Idaho Soil Conservation
Commission

Clearwater Focus Program

The 9,645 square mile Clearwater River Subbasin was designated a Focus Program under the Northwest Power Planning Council’s (NWPPC) Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program in November 1996. The NWPPC is a four-state compact formed by Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington to oversee electric power system planning and fish and wildlife recovery in the Columbia River Basin. The NWPPC was initiated in 1980, and since 1982 has had a Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Program to direct recovery efforts and to prioritize Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funding. The Program is amended about every five years, with the most recent amendment occurring in 2000.

The purpose of the Clearwater Focus Program is to coordinate staff and funding resources for projects to enhance and restore fish and wildlife habitats in the Clearwater River Subbasin. The Idaho Soil Conservation Commission (ISCC) and the Nez Perce Tribal Watershed Division (NPT) co-coordinate the program on behalf of the State of Idaho and the Nez Perce Tribe. Focus projects are approved through the NWPPC for funding by BPA.

Examples of Clearwater Focus Program Projects include:

• Riparian Fencing
• Riparian Plantings
• Road Obliteration
• Revegetation
• Grassed Waterways - Agri
• Culvert Outlet - Agri
• Culvert Replacement
• Ponds - Agri
• Project Monitoring
• Bank Stabilization Structure
• Sediment Basins
• Offsite Watering Facilities

Projects have been conducted on private, State, Federal, and tribal lands. Partnerships have been developed for all projects. In addition to the ISCC and NPT, frequent project partners include the Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Conservation Districts, private landowners, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and the Bureau of Land Management.

The NWPPC's Program Amendments Beginning 2000

Under the NWPPC's Fish and Wildlife Program (amended in 2000), subbasin ecosystem assessments and implementation planning will be completed for each subbasin in the Columbia River Basin over the next three to five years . These assessments will be used to identify project priorities to achieve restoration and recovery goals in each respective subbasin. Ecosystem assessments and implementation planning will be locally focused to coordinate existing management policies in each of the subbasins.

The Mountain Snake Province, consisting of the Clearwater River and Salmon River subbasins, completed the provincial review process in late 2001. All provinces in the Columbia River Basin will undergo such reviews over the next three-year period. Provincial Reviews serve two functions:

• Compile subbasin-wide fish and wildlife information into a subbasin summary, and use as the technical support document for project proposal development. The subbasin summary serves as an interim step, prior to the completion of ecosystem assessments and subbasin planning.
• Review ongoing and new project proposals to be approved for a three-year funding period. The Independent Science Review Panel will evaluate the technical merits of projects relative to the NWPPC's Fish and Wildlife Program. The Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA) and the Idaho Office of Species Conservation (OSC) will facilitate the Idaho Provincial Reviews. CBFWA is the basin-wide advisory body to the NWPPC, and is composed of a representative from each of the thirteen Columbia River Basin Indian Tribes, the four State Fish and Wildlife agencies, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Clearwater Focus Program and the Amended NWPPC Program

The Clearwater Focus Program has developed a local structure to be consistent with the amended NWPPC's Program, and to coordinate local, State, Federal, and tribal interests.

Program Accomplishments

• Convened a ten-member Clearwater Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) to provide policy direction from within the subbasin to respond to the NWPPC. The team members are:
  • George Enneking, Idaho County, Chairman
  • Cal Groen, IDFG, Vice Chairman
  • Bill Miller, US Fish & Wildlife Service
  • Kerby Cole, IDEQ
  • Allen Slickpoo, Jr., Nez Perce Tribe
  • Terry Cundy, Potlatch
  • Bob McKnight, Idaho Dept. of Lands
  • Kyle Hawley, Idaho Association of Soil Conservation Districts
  • Larry Dawson, Clearwater NF
  • Dale Brege, NOAA Fisheries
  • Bruce Berhardt, NezPerce NF
      In cooperation with the Idaho Governor's Office of Species Conservation

• Completed the subbasin summary and aquatic component of the assessment
• Convened a subcommittee of the PAC to do the terrestrial assessment
• Coordinated the Clearwater Subbasin Review in August 2001
• Coordinated with the Governor’s Office of Species Conservation
• Worked on ongoing and future projects with partners and sponsors. The project coordinators are:
  Janet Hohle, ISCC
  220 E. 5th
  Moscow, ID 83855
  208-882-4960 Ext. 111
  jhohle@agri.idaho.gov
  
  Ira Jones, NPT
  P.O. Box 365
  Lapwai, ID 83540
  208-843-7144
  iraj@nezperce.org