Role of assessment in subbasin planning

 
The Council’s Subbasin Planning process should result in integrated, scientifically based, strategic plans for the restoration and protection of fish and wildlife habitat within Columbia River subbasins. A subbasin plan has two major parts: an assessment and a management plan.

The assessment is the scientific basis for the management plan and identifies constraints, problems, and opportunities within a subbasin. It does this by characterizing existing biological conditions within the subbasin and comparing these to the biological potential of the subbasin. The gap between current and potential forms the basis for identifying constraints, problems, and opportunities.

The management plan is the response to the assessment. The key components of the management plan are (1) the identification of potential strategies and (2) an analysis of the extent to which these strategies will result in changes that fill the gap between the subbasin’s existing biological conditions and its biological potential. The management plan addresses solutions at a strategic level, i.e., it is not a laundry list of desired projects but, instead, is a set of strategies that indicates types of solutions. Actions will be proposed each year to address strategies described in the plan in response to problems identified in the assessment.

The assessment brings together many types of information relating to the status of fish and wildlife and their habitats within a subbasin (see diagram). While the focus of a subbasin plan is on conditions and actions within a subbasin, the assessment and analysis must also set the subbasin in the context of conditions outside the subbasin. Elements of the assessment relate to both the aquatic and terrestrial environment. Components within these broad divisions are listed below.

1. Aquatic Environment

Population Assessment. Fish populations will be delineated and their status assessed in terms of trends, viability, or extinction risk. For populations listed under the Endangered Species Act, the federal Technical Recovery Teams will have a lead role in identifying populations and their status.

Habitat Assessment. The potential and limitations of aquatic habitat will be identified to explore potential and to assess restoration and protection priorities. Habitat assessment should describe attributes constraining fish populations and identify opportunities for improvement. This component will rely on habitat assessment tools such as Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT).

Artificial Production. Hatcheries are a major contributor to the abundance and status of fish populations in many subbasins and will likely be key components of many management plans. The Council’s Artificial Production Review Evaluation (APRE) will supply much of the information on artificial production for the assessment.

2. Terrestrial Environment

Wildlife Habitat Relationships. This will provide descriptions of wildlife-habitat types to support a common understanding for their delineation, inventory, and management. The Council will make these available for all subbasins in the Canadian and U.S. portions of the Basin for current and historic conditions

Species Richness. Associated with each habitat type will be a listing of the species found in that habitat type for both current and historical conditions. This will highlight key areas for conservation.

Key Ecological Functions. Key Ecological Functions (KEFs) refer to the principal ecological roles performed by each species in the ecosystem or subbasin. KEFs refer to the main ways in which organisms use, influence, and alter their environments.

Salmon Wildlife Relationships. This portion of the assessment identifies known relationships between salmonids and terrestrial wildlife and identifies those terrestrial species most closely correlated with salmonid life history stages.

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