Update 2/16/05

This plan contains objectives and strategies for fish and wildlife enhancement in the Walla Walla subbasin and represents more than a year of work by WWBWC, the WW Watershed Planning Unit, CTUIR, state agencies, local landowners, and others.  Local entities will use the plan to pursue funding for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement projects during the next few years.  The subbasin plan was formally adopted on February 16, 2005, as an amendment to the NWPCC Fish and Wildlife Program. In addition to guiding implementation that program, the subbasin plan may also be used by NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as building blocks for Endangered Species Act recovery planning. State and federal agencies may also use the plan to reconcile hatchery and harvest goals and to complete an integrated monitoring and evaluation framework for fish and wildlife projects and research.

The plan is available online at http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/wallawalla/plan/ or at http://www.wallawallawatershed.org/subbasin.html  Copies on a CD can also be obtained from the WWBWC and WW County Watershed Planning offices.  For more information, see the background links below or contact Brian Wolcott, WWBWC, at 541-938-2170, or Cathy Schaeffer, Walla Walla Watershed Coordinator, at 509-527-3285.

Links

Download the Plan from NWPCC

EDT Information

EDT Datasets for Download

Walla Walla Watershed Planning SBP page

NWPCC site for Walla Walla Subbasin Planning

Letter of commendation from NWPCC (38 KB, PDF format)

Public Workshop Information

Background Information

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC - formerly NW Power Planning Council) was directed by the Northwest Power Act of 1980 to develop a program to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin. Through this effort, annual recommendations will be made to the Bonneville Power Administration to fund projects to implement the program. The purpose of a subbasin plan is to document subbasin conditions and evaluate criteria indicators that drive the implementation of NWPCC programs at the subbasin level. Ultimately, the subbasin plan will be used by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to help inform their recovery efforts for threatened and endangered species. The plan will also be evaluated for consistency with the Clean Water Act, federal treaty and trust responsibilities with the basin Native American Tribes, and the NWPCC 2000 Fish and Wildlife Program.

Subbasin plans are to be developed in an open public process that includes the participation of a wide range of state, federal and tribal governments, local managers, landowners, local governments, and other stakeholders. The final subbasin plan adopted by the NWPCC should enjoy a wide range of support from all interested parties. The plans must be consistent with provisions contained in the Northwest Power Act, and NWPCC's Fish and Wildlife Program. These plans contain the elements that drive program implementation at the subbasin level. NWPCC subbasin plans should not duplicate the plans developed or soon to be developed by others, including states, tribes, or the federal government. Wherever possible and scientifically warranted, NWPCC will adopt existing plans into the subbasin plans. Planning in any subbasin will stem from the information contained in subbasin summaries and existing plans and documents.  Subbasin plans will be required for future funding from the Bonneville Power Administration.

Below are the key elements of a subbasin plan:
1. Assessment (including limiting factors and factors for decline)
2. Vision
3. Biological Goals and Objectives
4. Strategies
5. Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation
6. Supporting Documentation (Appendices)

The Walla Walla River Subbasin Plan was developed in collaboration with fish and wildlife managers, local governments, and other local interest groups and stakeholders and resource managers. In the Walla Walla Subbasin, the planning process had an Oregon component and a Washington component.  The lead entity for the Oregon half of the subbasin was the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council.  For more information about Subbasin Planning for the Oregon half, please contact Brian Wolcott.  The Watershed Council worked closely with our Washington counterpart, the Walla Walla Watershed Planning Unit to create an integrated plan.  For the Washington half of the Subbasin Planning effort, please contact Cathy Schaeffer at (509) 527-3285.

A core planning team was developed, pulling largely from the Bi-State Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP) process currently underway to establish a mitigation strategy for in basin impacts to ESA-listed bull trout and steelhead. The core team also included terrestrial wildlife managers who were not part of the HCP efforts. The Walla Walla Subbasin Planning process utilized a group of technical experts from state and federal resource managers and consultants to compile and analyze the data and develop the Plan based on current scientific understanding of the Walla Walla River Subbasin. In addition, because the Plan was developed locally and adopted with as much community support as possible, public involvement was a fundamental part of the process.

The vision statement developed at the Nov. 5, 2003, workshop and revised Jan. 26, 2004, is:
The vision for the Walla Walla Subbasin is a healthy ecosystem with abundant, productive, and diverse populations of aquatic and terrestrial species that support the social, cultural and economic well-being of the communities within the Subbasin and the Pacific Northwest.  This vision provided guidance for the development of biological objectives and strategies for the subbasin which formed the core of the Management Plan.  The WW Basin Watershed Council expressed formal approval of this statement at the February 16, 2004, meeting.

The original version of the plan was submitted to the Northwest Power Planning Council on May 28, 2004, and was revised based on comments received.  WWBWC voted formal approval November 15, 2004, and the revised Final Draft Addendum 11/03/04 (PDF, 3.2MB) was submitted to NWPCC November 24, 2004.   On December 22, 2004, NWPCCl released the (revised) plan for public review to accept comments (due 1/31/05) before the plan is adopted to guide BPA funding in the basin.   A public hearing was held January 12, 2005, in Clarkston, WA.  Comments were due by Jan 31, 2005.  NWPCC's Notice of the opportunity to comment,   Letter of request for public comment, PDF format, 102KB

Useful Links

Updates specific to the Walla Walla Subbasin Planning process can be found at:
Posted by the local SBP Team: http://www.wallawallawatershed.org/subbasin.html
Posted by NWPCC:  http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/wallawalla/default.asp

Other background information about subbasin planning (including contract information and forms) can be found at the site hosted by NWPCC: http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/

A letter from John Ogan to the Fish & Wildlife Committee (dated 10/7/03) contains a review of how the Northwest Power & Conservation Council (NWPCC) views the Subbasin Planning process (148KB, PDF)  Also, from the Council are the Formatting Guidelines for Subbasin Plans 12-8-03 (37KB, PDF)

The Subbasin Summary (interim plan) for Walla Walla can be downloaded at the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA) website (scroll down towards the bottom of the page to find the "Draft Walla Walla Subbasin Summary")

The Technical Guide for Subbasin Planners can be obtained at: http://www.nwcouncil.org/library/2001/2001-20.pdf (200K, PDF)

Oregon Specific Guidance can be found at http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/admin/level2/or/guidance.htm or by downloading this document: Oregon Specific Guidance (1MB, PDF)

A draft level 1 assessment for the Walla Walla Basin (prepared by EcoVista) can be downloaded from: http://www.ecovista.ws/wallawallaasmnt.html

The Walla Walla Planning Unit (WA side) has many related documents available, including a Final Level 1 Technical Assessment that can be downloaded in sections: http://www.wallawallawatershed.org./wsplanning.html

StreamNet's Library of subbasin planning documents (including the 1990 plan for the Walla Walla River) can be found at: http://www.fishlib.org/documents/Subbasins/index.htm

StreamNet also has basin-specific GIS data including shapefiles for EDT/QHA reaches, 100K streams, ODFW fish distribution, dams, and barriers, and HUC boundaries (fifth- and sixthfields), quadrangle boundaries, the Walla Walla R 'subbasin' boundary, and DRGs (USGS topo quads organized by OHIOCODE).  This is posted by the Technical Outreach and Assistance Team (TOAST) at: ftp://ftp.streamnet.org/pub/streamnet/SubPlanning/ColumbiaPlateau/WallaWalla/

Information about the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) model can be found at Mobrand's EDT page.

Management Plan Vision 11-24-03 (86KB, PDF)

Information about EDT public workshops can be found here, including the vision that will guide development of the management plan.
 

Some of the descriptive text above was adapted from:

1. The "Overview" provided at the NWPCC website at:   http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/admin/guides/overview.htm

2. The draft "Workplan: Walla Walla River Subbasin Plan - Oregon Half"  10/24/02.
 

This page last updated on  1/25/06.