Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Project in the Columbia River Basin

The Integrated Status and Effectiveness Project (ISEMP) was created nearly 10 years ago to systematically answer questions such as “what is the best way to measure stream habitat?” and “what is the best way to measure salmonid populations?”. These questions are related to the management that underpins the proposed tributary habitat-based, off -site mitigation strategy of the Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion (FCRPS BiOp). Quantifying the effect of habitat condition on fish populations is a required component of a population management strategy based on the conservation and rehabilitation of stream habitat. Linking fish population status and health to habitat condition can be done in two ways: measuring all aspects of stream habitat, habitat change and fish population condition at all possible locations, or developing key indicators of relevant habitat features and fish population responses in a spatially representative fashion to support a mechanistic, predictive framework. For reasons of efficiency, and to maximize the utility of the knowledge the project generates, ISEMP has adopted the latter tactic – to develop quantitative tools that relate habitat condition to fish populations in a framework that supports habitat and population management decision making. Connecting habitat quality and quantity to fish population processes quantitatively allows the evaluation of habitat management actions for their potential impact on the abundance and productivity of listed salmonids in the Columbia River basin. The evaluation of management actions can be predictive, used in an adaptive management framework to forecast, plan and prioritize projects, and it can be extrapolative, used to quantify the potential impact of ongoing actions not included in an explicit evaluation or monitoring design. In either case, management decisions underlying the design and evaluation of the FCRPS BiOp habitat strategy need to be based on a documented, scientifically rigorous rule-set that links habitat condition with fish population response. In order to be most effective, the technical detail of how fish populations respond to habitat conditions must be translated into tools to support decision-making, interpretation by broad audiences, and use by technical and non-technical elements of the co-manager community. ISEMP’s primary goal is to generate the decision support products that form the foundation of the FCRPS BiOp habitat strategy.

This report is designed to summarize the lessons learned and policy implications from the implementation of Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP; BPA Project 2003-017-00) and the Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (CHaMP; BPA Project 2011-006-00) during 2015. ISEMP and CHaMP are addressing three critically important features of the tributary RME Implementation Plan developed as part of the 2000 Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion (BiOp) (Jordan et al. 2003): (1) all RME data collection efforts must be designed to generate data of known accuracy and precision; (2) actions must be implemented within a Columbia River basin-wide experimental framework in order to detect the biological impact of management actions, and (3) regional data management, without which the ability to access and use monitoring data will be compromised. Here we will describe the advancements that ISEMP and CHaMP have made toward building a regional RME program founded upon these three principals. We will also provide answers and suggest implications for policy makers to the stated goal of the tributary monitoring program in terms of whether the current process of identifying limiting factors, restoration strategies, and implementing restoration actions has worked to improve anadromous freshwater productivity. This report should be cited as: ISEMP/CHaMP, Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP) and Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (CHaMP) Annual Combined Technical Report, January 2015 – December 2015, BPA Projects 2003-017-00 and 2011-006-00, 39 Electronic Pages.

This document summarizes the work products that ISEMP and CHaMP produced. Much of this work was done in collaboration with State and Tribal fishery and habitat agency staff and other BPA FWP projects. All of the work was done to support specific tributary habitat monitoring and evaluation objectives under the 2008 Biological Opinion for listed salmon and steelhead populations in the interior Columbia River Basin. This document includes a list of over 50 publications produced by the program and brief summaries and resource links for models, tools, and findings of these programs uncovered over 14 years. Over 350 individuals have contributed to this program and this document should be cited as: ISEMP/CHaMP. 2018. Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (BPA Project 2003-017-00) and Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (BPA Project 2011-006-00) Final Technical Report for Bonneville Power Administration. 1,280 pages.

Research into, and monitoring of, listed spring Chinook and steelhead and their habitat under the Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP) advanced the science and knowledge of fish and habitat relation-ships over the course of 2012. In one of the few instances in the field of effectiveness monitoring, ISEMP demonstrated that it is possible to detect a fish response at the population level to intensive habitat restoration actions (Bridge Creek Inten-sively Monitored Watershed, IMW). An extremely cost-effective method was employed to improve fish habitat, and ultimately fish populations, by jump-starting a natural cycle of stream restora-tion through supporting local beaver populations. Results included reconnec-tion of the floodplain, improved stream conditions, and more pools, with a con-comitant increase in the abundance and survival of steelhead. This answers the outstanding question of whether a com-bination of habitat projects at the reach scale can produce benefits that extend across a population.