The project has been successful in the development and implementation of several large-scale, partnership habitat enhancement projects and has developed effective interagency partnerships, working at the policy and technical levels with the Grande Ronde Model Watershed Program (GRMWP), federal and state agencies, and private landowners.
During the 24-year project history, the CTUIR has contributed to the development, administration, and implementation of multiple fish habitat enhancement projects along 50 plus river miles in the Grande Ronde Basin. The CTUIR has secured conservation easements totaling about 1,900 acres on six large ranches/farms using a combination of conservation tools, including Natural Resource Conservation Program and BPA programs.
A combination of both passive and active strategies have been employed. Guidance from the CTUIR’s River Vision has helped facilitate the shift towards focusing on larger, contiguous stream reaches and broader scale projects that focus on restoring floodplains and physical and hydrological process to form and maintain complex and diverse habitats. Recent projects, including the Catherine Creek complex (CC44) and Bird Track Springs sponsored by the CTUIR as well as project sponsored for basin partners are examples of broader and more completed watershed restoration efforts in the Grande Ronde Basin.