LOWER SALMON RIVER

Tributary Protection and Enhancement

Primary Lower Salmon River Tributaries

Fish and Wildlife Species

Other species:-Spring chinook salmon-Bull trout-Westslope cutthroat trout-Redband trout-Many other wildlife species

Ten of 11 known mountain quail populations are found in the Lower Salmon and Little Salmon areas.

LEM

UPS

LOS

MSP

PAH

SFS

MSC

MFU

MFL

LSA

10 0 10 20 30 40 50 Miles

National Parks & MonumentsForest ServiceB.L.M.State of IdahoPrivate

Land Ownership in the Salmon Subbasin

e S

Ri

rOwner Acres %Ownership

B.L.M. 6823 6.4

Forest Service 51466 48.1

National Parks & Monuments 178 0.2

Open water 312 0.3

Private 43650 40.8

State of Idaho 4579 4.3

Little Salmonand Lower SalmonWatersheds

Land Ownership

Land Ownership

B.L.M.

Forest Service

National Parks & Monuments

Open water

Private

State of Idaho

Major rivers

HUC 4

PRIMARY AQUATIC LIMITING FACTORS

-Temperature-Sediment

-Riparian alteration -Migration barriers

-Low flows

A total of 27 streams are included on Idaho’s water quality impaired 303(d) list.

One of the primary threats to existing fish and wildlife habitat within the Salmon River subbasin includes

continued increases in recreational and home development (Salmon Subbasin Summary 2001)

Additional threats to aquatic and terrestrial communities include:

-Continued intensive land use practices-Agriculture conversion of native grassland/forest communities-Altered fire frequencies-Noxious weeds

Objectives

• Develop a comprehensive restoration plan for Lower Salmon River tributary habitats, in coordination with other entities. Utilize information in existing assessments to the extent possible.

• Prioritize and implement actions which protect and enhance tributary habitats.

• Conduct annual operation and maintenance activities on project lands.

• Monitor and evaluate the incremental improvement that each activity provides to overall habitat conditions and associated fish and wildlife.

Acquisition of conservation easements or fee-titles will be one of the primary implementation tools. -Habitat investment protected in perpetuity -Addresses limiting factors

Relationship of Project to Regional Programs/F&W Needs

• Reduce water temperatures in tributaries (RPA 141).

• Increase tributary water flow, comply with water quality standards and watershed health (RPA 149).

• Protect and restore non-Federal habitat that is severely degraded (RPA 150).– Protect habitats through conservation easements, acquisitions, or other means

(All-H Paper).

• Fund long-term protection of riparian buffers in concert with existing federal programs (RPA 153).

• Acquire lands when opportunities arise for improved habitat protection, restoration, and connectivity, and for mitigation of lost fish and wildlife habitat (land purchases, land trusts, conservation easements, landowner cooperative agreements, exchanges (Salmon Subbasin Summary 2001).

• Habitat acquisitions and easements are high priority (Hells Canyon Bighorn Sheep Initiative 1997).

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

-Pre and post water quality measurements will be in coordination with on-going efforts by county SCD’s, DEQ, and other entities.

- Pre and post permanent points/plots will be established in upland and riparian project sites to monitor long terms changes in vegetation composition and structure.

-Project implementation will be coordinated with Idaho Natural Production Monitoring and Evaluation.

-Other long-term species response information will be gathered through landbird and riparian surveys, big game surveys, etc.