DESCRIPTION
This project removed two outdated fish passage structures in lower Taneum Creek and replaced them by constructing roughened channel fish passage facilities at each site. The sites are located on either side of I-90, about 10 miles northwest of Ellensburg, WA. Neither the Bruton nor Taneum Canal diversions met current criteria for passage of anadromous juveniles or adults. The Bureau of Reclamation had constructed the vertical slot ladder at Bruton and the Taneum Canal jump pool during Phase-1 screening in the 1980’s.
Construction of the stream channel modifications produced optimal upstream and downstream passage into 30 stream miles of tributary habitat during all flow scenarios. The Taneum Creek watershed has been designated a high priority tributary to the Yakima River for recovery of salmon and steelhead.
Kittitas Conservation Trust (KCT) partnered with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), Yakima Tributary Access & Habitat Program (YTAHP), WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), Bruton Water Users, Taneum Canal Co., and the Yakama Nation (YN) on a comprehensive analysis of new fish passage alternatives for lower Taneum Creek. Engineering designs for the roughened channels were produced as a result of that collaborative process.
Project objectives achieved: 1) finalize the engineering designs 2) obtain construction permits from regulatory agencies 3) construct the channel modifications in Taneum Creek during low flow conditions 4) re-vegetate the work areas. The Bruton site was constructed in 2009, and the Taneum Canal site in 2010-2011.