Panther Creek Passage Barrier Removal
On August 6, 2011, Yakama Nation Fisheries, Yakama Reservation Watersheds Project (YRWP) completed the implementation of a restoration action at two road/stream interfaces on Panther Creek to improve stream function and facilitate fish movement. Sites within the Panther Creek watershed have been degraded due to various human activities (e.g., grazing, road building, and logging). These problems are most obvious at the site on Panther Creek where Fort Simcoe Road # 80 transects T10N, R13E Section 13 and further downstream in T10N, R13E Section 26.
Durham Irrigation Dam Removal & Roughened Channel Installation
The factors limiting fish passage and habitat degradation at the Durham Irrigation Dam restoration site were the result of an obsolete irrigation diversion dam. This site is located at river mile five on Toppenish Creek. During periods of heightened instream flows, the confines of the dam abutments created a hydraulic pressure gradient, limiting successful fish passage.