DESCRIPTION
This project will plant riparian and wetland parts of the project zone at three sites in the Sugar Project Reach, and maintain plantings at an additional site. The sites include Sugar Left (0.2 acres), Sugar Right (7 acres) and WDFW Floodplain Phase 2 (0.8 acres), and maintain riparian plantings installed fall 2024 at the Eagle Rocks site (1.2 acres).
The primary goal of the Sugar Riparian Restoration Project is to support improved riparian conditions at each of the restoration sites that comprise the larger Sugar Reach. The larger Sugar Reach Project is being implemented to increase the quality and quantity of rearing habitat available for Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook and Steelhead through side channel and floodplain reconnection, construction of instream habitat complexity structures and restore the conditions needed to support properly functioning riparian habitats. This grant application will allow us to expand riparian planting densities to reduce the amount of time it will take to restore proper functioning conditions.The proposed riparian planting project will plant 17.6 acres with native trees and shrubs to improve riparian condition and canopy cover (currently unacceptable limiting factors) in the reach. Riparian plantings are proposed to expand the riparian buffers into previously cleared or disturbed areas. The plantings will be designed using a reference approach, with nearby established self-sustaining stands as the desired future condition. Plantings will be maintained for 5 years until established and self-sufficient.
