude	Description
47 40.53	118 26.56	Point on northern boundary of the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area (SLWA). Approximately 10 miles south of Creston, Washington.
47 32.15	118 22.59	Point on southern boundary of the SLWA.
47 37.37	118 36.44	Point on western boundary of the SLWA.
47 33.47	118 21.25	Point on eastern boundary of the SLWA.

Section 3. Focal species

primary: All Wildlife
secondary: All Wildlife
Additional: Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse, mule deer, shrubsteppe obligate species.

Section 4. Past accomplishments

Year	Accomplishments
2005	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 14 grouse displaying on 3 leks. Planted 32 ha (80 ac) to grasses and forbs. Planted 500 riparian trees and shrubs in irrigated, fenced plot. Augmented sharp-tail population with 20 birds from BC and ID.
2004	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 19 grouse displaying on 5 leks, a sharp decline from previous year. Planted 49 ha (120 ac) to grasses and forbs. Plan for sharp-tail augmentation activities, to take place in spring 2005.
2003	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 28 grouse displaying on 5 leks, a sharp decline from previous year. Second-year fallowed 49 ha (120 ac) for planting to grass/forbs in 2004. Planted 500 trees.
2002	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 43 grouse displaying on 7 leks. Planted 30 ha (75 ac) to grasses and forbs. Maintained 60 miles of boundary fence. Controlled noxious weeds throughout the wildlife area.
2001	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 51 grouse displaying on 8 leks. Planted 36 ha (90 ac) to grasses and forbs. Maintained 60 miles of boundary fence. Controlled noxious weeds throughout the wildlife area.
2000	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse Lek surveys. Counted 49 grouse displaying on 8 leks. Conducted neo tropical bird surveys. Replicated 1992 HEP surveys and established vegetation monitoring transects. Maintained boundary fence. Controlled noxious weeds.
1999	Completed the Cultural Resource Survey. Assisted Scotch Creek WA staff seed 162 ha (400 ac) to grasses/forbs, sharp-tailed grouse nesting and brood rearing habitat. Conducted sharp-tailed grouse Lek surveys. Counted 62 grouse displaying on 8 leks.
1998	Constructed 27 km (17 mi) of fence and repaired an additional 7 km (4.5 mi) of fence to protect habitat from livestock encroachment. Conducted sharp-tailed grouse Lek surveys. Counted 48 grouse displaying on 8 leks.
1997	Planted 28 ha (70 ac) to grasses and forbs. Planted 23,500 shrubs and trees. Purchased 321 ha (792 ac) of habitat. Established monitoring/evaluation transects. Conducted lek surveys: counted 57 sharp-tailed grouse displaying on 7 leks.
1996	Planted 210 ha to grasses and forbs. Planted 18,400 shrubs and trees. Purchased 119 ha (295 ac) of grouse habitat. Constructed 27 km (16 mi) of fence to protect habitat. Conducted sharp-tailed grouse Lek surveys. Counted 55 grouse displaying on 7 leks.
1995	Acquired 2,478 ha (5060 ac) Welch/Anderson properties, the 97 ha (240 ac) Rustemeyer/Finch ranch, and added 1,214 ha (3000 ac) Tracy Rock parcel purchased by WDFW. Coordinated grouse management activities with BLM's Twin Lakes Recreation Area.
1994	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 20 grouse displaying on 5 leks. Manager and assistant hired for project; planning started for future habitat restoration. Controlled noxious weeds. Started planning for habitat restoration work.
1993	Acquired the 4,208 ha (10,399 ac) Roloff property as the "core" sharp-tailed grouse area within WDFW's Sharp-tailed Grouse Mgmt Zone 4 and Sage Grouse Mgmt Zone 1.Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 41 grouse displaying on 6 leks.
1992	Conducted sharp-tailed grouse lek surveys. Counted 24 grouse displaying on 6 leks. Conducted baseline HEP surveys.

Section 5. Relationships to other projects

Funding source	Related ID	Related title	Relationship
BPA	199609401	Scotch Creek Wildlife Area	Sharp-tailed grouse/habitat restoration. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
BPA	199404400	Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Mitigation Project	Sharp-tailed grouse/habitat restoration. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
BPA	199800300	Spokane Tribe Wildlife Mitigation Project	Potential sharp-tailed habitat/restoration. The Spokane Tribe of Indians (STOI) would like to restore a population of sharp-tailed grouse to its lands, in future. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
BPA	200103000	Sharp-Tailed Grouse Habitat	This project is administered by the Colville Confederated Tribes. The project complements WDFW projects on the Swanson Lake WA, Scotch Creek WA and Sagebrush Flat WA to protect and enhance sharp-tailed grouse populations in North Central Washington. These projects have worked cooperatively to enhance and protect habitat. Additionally, they have initiated population augmentation efforts by translocating sharp-tailed grouse from source populations in Idaho and British Columbia to their respective project locations.
BPA	200103400	Forage and Mule Deer Conditions	Helps determine quality of shrubsteppe habitat on/around SLWA. Help guide restoration/management at SLWA, to assist shrubsteppe obligate species in general, and sharp-tailed grouse in particular. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
BPA	200310100	Enhance Fish and Wildlife - Reservation of Colville Tribes	Sharp-tailed grouse/habitat restoration. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
BPA	200600400	Wenas Wildlife Area Operation and Maintenance	Potential sharp-tailed grouse habitat/restoration. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
BPA	200600500	Asotin Creek Wildlife Area Operation and Maintenance	Potential sharp-tailed grouse habitat/restoration. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
Other: Bureau of Land Management (BLM)	None	Telford/Twin Lakes/Coffeepot/Lakeview Recreation Areas	Sharp-tailed grouse/habitat restoration. Parts of these areas are adjacent to SLWA. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
BPA	200201400	Sunnyside Wildlife Mitigation	Shrubsteppe habitat restoration. Potential habitat for sharp-tailed grouse. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
Other: Douglas County PUD No. 1	[no entry]	Wells Wildlife Mitigation Project	Sharp-tailed grouse/habitat restoration. Supports this project and WDFW goals and objectives.
Other: : Federal	[no entry]	WDFW Shrubsteppe Restoration Research	This research project evaluates the ability of restored agricultural fields to support native wildlife. The results of this research will help guide restoration and enhancement efforts on Swanson Lakes W.A. Several research plots are located on the W.A. The research is conducted by WDFW biologists.
Other: The Nature Conservancy	[no entry]	Moses Coulee/Beezley Hills Shrubsteppe Preserve	The Nature Conservancy has acquired more than 25,000 acres of shrubsteppe habitat for the preserve. Their goal is to protect and restore large blocks of this habitat. Their work complements the shrubsteppe protection and restoration efforts of this project.
Other: Federal: US Army Corps of Engineers	[no entry]	Chief Joseph Dam Wildlife Mitigation Project	Complements shrubsteppe protection as well as riparian enhancement and protection efforts of this project. The Corps project is located in north-central Washington, in the vicinity of Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area.
Other: County, State and Federal	[no entry]	Foster Creek Conservation District Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)	The HCP will offer potential coverage to privately owned or operated agricultural lands in Douglas County. The Plan will include management recommendations for specific wildlife species and habitats, including those identified as focal indicators within the Upper Middle Mainstem (UMM) of the Columbia River. Complements the shrubsteppe protection and restoration efforts of this project, as well as sharp-tailed grouse population protection and enhancement efforts.
Other: Federal, Provincial	[no entry]	Okanogan-Similkameen Conservation Corridor Program	This project advances the protection and restoration of shrubsteppe habitat and sharp-tailed grouse within the Okanogan River valley. It will provide a critical habitat and population link between Sagebrush Flat W.A., Scotch Creek W.A., and British Columbia.
Other: Federal and State	[no entry]	Sharp-tailed grouse Translocation Project	This project funds the capture and transportation of sharp-tailed grouse from Idaho, British Columbia and or Utah to Washington. Birds are released on the Swanson Lake W.A. the Sagebrush Flat W.A. and lands owned by the Colville Confederated Tribes. This project is essential to maintaining and expanding the population of sharp-tailed grouse in North-Central Washington.
Other: Federal and State	[no entry]	Sage Grouse Translocation Project	This project funds the capture and transportation of sage grouse from Oregon and/or Nevada to Central and North Central Washington. In the last two years birds have been released on the US Army's Yakima Training Center (YTC), located in Kittitas County. Radio marked birds have been observed near the YTC, on WDFW Wildlife Areas within Kittitas County. Additional translocation efforts are planned to take place in Douglas County by 2008. Units of the Sagebrush Flats W.A. have been identified as release sites. This project is essential to maintaining and expanding the population of sage grouse in Washington.

Section 6. Biological objectives

Biological objectives	Full description	Associated subbasin plan	Strategy
Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.	Enhance and protect existing habitat necessary for sharp-tailed grouse life requirements. Continue translocation efforts begun in 2005. Secure birds from Idaho, Utah and/or British Columbia.	Crab	Strategies S2-4. (Restore viable populations of shrubsteppe obligate species where possible.)
Protect and enhance shrubsteppe habitat	Legal and regulatory instruments may be used for habitat protection and enhancement on Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area, and on other nearby publicly-owned and private lands. Habitat protection includes, but is not limited to; acquisition, reducing or eliminating weed encroachment and disturbance factors, construction and maintenance of firebreaks, maintenance of boundary fences to prevent trespass cattle. Enhancement measures include, but are not limited to: weed control; planting native grasses, forbs and shrubs.	Crab	Strategies S1-1, -2, -3, and -4. (Address legal/regulatory instruments to protect habitat.)
Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat	Protection and enhancement of habitat on Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area. Habitat protection includes, but is not limited to; acquisition, reducing or eliminating weed encroachment and disturbance factors, construction and maintenance of firebreaks, maintenance of boundary fences to prevent trespass cattle. Enhancement measures include, but are not limited to: weed control; planting native grasses, forbs and shrubs.	Crab	Strategies S2-1, -2, -3, -5 -6, and - 7. (Address weed management, vegetational structure, habitat corridors, USDA habitat programs and other cooperative projects, and acquisition.)
Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat.	Coordinate with neighboring landowners, to effectively expand the boundaries of high-quality habitat for shrub-stepp obligate species.Habitat protection includes, but is not limited to; acquisition, reducing or eliminating weed encroachment and disturbance factors, construction and maintenance of firebreaks, maintenance of boundary fences to prevent trespass cattle. Enhancement measures include, but are not limited to: weed control; planting native grasses, forbs and shrubs.	Crab	Strategies S5-1, -2,and -3. (Address private landowner enrollment in CRP to provide/maintain high-quality habitat.)

Section 7. Work elements (coming back to this)

Work element name	Work element title	Description	Start date	End date	Est budget
Plant Vegetation	Restore shrubsteppe habitat	Plant grasses and forbs for sharp-tailed grouse lekking, nesting and foraging habitat.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$112,500
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics * # of acres of planted: 225
Plant Vegetation	Windmill and/or solar pump irrigated site planting	Plant trees and shrubs for sharp-tailed grouse habitat, in up to three separate plots over three years.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$28,000
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Maintain Vegetation	Maintain extant/restored vegetation	Maintain extant, including restored, shrub/tree plantings, shrub-steppe habitat, and herbaceous seedings.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$48,250
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Maintain Vegetation	Weed control	Control weeds and undesirable vegetation on 20,000 acre wildlife area.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$96,500
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Operate and Maintain Habitat/Passage	Maintain facilities	Maintain physical improvements	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$96,500
Biological objectives Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.			Metrics
Operate and Maintain Habitat/Passage	Maintain fence	Maintain boundary fence. In addition to routine activities, replace burned wood posts, and brittle wire, caused by Wall Lake Fire of late summer 2005.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$60,000
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Provide Public Access/Information	Maintain roads/parking areas	Maintain project roads/parking areas.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$32,250
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Provide Public Access/Information	Maintain signs and kiosks	Maintain informational signs, reader boards, and kiosks.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$8,000
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Lease Land	Maintain leases	Lease land from WDNR, and lease lands out for haying and growing cereal grains.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$4,750
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe habitat			Metrics
Other	Columbian sharp-tailed grouse augmentation	Continue augmentation of sharp-tailed grouse at Swanson Lakes. Birds will come from areas including other states/British Columbia. This will provide additional numbers, and necessary genetic diversity, to give the small remaining local grouse population a better chance of survival.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$12,000
Biological objectives Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.			Metrics
Coordination	Community outreach	Conduct Citizens' Advisory Group (CAG) meetings, and presentations/tours with stakeholder groups as needed.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$3,250
Biological objectives Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.			Metrics
Manage and Administer Projects	Administrative duties	Coordinated and responsive actions consistent with wildlife area management/mitigation goals and objectives and improved employee performance, and compliance with pesticide application licensing requirements. Purchase pickup truck, $30k, in 2007.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$130,000
Biological objectives Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.			Metrics
Manage and Administer Projects	Annual report of activities/accomplishments	Annual report of activities/work elements.	7/1/2007	9/30/2009	$1,600
Biological objectives Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.			Metrics
Manage and Administer Projects	Coordinate payments	Fire protection, PILT, and weed assessment payments. Fire protection: approx. $5,000/yr, plus inflation. PILT and weed assessments: $2,000/year, plus inflation.	1/1/2007	9/30/2009	$30,153
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Manage and Administer Projects	Produce PISCES status reports	Produce quarterly reports	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$3,000
Biological objectives Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.			Metrics
Analyze/Interpret Data	Assess habitat conditions	Continue to assess vegetation trends and HEP model variables.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$9,750
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data	Collect habitat condition data.	Collect raw data on shrub-steppe/associated habitat types at Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area. This data will be used to continue assessments of vegetation trends and HEP model variables.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$38,500
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data	Monitor recreational use	Monitor/report recreational use on the wildlife area, both consumptive and non-consumptive, based on encounters with the public while performing habitat enhancement/management activities.	10/1/2006	9/30/2009	$8,000
Biological objectives Protect and enhance shrubsteppe/riparian habitat			Metrics
Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data	Monitor sharp-tailed grouse	Monitor, and search for more, sharp-tailed grouse leks and presence of sharp-tailed grouse on the wildlife area. Produce lek use report for WDFW grouse research biologist.	3/1/2007	6/30/2009	$16,000
Biological objectives Maintain and expand the sharp-tailed grouse pop.			Metrics

Section 8. Budgets

Itemized estimated budget

Item	Note	FY07	FY08	FY09
Personnel	2.5 FTE: Manager, Assistant Manager, and 0.5 FTE Laborer. Annual 3.5% inflation factor used.	$115,750	$119,750	$124,000
Fringe Benefits	Annual 3.5% inflation factor used.	$25,500	$26,500	$27,500
Supplies	Vehicles, office and field supplies/equipment, rent, utilities, fire control contracts and leases. Annual 3.5% inflation factor used.	$34,211	$35,502	$36,571
Travel	Inflation factor of $100/year used.	$1,500	$1,600	$1,700
Capital Equipment	Replace half-ton pickup truck. No overhead applied.	$30,000	$0	$0
Overhead	State FY '07 rate of 28.89% applied. Not applied to capital equipment.	$51,124	$52,970	$54,825
Totals		$258,085	$236,322	$244,596

Total estimated FY 2007-2009 budgets

Total itemized budget:	$739,003
Total work element budget:	$739,003

Cost sharing

Funding source/org	Item or service provided	FY 07 est value ($)	FY 08 est value ($)	FY 09 est value ($)	Cash or in-kind?	Status
Totals		$0	$0	$0

Section 9. Project future

FY 2010 estimated budget: $288,157
FY 2011 estimated budget: $288,157

Comments: All years: add 3.5% inflation cost. FY 2010: Purchase replacement heavy-duty pickup truck, $35,000.

Future O&M costs: Future operational costs include administrative duties, monitoring recreational use and sharp-tailed grouse populations, community outreach, and reporting. Ongoing maintenance needs include extant tree and shrub plantings, roads and parking areas, weed control, equipment and vehicle repairs, signs and reader boards, physical improvements, and fence repair. Future Operations and Maintenance costs will be similar to this project proposal.

Termination date: Ongoing
Comments: Long-term operation and management of wildlife habitat migitation projects is a necessary component of mitigating the long-term operation of the Columbia River hydroelectric system.

Final deliverables: Secured high-quality habitat that, along with other projects, mitigates the wildlife impacts of the Columbia River hydroelectric system.

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]
$83,333	$83,333	$83,333	$249,999	Expense	ProvinceExpense	Fund
NPCC DRAFT FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS (Sep 15, 2006) [full Council recs]
$83,333	$83,333	$83,333	$0		ProvinceExpense

ISRP PRELIMINARY REVIEW (Jun 2, 2006)

Recommendation: Fundable

NPCC comments: The proposal clearly relates the need for intervention to increase and maintain sharp-tailed grouse populations on SLWA. The proposal adequately describes the relationship between the objectives in the project and the Crab Subbasin Plan. However, because of the continuing decline in sharp-tailed grouse numbers, it is not clear if the facilities and personnel are appropriate to achieve restoration. The history of the project is effectively documented. Some evaluation of results is included but more indication of possible reasons for the continuing decline of sharp-tailed grouse populations despite intensive intervention efforts is recommended. While results to date are not promising it may be that habitat enhancement activities that are in place, coupled with protection and supplementation, will show signs of success in the near future. The ambitious monitoring and evaluation component may serve as an example for others if conducted, documented, and distributed effectively. The ISRP was pleased to see plans for monitoring vegetation, planted shrubs, and marking supplemental birds from Idaho and British Columbia. A few additional considerations could improve the monitoring and evaluation component of the proposal. Participants should monitor livestock trespass to ensure the adequacy of smooth wire bottom strand of new fencing. The proposal could include some analysis of genetic composition of individuals on the area as well as samples from birds added annually. These data could serve as baseline information and allow a critical evaluation of the importance of genetics in recovery of these birds. Measurable objectives in terms of sharp-tailed grouse numbers as well as habitat alterations are clearly stated. The proposal, however, should better present support for the importance of fragmentation of habitats for this population. The sponsors do a good job of clearly indicating the relationship of this project with other projects and identifying cooperative efforts for sharing information on sharp-tailed grouse with other projects.

ISRP FINAL REVIEW (Aug 31, 2006)

Recommendation: Fundable