Biodiversity Guide - The Intertwine

egional conservation strategybiodiversity guideAppendix I Watershedsver ponds along Cedar Creek and ponds along I-5near Woodland provide important cavity-nestingduck habitat. Winter concentrations of bald eagleuse portions of the East Fork and North Forkmainstems for perching and foraging.The Lewis River subbasin provides extensiveupland habitat as well. A series of Oregon whiteoak patches near the Rock Creek/mainstem confluenceprovides key habitat for oak-associatedspecies, and Martin’s Bluff, north of the Woodlandbottomlands, includes about 100 acres ofmixed forest with an oak component. An unusualgrassy bald is situated near the headwaters ofCedar Creek. Grouse Creek, a tributary to RockCreek, provides important winter deer habitatas well as a snag-rich area important to manywildlife species. Deer, elk, and associated largepredators such as cougar are present in manyareas of this watershed. Washington Departmentof Fish and Wildlife’s Washington State Elk HerdPlan calls for maintaining the current level of elkwinter range along the Lewis River, where thenorthern area provides important winter rangefor the Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier herds ofRocky Mountain and Roosevelt elk. Increasingelk herds are causing some agricultural damagein portions of the Yale Valley. WDFW owns theCedar Creek Wildlife Area, an active band-tailedpigeon mineral spring site. Some remnant prairieareas remain, particularly in the eastern watershed,including Spilyeh and Chlatchie prairies inthe northeastern area of the subbasin.This watershed provides habitat for a diversegroup of amphibians and reptiles, including theCope’s giant, Pacific giant, Cascade torrent, Larchmountain, and other salamanders; tailed and redleggedfrogs and western toad; the ring-neckedsnake, racer, rubber boa and three species ofgarter snakes; and the northern alligator lizard.The Lewis River subbasin still provides agreat deal of connectivity for fish and wildlife,and several important habitat and movementcorridor areas have been protected. The NorthFork and East Fork mainstems are key corridors.Cedar Creek connects the North Fork and EastFork subbasins. Clark County owns substantialriparian habitat throughout much of the lowerEast Fork in large parcels of designated park land.The Woodland bottomlands, La Center BottomsWildlife Area, and East Fork Lewis River Greenwayform a long, wide swath of wetland/bottomlandhabitat that provides key wildlife connectivityand offers many recreational opportunities.The greenway connects to the Gifford PinchotNational Forest and other important habitat areasand is recognized as important by city, county,and state governments. Several north-south tributariesconnect the mainstems with large habitatareas. Mason Creek is among one of the mostimportant lower East Fork natal salmon tributariesand constitutes a primary corridor for fishand wildlife. Lockwood Creek plays an importantrole connecting Missoula Flood wetlands.Some areas along these corridors would benefitfrom restoration and protection via acquisitionsor conservation easements. Other parks alsopreserve habitat and provide access to nature,including Lake Merwin, Lucia Falls, Lewisville,Daybreak and Paradise Point parks. The northernportion of Battleground State Park connects toSalmon Creek, the watershed to the south. WashingtonDepartment of Natural Resources ownsthousands of forested acres in the northern andeastern subbasin.Restoration and Salmon Recovery. Because ofremaining salmon populations and tributaryhabitat, the Lewis River subbasin is expectedto play a key role in recovery efforts for LowerColumbia River salmon and steelhead, as detailedin the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board’s2010 Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery andFish & Wildlife Subbasin Plan. Specific reachesand subwatersheds in the Lewis subbasin havebeen prioritized based on the plan’s biologicalobjectives, fish distribution, critical life historystages, current habitat conditions, and potentialfish population performance. North Fork Lewispopulations of Chinook and chum salmon willneed to be restored to a high level of viability tomeet regional recovery objectives. Spring Chinookrecovery will occur in the upper North ForkLewis, while chum recovery and fall Chinookenhancement will occur in the lower North Fork.Maintaining stable populations in the East Forksubbasin is important to recovery efforts. Thesubbasin’s stream reaches have been placed intoTiers (1 through 4), with Tier 1 reaches representingthe areas where recovery measures wouldyield the greatest benefits toward accomplishingthe biological objectives. The plan’s 6--yearhabitat work schedule identifies salmon-relatedhabitat restoration needs. The Lower ColumbiaFish Recovery Board is working together withkey stakeholders to develop a community-basedhabitat restoration strategy. Restoration projects,partner information and selected watershed plansare available at www.lowercolumbiasalmonrecovery.org.Active habitat restoration and preservationefforts have been under way for some time nowby several nonprofit groups, including Fish First,Friends of the East Fork, Columbia Land Trust,the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board, andClark County. The relatively new East Fork Lewismitigation bank will re-establish approximately100 acres of wetland habitat to offset impacts tocritical areas in the rapidly growing portions ofClark County and the cities of Battle Ground,Ridgefield and La Center.The 2010 Clark County Stream Health Reportrecommends the following priority general actioncategories for the Lewis River watershed:n Improve wetlands and riparian forest in thelower watershed.n Conserve agricultural and forestlands andpromote healthy practices.n Plant trees to increase the amount of forestcover.n Minimize the impact of surface and groundwaterwithdrawals in tributary streams.n Restore stream channels and side channels.n Work with rural property owners to eliminatepollution sources.Organizations and Partners —Lewis River SubbasinCity of Vancouver360-487-8600www.cityofvancouver.usClark County ESA ProgramContact: Bobbi Trusty360-397-2121 ext. 5268bobbitrusty@clark.wa.govwww.co.clark.wa.us/esa/index.htmlClark Public Utilities’ StreamTeam360-992-8585StreamTeam@clarkpud.comhttp://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/index.cfm/our-environment/stream-team/Clark-Skamania FlyfishersContact: Richard Kennon360-686-3626richardkennon@juno.comCowlitz Indian Tribe360-577-8140www.cowlitz.org/Columbia Land Trust360-696-0131www.columbialandtrust.org/244 245