FY 2002 Blue Mountain proposal 200205600
Contents
Section 1. General administrative information
Section 2. Past accomplishments
Section 3. Relationships to other projects
Section 4. Budgets for planning/design phase
Section 5. Budgets for construction/implementation phase
Section 6. Budgets for operations/maintenance phase
Section 7. Budgets for monitoring/evaluation phase
Section 8. Budget summary
Reviews and Recommendations
Additional documents
| Title | Type |
|---|---|
| 27021 Narrative | Narrative |
| 27021 Sponsor Response to ISRP | Response |
| Blue Mountain: Imnaha Subbasin Map with BPA Fish & Wildlife Projects | Subbasin Map |
| Blue Mountain: Imnaha Subbasin Map with BPA Fish & Wildlife Projects | Subbasin Map |
Section 1. Administrative
| Proposal title | Adult Steelhead Status Monitoring - Imnaha River Subbasin |
| Proposal ID | 200205600 |
| Organization | Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) |
| Proposal contact person or principal investigator | |
| Name | Jay A. Hesse |
| Mailing address | PO BOX 365 Lapwai, Idaho 83540 |
| Phone / email | 2088437145 / jayh@nezperce.org |
| Manager authorizing this project | Jaime Pinkham |
| Review cycle | Blue Mountain |
| Province / Subbasin | Blue Mountain / Imnaha |
| Short description | Quantify adult steelhead abundance, population growth rate, spatial distribution, and genetic stock structure in all tributaries of the Imnaha River subbasin through the operation of adult spawner escapement monitoring facilities |
| Target species | Steelhead (Snake River ESU) |
Project location
| Latitude | Longitude | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 45.4 | -116.87 | Imnaha Subbasin |
Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs)
Sponsor-reported:
| RPA |
|---|
| Hatchery RPA Action 174 |
| RM&E RPA Action 184 |
| RM&E RPA Action 193 |
Relevant RPAs based on NMFS/BPA review:
| Reviewing agency | Action # | BiOp Agency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| NMFS | Action 180 | NMFS | The Action Agencies and NMFS shall work within regional prioritization and congressional appropriation processes to establish and provide the level of FCRPS funding to develop and implement a basinwide hierarchical monitoring program. This program shall be developed collaboratively with appropriate regional agencies and shall determine population and environmental status (including assessment of performance measures and standards) and allow ground-truthing of regional databases. A draft program including protocols for specific data to be collected, frequency of samples, and sampling sites shall be developed by September 2001. Implementation should begin no later than the spring of 2002 and will be fully implemented no later than 2003. |
| NMFS | Action 179 | NMFS | The Action Agencies and NMFS shall work with affected parties to establish regional priorities within the congressional appropriations processes to set and provide the appropriate level of FCRPS funding to develop recovery goals for listed salmon ESUs in the Columbia River basin. Tasks shall include defining populations based on biological criteria and evaluating population viability in accordance with NMFS' viable salmonid population approach. These tasks shall be completed by 2003. |
Section 2. Past accomplishments
| Year | Accomplishment |
|---|
Section 3. Relationships to other projects
| Project ID | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Lower Snake River Compenstation Plan Hatchery Evaluations. | Conducts escapement monitoring in Lightning and Cow Creeks. Assits with juvnile survival trapping and survival estimation from the lower Imnaha River. |
| Lower Snake River Compensation Plan O&M and Evaluations _-ODFW | Provides adult escapement monitoring in Little Sheep Creek. Evaluation of hatchery production and natural production returns. | |
| 199701501 | Imnaha River Smolt Monitoring | Provides juvenile emigration characteristics and survival data, will provide SAR information for steelhead in future years. |
| 198805301 | Northeast Oregon Hatchery | Will provide new weir at Gumboot that can operate in high flow conditions and will be utilized by this proposal. |
Section 4. Budget for Planning and Design phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|
Outyear budgets for Planning and Design phase
Section 5. Budget for Construction and Implementation phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|
Outyear budgets for Construction and Implementation phase
Section 6. Budget for Operations and Maintenance phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|
Outyear budgets for Operations and Maintenance phase
Section 7. Budget for Monitoring and Evaluation phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantify steelhead adult escapement/abundance into tributary specific areas of the Imnaha River subbasin. | Annually install and operate adult steelhead fish counting stations in Horse Creek, Camp Creek, Freezeout Creek, Grouse Creek, Crazyman Creek, upper Imnaha River, and Gumboot Creeks to directly enumerate adult steelhead spawner escapement. | $380,503 | ||
| Conduct mark-recapture studies to estimate adult escapement as a back-up population estimate if direct measurement is not achieved in Task 1 streams. | $54,123 | |||
| Collect biological information of fork length, sex, scales, general fish health, examine for marks/tags, scan with PIT tag and CWT scanners, and collect fin tissue sample for DNA analysis (see Objective 2 Task 3) from all adult steelhead captured | $95,125 | |||
| Estimate wild origin adult steelhead abundance and spatial distribution throughout the Imnaha River subbasin in areas not surveyed directly with fish counting stations. | $130,121 | |||
| Determine the genetic stock structure of adult steelhead throughout the Imnaha River subbasin. | $36,372 | |||
| Assess the feasibility/validity of remote monitoring approaches to quantify adult steelhead escapement in select tributaries of the Imnaha River subbasin. | Develop design and construct temporary/portable resistivity counter for test operation. Includes Potential NEPA analysis. | $148,967 | Yes | |
| Install and operate a temporary/portable resistivity counter in Lightning Creek. | $0 | Yes | ||
| Collect stream temperature and discharge data to correlate with staff gauge information in all tributaries directly monitored for adult escapement | Install constant recording thermographs and document hourly water temperature at the facility sites, year-round. | $28,217 | ||
| Install a staff gauge and collect stream discharge information that is sufficient to develop discharge curves for each tributary. | $51,167 | |||
| Coordinate study activities and communicate results with resource managers and other interested parties. | Develop annual statement of work | $10,000 | ||
| Develop quarterly reports | $7,927 | |||
| Verify primary data and post with associated metadata to NPT and StreamNet web sites. | $25,000 | |||
| Develop Endangered Species Act section 10 permit summary reports | $25,000 | |||
| Develop annual reports | $15,000 | |||
| Develop peer reviewed journal publication on metapopulation status and dynamics | $0 | |||
| Supply stock status data to and participate in regional conferences and work groups including NMFS Technical Recovery Teams and NMFS Biological Opinion Evaluations. | $32,927 | |||
| Participate in Northeast Oregon Annual Operating Plan (AOP) development. | $15,000 |
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantify steelhead adult escapement/abundance into tributary specific areas of the Imnaha River subbasin. | 2003 | 2006 | $2,521,734 |
| Assess the feasibility/validity of remote monitoring approaches to quantify adult steelhead escapement in select tributaries of the Imnaha River subbasin. | 2003 | 2005 | $125,000 |
| Collect stream temperature and discharge data to correlate with staff gauge information in all tributaries directly monitored for adult escapement | 2003 | 2006 | $75,000 |
| Coordinate study activities and communicate results with resource managers and other interested parties. | 2003 | 2006 | $296,674 |
Outyear budgets for Monitoring and Evaluation phase
| FY 2003 | FY 2004 | FY 2005 | FY 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $767,298 | $741,804 | $791,204 | $816,440 |
Section 8. Estimated budget summary
Itemized budget
| Item | Note | FY 2002 cost |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel | FTE: 4.2 | $131,035 |
| Fringe | 35.82 | $46,935 |
| Supplies | $174,807 | |
| Travel | $11,325 | |
| Indirect | 20.9 | $76,097 |
| Capital | $453,500 | |
| NEPA | $25,000 | |
| PIT tags | $0 | |
| Subcontractor | $136,750 | |
| Other | $0 | |
| $1,055,449 | ||
Total estimated budget
| Total FY 2002 cost | $1,055,449 |
| Amount anticipated from previously committed BPA funds | $0 |
| Total FY 2002 budget request | $1,055,449 |
| FY 2002 forecast from 2001 | $0 |
| % change from forecast | 0.0% |
Cost sharing
| Organization | Item or service provided | Amount | Cash or in-kind |
|---|
Reviews and recommendations
This information was not provided on the original proposals, but was generated during the review process.
Fundable only if response is adequate
Sep 28, 2001
Comment:
A response is needed. This is a good proposal, well justified, and provides good supporting background. The investigators propose to install weirs to quantify adult abundance of adult steelhead, obtain demographic data, and collect tissues to analyze genetic stock structure of steelhead in Imnaha River tributaries. The work is an important component of steelhead population monitoring.A response is needed to address the following issues:
- A justification for placing weirs on every tributary is needed. The proposal proposes to place weirs in seven tributaries, plus Cow and Lightening Creeks funded under an LSRCP project. The largest tributary (Big Sheep) and the mainstem Imnaha would be included via radio-tracking of steelhead and use of a ratio estimator to determine the total system escapement. However, given the cost and logistical challenges of maintaining nine weirs, why is it necessary to weir each stream? The ratio estimator (assuming that adequate numbers of tags can be applied, 200 proposed) could give an accurate estimate of the total escapement even if only one tributary could be reliably enumerated (as the extreme example). Did you consider a random sample of streams in which to place weirs or a rotating sample of streams between years?
- To estimate recruits per spawner (and assuming that spawners will now be accurately estimated) a comparable accurate estimate of the recruits is needed. How are recruits to be defined and estimated?
- The proposal does not provide any comment on collection of biological sampling data on spawners (sex, age, size, etc.). Who is responsible for these data and what will be collected?
- The distribution of redds by tributary in recent years should be provided in response.
- The investigators need to provide a more detailed description of how population abundance will be estimated in tributaries not surveyed directly with weirs.
Comment:
This project addresses RPA 179 and 180. This proposal addresses a need for improved adult escapement; however, the reviewers suggest the level of detail that is provided may exceed what is necessary for making critical management decisions and deterring population/recovery status. The reviewers suggest the work could be "scaled back" yet still provide adequate population data. Although the sponsors suggested the work will provide information where data gaps (especially as related to 174 and 184) exist, the reviewers suggested an urgent issue would not be addressed. The proposed work would provide more accuracy to the current approach and provide information for recovery efforts.Comment:
Fundable. The authors provided adequate responses to each question and this work is of high priority. This is a good proposal, well justified, and provides good supporting background. The investigators propose to install weirs to quantify adult abundance of adult steelhead, obtain demographic data, and collect tissues to analyze genetic stock structure of steelhead in Imnaha River tributaries. The work is an important component of steelhead population monitoring.However, we remain unconvinced about the sampling design, especially the weiring of all streams. Given the high temporal variability in anadromous fish populations, the argument that very intensive short-term monitoring can provide the best data seems questionable. A random sample of streams maybe a preferable design and would be less reliant on fixed weir structures. Even from the authors' response, we suggest that the critical parameter to estimate is the portion of radio-tags entering the streams that are to be enumerated. An unbiased estimate of Pd will provide an accurate estimate of the total aggregate escapement even if a small sample of the streams were enumerated. This is an innovative approach to estimating steelhead spawning escapements, but we need to consider the most cost efficient means to conduct this annual program.
Comment:
Statement of Potential Biological Benefit to ESUBenefits are indirect. Accurate monitoring of steelhead populations in the Imnaha River will provide important information for recovery planning efforts and support an adaptive management approach.
Comments
Important work. May be an important pilot project for steelhead monitoring. Project has potential to provide information important to population definition as well as monitoring data with greater spatial resolution than is currently available.
Already ESA Req? No
Biop? Yes
Comment:
Recommend funding only objective 2 (resistivity counter) in Lightning Creek to implement RPA 193 at this time. Although it is important to have good estimates or indices of abundance of steelhead in the Imnaha, we do not support the scale and cost proposed. Eight new weirs are proposed in addition to the four already in place. Other new proposed objectives should be reviewed and recommended after a regional RM&E plan is completed and the need for these objectives can be properly assessed. This project is related to project numbers 27019, 28052 and 199703000. We do not recommend funding new enumeration technologies in these projects. BPA RPA RPM:
193
NMFS RPA/USFWS RPM:
180, 179
Comment:
Council Recommendation:The Nez Perce proposed this new project to conduct a steelhead stock assessment on all tributaries in the Imnaha to quantify adult abundance, population growth rate and genetic stock structure. Although ISRP found the project Fundable, they expressed concern over the potential weiring of all streams in the Imnaha to conduct the assessment and cautioned that random sampling may be preferential to weiring.
NMFS felt the project offered indirect benefits to the Biological Opinion, but noted that the project represented an "important pilot project for steelhead monitoring." Bonneville rated the project as a conditional fund, recommending funding only objective 2, the development of a resistivity counter on Lightening Creek at this time and waiting for the development of a regional RM&E plan for potential funding of the remainder of the project.
The Council agrees with the Bonneville comments on funding only Objective 2 of the proposal. The monitoring and evaluation proposed in the project closely align with the development of the NEOH Monitoring and Evaluation Master Plan. Similar to the reasons discussed in Project 199701501, much of the work proposed in Project 27021 is premature and should await the development and approval of the M&E Master Plan for NEOH. Objective 2 will provide important information for Biological Opinion needs and should precede the Master Plan. The balance of the tasks proposed in Project 27021 should be reviewed and evaluated following the approval of the NEOH step reviews (Grande Ronde Issue 2).
Comment:
Fund only Objective 2 (resistivity counter) in Lightening Creek to implement RPA 193. In addition the following conditions apply: Project will be developed in coordination with NMFS and BPA to meet the requirements of RPA 193. scope of Work and budget will be developed in coordination with NMFS and BPA to meet the requirements of RPA's 193. Project management will require adherence to specific timelines (at least annually) for analysis and reporting to assess needs for project modifications and scope change. Project may be modified after the Regional RM&E plan is developed.Comment:
Dollars did not meet management objectives of the tribes or of the Bi-op.Comment: