Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board

Informal feedback and review of this plan is welcomed at this time; any comments received prior to May 7th will be reviewed prior to preparation of the final draft. Please do feel free to contact Alex Conley directly with any comments or questions.

This locally developed recovery plan for steelhead in the Yakima Basin will be integrated into the NOAA Fisheries Middle Columbia River Steelhead Recovery Plan; a draft of that plan will be available in the summer of 2008. Once the NOAA Plan is released, both the Yakima and NOAA Plans will be released for a formal comment period.

2008 SRFB Grant Round Information Available

Information for the 2008 Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) Grant Round is now available. The purpose of the SRFB Grant Program is to fund projects that protect and restore habitat for steelhead, bull trout, and salmon in the Yakima Basin. It also supports feasibility assessments for future projects and other activities.

Click on the links below for important information.

Update on this year’s changes to the SRFB Grant process

The Yakima Basin Draft SRFB Grant Schedule for 2008 (our local schedule

- subject to adjustments)

Critical dates to note: May 23, 2008: Pre-applications due

June 27, 2008: Full Applications due

For more information on pre-application requirements and our local process, visit:

www.ybfwrb.org/SRFB.html

If you have any questions, or would like more information contact Angie Begosh 509-453-4104 or abegosh@ybfwrb.org

New Booklet describes all SRFB Projects in the Yakima Basin, 1999 to 2007

We’ve just completed a booklet that describes all of the 44 fish habitat restoration projects in the Yakima Basin that have received funding from the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board from its inception in 1999 to the last Board meeting in December 2007. If you’d like to learn more about habitat restoration projects in our basin, it’s a great reference. Click here to download your copy:

www.ybfwrb.org/Library/SRFB_Projects3-26-08.pdf

Examples of successful projects include providing fish passage and screening at small irrigation diversions, planting riparian areas, acquiring and protecting land with high priority fish habitat, restoring natural stream channel functions, and promoting fish-friendly agricultural practices, and much more. Applications must go through a rigorous review run by the Board and meet all state requirements for the SRFB program. For more information about the program, visit www.ybfwrb.org/SRFB.html

2007 SRFB Grants Awarded to 9 Projects in the Yakima Basin

In 2007 the Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board received 13 pre-proposals for fish habitat improvement projects to be funded by Washington State’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB). 10 projects were reviewed by the Board’s Technical and Citizen’s Advisory Groups and 9 were submitted to the SRFB as part of the Yakima Basin project list. On December 13^th, the SRFB approved funding for all 9, for a total of $2,063,207. For more information about the approved projects, see the project pamphlet described above. For more information about the 2007 review process, visit www.ybfwrb.org/SRFB.html. Information about the 2008 project solicitation will be posted here in the Spring of 2008.

New Program makes Endangered Species Act approvals easier for SRFB funded projects

Thanks to the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office, the process of completing Endangered Species Act reviews for SRFB-funded projects that affect Mid-Columbia Steelhead will get much easier. A one page certification that a project is intended to improve fish habitat, has gone through the local and state-level SRFB technical review process and implements an action described in the Yakima Subbasin Salmon Recovery Plan will be all that is needed to receive ESA approvals. This new process will reduce the time and effort invested by both project proponents and NOAA in getting good fisheries improvement projects on the ground. For a more detailed overview of the program, see www.governor.wa.gov/gsro/ ; for more information about the specifics of how this process can apply to projects already underway in the Yakima Basin, please contact us directly.

2006 SRFB Funding Awarded to 6 Yakima Basin Projects

On December 6^th, Washington’s Salmon Recovery Funding Board awarded a total of $1.2 million dollars of funding to six salmon restoration projects in the Yakima Basin. With these funds, the Kittitas County Conservation District will rework irrigation infrastructure to allow for fish passage at two sites near Ellensburg, the North Yakima Conservation District will install fencing, streamside plantings and fish habitat structures in Cowiche Creek, the Kittitas Conservation Trust will acquire a key floodplain parcel near Cle Elum and install engineered log jam structures in the lower Cle Elum River, and the Yakima County Flood Control Zone District will acquire key floodplain habitat on the lower Naches River. The SRFB funding decision was made based on the project list submitted by us in our role as Lead Entity for the Yakima Basin. All Yakima Basin projects were reviewed and prioritized by local technical experts and community members who participate in our committees. The six funded projects represent the highest priority of the 12 projects reviewed, and will directly implement priority actions identified in the Yakima Subbasin Salmon Recovery Plan.

Yakima Basin Community Salmon Fund Awarded

The Community Salmon Fund is a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Salmon Recovery Funding Board that supports salmon restoration projects that have the support and involvement of local communities. In January 2007, $100,000 was awarded to four projects in the Yakima Basin based on the results of a review process conducted by the Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board. The Mid-Columbia Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group received funding for channel reconstruction and riparian plantings on Spring Creek in Union Gap; the North Yakima Conservation District received funding for in-stream and riparian restoration on three private properties on Cowiche Creek, the Kittitas Conservation Trust received funds for riparian plantings, instream gravel and wood placement and educational activities on a side-channel near Ellensburg, and the Benton Conservation District received funding for experimental efforts to control the expansion of water star grass in on lower Yakima River Chinook spawning areas. The next funding round for the Community Salmon Fund will be announced this summer, and will be a statewide competition.

Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife News & Events

We will be posting links to news and event information related to fish & wildlife conservation in the Yakima Basin on this website, at www.ybfwrb.org/news.html. We are also starting a page of web links, at www.ybfwrb.org/links.html. If you have information you would like us to post, please email us at info@ybfwrb.org.

Comments Received on Yakima Subbasin Salmon Recovery Plan

In May 2006, NOAA requested comments on the Board’s draft salmon recovery plan. Three comments were received, and are available for review.

BOR Comments

Yakima Basin Joint Board Comments

American Rivers Comments

The Board is working together with NOAA to respond to these comments as part of revising the draft plan (see below)

Yakima Basin BPA Fish & Wildlife Proposals Reviewed in 2006

On June 5-7, 2006 the Board convened its Technical Advisory Group to review proposals for BPA fish & wildlife mitigation funding. The results of this review were communicated to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council for use in the ongoing BPA project selection process.

Letter from the Board to the Northwest Power Planning Council

Yakima Basin Local Review Process Report

Yakima Subbasin Salmon Recovery Plan Being Edited

On October 26, 2005, the Yakima Subbasin Fish and Wildlife Planning Board presented the completed draft Salmon Recovery Plan for the Yakima Subbasin to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the presence of Governor Christine Gregoire. The National Marine Fisheries Service has reviewed the plan and issued a supplement requesting revisions to the draft (see the Federal Register Notice). The Board is currently working with NOAA to revise the plan so that it can be incorporated into the Recovery Plan for Mid-Columbia Steelhead that NOAA is preparing under the requirements of the Endangered Species Act. The Board is committed to ensuring that our locally-developed plan serves as the Yakima Basin portion of NOAA’s recovery plan.

Federal Register Notice

Executive Summary for the Yakima Salmon Recovery Plan
Draft Salmon Recovery Plan (1.2 MB)

Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board Created

On April 5^th, 2006, the Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board was created. The mission of the Board is to restore sustainable and harvestable populations of salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other at-risk fish and wildlife species through the collaborative, economically sensitive efforts, combined resources, and wise resource management of the Yakima River Basin. The Board is made up of representatives of local governments that have signed an inter-local agreement (see sidebar for list):

Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board By-Laws
Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board Interlocal Agreement

The Board is currently supported by funding from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the State of Washington Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office. The Board is working to:

1)   Refine existing fish and wildlife plans.
2)    Conduct future planning efforts.
3)    Promote effective and efficient implementation of actions identified in these plans.
4)    Help coordinate basin research, monitoring, and evaluation efforts.
5)   Conduct outreach and education programs.

Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board

The Board consists of representatives of the Yakama Nation and local governments in the Yakima River basin. The Mission of the Board is to:

Restore sustainable and harvestable populations of salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other at-risk fish and wildlife species through the collaborative, economically sensitive efforts, combined resources, and wise resource management of the Yakima River Basin.