Restore and Protect Slate Creek Watershed

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Restore and Protect Slate Creek Watershed

• Nez Perce Tribe Fisheries Watershed Program

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Location
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Fish Species Present

• Spring Chinook Salmon (ESA Listed)
• Steelhead (ESA Listed)
• Bull Trout (ESA Listed)
• Westslope Cutthroat Trout
• Redband Trout
• Brook Trout
• Other fish species including
• Whitefish, dace, sculpin, suckers

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Past Management Activities

• Mining
• Livestock grazing
• Road construction
• Timber harvest
• Removal of large wood

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Past Accomplishments

• Slate Creek Watershed Assessment Completed (May
  2000)
• Clean Slate
• Forest Watershed Restoration Project
• NEPA process underway

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Slate Creek Watershed Assessment Recommendations

• Focus on mainstem aquatic restoration by
  effectively responding to managing cumulative
  effects of both natural and man-made projects.
• Management of activities for all resources should
  be designed to move from chronic press
  disturbances to more natural pulse disturbances.
• Nez Perce Tribal interests and uses in the area
  should always be a consideration for any land
  management practices.
• The success of restoring the aquatic resource
  functions is highly dependent on road management.

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Salmon Subbasin Summary Needs Applicable to this
Project

• Collect appropriate information to assess both
  passage and flow issues potentially associated
  with culverts throughout the subbasin.
• Reduce stream temperature, sediment, and
  embeddedness levels to levels meeting appropriate
  state, Federal, and Tribal standards.
• Restore in-stream habitat to natural conditions
  and protect as much as possible to provide
  suitable holding, spawning, and rearing areas for
  anadromous and resident fish.
• Address streambank instability issues where they
  are defined or can be shown to be a potential
  problem.

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Project Objectives

• Provide riparian protection for Slate Creek and
  stop livestock drift down the 354 Road
• Evaluate culverts, roads, and trails in the
  Boulder Creek Subwatershed
• Design a Transportation Plan for the Slate Creek
  Watershed
• Riparian vegetation restoration and ME of
  historic grazing effects on the Little Slate
  Meadow System

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Project Objectives (continued)

• Restoration of missing meander in Gold Lake Creek
• Reduce head cutting of tributary streams to
  Little Slate Creek
• Stabilize erosion of historic mining areas
• Road stabilizations and improvements
• Evaluation of culverts and fish passage on FS
  Road 2002
• Trail Stabilizations and Improvements
• Disseminate information about work in the
  watershed

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Little Slate Meadow
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Gold Lake Tunnel (inlet and outlet)

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Road failure near Miller Creek
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Culvert with Fish Passage Problem
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Monitoring and Evaluation

• Tiered to Nez Perce Tribe Fisheries Watershed
  Programs overall Monitoring and Evaluation
  proposal.
• Project specific ME

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Desired Results

• Reduction in chronic sediment input.
• Increased fisheries habitat, for both anadromous
  and resident fish.

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Questions??

• Thank You!