DESCRIPTION
Tri-State Steelheaders will implement fish passage designs completed in 2014 for Mill Creek between 9th Ave and 6th Ave in Walla Walla (SRFB project #12-1634). The design reach for the completed plans is approximately 1,400 feet. Existing construction funding (SRFB project #13-1387 and CTUIR) will complete about 550 feet. This proposal seeks to add funds to SRFB project #13-1387 to complete an additional 450 feet for a total of 1,000 feet. This project is continguous with 200 feet of passage improvements completed in 2011 (SRFB project #09-1587).
Flood control measures on Mill Creek include a concrete channel that extends over two miles through Walla Walla. The Mill Creek Barrier Assessment completed in 2009 identified and described barriers for ESA listed steelhead and bull trout, and for reintroduced spring Chinook. Returning adults encounter flow dependent depth and velocity barriers and a lack of resting opportunities. Juvenile fish encounter low spring flows and high water temperatures in late spring. Adults and juveniles often become trapped in the flood control channel by mid-May where they experience lethal temperatures. Many of these passage issues are considered imminent threats in the Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan. Mill Creek, upstream of the flood control project, is a critical and under-utilized area for spawning and rearing of ESA listed species and provides an important recovery opportunity for those listed fish, as well as good habitat for other native fish and reintroduction efforts for spring Chinook.