Workplan

Council Objective #1	Landowner Restoration Projects Objective: Partner with landowners by providing grant writing, project management, planning and design, volunteers and other resources as needed to complete priority restoration projects.
Priority	Description		Deliverables		Progress
High	Existing projects underway include: Hatch Airport Fish Passage and Side Channel Habitat Restoration Project- Partnership with 5 landowners on a North Santiam River side channel to replace an undersized culvert impeding water flow and fish passage to off-channel habitat, restore in-stream habitat complexity with large wood, and restore native riparian buffer. Funding, support and/or in kind service: WHIP, CREP, OWEB, Salem, Marion SWCD, NRCS, Marion County, ODFW, USFW, USFS, and Albany. Snake Deford Floodplain Restoration Project- This project began as a partnership with a landowner to improve fish habitat and water quality by addressing flooding and erosion concerns. It is now extended to 5 more landowners and Mill City to integrate habitat and water quality improvements with land uses and stormwater management. Funding, support and/or in kind service: NRCS, CREP, OWEB, Mill City, Cascade Pacific RC&D, OR Governor’s Fund, and ODFW.¹ Graves Side Channel and Wetland Improvement- This North Santiam Side Channel will be restored by increasing habitat complexity with large wood placed in-stream and restoring native riparian forest. An upland wetland that drains into the mainstem and side channel will be restored, providing water quality benefits to the adjacent waterways. Funding, support and/or in kind service: ODFW, USFW, OR Governor’s Fund, Salem, and ODOT.¹ BLM Fishermen’s Bend- An area with deposits of saw dust from past mill activities adjacent to a riparian area will be restored to riparian/upland forests. Currently the site is mostly bare with a few small Scotch Broom plants. If untreated the area will likely be inundated with Scotch Broom, further degrading quality of the riparian corridor. Funding, support and/or in kind service: BLM, OSU Extension and OWEB.¹ Heritage Seedling Jefferson Farm Oak Savannah and Rare Prairie Restoration- 5-8 federal and/or state listed plant species will be reintroduced to 80 acres of restored prairie habitat with student volunteer assistance. One of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States is Willamette Valley prairie in Oregon. Less than 1% of this habitat remains. Funding, support and/or in kind service: Heritage Seedling, Inc., ODFW, USFW, OWEB, BLM, OSU Extension and NFWF.¹ Stout Creek Stream Restoration- 8 landowners expressed interest in addressing concerns regarding stream health on this tributary. Primary concerns include noxious weeds, lack of riparian buffer, erosion, shade and lack of habitat complexity. Funding, support and/or in kind service: ODFW.¹ Dever-Conner Lower Santiam Restoration- The Dever-Conner Irrigation District requested to partner with the Council to analyze approximately 6 or more stream miles in the lower reach to determine solutions that integrate solutions for flooding and erosion concerns with habitat restoration. Funding, support and/or in kind service: ODFW¹ As new landowners inquire about restoration on their properties, a site visit will be scheduled, restoration opportunities that meet priorities identified and proposals prepared for the Council to approve projects.		Respond to landowner inquiries and determine if potential project meets priority restoration needs (e.g. site visits, technical advisor consultation). Identify and research projects as they arise. Council reviews projects to determine if they meet watershed priorities before approving them. Secure funding and technical resources as needed to design restoration projects. Facilitate implementation- includes working with landowners, partners, hiring appropriate contractors and permitting. Manage grants and write reports.		Hatch- Culvert was replaced and plantings around the culvert completed. Grant application to place large wood in-stream and restore native riparian buffer throughout the side channel was submitted Fall 2007. Snake Deford- Design for one portion of stream restoration was completed and funding for implementation secured. Restoration activities will include sloping back banks, placing large wood in-stream, restoring riparian buffer and using off channel watering for cattle. Implementation will begin Summer 2008. A grant proposal was submitted Fall 2007 to plan and design restoration with new landowners and partners. Graves- A wetland restoration plan was completed. Landowners began noxious weed control throughout their property and implementing wetland plan. A grant proposal was submitted Fall 2007 to place large wood in the side channel and restore riparian forest. ODOT is planning to donate large wood to the site. USFW is planning to assist with weed eradication through their Partners program. Fishermen’s Bend- Soils were amended with compost. Students began restoring native vegetation. Heritage Seedling- 3 years of ground preparation, including noxious weed control and burning, is completed. 11,500 plants were propagated and planted by students. Stout- Site visits with technical advisors were completed to explore opportunities and design grant application. Grant proposal for stream restoration planning and design was submitted Fall 2007. Dever-Connor- Project exploration is underway, including search for grant sources and partners.

Council Objective #2	Landowner Recruitment for Restoration Objective: Recruit landowners in partnership with Calapooia and South Santiam Watershed Councils to restore riparian areas.
Priority	Description		Deliverables			Progress
Med	Contractors will work with landowners and technical advisors to explore options for restoring riparian vegetation (e.g. CREP). When there is no other funding source available, funding will be provided through grants acquired (especially to small acreage landowners) to plant buffers. TMDL plan and salmon habitat maps will be used to target landowners. Funding, support and/or in kind service: OWEB, TNC, ODEQ, NFWF, Salem, Calapooia and South Santiam Watershed Councils, Marion SWCD, and ODFW.¹		Contractors will identify project priorities from existing information. Recruit at least 5 landowners to implement riparian restoration. Secure resources for and manage project design and implementation.			11 landowners responded to mailings and 4 plantings are planned. 3 grant applications were submitted to plan tributary wide restoration with landowners that responded to outreach through this project on 2 tributaries (i.e. Snake-Deford and Stout Creeks described above).

Council Objective #3	Respect the River Objective: Partner with USFS to identify and implement projects through implementation of the “Respect the River” program.
Priority	Description		Deliverables				Progress
High	This restoration and education program balances preservation of riparian and flood-prone areas’ needs with public needs through the following goals: (1) Identifying and addressing water quality issues that have developed from use, (2) Educating the public about habitat, habitat needs and on-going restoration projects, (3) Creating community partnerships, and (4) Creating a program and materials easily adaptable to other forests and agencies. This program uses Contact Rangers, newspaper and radio ads, brochures and interpretive signs in combination with restoration treatments. Education provides recreationists with opportunities to be stewards of public lands and protects investments of improving habitat. Funding, support and/or in kind service: USFS, OWEB and Title 2.¹		Partner with USFS to identify restoration and protection projects. Partner with USFS to submit grant proposals. Partner with USFS to implement riparian restoration and protection projects and education to protect watershed resources from recreation related impacts.				Council secured OWEB grant to match USFS funding. This grant allowed USFS to secure Title 2 funds that were pending receipt of OWEB grant. Project planning is underway. Mill City students were recruited to assist with project and education work.

Council Objective #4	Spawning Gravel Enhancement Objective: Partner with Army Corps of Engineers to develop appropriate partnerships to design and implement a spawning gravel enhancement and habitat restoration project.
Priority	Description		Deliverables				Progress
Med	This project considers moving gravel from above Big Cliff Dam to: (1) strategic locations around the watershed, (2) just below the dam to be distributed by water released by the dam or (3) a combination of 1 and 2. The goal is to enhance gravel beds for spawning, a limiting factor identified in several planning documents. Funding, support and/or in kind service: OR Governor’s Funds, USACE, ODFW, USFW, USFS, and NOAA Fisheries.¹		Partner with Army Corps to design and implement Section 22 project. Recruit technical partners to review project progress. Coordinate technical team meetings and review. Submit grant proposals to provide match as needed.				Grant was secured. Scope of Work was completed. USACE is contracting the project through their Section 22 program. Technical team was recruited and assisted with grant and Scope of Work design.

Council Objective #5	Santiam Basin Fish Passage Barrier Inventory and Restoration Objective: Partner with South Santiam Watershed Council and OSU to implement a fish passage barrier inventory and prioritization for the Santiam Basin.
Priority	Description		Deliverables					Progress
High	The North and South Santiam Watershed Councils are partnering with an OSU engineering professor and graduate students to survey and prioritize fish passage barriers. Field surveys will be performed according to ODFW standards and findings incorporated into ODFW’s statewide fish passage barrier database. With resulting inventory and detailed maps, councils and partners can analyze relationships between barriers, hydrology, fish distributions and habitat to create a prioritized list of future fish passage barrier projects. Information will be used to begin dialogue with agency partners and landowners to strategically open up fish habitat by addressing barriers. Funding, support and/or in kind service: BLM, OR Governor’s Fund, ODFW, South Santiam Watershed Council and OSU. ¹		Partner with South Santiam Watershed Council and OSU professor to assist student implementing inventory. Assist in developing work plan, methods and final product. Continue participating in ODFW work group to develop a statewide barrier inventory to ensure Council product is compatible, and to utilize this group as a resource for technical assistance. Use product to recruit partnerships with landowners and start addressing highest priority barriers.					Grants were secured by North and South Santiam Watershed Councils. Graduate student was selected and began work on project. Coordinator contractor participated in statewide fish passage meetings.

Council Objective #6	North Fork Annual Clean-Up Events Objective: Continue working with partners to implement annual Fall Clean-ups along the Little North Santiam River.
Priority	Description	Deliverables		Progress
Med	Council continues to work with local partners to coordinate an annual clean-up along the Little North Santiam River in response to increasing impacts of recreation in this area. Each Fall, approximately 25-30 volunteers walk 15 miles of the North Fork Rd adjacent to the tributary to pick up trash. Partners are also looking at options to increase awareness through signage and alternative recreation management applications.	Participate in partnership of agencies, non-profits and citizens to plan and implement annual fall clean-ups on the Little North Santiam River. Integrate clean-up with other projects in this area that protect the watershed from human impacts (e.g. Respect the River).		5 clean-up events have occurred along the Little North Santiam River in response to increasing pressure of recreation on water and habitat quality. Various debris, from micro-trash (e.g. bottles and fast food bags) to tires and a newspaper dispenser in the river were removed. Council provided support letters for other agencies submitting grant applications to address high road use concerns to reduce impacts to natural resources. Secured funding for Respect The River partnership with USFS. This grant will be applied to the Little North Santiam sub-watershed specifically.