Book Description

This Executive Summary provides an overview of the Draft Rainwater Wildlife Area Management Plan. The comprehensive plan can be viewed on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) website at: www.umatilla.nsn.us or requested in hard copy from the CTUIR at the address below. The wildlife area was established in September 1998 when the CTUIR purchased the Rainwater Ranch through Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for purposes of fish and wildlife mitigation for the McNary and John Day dams. The Management Plan has been developed under a standardized planning process developed by BPA for Columbia River Basin Wildlife Mitigation Projects (See Guiding Policies Section below). The plan outlines the framework for managing the project area, provides an assessment of existing conditions and key resource issues, and presents an array of habitat management and enhancement strategies. The plan culminates into a 5-Year Action Plan that will focus management actions and prioritize funding during the 2002-2006 planning period. Since acquisition of the property in late 1998, the CTUIR has conducted an extensive baseline resource assessment in preparation for the management plan, initiated habitat restoration in the Griffin Fork drainage to address road-related resource damage caused by roads constructed for forest practices and an extensive flood event in 1996, and initiated infrastructure developments associated with the Access and Travel Management Plan (i.e., installed parking areas, gates, and public information signs). In addition to these efforts, the CTUIR has worked to set up a long-term funding mechanism with BPA through the NPPC Fish and Wildlife Program. The CTUIR has also continued to coordinate closely with local and state government organizations to ensure consistency with local land use laws and maintain open lines of communication regarding important issues such as big game hunting, tribal member exercise of treaty rights, and public access. During the past two years, non-Indian public concern over big game hunting issues has at times overwhelmed other issues related to the wildlife area. In 2001, the CTUIR Fish and Wildlife Committee closed the wildlife area to tribal branch antlered bull elk harvest in response to harvest data that indicated harvest rates were greater than expected. In addition, illegal harvest of mature bull elk in southeastern Washington during the 2001 season exceeded the legal tribal and nontribal harvest combined which has created a potential significant regression in the bull;cow ratio in the Blue Mountain Elk herd. CTUIR Fish and Wildlife Committee and staff and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Regional Director and staff have been coordinating regularly to develop strategies to address harvest rates and ensure protection of viable big game herds in southeastern Washington. The CTUIR Fish and Wildlife Committee and WDFW has jointly agreed to continue close coordination on this and other issues and continue working together to ensure the long-term vigor of the elk herd on the Rainwater Wildlife Area. The purpose of the project is to protect, enhance, and mitigate fish and wildlife resources impacted by Columbia River Basin hydroelectric development. The effort is one of several wildlife mitigation projects in the region developed to compensate for terrestrial habitat losses resulting from the construction of McNary and John Day Hydroelectric facilities located on the mainstem Columbia River. While this project is driven primarily by the purpose and need to mitigate for wildlife habitat losses, it is also recognized that management strategies will also benefit many other non-target fish and wildlife species and associated natural resources.