RESTORATION EVALUATION PLAN

Transcription

1 RESTORATION EVALUATION PLAN Project Name: Ramsey Refugia Project Project Proponent: Columbia Slough Watershed Council Project Goal (the overall intent of the habitat restoration effort; in some cases, it can be long-term and exceed the life of the immediate available funding): Provide 1.5 acres of off-channel habitat for juvenile salmonids in the Lower Columbia Slough. Revegetate 3.0 acres of emergent, scrub-shrub and forested wetland plantings. Structural Objective: Parameter (what will be measured and in what units): Tree and shrub density - stems / acre Technique for Measurement (optional): Tree/shrub density 1/100 acre circular plots (several per acre) Baseline (pre-construction or earliest available post-construction numerical value for the structural parameter): July 2005 monitoring event 1,329 stems / acre. Reference (ideal numerical value for the structural parameter): 800 stems / acre in scrub-shrub and forested wetland portions of the 3.0 acre project area Target (proposed numerical value desired for the structural parameter): 800 stems/acre (at a minimum) in scrub-shrub and forested wetland portions of 3.0 acre project area Note: The City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) Watershed Revegetation Program installs plants at a high stem per acre rate, approximately double the expected mature stems per acre rate. This is done expecting some attrition due to mortality. The high baseline stems per acre numbers shown from monitoring at the Ramsey Refugia site can probably be explained by 1) the area has been planted at least once throughout the past 8 years and 2) increased natural regeneration rates since BES began managing the competing non-native vegetation on the site. Primarily, revegetation associated with this project will occur within the project area directly impacted by excavation and grading associated with the construction project. Timing (sampling frequency and end date): Annually at end of growing season (generally October/November) Monitoring Results One monitoring event on October 10, 2006 Annual monitoring was conducted per the monitoring protocol submitted to LCREP. Plots were take to quantify survival and recruitment of native trees and shrubs on site, while general observations and Page 1 of 6

2 recommendations for continued management were recorded. In general, the number of native trees and shrubs exceed target goals for this site. There is a pleasantly surprising number of natural recruitment of native species. Observations High water levels over the past year precluded significant shrub survival along the lowest banks and alcove area. There is a significant amount of native species recruitment throughout site - Oregon ash and black cottonwood seedlings, at least two species of Beggars tick, wapato, smartweed species, sneezeweed, and a nut sedge. Very few of the live pole cuttings which were installed Feb 2006 survived - either water levels were too high, or herbivory by mammals. Recommendations No additional seeding or bareroot tree/shrub interplanting recommended this year. BES Revegetation Program PM recommends additional live pole cuttings of willow species in rows/clusters perpendicular to and across some of the channel banks. If water levels are lower this year, more may survive, and placement perpendicular to the slope will act to catch small woody debris as water advances and recedes with the daily tides. BES Revegetation Program will continue to monitor for invasive plant encroachment (purple loosestrife, reed canarygrass), and monitor for further interplanting or seeding needs in 2007/2008. Table 1: Monitoring Results from Post-restoration Woody Plant Monitoring Event Plant Type Species Common Name Alive (Planted) Natural Recruitment Total Number SHRUB Cornus sericea Red-Osier Dogwood SHRUB Rosa pisocarpa Swamp Rose SHRUB Salix fluviatilis Columbia River SHRUB Spiraea douglasii Douglas's Spiraea SHRUB TOTALS TREE Crataegus suksdorfii Black Hawthorn TREE Fraxinus latifolia Oregon Ash TREE Malus fusca Western Crabapple TREE Populus balsamifera Black Cottonwood TREE Salix lucida ssp. Pacific Willow TREE Unknown Unknown TREE TOTALS 760 1,960 2,720 WOODY PLANT GRAND TOTALS 1,040 2,100 3,140 Page 2 of 6

3 Functional Objective: Parameter (what will be measured and in what units): Salmonid use of restored project site - presence / absence Technique for Measurement (optional): May be any type of monitoring method, including but not limited to the following: fyke net or box trap, snorkel survey, or backpack electroshocker Baseline (pre-construction or earliest available post-construction numerical value for the functional parameter): No fish present in project site; currently inaccessible to salmonids Reference (ideal numerical value for the functional parameter): Annual use by salmonids during winter period Target (proposed numerical value desired for the functional parameter): Annual use by salmonids during winter period Timing (sampling frequency and end date): Two pre-construction monitoring events in 2005 (March and April), one post-construction monitoring event in 2005 (November or December) and at least two times per winter/spring on average during November June target period. Monitoring Results March 2005 through July 2006 Monitoring of fish communities at the Ramsey Refugia Project has been conducted eleven times between March 2005 and July Monitoring was conducted twice before the project was implemented to collect baseline / pre-restoration data. These two boat electroshocking events were conducted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and City of Portland () biologists. Salmonids were captured and / or observed at the existing mouth / alcove of the project site. Post-restoration monitoring has been conducted nine times since the project was completed in September Two of the three boat electroshocking events captured salmonids. The first event, conducted on November 24, 2005 did not collect or observe any salmonids. All seven of the Ducks Unlimited (DU) net sampling events captured salmonids, including Chinook salmon, coho salmon and steelhead trout. More intensive interest has been focused on the Chinook salmon. Forty-two (42) genetic samples were collected from subyearling Chinook and later analyzed by David Teel of the NOAA Fisheries Lab in Seattle, WA. According to these results, it appears that several age classes and genetic stocks are using the newly restored off-channel habitat found at the Ramsey Refugia Project site, including fish from the Interior Columbia River basin, Lower Columbia River basin, Upper Willamette River basin, and Tule falls. Summary data tables have been provided on the following pages for additional information on sampling events, sampling results, and genetic analysis conducted for the Ramsey Refugia Project. Page 3 of 6

4 Table 2: Sampling Results from Pre-restoration Monitoring Events Date Sampler(s) Salmonid Species Number Length Weight Notes ODFW and Chinook 3 62 N/A salmon 69mm ODFW and Chinook 6 58 N/A salmon 95mm ODFW and Steelhead trout 1 220mm N/A ODFW and Unidentified juvenile 4 N/A N/A Observed but not captured ODFW and salmonid Unidentified adult salmonid 1 ~635 mm ~6,803 g Observed but not captured Table 3: Sampling Results from Post-restoration Monitoring Events Date Sampler(s) Salmonid Number Length Weight Notes Species ODFW and No salmonids 0 N/A N/A captured DU and Chinook salmon No genetic material collected 38mm 1.2g ODFW and Chinook salmon 3 N/A N/A Observed but not captured DU and Chinook salmon mm g Genetic Origin (3 samples): UWR_Spr (3) DU and Coho salmon mm g ODFW and Chinook salmon 8 63 N/A 168mm DU and Chinook salmon mm g Genetic Origin (1 sample): tule fall (1) DU and Chinook salmon mm g Genetic Origin (5 samples): tule fall (3); UWR_Spr (1); DU and DU and DU and Chinook salmon mm g Coho salmon mm 9.7g Steelhead trout 1 720mm 3,405g Int_Su/F (1) Genetic Origin (34 samples): tule fall (7); UWR_Spr (1); Int_Su/F (14); LCR_F (11); LCR_Sp (1) Page 4 of 6

5 Table 4: Genetic Results from Ramsey Sub-yearling Chinook Salmon Page 5 of 6

6 Table 5: Genetic Results Summary Table Stock Origin of Ramsey Chinook Salmon Page 6 of 6