DESCRIPTION
It has been established by Federal, State, and local
agencies that screening irrigation diversions with NMFS approved fish screens
is key to ESA listed fish recovery. Since inception in 2001, the Washington Dept.
of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Cooperative Compliance Review Program (CCRP),
partnering with the Walla Walla County Conservation District (WWCCD), has had
great success in reducing juvenile anadromous fish mortality by installing nearly
400 state and federally approved fish screens on irrigation pumps and
diversions in Walla Walla county. The CCRP/WWCCD fish screen program reflects
voluntary efforts by landowners to come into compliance with surface diversion regulations.
We believe 50 to 75 irrigators basin-wide still need to come into screening
compliance. Non-compliant diversions are contributing to immediate fish
mortality.
This SRFB grant application requests funding to
continue implementing the highly successful CCRP/WWCCD fish screen installation
program by facilitating installation of 20 fish screen projects, all located in
Walla Walla county, over the next two years (2017 -2018). The screens will be
located at sites that are currently non-compliant with state and federal laws.
Each project will be fitted with a NMFS compliant screen found most suitable
for that location, and sized to a verified water right or, if smaller, a permanent
irrigation practice. Previous CCRP/WWCCD screen projects funded by SRFB range
in size from 15 to 4500 gpm (
Federal, State, and local agencies recognize that screening irrigation diversions with NMFS approved fish screens is key to ESA listed fish recovery. Since its inception in 2001, WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) Cooperative Compliance Review Program (CCRP), partnering with the Walla Walla Co Conservation Dist (WWCCD), has succeeded in reducing juvenile anadromous fish mortality by installing nearly 400 state and federally approved fish screens on irrigation pumps and diversions in Walla Walla county. The CCRP/WWCCD fish screen program reflects voluntary efforts by landowners to come into compliance with surface diversion regulations. We believe 50 to 75 irrigators basin-wide still need to come into screening compliance. WWCCD requests funding to continue implementing the highly successful CCRP/WWCCD fish screen installation program by facilitating installation of 6 fish screen projects during the year 2017-2018. Each project is located in Walla Walla county. The screens will be located at sites that are either going to be built or are currently non-compliant with state and federal law and have never been screened previously. Each project will be fitted with a NMFS compliant screen found most suitable for that location, and sized to a verified water right or, if smaller, a permanent irrigation practice. Screening applications will range from 50 gpm to 2475 gpm (.11cfs -5.5cfs). Targeted fish include ESA listed Bull Trout, Mid-Columbia steelhead, and re-introduced spring Chinook Salmon.