The goal of the project is to establish off-channel habitat within a 0.28 mile long irrigation channel and the installation of engineered log structures at the apex of islands to benefit spring Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout populations. Primary objectives of the Lower Entiat Off-channel Restoration is to enhance off-channel summer and winter rearing conditions for juveniles, and increase resting and holding areas for various life stages of the listed species. This will be achieved by establishing a controlled annual flow for off-channel habitat in an irrigation ditch that starts with a surface water intake just below RM 6.3 and spills back to the Entiat River just above RM 6.0. At this time water has been cutoff at the intake and water users along the ditch have been converted to wells. The ditch runs through five separate properties. A partnership between U.S.Bureau of Reclamation and Cascadia Conservation District has been established for the planning and design of this project.

This project is part of the Intensively Monitored Watershed (IMW) study of the Entiat River. Implementation of the proposed treatments, in accordance with the study, is planned for the summer of 2014. This project is also a top priority action item within the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Plan as it directly addresses multiple limiting factors including stream channel complexity, habitat diversity, and off-channel habitat. The proposed scope of work as outlined will engage Tier 1 habitat action recommendations including instream/large woody material pool forming structures and side channel connection (Revised UC Biological Strategy, 2008).

In addition, the habitat restoration actions proposed were most recently outlined and prioritized through the Lower Entiat Reach Assessment completed by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBOR 2012), and further refined through the Guidance on the Implementation of the Lower Entiat Reach Assessment Memorandum by the Upper Columbia Regional Technical Team (UC RTT and the USBOR, February 2012).