FY07-09 proposal 200709900

Jump to Reviews and Recommendations

Section 1. Administrative

Proposal titleGold Creek (Lakeview District) Bull Trout Habitat and Migration Protection
Proposal ID200709900
OrganizationIdaho Department of Environmental Quality
Short descriptionGold Creek is critically important bull trout spawning stream in the fragmented Pend Orielle Lake watershed. Migration and spawning habitat is threatened by a massive sediment source. The project would remove this threat and enhance water quality.
Information transferInformation on the implementation and success of the project will be available through the project closure report and project effectiveness reports developed by DEQ as data is developed. All reports are made available on-line.
Proposal contact person or principal investigator
Contacts
ContactOrganizationEmail
Form submitter
Geoffrey Harvey Idaho Department of Environmental Quality gharvey@deq.idaho.gov
All assigned contacts
Geoffrey Harvey Idaho Depatment of Environmental Quality geoff.harvey@deq.idao.gov
Jim Nieman U.S. Forest Service jnieman@fs.fed.us

Section 2. Locations

Province / subbasin: Intermountain / Pend Oreille

LatitudeLongitudeWaterbodyDescription
47 55' 3"N 116 25' 53"W Gold Creek Conjecture Waste Dump

Section 3. Focal species

primary: Bull Trout
secondary: Cutthroat Trout

Section 4. Past accomplishments

YearAccomplishments

Section 5. Relationships to other projects

Funding sourceRelated IDRelated titleRelationship
BPA 200200900 Lake Pend Orielle Predation The proposed project is designed to protect bull trout recruitment through the protection of spawning habitat and migration, while the related project seeks to increase a major prey species (Kokanee) of bull trout in the lake and reduce a introduced competitive predator, lake trout.

Section 6. Biological objectives

Biological objectivesFull descriptionAssociated subbasin planStrategy
Protection of bull trout spawning habitat Protection of bull trout migration route and spawning habitat of Gold Creek from a catastrophic sedimentation event by removal of the waste rock pile deposited in the channel and the floodplain of Gold Creek at the Conjecture Mine site. Intermountain Startegy d of PO Obj 1B1 Implement fish habitat protection, restoration and enhancement measures using a variety of means.
Protection of bull trout spawning habitat Protection of bull trout migration route and spawning habitat of Gold Creek from a catastrophic sedimentation event by removal of the waste rock pile deposited in the channel and the floodplain of Gold Creek at the Conjecture Mine site. Intermountain Strategy a of PO Obj 1C5 Follow the USFW Draft Bull Trout Recovery Plan (2002) until superceded by Final Plan and supplemented by state recovery plans to prioritize associated projects.
Restore stream habitat Restore channel and floodplain to a channel configuration (sinuosity of 1.1, residual pool volume of 4,658 ft3/mile and pool frequency of 1 per 40 feet) and eventual floodplain vegetation status (5.5 acres soil replacement and riparian shrub plantation) consistent with reference reaches of Gold Creek Intermountain Strategy c of PO Obj 1C1 Protect and increase the amount of available stream spawning and rearing habitat used by bull trout

Section 7. Work elements (coming back to this)

Work element nameWork element titleDescriptionStart dateEnd dateEst budget
Realign, Connect, and/or Create Channel Restore stream channal, habitat and functional floodplain. Restore channel and floodplain to a channel configuration (sinuosity of 1.1, residual pool volume of 4,658 ft3/mile and pool frequency of 1 per 40 feet) and eventual floodplain vegetation status (5.5 acres soil replacement and riparian shrub plantation) consistent with reference reaches of Gold Creek. 8/1/2007 10/15/2007 $59,076
Biological objectives
Restore stream habitat
Metrics
Upland Erosion and Sedimentation Control Remove the waste rock pile deposited in the channel and the floodplain of Gold Creek at the Conjecture site. Remove the approximately 100,000 cubic yard waste rock deposit by excavation and haul to a site where it can be stabilzed in place out of the channel and floodplain. If necessary move metals contaminated material to the Lakeview Repository. 7/1/2007 10/1/2007 $540,750
Biological objectives
Protection of bull trout spawning habitat
Metrics
* # of acres treated: Acreage rehabilitated

Section 8. Budgets

Itemized estimated budget
ItemNoteFY07FY08FY09
Other Construction Contracts $599,826 $0 $0
Totals $599,826 $0 $0
Total estimated FY 2007-2009 budgets
Total itemized budget: $599,826
Total work element budget: $599,826
Cost sharing
Funding source/orgItem or service providedFY 07 est value ($)FY 08 est value ($)FY 09 est value ($)Cash or in-kind?Status
Forest Service Match funds $500,000 $0 $0 Cash Confirmed
Totals $500,000 $0 $0

Section 9. Project future

FY 2010 estimated budget: $0
FY 2011 estimated budget: $0
Comments: Project completion expected FFY 08 (Construction season 2007)

Future O&M costs:

Termination date: 12/31/07
Comments: Project construction is planned for construction season 2007 (July-Oct) and will be terminated by the end of the year. Monitoring of bull trout redds and channel habitat characteristics (project effectiveness monitoring) will continue by DEQ and the USFS/IDFG for several years.

Final deliverables: Project Closure Report documenting material moved, stabilization and as builts of stabilized sites and stream channel-floodplain restored. Effectiveness monitoring data and reports willbe available as developed upon request.

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]
$0 $0 $0 $0 Expense ProvinceExpense Do Not Fund
NPCC DRAFT FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS (Sep 15, 2006) [full Council recs]
$0 $0 $0 $0 ProvinceExpense

ISRP PRELIMINARY REVIEW (Jun 2, 2006)

Recommendation: Response requested

NPCC comments: The sponsors propose to restore as bull and westslope cutthroat trout habitat a section of stream that has long been buried in a pipe beneath mine tailings. The proposal is clear and to the point in its problem review and analysis. It establishes adequate rationale and significance to regional programs, and it explains relationships to other projects. The project would remove the waste rock that covers the former channel and flood plain, and then establish channel and floodplain configurations that should function as habitat for bull trout. The methods are adequately described. It is clear that the focal species would benefit from the project as long as chemical contamination does not interfere. In addition many non-focal species would likely benefit. A response is needed to clarify two items. First, will this project lure fish and wildlife, especially birds, into a toxic environment? The second item is M&E. The proposal describes the general types of physical and biological monitoring and evaluation that are planned. However, it does not explain in sufficient detail how the field measurements would be made or how the resulting data will be analyzed and interpreted. Please elaborate and include discussion of likely statistical designs. Reviewers are concerned that chemical contamination by leachates from the mine tailings may be a major consideration in this stream -- not only from materials of the stream’s present overburden, but also from mine wastes that may persist elsewhere in the area. Therefore (if proposal authors are in concurrence with reviewers), the M&E for this project needs to include statistical monitoring of water quality, of the levels of lead, mercury and other metals such as zinc in fish tissues, and of capabilities of the fish to breed in this chemical environment. In particular, liver and kidney concentrations of such pollutants should be analyzed. In addition to concerns for fish and wildlife, this issue needs to be monitored to protect the human population from mercury and lead contamination.


ISRP FINAL REVIEW (Aug 31, 2006)

Recommendation: Response requested

NPCC comments: The sponsors propose to restore as bull and westslope cutthroat trout habitat a section of stream that has long been buried in a pipe beneath mine tailings. The proposal is clear and to the point in its problem review and analysis. It establishes adequate rationale and significance to regional programs, and it explains relationships to other projects. The project would remove the waste rock that covers the former channel and flood plain, and then establish channel and floodplain configurations that should function as habitat for bull trout. The methods are adequately described. It is clear that the focal species would benefit from the project as long as chemical contamination does not interfere. In addition many non-focal species would likely benefit. A response is needed to clarify two items. First, will this project lure fish and wildlife, especially birds, into a toxic environment? The second item is M&E. The proposal describes the general types of physical and biological monitoring and evaluation that are planned. However, it does not explain in sufficient detail how the field measurements would be made or how the resulting data will be analyzed and interpreted. Please elaborate and include discussion of likely statistical designs. Reviewers are concerned that chemical contamination by leachates from the mine tailings may be a major consideration in this stream -- not only from materials of the stream’s present overburden, but also from mine wastes that may persist elsewhere in the area. Therefore (if proposal authors are in concurrence with reviewers), the M&E for this project needs to include statistical monitoring of water quality, of the levels of lead, mercury and other metals such as zinc in fish tissues, and of capabilities of the fish to breed in this chemical environment. In particular, liver and kidney concentrations of such pollutants should be analyzed. In addition to concerns for fish and wildlife, this issue needs to be monitored to protect the human population from mercury and lead contamination.