CHaMP is designed as a Columbia River basin-wide habitat status and trends monitoring program built around a single protocol with a programmatic approach to data collection and management (RM&E Workgroup 2010). CHaMP will result in the collection and analysis of systematic habitat status and trends information that will be used to assess basin-wide habitat conditions. When coupled with biological response indicators, this status and trends information will be used to evaluate habitat management strategies. This program will be integrated with ongoing Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Program (PNAMP) recovery planning efforts and will be part of the collaborative process across Columbia Basin fish management agencies and tribes and other state and federal agencies that are monitoring anadromous salmonids and/or their habitat. The implementation of CHaMP will characterize stream responses to watershed restoration and/or management actions in at least one population within each steelhead and spring Chinook Major Population Group (MPG) which have, or will have, “fish-in” and “fish-out” monitoring (identified in RPA 50.6), thereby meeting the requirements of RPA 56.3, RPA 57, and RPA 3. CHaMP was designed to deliver trends in habitat indicators and requires that monitoring occurs for three cycles of a sampling panel (see section 1.6), at least 9 years.

Lemhi’s primary objective was to estimate habitat condition for the Lemhi subbasin, and estimate the habitat condition in the priority drainages (see strata list). The Lemhi status and trends sampling design consisted of 45 unique sites sampled over three years (the standard CHaMP design) and was supplemented with 72 sites funded by the ISEMP program until 2013.  The Steelhead (Snake River Basin DPS) - Lemhi River and  the Chinook Salmon (Snake River Spring/Summer-run ESU) - Lemhi River were the populations of interest.  The original rationale was to allocate annual sites across the smaller tributaries to get a broad coverage of the diversity of habitat types, and use more rotating panel sites in the larger tributaries. 

In 2014, habitat restoration efforts planned for the Lemhi River include the removal of barriers on Lee and Pratt Creeks, enabling year-around access for anadromous fish and opening the Lemhi CHaMP target frame to these areas.  This design is a supplemental GRTS draw for the Lemhi 2011-2013 CHaMP design within the anadromous area of Pratt Creek.  One site in each of 3 rotating panels will be drawn using GRTS.  An Extra panel will include the oversample sites available for all panels due to the small target frame and limited number of master sample sites. 

In 2015, there were no updates to the Pratt design.  The Lemhi Status and Trend design (ID 420) was updated to accommodate 10% repeat sampling in 2015, but the Pratt Creek stratum was not impacted.