Habitat monitoring in the Minam watershed for the Chinook salmon population is called for by the draft NE Oregon Snake River Recovery Plan. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) have jointly pursued funding through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for habitat and fish monitoring in the Minam and Catherine Creek watersheds.  The monitoring plan and methods will align with the Columbia River Habitat Monitoring Program (CHaMP).

The proposed sampling plan specifically addresses high priority information needs identified in the Grande Ronde Subbasin Plan (Nowack 2004), the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for NEOH spring Chinook salmon (Hesse et al. 2004), the 2009 Fish and Wildlife Program (NPCC 2009), the NPCC Anadromous Fish Monitoring Plan and the FCRPS Biological Opinion. This project contributes information to understanding the biological performance of spring Chinook salmon and steelhead populations in the Grande Ronde Subbasin. The 2009 NPCC Fish and Wildlife Program recognizes the importance of biological performance, that is, responses of populations to habitat conditions described in terms of capacity, abundance, productivity, and life history diversity, in achieving its vision for the Columbia River Basin. 

Data will be used to evaluate the quantity and quality of tributary fish habitat available to salmonids across the Columbia River basin in wadeable, perennial streams below natural impassible barriers within TRT population boundaries. The stream habitat data generated by CHaMP will be used in conjunction with salmonid growth, survival, abundance and productivity data to estimate fish-habitat relationships and assess the impact of habitat management actions on fish population processes across the Columbia River Basin. In addition to meeting FCRPS BiOp prescriptions (RPA 56.3), CHaMP supports habitat restoration, rehabilitation, and conservation action performance assessments and adaptive management requirements of the 2008 FCRPS BiOp.

2013 Design notes:

​​​​Sampling plans for 2013 targeted areas identified as suitable 'Reference' areas for the Catherine and Upper Grande Ronde domains through preliminary geomorphic class review completed by CRITFC in 2013 (contact Seth White for additional information). Sites were drawn via a spatially balanced sample selection process called GRTS (generalized random tesselation stratified) sample.  

The 1:100k NHDPlus 1 hydrography was used as a framework for intensification of the CBW Master Sample.  The CBW master sample, which has a density of sites ~1km was intensified to 250m within the Minam.  This resulted in 91 sites in the areas designated as "reference" reaches (in the Little Minam and the mainstem between the North Minam and Elk Creek).  An unstratified, single panel list of all the sites was generated from GRTS, ordering all 91 sites into a single use-order.   Sites were blocked into sets of 16, assuming 10 sites sampled and 6 sites as oversample.  The second set of sites, starting at use order 17, was selected for the 2013 Minam design. Due to logistical constraints of samplingin the Minam, 8 sites were ultimately selected in the suitable reference reaches and 2 in the spawning and rearing area of the mainstem Minam.  The 2 sites in the spawning and rearing domain were added as opportunistic legacy sites and were not drawn using GRTS.

Master sample GRTS Input file: Min_Int_ref_sites.txt

Legacy sample GRTS Input file: No legacy sites used

Final design file: Design file: Minam_use_order.txt, second block of sites used, see Minam_2nd_set.jpg.

R code: Mn_use_order_R_code_2013.r

Minam intensification R code: ms.intensify.Minam.r

​Strat.panel function version: 

​Design Documentation Files:

MinamDesignFiles.zip

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