The Chewuch River Right Fish Enhancement project will address limiting factors and improve habitat for ESA listed species, Upper Columbia Spring Chinook, Upper Columbia Steelhead, and Bull trout by restoring and connecting off channel habitat, adding stream complexity, and creating a functioning wetland.

The Yakama Nation is proposing to reactivate sections of a historical side channel and to create new channel along the right side of the valley floodplain. The floodplain habitat functions resulting from the project would benefit salmonids as well as other aquatic, amphibian, and terrestrial flora and fauna, by increasing heterogeneity of the terrain and hydrology of the floodplain landscape. Restoring flow to this area will create 2,500 feet of stream winding through forested floodplain, before exiting to an oxbow before rejoining the river. A total of 20 engineered log structures will be incorporated into the side channel project.

Yakama Nation is also proposing five engineer log structures, three of which are designed for the inlet of the side channel. Large wood in streams is important for fish because it provides cover from predators and creates the hydraulics necessary for the creation of scour pools. Pools with cover are critical habitats for both adult and juvenile salmonids.