Hawley Creek BLM Culvert Replacement

Project Narrative

One fish passage barrier caused by an undersized and perched culvert was removed and replaced with a 24’ x 45’ prefabricated steel bridge. The length of stream treated was 0.01 miles. The removal of the fish passage barrier and installation of the bridge increased 0.13 miles of upstream access (to the next diversion) for ESA listed salmonids and resident fish species. No deviations other than postponing the installation of the bridge until April of 2013 due to cold working conditions and freezing soil conditions were reported.Installation of the bridge increased channel area and restored a natural channel under the bridge. This project falls within the NOAA Assessment Units Lemhi River seasonally and disconnected tributaries (LRS3) for Snake River Steelhead. Habitat quantity and particularly anthropogenic barriers, account for approximately 20% of the conditions which limit the distribution of anadromous fish to diverse habitats within the Lemhi NOAA assessment unit.In May and June, the installation was monitored to see if the effects of high water damaged the bridge. There wasn’t any damage. The bridge installation will be monitored once every four months for a period of two years. After that the installation will be monitored at a minimum of three times a year to check for high water damage.Actions will reduce the velocity of the creek flow and eliminate the physical barrier, allowing passage for all life stages of ESA-listed salmonids and other resident species and will restore a more natural condition to the Hawley channel at this location.