Entiat River Model Watershed

“Since the outset, we have sought to incorporate the science, assessment, and monitoring and evaluation systems necessary to continuously inform our actions, adjust and improve our restoration strategies, and allow all stakeholders to not only participate in the development of, but thoroughly review and comprehend the efficacy and outcomes of our restoration actions, strategies, and investments.”

- Sarah Walker, Entiat Watershed Planning Unit (EWPU) Coordinator.

Born of glaciers draining the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in north-central Washington State, the Entiat River flows 43 miles southeast to its confluence with the Columbia River north of Wenatchee. The Entiat River and its major tributary, the Mad River, support a variety of native fish species including runs of threatened steelhead and bull trout, endangered spring Chinook, and late-run (summer) Chinook salmon.

The greatest human impacts on the Entiat River are in the lower Entiat Valley, where the river channel and adjacent wetland areas have been substantially altered by more than a century of human land use. In addition, a recent surge in home construction on streamside lots poses an ongoing threat to protection of riparian forests, which filter pollutants from runoff and provide habitat and nutrients to the river. In a natural state, the lower Entiat would be more sinuous with occasional over-bank flooding, a greater diversity of aquatic habitats and numerous logjams. The focus of this watershed-scale restoration strategy is to increase the complexity of streambed topography, develop depositional sites for spawning gravel, and to reconnect the river to its floodplain and over-flow channels.

With strong community support, the Entiat Watershed Planning Unit (EWPU) has worked since 1998 to develop a restoration plan that maps out a 20-year restoration timeline to improve water quality and native fish productivity in the Entiat River. With a comprehensive plan and a vigorous scientific basis to guide its restoration work, the EWPU is confident that it can improve habitat conditions and recover populations of native salmon and steelhead.

Project Timeline

• In 2007, BEF signed an agreement with the EWPU to support an intensive, 10-year Model Watershed restoration and monitoring program.  Breaking with the tradition of using short-term grants to support watershed restoration, BEF pledged to provide technical support, funding for monitoring and evaluation, and the services of an independent scientific review team for the full 10-year duration of the program. This partnership will increase the EWPU’s ability to measure results, enhance institutional learning, and provide feedback to restoration managers, landowners, and other critical stakeholders, which is essential to maintaining their base of public support.