Fish Passage

Good

H - Open three or more miles of good quality habitat used by at least one stock of salmon or steelhead.  Exceptions:  include very cost efficient projects addressing unique limiting habitat or benefiting multiple stocks of salmon or steelhead.   

H - Bridges are the preferred structure.  If culverts are used, they should be sized to allow full access to all fish species and life history stages.

L – New culvert structures should be sized to reflect expected increased flows. (High 20 – 30 year precipitation cycle expected).

L - Inventory, assess, and prioritize all habitat blockages (culverts, dikes, railroad grades, etc.) for all salmonid life history stages. 

L - Develop a database housed with the lead entity, to contain all blockage data. 

Floodplain Conditions

Good

L - Reconnect potential off-channel habitat. 

H - Restoration actions need to increase instream LWD to help address channel incision and flow issues.  This includes appropriate riparian restoration to result in better future LWD levels.

H – Maintain, conserve and prioritize off-channel and side channel habitat and associated riparian. 

L - Inventory impacts and suitable restoration sites for floodplain habitat coincident with the barrier/culvert inventory.

Sediment

Poor. High road density (5.3 mi/sq mi), excess sedimentation, livestock access, poor channel conditions.

H – Correct high impact road sediment delivery problems via push-outs, cross-drains, and sediment traps etc.

H – Reduce livestock access to streams.

L – Provide education regarding the impacts of vehicle activity in streams and increase enforcement.

H – Provide education regarding the impacts of livestock access and increase enforcement.

H - Inventory roads and assess impacts to salmonids and prioritize restoration actions accordingly.  

LWD

Good

L - Actions are needed to increase LWD, or similarly functioning natural structures, in appropriate places.  This would include anchoring LWD and increasing natural recruitment potential (riparian restoration).   

H – Prevent removal of appropriate pieces of LWD, and other natural structures, within the floodplain through increased education and enforcement. 

L - Determine appropriateness through inventory or other assessment of LWD, or other natural structure(s), placement.  (e.g. gravel recruiting, hydrology, wood or structure size, gradient, near term LWD recruitment potential, and valley confinement).

Riparian

Poor

H - Revegetate open riparian areas with native plants including conifers in appropriate places.

M - Plant oaks and appropriate under-story plants in appropriate prairie areas.   

M – Interplant conifer into hardwood riparian areas that were historically conifer areas.

M- Plant conifer adjacent to and outside existing and limited existing conifer hardwood riparian areas.

H - Funds, lands, and easement opportunities should be identified to obtain areas of mid-to late seral stage riparian with priority given to older stands.  This is applicable to lands that do not have current protection such as those outside of current forest practice regulations.

H – Maintain and conserve existing functioning riparian areas.

L - Assess and prioritize recovery and protection for riparian conditions.

Water Quality

Poor. 303(d) listing for water temperature, pH, and fecal coliform (suggesting high BOD loads). Causes include: poor riparian and livestock access.

H - Actions need to address sediment, riparian, and flow problems. 

H - Reduce livestock access to streams.

H – Provide education regarding the impacts of livestock access and increase enforcement.

H – Implement TMDL for water temperature and pH. Address fecal coliform as it relates to increased BOD loads.

H - Increase activities that lead to natural recharge of the aquifers and maintain or improve hydrological maturity. 

H - Restore wetlands and off-channel habitat.

H - Decrease activities that interfere with the natural recharge of aquifers or degrade hydrological maturity.

H – Prevent or slow down conversion of rain permeable land to impervious surfaces.

H – Continue to monitor water temperatures, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity.

Water Quantity

Poor. “Closed” to further water appropriations.

H - Actions need to address sediment, riparian, and flow problems. 

H - Reduce water withdrawals from both surface and ground sources. 

H - Increase activities that lead to natural recharge of the aquifers and maintain or improve hydrologic maturity. 

H -Restore wetlands and off-channel habitat.

H - Decrease activities that interfere with the natural recharge of aquifers or degrade hydrological maturity.

H – Assess actual and projected water use in areas of rapid residential and urban development (e.g., Rochester and Grand Mount) and potential impact on stream flows.

M – Assess impact of groundwater pumping on stream flows.

Biological Processes

DG

L - Increase contribution of marine–derived nutrients through increased use of carcasses.

H - Increase field surveys for salmonid distribution, escapement, and habitat use by life history stage.

L – Inventory macro-invertebrates to assess the abundance and diversity of “fish food”. 

L – Assess marine-derived nutrient processes.