1. Wildlife Program Amendments CBFWA Members Meeting – Sept. 18-19

2. Priority Wildlife Amendment Issues
Paradigm Shift – HEP to Ecological Function
Crediting
Operations and Maintenance
Monitoring and Evaluation
Transition from HEP to new paradigm (IEI, CHAP, etc)
Link monitoring, O&M, and crediting to ecological functions as described in management plans
Linkage to Subbasin Plans and Conservation Strategies

3. Adaptive Management Framework
Current Situation
Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) measured wildlife losses
Only construction/inundation losses (Table 11-4)
Impacts summarized as habitat units (HUs)
No ecological biological objectives
Vague crediting requirements
Adaptive Management Framework
Plan
Implement
Evaluate
Output
Input
Operational losses are not accounted for nor are historic and current annual unmitigated losses
Concerns over variable O&M costs Current project funding based on historical allocations, Lack of long-term O&M agreements Annual contracts lead to project inefficiencies Confusion over definition of O&M versus enhancement
HEP problems: Little record of vegetation communities prior to dam construction
Highly simplistic models fail to capture complexities of losses
Single species focus often prioritized wrong species for management & restoration
Models applicable to NW often not available
Some out-of-place, out-of-kind mitigation contained habitats not considered in the loss assessments
Inconsistent assessments across basin
Not meant as a monitoring tool and no longer best available science
Inconsistent crediting
All losses not accounted for
O&M poorly funded
M&E largely limited to HEP Assessments

4. Adaptive Management Framework
CBFWA Vision
Program implementation linked to SBP/management priorities
Defined BPA crediting; protection, restoration, operations
Stable base funding (O&M, M&E)
Adaptive Management Framework
Plan
Implement
Evaluate
Output
Input
Transition from HEP to new paradigm (IEI, CHAP, etc)
Link monitoring, O&M, and crediting to ecological functions as described in management plans
Linkage to Subbasin Plans and Conservation Strategies
Consistent process for crediting HUs against the loss ledger, clarified process for determining protection credits, ecologically based operational loss assessments are completed
Mitigation supports management priorities based on subbasin plans
Monitoring to determine if actions achieving desired habitat/ecological conditions as established in project management plan
Managers need adequate, stable O&M budget to maintain maintain protected/enhanced credits and the flexibility to adapt to changing needs on the landscape
Crediting process clarified
Operational losses assessed and offset
Consistent credit of HUs offsetting lost HUs
Mitigation supports management priorities
Monitoring sufficient to determine program effectiveness

5. Using Local Level Linkages
Existing Condition
Desired Condition
Gap
C.I
Ops
Ecological
Function
Limiting
Factors
Monitoring
Threats
Strategies
Crediting
O&M
Measures
Subbasin
plans

6. Wildlife M&E – Recommendations
M&E based on ecological objectives of management plans
M&E needs to be adequate to:
Track trends in ecological functions and restoration effectiveness
Complement larger scale efforts
Focus on status/trend and effectiveness
Use reference sites to define habitat/ecological objectives
Transition from HEP to new ecologically-based paradigm
Amendment recommendations

7. Crediting - Recommendations
Incorporate crediting ledger into the program and establish regional oversight committee to track the crediting ledger
Address disagreements on protection credits
Address crediting ratio (2:1)
Condition crediting on adoption of long-term O&M agreements established in management plans
BPA has maintained that they have the sole discretion as to where such credit could be applied

8. Crediting - Recommendations
Develop ecosystem-based framework for measuring operational losses and credits
Resolve in-lieu/match fund issues
Resolve crediting of secondary impacts

9. O&M - Requirements
Managers need adequate, stable O&M budget to maintain baseline conditions and the flexibility to adapt to changing needs on the landscape
Amendment recommendations

10. O&M Recommendations
BPA should develop a funding mechanism, outside existing prioritization process, to assure:
Long-term, stable funding to manage and maintain ecological functions at mitigation sites
Shift maintenance and enhancement discussion to effective management of ecological functions
Provide flexibility to address known and unforeseen external threats (e.g. invasives, wildfires, etc)