Fish & Wildlife – Clearwater – 9:30

Facilitator
Ron Peters Fisheries Program Manager, Coeur d’Alene Tribe

1st Presenter – Angelo Vitale Fisheries Biologist, Coeur d’Alene Tribe

2nd Presenter – Jon Firehammer Research Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Coeur d’Alene Tribe

1st Presentation Angelo Vitale
Title:
Physical Responses to Restoration of an Incised Stream on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.

Abstract:
Efforts have been undertaken by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe to restore stream and wetland habitats by reestablishing the hydraulic connections between an incised stream reach and the historic floodplain in the Benewah Creek watershed. Legacy effects of logging and riparian management have resulted in channel entrenchment that exceeds the 5-year return interval peak flow in some mainstem reaches. Local changes in channel slope, velocity and shear stress have increased substrate mobility and bank erosion rates and resulted in elevated summer water temperatures as over bank flows have become increasingly infrequent and the connectivity to local groundwater tables has been reduced.

Since 2005, 2,640 m of channel construction has been completed as part of a larger project to restore 5.1 km of incised stream. Channel treatments take the approach of filling the stream channel to historical elevations and utilizing historical alignments where possible. The designed platform creates channel grade and profiles within the range of what is believed to be historical conditions, based on topographic and field analysis. Within the restored reach, sinuosity has increased by 57%, belt width has increased by 70%, and flood prone width has increased by 126%. Mean residual pool depth and pool volume has increased by 81% and 165%, respectively, while estimated sediment yield from streambank erosion has decreased by 73%.

The scope of the project has afforded the Tribe an opportunity to address interrelated resource objectives at multiple scales and to use the project as a template for improving the understanding of expected responses to restoration. Aggrading the stream and restoring stable channel planform and geometry has the potential to increase critical wetland habitats by up to 30% in treatment areas. Native wetland species are being planted in areas disturbed by construction as part of the overall approach to increase the diversity and complexity of these habitats. Monitoring results indicate that the growth of herbaceous species is significant and most areas have met the regulatory conditions for ground cover within 20 months post-restoration. The data collected to date, however, are insufficient to establish a relationship between vegetation response and shallow groundwater recovery. The project also has implications for improving dynamic and long-term groundwater storage and recharge resulting in increased exchange of cold water to the stream channel. Continuous and discrete measures of water temperature have been made to evaluate thermal heterogeneity in relation to the requirements of native trout. Preliminary results indicate that restoration has increased thermal refuge in deeper pools, but ambient summer water temperatures still exceed optimum temperatures for growth. Repeat measures are expected to better define the physical habitat responses as the project matures.

2nd Presenter – Jon Firehammer Research Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Coeur d’Alene Tribe

Title:
Monitoring westslope cutthroat trout in watersheds of the Coeur d’Alene basin – Challenges associated with a species that occupies spatially diverse habitats throughout its life-history

Abstract
Recovery of self-sustaining westslope cutthroat trout populations in watersheds of the Coeur d’Alene system entails preserving core areas that contribute significantly to population productivity, identifying limiting factors that are preventing recovery, and implementing restoration measures to address those factors. However, evaluating the response to restoration actions implemented in one part of the watershed can be challenging because fish from these populations express extensive migratory behavior throughout their life-cycle and consequently may be adversely impacted by factors in other parts of the watershed. Individuals exhibit both seasonal movements among spatially distinct stream reaches and spawning movements between tributary habitats and Lake Coeur d’Alene. In order to understand the full complement of processes that may be limiting the recovery of cutthroat trout in these watersheds, it is necessary to examine indices of population response at all life-stages. Currently, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Fisheries Program monitors in-stream processes by conducting surveys in tributary habitats to prioritize areas for conservation and to track population trajectories, and in restored mainstem corridor habitats to examine linkages between physical habitat changes and habitat use. The Program also traps both juveniles and adults as they move between stream and lake environments to track trends in spawner abundance and productivity, and to examine growth and survival rates during lake residence.

Tags: clearwater, Fisheries