Hood River Watershed Assessment Report - ODFW

Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District

Hood River Watershed Assessment

Hood River Mainstem

West Fork Hood River

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R East Fork Hood River

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Middle Fork

Hood River

December 1999

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Acknowledgements

The Hood River Watershed Assessment is a project of the Hood River Watershed Group and the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District, whose members are dedicated to working together locally to improve the sustainability and health of natural resources in the Hood River system. Financial assistance was provided from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and For the Sake of the Salmon Foundation. Invaluable technical assistance was received from the U.S. Forest Service Hood River Ranger District, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.

Prepared by

Holly Coccoli, Hood River Watershed Group

Contributors

Bonnie Lamb, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Karen Hale, U.S. Forest Service

Ed Salminen, Watershed Professionals Network Monica Burke

John Wells, U.S. Forest Service Holly Coccoli, Hood River Watershed Group

Reviewers

Dennis Carlson, Hood River County Brian Nakamura, Hood River Grower Shipper Association Jim Newton, Steve Pribyl and Rod French, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Mick Jennings and Mike Lambert, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation

Larry Toll, Oregon Water Resources Department Rick Ragan, U.S. Forest Service Hood River Ranger District

John Buckley, East Fork Irrigation District Bill Stanley and Brian Conners, Middle Fork Irrigation District

Jerry Bryan, Farmers Irrigation District Steve Hansen, Longview Fibre Company

Randy Johnston, City of Hood River Linda Prendergrast, PacifiCorp

Larry Hoffman, Oregon Department of Forestry John Bartlett, Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District Chuck Gehling, Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District Mike Udelius, Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District Anne Saxby, Hood River Soil & Water Conservation District

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................1

PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE WATERSHED ASSESSMENT ............................................................ 1 WATERSHED DESCRIPTION .......................................................................................................... 5

2. HISTORICAL CONDITIONS ........................................................................12

WATERSHED CONDITIONS AT THE TIME OF SETTLEMENT .......................................................... 12 HISTORICAL CONDITIONS OUTLINE ........................................................................................... 17

3. CHANNEL HABITAT TYPES IN THE HOOD RIVER WATERSHED..19

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 19 METHODS AND RESULTS............................................................................................................ 23

4. FISH POPULATION STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION ..............................29

HABITAT CONDITIONS SUMMARY.............................................................................................. 41 FISH PASSAGE PROBLEMS.......................................................................................................... 45

5. CHANNEL MODIFICATIONS......................................................................52

HISTORIC AND EXISTING CHANNEL MODIFICATIONS................................................................. 52

6. HYDROLOGY AND WATER USE ................................................................56

CLIMATE AND STREAMFLOW ..................................................................................................... 56 WATER RIGHTS AND WATER USE.............................................................................................. 65

7. WATER QUALITY..........................................................................................74

SUMMARY OF AVAILABLE WATER QUALITY DATA AND CONCERNS ......................................... 76

8. RIPARIAN AND WETLANDS CONDITIONS ............................................93

HOOD RIVER MAINSTEM WATERSHED RIPARIAN ASSESSMENT ................................................ 93 WETLANDS ASSESSMENT......................................................................................................... 100

9. SEDIMENT SOURCES ..................................................................................105

NATURAL SEDIMENT SOURCES ................................................................................................ 105 SEDIMENT SOURCES FROM LAND USE ..................................................................................... 107

10. UPLAND VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE HABITAT.........................113 11. WATERSHED CONDITION EVALUATION...........................................120

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS ................................................................................................... 123

REFERENCE LIST...................................................................................................................... 128

WATER QUALITY APPENDIX

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1. INTRODUCTION

Purpose and Need for the Watershed Assessment

The Hood River Watershed Assessment was prepared by the Hood River Watershed Group (HRWG), a forum of landowners, businesses, growers, sport fishers, irrigation/water districts, individuals, state, federal and tribal agencies, and local government working cooperatively for a healthier environment and sustainable natural resources. The HRWG is one of 84 locallyformed "watershed councils" statewide that are a key part of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. The Oregon Plan is designed to improve the health of the state's aquatic resources. In contrast to Endangered Species Act and environmental protection emphasizing regulations, the Oregon Plan relies on voluntary action, government coordination , monitoring and accountability, public education and the prioritized enforcement of environmental laws.

The purpose of the assessment is to characterize watershed and stream habitat conditions to support planning for watershed health and fish recovery efforts. It will be used to develop a Watershed Action Plan in the year 2000 that will prioritize cooperative habitat protection, restoration, monitoring and education projects for implementation. Watershed assessments and analyses use a science-based, ecosystem approach to identify areas that need protection or rehabilitation. The Hood River watershed assessment generally follows the Oregon Watershed Assessment Manual prepared for the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (Watershed Professionals Network, 1999). Its geographic scope covers the whole Hood River subbasin.

The Hood River is located on the east slope of the Cascade Range and enters the Columbia River 22 miles above Bonneville Dam. Its 339-square mile watershed supports bull trout, spring chinook salmon, summer and winter steelhead, rainbow and cutthroat trout, and lesser numbers of fall chinook and coho salmon. Hood River fish populations have declined markedly in the last decades. Native Hood River spring chinook became extinct in the early 1970s, along with native coho and fall chinook stocks. In 1998, steelhead and bull trout in the Hood River were listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Presently, all but the lower 4 miles of the Hood River are closed to salmon and steelhead angling. Several stream sections are listed under the Clean Water Act as water quality-impaired. In the Hood River as throughout the Pacific Northwest, loss and damage to spawning and rearing habitat are not due to a single factor, but are caused by the combination of many impacts over time. Dams, diversions, agriculture, timber harvest and other land use practices - have all contributed to the decline of Hood River salmon and steelhead habitat (BPA 1996). While parallel measures regionwide and in the Hood River target other contributing factors affecting native fish populations (e.g., overharvest, hatchery interactions, predation) ? the watershed assessment focuses on freshwater habitat conditions.

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