The Pomeroy Conservation District (PCD) with funding from the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) proposed to install a series of beaver dam support (BDS) structures to improve habitat diversity, reduce channel incision, and reconnect the floodplain in the Tucannon River watershed. The primary focus of the project is the lower reaches of Pataha Creek. PCD will determine the amount of potential habitat that could support dam building beaver in the Tucannon watershed with a focus on Pataha Creek, conduct a trial of building ~10 BDS structures in the lower reaches of Pataha Creek, develop a comprehensive plan to further implement this restoration method on up to an additional 5 KM of incised stream within the Tucannon River Watershed, and begin implementing that plan with the installation of ~ 50 BDS structures in 2016-2017. The trial project would take place on a single landowner's property in the lower reaches of Pataha Creek. The project is intended to help restore more ecologically based stream processes that are promoted by beavers (e.g., increased aggradation reduced sediment and erosion, increased habitat deversity) and demontrate a cost-effective restoration method that may be applicable in many areas in southeast Washington. The target speceis are Snake River ESU steelhead with potential benefits for Chinook and bull trout.
