Activity:

Restoration

Restoring, enhancing, improving watershed or stream function and process.

Entiat Stilwaters 3-D Reach Assessment

In 2009, the Yakama Nation  procured field investigations and analyses for fish habitat project alternatives for Reach 3-D of the Entiat River.  The 3-D Reach starts at River Mile (RM)24 and ends at RM 25.  The 3-D reach has been listed as a priority reach by the Bureau of Reclamation's Priority Reach Assessment Analyses.  The Regional Technical Team (RTT) selected priority reaches and drafted priority actions for implementing habitat actions on February 11, 2009 for the Stillwate

Columbia Basin Toxics Cleanup

The Yakama Nation is a federally recognized Tribe, pursuant to the Treaty of 1855 (12 Stat. 951), with authority to manage, protect and restore treaty resources throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Columbia River is frequently referred to and honored as "the life blood of the Yakama Nation." Currently, the Columbia River is a polluted and life-threatening environment for salmon and other aquatic resources primarily because of industrial development.

Yakima Basin Summer/Fall Chinook Project

Summer- and fall-run chinook were once abundant in the Yakima River Basin, but the runs were decimated as a result of historical land and water development and fisheries management practices. By 1970, the summer-run component was extirpated and the fall-run is maintained by hatchery production using out-of-basin broodstock.

White Sturgeon Management Project

Yakama Nation Fisheries (YNF) has been exploring sturgeon culture requirements by rearing small numbers of white sturgeon in tribal hatchery facilities since the 1990s.  Fish were obtained from various sources, including the private Pelfrey sturgeon hatchery operating downstream from Bonneville Dam and mid-Columbia hatchery research by CRITFC and the USFWS. 

Pacific Lamprey Project

The Yakama Nation is working to restore natural production of Pacific lamprey to a level that will provide robust species abundance, significant ecological contributions and meaningful harvest within the Yakama Nations Ceded Lands and in the Usual and Accustomed areas.

Chewuch River 8 Mile Ranch Project

The 8 Mile Ranch Project (8 Mile Ranch) restores habitat and hydraulic refuge for fish rearing and holding within one reach of the Chewuch River. The work performed provides fish habitat, stream complexity and restores a functional riparian zone in an area currently without any vegetation.

Chewuch River Mile 10 Project

The Chewuch River Mile 10 Fish Habitat Enhancement Project (RM10), improves stream complexity by improving available instream habitat, increasing side channel and off channel habitat, and stabalizing eroding banks. The RM10 project encompasses 0.85 miles of river length and provides benefits to spring chinook, Upper Columbia steelhead and bull trout, as well as providing habitat for resident fish species.

Yakima Basin Steelhead Kelt Reconditioning

Columbia River steelhead are iteroparous (able to spawn multiple times). However, as post-spawned steelhead (kelts) attempt to migrate downstream to return to the ocean, their survival is adversely affected by major dams. Therefore, an innovative approach to effectively increasing abundance and productivity of steelhead populations is to capitalize on their inherent iteroparity by reconditioning kelts.

Renchler's Meadow Project

Renchler’ Meadow is an important water storage area for Dry Creek, a tributary of Satus Creek, both of which support culturally important fish species. Meadows are extremely important for absorbing and slowly releasing rainfall and snowmelt to maintain summer base flows in streams. The meadows themselves support culturally important roots that are gathered for food, medicinal and ceremonial purposes by the Yakama people. Renchler's Meadow was impacted by a variety of human related activities in the past, which ultimately caused the stream channel to erode throughout the meadow.

Branch Creek Armored Stream Crossing

Branch Creek enters North Fork Toppenish Creek at river mile 3.2, and drains a 23-square-mile watershed. Mid-Columbia River steelhead use the stream for spawning and rearing. Two locations on Branch Creek were identified as suitable for culvert removal and replacement by armored stream fords. One is located at RM 1.1 and the other at RM 1.4. The project is located in the NW1/4, NE1/4, Township 9 North, Range 14 East, Section 1, on tribal trust land in the closed area of the Yakama Reservation.