DESCRIPTION
Projects to restore natural flow patterns and fish passage in the Yakima Delta.
Lower river conditions play a major role in migration timing for adults and survival of outmigrating
smolts. Protecting and restorating mainstem and off-channel habitats (especially those
that provide thermal refugia) is critical for these life stages. The best opportunities for restoration
lie in the Wapato Reach (especially between the Toppenish/Satus confluences);additional
opportunities exist in the very lower river at the Barker Ranch and adjacent to the City of West
Richland. Work may include protecting habitat through acquisition, easements or cooperative
agreements (including the CREP program), and activities like riparian plantings, reactivation of
side channels, and winter irrigation to saturate floodplains. Cost estimates for acquisition of land
and easements are generic estimates based on possible amounts; any actual acquisitions will
be based on voluntary agreements negotiated with landowners.