The objective of the Wolf Creek Ditch and Fish Return Improvement project is to reduce and/or eliminate ESA-listed fish mortality associated with the ditch. The Wolf Creek Reclamation District (WCRD) operates irrigation diversion facilities at RM 4.2 on the mainstem Wolf Creek and one on Little Wolf Creek. Wolf Creek is located in a Tier 1 watershed and flows east from its headwaters for 14.5 miles before entering the Methow River at river mile 52.8, 2.5 miles upriver from the town of Winthrop. ESA threatened Upper Columbia River steelhead and Columbia River bull trout use Wolf Creek in the area of the irrigation ditch.

The ditch ramps down and stops diverting water from Wolf Creek in late summer every year. As the ditch ramps down, conditions between the headgate and the fish screen and in the fish return do not provide for fish to safely return to Wolf Creek. As a result, multiple juvenile steelhead and bull trout are being trapped and die in the ditch and return channel every year. CCFEG intends to work with the Bureau of Reclamation, WCRD, Forest Service (landowner), and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to secure funding to design, permit and upgrade the facilities that will allow fish to safely move back to Wolf Creek. Treatments may include replacing the head gate to allow for a greater range of flows, improving the fish return, and potentially moving the fish screen closer to the diversion. Upgrades are required prior to the USFS renewing Special Use Permit and annual operating plan with WCRD.