FY 2002 Columbia Plateau proposal 199406900

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
199406900 Narrative	Narrative
199406900 Sponsor Response to the ISRP	Response
199406900 Powerpoint Presentation	Powerpoint Presentation
Columbia Plateau: Columbia Lower Middle Subbasin Map with BPA Fish & Wildlife Projects	Subbasin Map
Columbia Plateau: Columbia Lower Middle Subbasin Map with BPA Fish & Wildlife Projects	Subbasin Map

Section 1. Administrative

Proposal title	Estimate production potential of fall chinook salmon in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.
Proposal ID	199406900
Organization	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Proposal contact person or principal investigator
Name	David R Geist
Mailing address	P.O. Box 999, MS K6-85 Richland, Washington 99352
Phone / email	5093720590 / david.geist@pnl.gov
Manager authorizing this project	David R Geist
Review cycle	Columbia Plateau
Province / Subbasin	Columbia Plateau / Mainstem Columbia
Short description	Develop a production potential estimate for fall chinook salmon in the Hanford Reach, and evaluate whether the Hanford Reach functions as a healthy alluvial river.
Target species	Fall chinook salmon

Project location

Latitude	Longitude	Description

46.6708	-119.4325	Hanford Reach, Columbia River

Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs)

Sponsor-reported:

RPA

Relevant RPAs based on NMFS/BPA review:

Reviewing agency	Action #	BiOp Agency	Description

Section 2. Past accomplishments

Year	Accomplishment
2001	Visser, R., D.D. Dauble, and D.R. Geist. Use of aerial photography to monitor spawning of fall chinook salmon in the Columbia River. Submitted to Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.
2000	Geist, D.R. The interaction of ground water and surface water within fall chinook salmon spawning areas in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. Pages 95-98 in Proceedings of the Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interactions Workshop. US EPA.
2000	Geist, D.R. Hyporheic discharge of river water into fall chinook salmon spawning areas in the Hanford Reach, Columbia River. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57(8): 1647-1656.
2000	Geist, D.R., J. Jones, C.J. Murray, and D.D. Dauble. Suitability criteria analyzed at the spatial scale of redd clusters improved estimates of fall chinook salmon spawning habitat use in the Hanford Reach, Columbia River. CJFAS 57(8):1636-1646.
2000	Dauble, D.D., and D.R. Geist. Comparison of mainstem spawning habitats for two populations of fall chinook salmon in the Columbia River basin. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 16:345-361
1999	Geist, D.R. Redd Site Selection and Spawning Habitat Use by Fall Chinook Salmon, Hanford Reach, Columbia River. Final Project Completion Report 1995-1998. Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, Oregon.
1998	Geist, D.R., M.C. Joy, D.R. Lee, and T. Gonser. A method for installing piezometers in large cobble-bed rivers. Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation 18: 78-82.
1998	Geist, D.R., and D.D. Dauble. Redd site selection and spawning habitat use by fall chinook salmon: the importance of geomorphic features in large rivers. Environmental Management 22:655-669.
1997	Geist, D.R., R.H. Visser, and D.D. Dauble. Spatial and temporal distribution of fall chinook salmon redds within the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. FY 1995 and 1996 progress report. Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, Oregon.
1997	Lee, D.R., D.R. Geist, K. Saldi, D. Hartwig, and A.T. Cooper. Locating groundwater discharge in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. RC-M-22 and PNNL-11516. Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Canada, and PNNL.
1995	Geist, D.R. The Hanford Reach: what do we stand to lose? Illahee 11:130-141.

Section 3. Relationships to other projects

Project ID	Title	Description
199900300	Evaluate spawning below Bonneville Dam	Data and methods from the Hanford Reach are used in this project.
199701400	Assessment of juvenile stranding in Hanford Reach	Data and staff coordinate activities in Hanford Reach.
199102900	Life history requirements of fall chinook salmon in Columbia River Basin	Data from Hanford Reach used to evaluate predictions of habitat in Snake River.

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
1. Define production potential of fall chinook salmon that spawn in the Hanford Reach	Task a. Conduct limits analysis for depth, substrate, velocity, and lateral slope at representative habitat types/locations.	2	$99,205
	Task b. Select and describe appropriate geomorphic features and hyporheic zone characteristics in areas where limits analysis suggest spawning should occur.	2	$79,628
	Task c. Estimate potential redd densities at various seeding levels and compare to known values.	2	$31,013
	Task d. Extrapolate range of density values to other areas deemed suitable based on geomorphic features.	2	$3,214
	Task e. Prepare report/paper.	2	$24,784
2. Identify indicators of ecosystem health/processes for the Hanford Reach and evaluate existing conditions and capacity estimates relative to those indicators.	Task a. Describe typical alluvial characteristics of large rivers based on reference reaches and the riverine ecology and fluvial geomorphology literature.	2	$56,162
	Task b. Using the indicators identified in Task (a), quantify the alluvial river characteristics of the Hanford Reach.	2	$0
	Task c. Evaluate existing conditions in the Hanford Reach relative to attributes of typical alluvial river ecosystems.	2	$0
	Task d. Evaluate existing conditions in the Hanford Reach relative to fall chinook production potential.	2	$0
	Task e. Prepare report/paper.	2	$0

Outyear objectives-based budget

Objective	Starting FY	Ending FY	Estimated cost
1. Define production potential of fall chinook salmon that spawn in the Hanford Reach.	2003	2003	$199,813
2. Identify indicators of ecosystem health/processes for the Hanford Reach and evaluate existing conditions and capacity estimates relative to those indicators.	2003	2004	$373,418

Outyear budgets for Construction and Implementation phase

FY 2003	FY 2004
$313,639	$259,952

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

Outyear objectives-based budget

Objective	Starting FY	Ending FY	Estimated cost

Outyear budgets for Monitoring and Evaluation phase

Section 8. Estimated budget summary

Itemized budget

Item	Note	FY 2002 cost
Personnel	FTE: 1	$70,576
Fringe	26%	$24,926
Supplies	Piezometers, field gear, nitrogen, gas	$11,749
Travel	Portland, AFS technical meeting	$1,560
Indirect		$124,987
Capital		$0
NEPA		$0
PIT tags	# of tags: 0	$0
Subcontractor	GSA vehicle, aerial photos, surveys, grain size assessment	$59,558
Other		$650
		$294,006

Total estimated budget

Total FY 2002 cost	$294,006
Amount anticipated from previously committed BPA funds	$0
Total FY 2002 budget request	$294,006
FY 2002 forecast from 2001	$225,000
% change from forecast	30.7%

Reason for change in estimated budget

New objective added to address need identified in Subbasin Summary.

Reason for change in scope

Subbasin Summary identified a need to evaluate whether the Hanford Reach functioned as a healthy alluvial river. This was consistent with the overall goals of our research in the Hanford Reach and a very important aspect of providing verification of our results. Thus, we added an objective that will address this need.

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.

REVIEW:
ISRP Preliminary Review (ISRP 2001-6)

Recommendation:
Fundable only if response is adequate

Date:
Jun 15, 2001

Comment:

Fundable if adequate responses are given to ISRP concerns.

The goal of this project is to estimate the spawning capacity of the Hanford Reach for fall chinook salmon. The evaluation of the Reach will include investigating the role of interstitial flow pathways and ground-water/surface-water interactions in spawning site selection by fall chinook salmon. Standard spawning habitat characteristics will be used to determine the locations of potential spawning sites and sediment permeability of spawning substrate will be used to refine spawning area estimates. The investigators will then use a hydraulic simulation model to extrapolate the potential redd densities to the entire Reach. The sponsors of this research have been investigating related topics for several years and have a very strong publication record of their work.

The ISRP is confident that continuation of this work will be informative but have a few comments/concerns:

while the development of a recommended spawning capacity for the Hanford Reach will be useful, we would recommend that the methods developed also be applied in other spawning areas of the basin to investigate the predictive ability of the hydraulic model. Such work could be very important in establishing scientifically based spawning targets for other salmon populations.
unless a strong justification is developed, we would recommend two more years of funding, conducted in conjunction with proposal #25070, followed by one year to write-up final results.
PNNL should clarify why Indirect costs in the FY02 budget are 42% of the total costs.

The ISRP would encourage these investigators to apply these studies to developing an evaluation method or protocol for determining "preferred" spawning reaches for fall chinook salmon. If geographic features or parameters could be identified, such measures could be very useful in prioritizing stream reaches important for the re-establishment of fall chinook spawning populations and determining potential spawning population sizes. For example, they appear to have decided to outline spawning areas that are used in years of high escapement. The expectation would be that some marginal areas would be included - unless the escapement set by the managers is always below capacity of the optimum spawning areas. Spawning in marginal areas would be expected to result in lower survival of eggs and fry than in optimum areas. How might this be taken into account in the proposed study when it comes to the bottom line of advising the fishery managers on best escapement numbers? Another possible outcome might be that features identified as being present in areas used for spawning might also be found in areas not presently used by fish. What would be the analysis of that situation? What are some other outcomes and their applications?

REVIEW:
CBFWA Funding Recommendation

Recommendation:
High Priority

Date:
Aug 3, 2001

Comment:

Technical criteria number 6 may not be applicable for this project.

REVIEW:
ISRP Final Review (ISRP 2001-8)

Recommendation:
Fund

Date:
Aug 10, 2001

Comment:

Fundable to complete in 3 years. The response was adequate and this is high priority to complete in this timeframe and then move on.

The authors provided clear responses to the ISRP comments and were supportive of applying their methods in other spawning areas of the basin, and completing their Hanford studies in the next 2 to 3 years. The ISRP also noted their suggestion of forming a coordinating group for investigators working in the Hanford Reach area.

REVIEW:
NMFS Review

Recommendation:

Date:
Oct 1, 2001

Comment:

Statement of Potential Biological Benefit to ESU
Major study of Hanford Reach spawning/rearing vs habitat characteristics. Results potentially applicable to other mainstem areas including the Snake.

Comments
See PNNL response to ISRP comments. This is a multi-year project, two more study years followed by workups. Proponents have worked with other entities to set up a Hanford Reach review group for coordination

Already ESA Req? NA

Biop? no

REVIEW:
BPA Funding Recommendation

Recommendation:
Rank B

Date:
Oct 16, 2001

Comment:

This project has already spent $975,000 and proposes to spend another $860,000 over the next five years. The project should complete its initial objective of estimating the Reach’s chinook salmon carrying capacity in 2003 and then end. The new, second objective is not a priority compared to needed tributary mitigation.

REVIEW:
NWPPC Funding Recommendation

Recommendation:
Fund

Date:
Jan 3, 2002

Comment:

REVIEW:
BPA Funding Decision

Recommendation:
Fund

Date:
Mar 6, 2002

Comment:

REVIEW:
NWPPC Funding Recommendation

Recommendation:
Fund

Date:
Sep 20, 2003

Comment:

Behind pace, may be underspent in 03. Potential tasks for next year to reschedule for 2003 tasks. 5 tasks, behind on elements of 4 of them. Will get more detail later. Opportunity to expand later in 2005. 2005 would be the opportunity to catch up and complete. 2005 would then be the wrap up year.

REVIEW:
Project Sponsor Request for FY04-05

Recommendation:

Date:
Sep 20, 2003

Comment:

REVIEW:
NW Power and Conservation Council's FY 2006 Project Funding Review

Funding category:
expense

Date:
May 2005

FY05 NPCC start of year:	FY06 NPCC staff preliminary:	FY06 NPCC July draft start of year:
$248,739	$0	$0

Sponsor comments: See comment at Council's website