Biodiversity Guide - The Intertwine

egional conservation strategybiodiversity guideAppendix I WatershedsWashington Department of Fish and Wildlife360 902-2200www.wdfw.wa.govClark County Extension (WSU)Jennifer Naas360-397-6060jenifer.naas@clark.wa.govhttp://clark.wsu.edu/Watershed Plans, Assessments, and Reports —Salmon Creek Watershedn Clark County Water Quality Division. 1995.Burnt Bridge Creek Watershed Plan: ClarkCounty watershed protection program. Vancouver,WA: The Division.n Clark County Water Resources Division. 1997.Lakeshore & Salmon Creek Watershed AreasPlan. Clark County watershed protection program.Vancouver, WA: The Division.n Clark County Stream Health Planwww.co.clark.wa.us/water-resources/stream.htmln Clark County stream monitoring informationhttp://www.co.clark.wa.us/water-resources/monitoring/streammonitor.htmln Gee Creek Watershed Restoration BackgroundReport http://clark.wsu.edu/natural/geeCreek.htmln Habitat Conservation Plan information forWashington state-owned and managed wildlifeareas www.wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/hcp/n Lewis, Salmon-Washougal Watershed Plan(WRIA 27/28) www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/wrias/Planning/27-28.htmln Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery and Fish &Wildlife Subbasin Plan (2010)www.lcfrb.gen.wa.usn Overview of the Lewis and Salmon-WashougalWater Resources Management Program Ruleswww.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0811006.htmln Shillapoo Wildlife Area management planwww.wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/management_plans/n USGS water quality monitoring informationhttp://wa.water.usgs.gov/cgi/realtime.data.cgin Washington Department of Ecology – TMDL,water quality data and projects, surface-groundwaterinteractions along the mainstem, livestockreport and other information www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/TMDLsbyWria/tmdl-wria28.html7. Scappoose Creek – FrontalColumbia River WatershedJanelle St. Pierre, Scappoose Bay WatershedCouncilThe Scappoose Bay watershed is located along theeastern flanks of the Tualatin Mountains, nearthe confluence of Multnomah Channel and theColumbia River. The watershed contains a broaddiversity of habitats, ranging from small, steepmountain streams to low-gradient stream valleysthat transition into the lowland floodplain of theColumbia River estuary. The watershed includesthe mainstem and tributaries of North and SouthScappoose creeks, Milton Creek, HoneymanCreek, and McNulty Creek, as well as severalother smaller streams. Scappoose Bay and itsconnected bottomlands—a unique freshwatertidal estuary—is the focal point of this complexsystem, which provides clean water to its humanresidents and supports diverse wildlife habitat.Most of the watershed is privately ownedindustrial forest with a small percentage of federaland state land (managed by the Bureau of LandManagement and Oregon Parks and RecreationDepartment) and a scattering of small woodlandproperties. Rural residential properties take upmost of the valleys, transitioning into (1) theurban areas of Scappoose and St. Helens/ColumbiaCity, and (2) a small amount of agriculture inthe lower portion of the watershed, primarily inthe dikelands around Scappoose.Scappoose Creek-Frontal Columbia River Watershed123,105 acresLand cover% of WatershedAgriculture 22%Regen. forest 4%Developed 6%Low Veg 5%Tree Cover 57%Water 5%Forest Patches* 55%JurisdictionsMetro UGB** 1%Scappoose 2%St. Helens/ Columbia City 3%Rural 94%*Tree/regen. forest patches >30 acres.**Cities in Portland area UGBDespite recent growth in the human populationand the watershed’s proximity to a majormetropolitan area, the Scappoose Bay watershedstill has 57 percent tree cover, which includessubstantial conifer forests with remnant oakforests and savanna scattered at lower elevations.Wetlands rich in wildlife still grace the lowlands,filtering the basin’s runoff.Within the greater Portland-Vancouver region,the Scappoose Creek – Frontal Columbia Rivercontributes about 7 percent of total lands.Key Facts: The Scappoose Creek-Frontal ColumbiaRiver watershed within the greater Portland-Vancouver region:n Is 16 percent publicly owned.n Is 94 percent rural, with just 6 percent of thewatershed falling within urban growth boundaries(primarily Scappoose and St. Helens/ColumbiaCity).n Has higher than average tree cover: 57 percent.n Has a forest patch coverage rate of 55 percent.Of this, 14 percent is publicly owned and a substantialportion is working forest that is managedfor timber extraction.n Has 21,600 acres that are within the FEMA100-year floodplain.n Includes about 9,000 acres of mapped wetlands.Historically, five species of salmonids were presentin the Scappoose Bay watershed: fall Chinook,coho, and chum salmon and winter steelhead andcutthroat trout. Viable though imperiled wildpopulations of coho, cutthroat, and steelheadremain. Chum is considered extirpated, and thestatus of the fall Chinook population is uncertain.Historically, the Milton Creek and Northand South Scappoose Creek subwatersheds hadthe highest diversity and largest populations ofsalmonids. Numerous smaller independent tributariesto Scappoose Bay and Multnomah Channelalso provided salmonid habitat, but these did nothave the species diversity or habitat availabilityof Milton Creek and North and South Scappoosecreeks.The Scappoose Bay watershed has a historyof mining, logging, farming, diking, and otheractivities that degrade habitat. Loss of potentialproductivity of fish habitat was highest for all speciesand life stages in the valley floodplain streamtype, which occurs mainly in the agricultural/rural residential areas of the mainstems of SouthScappoose and Milton creeks. Despite severe populationdeclines, creeks such as South ScappooseCreek—the most productive salmon-bearingcreek within the Scappoose Bay watershed—stillserve as an essential connection between ScappooseBay and high-quality salmon habitat in theupper watershed. Remaining challenges includedetermining how best to restore the critical creekcorridors and making strategic efforts to restoresalmonid populations.The Scappoose bottomlands are a rare freshwatertidal estuary near the confluence of theColumbia River and Multnomah Channel. This280 281