Subbasin Description

The Malheur River, situated in southeast Oregon, is a tributary to the Snake River entering at river mile 370. The Malheur River is 90 miles long, and drains an area of 5,000 square miles. It begins at 6,600 feet in the Blue Mountains, and flows to an elevation of 2,000 feet at its confluence with the Snake River. The North Fork Malheur River, the largest tributary, flows 60 miles before entering the mainstem at RM 96. Warm Springs Dam at RM 123 of the mainstem Malheur River and Agency Dam at RM 18 of the North Fork Malheur River effectively isolate fish populations.

Fish and Wildlife Status

Fish
Construction of Warm Springs Dam in 1919 and the construction of Agency Dam in 1934 ended the migration of anadromous fish to the upper Malheur. Construction of Brownlee Dam on the Snake River in 1958 blocked anadromous fish from the Malheur River entirely. Prior to construction of Brownlee Dam, large runs of Chinook salmon and steelhead had access to the Malheur subbasin. Currently there is no minimum pool associated with either Agency or Warm Springs Dam. Operation of the reservoirs to benefit fish and wildlife is not a part of the authorization for these projects.

In addition to the loss of anadromous fish, dam construction has severely impacted native resident fish, such as bull trout and redband trout. Warm Springs and Agency dams have isolated populations of these two species. Access to the Malheur River from the Snake River was further limited by the construction and operation of the Nevada Diversion Dam at RM 19 on the Malheur River. Declining numbers of bull trout have led to their listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Bull trout and redband trout have also suffered significant habitat loss and degradation due to timber harvest, livestock production and irrigation withdrawals. The presence of introduced brook trout and hatchery rainbow trout have also contributed to declines in bull trout and native redband populations.

Wildlife
The development of the hydropower systems and irrigation dams in the Columbia River Basin has affected many species of wildlife as well as fish. Some floodplain and riparian habitats important to wildlife were inundated when reservoirs were filled. In some cases, fluctuating water levels caused by dam operations have created barren vegetation zones that leave some species vulnerable to predation, impact rearing and recruitment and reduce winter forage availability. The construction of roads, urban developments, irrigation withdrawals from streams and rivers and the channelization and diversions of natural waterways, have had many adverse affects on all life history stages of wildlife.

Managers in the Malheur basin have recognized the need for changes in management and land use strategies and for the protection of critical habitat that benefit fish and wildlife species. Although there are no current BPA wildlife mitigation activities in the Basin, the Burns Paiute Tribe has proposed two wildlife mitigation projects to protect, enhance and restore critical fish and wildlife habitat; 1) Logan Valley Wildlife Mitigation Project # 20090 and 2) Acquisition of Malheur Wildlife Mitigation Site # 20137.

Habitat Areas and Quality

Agriculture production and processing are the basin’s primary economic activities. River valleys from Harper eastward are devoted to intensive and diversified agriculture. The most important crops produced are alfalfa, clover, sugar beets, onions and potatoes. Livestock production dominates river valleys in the upper portion of the basin where irrigation lands are used primarily for growing hay and forage crops. Rangelands throughout the basin also provide livestock forage during the spring and summer months. Timber harvest occurs in the northwest portion of the subbasin as well.
 

Physical and Biological Characteristics

The climate in the Malheur Basin is semi-arid, characterized by hot dry summers and cold winters. Summer temperatures may exceed 100 F and winter temperatures may drop below -20 F. Average annual precipitation over the Malheur basin is 12 inches and ranges from 40 inches in the upper mountains to less than 10 inches in the lower valleys. Most of the precipitation occurs in the winter as snow. Mountain snowpack is the principle source of stream flow (Malheur County 1978).

Most of the Malheur River basin consists of gently sloping to rolling lava plateau upland dissected by canyons or valleys. The Northwest portion of the Basin lies in mountainous terrain.

Wooded areas consist primarily of mixed fir and pine forest in the higher elevations with ponderosa pine and western Juniper in the transition zones. Sagebrush and grass communities dominate the uplands. Low-elevation terraces and flood plains are occupied primarily by irrigated cropland in the lower basin valleys.

Stream gradient in the Malheur River is characteristic of southeastern Oregon streams as described by Bowers et al. (1979). Headwater streams of the Middle Fork and North Fork Malheur begin at an elevation of 6,500 to 7,500 ft, drop 100ft/mile or more, and are characterized by high water velocity and substantial downstream movement of coarse bedload material. Steep gradient limits fish movement.

The mainstem through the forest down stream to Namorf Dam has stream gradient and riffle frequency characteristic of trout habitat. The stream gradient gradually decreases to an average of 20ft/mile. Sediment loads consist of coarse (sand to baseball size) material and floodplains have developed where velocity and gradient permit. Gravel bar deposits, islands and new channels are formed by constantly shifting bedload.

Below the town of Harper, gradient averages 1ft/mile, and stream velocity is reduced. Fine bedload material settles out forming compact banks and a deep meandering single channel. The lower velocity combined with poor water quality limit game fish production.

In, general, the streams of the Malheur subbasin possess characteristics attributable to the semi-arid climate. On an average annual basis, low precipitation produces relatively low runoff although large variations can be expected on an annual and seasonal basis. Natural flow, except for that resulting from snowmelt in the spring, is usually quite low. Occasional high flow occurs in the winter and spring from rainstorms augmented by snowmelt, frozen ground, or both (SWRB 1969).

Large Reservoirs constructed for irrigation storage on the mainstem Malheur and several tributaries have altered stream flow characteristics in the lower Malheur Basin. Stream flow is regulated primarily by the following reservoirs:

• Warm Springs Reservoir, Malheur River
• Beulah Reservoir, North Fork Malheur River
• Bully Creek Reservoir, Bully Creek
• Malheur Reservoir, Willow Creek

Major diversions occur in the lower Malheur below Namorf and in the Drewsey Valley. Water is also diverted in Logan Valley. The Malheur subbasin has no appreciable quantity of unappropriated surface water subject to the jurisdiction of the State Water Resources Commission (Formerly the State Water Resource Board). Legal rights exceed yield in all years except those of unusually high amounts (SWRB 1969).

Surface water quality in the Malheur system varies from excellent in the headwaters to poor in the lower basin. The majority of water quality problems in the basin result from non-point source pollution associated with land use practices.

The Malheur basin was inventoried for non-point pollution problems in 1978, and moderate and severe areas in the basin were mapped. Problems include sedimentation, streambank erosion, elevated water temperate, nuisance algae and decreased stream flow (Malheur County 1978). An inventory by DEQ indicated that in addition to those problems identified in 1978, turbidity and insufficient stream structure are also problems throughout the basin. In addition, the lower Malheur basin has problems with nutrients, pesticides salt-water intrusion, bacteria and viruses

Fish and Wildlife Policy Amendments specific to the Burns Paiute Tribe that would accomplish mitigation for the Malheur River Basin

Construction of federally regulated and federally-operated hydropower projects has resulted in the total loss of anadromous fish in this subbasin and has greatly reduced native resident fish habitat. Bull trout and redband trout are the only remaining native game fish that are available to the Paiute Tribe. The goal for this subbasin is to protect, enhance and restore fish populations to near historic conditions and provide fisheries and harvest opportunities on native fish and on introduced game fish where native fish have been extirpated from habitat alteration.

Resident Fish Policies for the Malheur Basin

• Conduct assessments of losses of resident fish due to the construction and inundation of federal hydropower system reservoirs.
• Mitigate and compensate for resident and anadromous fish losses caused by the construction and operation of federally operated and federally regulated hydropower projects.
• Substitute lost anadromous populations with resident populations to address the loss of salmon and steelhead in those areas currently blocked to anadromous fish as a result of the construction and operation of hydroelectric dams.
• Ensure the continued persistence, health, and diversity of existing resident fish species by reducing or removing impacts caused by habitat degradation (including water quality, water quantity, and hydropower development), competition and/or hybridization with non-native species, and over-harvest (direct and incidental). .
• Restore native resident fish species (subspecies, stocks and populations) to near historic abundance throughout their historic ranges where habitats exist and where habitats can be feasibly restored.
• Administer and increase opportunities for consumptive and non-consumptive resident fisheries for native, introduced, wild, and hatchery-reared stocks that are compatible with the continued persistence of native resident fish species and their restoration to near historic abundance (includes intensive fisheries within closed or isolated systems).
• Protecting, enhancing and restoring critical habitats (spawning, rearing and migratory corridors) by acquiring lands that are focused on production.

• Achieve and sustain levels of habitat and species to mitigate for the fish and wildlife losses that have resulted from the construction and operation of the federal and nonfederal hydroelectric system in the Columbia and Snake River Basin.
• Mitigate and compensate for anadromous and resident fish extirpation caused by the

• Implement wildlife mitigation projects to protect critical fish and wildlife habitat.
• Address habitat degradation in the Basin that adversely affects migratory and resident forms of target wildlife species.

Goal #1:

To restore native resident fish species (subspecies, stocks and populations) to near historic abundance throughout their historic ranges where habitats exist and where habitats can be feasibly restored.

Strategies/measures to achieve goal #1:

Strategies/measures to achieve goal #2:

1. Develop an interim fishery for the Burns Paiute Reservation through construction, operation and maintenance of put and take trout ponds.
2. Design, construct, operate, and maintain a resident trout hatchery for the Burns Paiute Tribe.
3. In collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation, determine minimum instream winter flows for aquatic species in the Malheur River below Beulah and Warm Springs Reservoirs.

Strategies / Measure to achieve Goal

1. Provide passage at all Bureau of Reclamation water storage reservoirs. This goal could only be accomplished by providing passage at the Idaho Power, Hells Canyon Complex.
2. Reintroduction of Chinook salmon and Steelhead in to the Malheur River basin.

Daniel Gonzalez
Program Manager
Burns Paiute Fish and Wildlife Department
Phone: 541-573-1375 ext 251
Fax – 541-573-2125 or 573- 2422
Email –

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